Review: The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal
Blurb:
Hugo Award-winning authors Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal team up in this exclusive audio-first production of The Original, a sci-fi thriller set in a world where one woman fights to know her true identity and survive the forces that threaten her very existence.
In the near future, humans choose life - for a price. Injectable nanite technology is the lifeblood that flows through every individual wishing to experience the world through the lens of their own theme. While death from mortal wounds is still possible, life is made easier in a socially liberated society where automation and income equality allow passion pursuits to flourish over traditional work. Renewal stations are provided to every law-abiding citizen for weekly check-ins, which issue life-sustaining repairs in exchange for personal privacy. But what becomes of those who check out, of those who dare to resist immortality and risk being edited under the gaze of an identity-extracting government surveillance system?
When Holly Winseed wakes up in a hospital room, her memory compromised and a new identity imposed on her, a team of government agents wastes no time stating their objective. With intent to infiltrate and defeat the terrorist group ICON, the agents tell Holly that she is now a Provisional Replica and has one week to hunt down and kill her Original for the murder of her husband, Jonathan. If she succeeds, she’ll assume her Original’s place in society. If she fails, her life will end. Holly’s progress is monitored by an assigned contact that feeds her information as she confronts the blank, robotic world around her, discovering that others view life through the theme of their own choosing.
With her newly implanted combat and deduction skills, Holly fends off both attacks by terrorists and doubts about her own trustworthiness as clues lead her to her Original - and to the truth about Jonathan. In the end, one body remains and one walks away. Although questions persist, one thing is certain: Life will never be the same.
Review:
The Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal is an audio-only story that is packed full of action and science fiction fun. In this futuristic novel, society’s woes have been solved by injectable “nanite” technology which provides them with near immortality and the ability to alter the “theme” surrounding them: think of an individualized Matrix of the user’s choosing which allows them to effectively craft their daily reality and lived experience. There is a small group of people who resist this artificially idealized life and have “checked out,” now living outside of this fake world.
Our protagonist, Holly, wakes in a hospital room to be told that she is a Provisional Replica, created in the image and with the same memories as her Original, with extra strength and fighting abilities woven into her old memories. She’s informed that she was created to search for and assassinate her Original because her Original is guilty of murdering her husband. What ensues is an electrifying, edge-of-your-seat sci-fi thriller combining Jason Bourne’s prowess with the technological dystopia of the Matrix.
This is a short audiobook, clocking in at just over 3 hours. Given the time limits, we are missing a lot of Sanderson’s classic, deep worldbuilding. Kowal masterfully flexes her short story/novella muscles in keeping this story tight and compact. The 3 hours fly by, especially with the entertaining narration by Julia Whelan. This is not a classic audiobook where the narrator dryly reads the text. Instead, this is a true performance with music and sound effects throughout, helping to orchestrate the tension and suspension layered throughout The Original.
Given the short run time, some of the plot progression felt a little forced and convenient. However, the relentless pace doesn’t allow you to dwell on those minor hiccups. As you and Holly hurtle towards the conclusion of this story, Sanderson and Kowal pull a couple twists and turns and ultimately leave you with a fairly open-ended conclusion which, at least for me, felt oddly cathartic and appropriate.
Sanderson and Kowal expertly insert intriguing social and ethical questions throughout, which for me is a hallmark of good science fiction. The world that Sanderson and Kowal invite us to travel with them is one that remains out of reach technologically; however, it hits close enough to underline the importance of pondering the implications of a selective virtual world where reality is constantly in question.
Overall, Sanderson and Kowal have created a vivid, punchy audiobook which asks intriguing ethical questions while injecting the reader with a quick, satisfying hit of sci-fi thrills. Sanderson and Kowal make a fantastic team and I will be first in line to read another one of their collaborative projects.
