Dimension of Miracles
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Dimension of Miracles
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Narrated by:
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John Hodgman
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By:
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Robert Sheckley
About this listen
Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Male, 2014
Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.
A few words from Neil on Dimension of Miracles: "Dimension of Miracles is probably not [Sheckley's] most famous book…. but I think it's probably his best-loved book. It's about the joys and tribulations (mostly the tribulations) of winning the lottery—the galactic lottery—accidentally. And wrongly. Tom Carmody is awarded a remarkable prize, is taken half way across the universe to collect it, finds himself hopelessly lost, and needs to find his way home again to Earth…to this Earth, not an alternate, weirdo Earth. He's got to get back. And the price is high.
In its style of humor—and even in some of the jokes—Dimension of Miracles is very obviously a precursor of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas actually hadn't read Dimension of Miracles until very shortly after Hitchhiker came out, when people pointed him to it, and he told me that he found the experience almost shocking—it was like reading himself. He was a huge admirer of Bob Sheckley and a huge admirer of this book, and in later life, I had the privilege of introducing both of them.
Now the challenge for me with a book this funny, this strange, this perceptive was to try and find a narrator who was as iconic, somebody who could deliver the goods, somebody who could give you a book like this as it deserved to be given. And the first, and the last, and actually the only person to come to mind was John Hodgman. So I asked John, and he said yes! And he did it; he pulled it off. Listening to John—not just the suave, sensible, sane narrator of this book, but all the peculiar accents and incarnations that he is forced to adopt through here—he does it delightfully, he does it brilliantly, he's really, really funny. And so is this book. Enjoy your journey through a Dimension of Miracles."
Dimension of Miracles is a satirical science fiction novel first published by Dell in 1968. It's about Tom Carmody, a New Yorker who, thanks to a computer error, wins the main prize in the Intergalactic Sweepstakes. Tom claims his prize before the error is discovered and is allowed to keep it. However, since Tom is a human from Earth without galactic status and no space traveling experience, he has no homing instinct that can guide him back to Earth once his odyssey begins - and the galactic lottery organizers cannot transport him home. Meanwhile, his removal from Earth has caused a predatory entity to spring into existence - one that aims to destroy him. Carmody is on the run, and he ends up transporting from Earth to Earth - different phases and realities of the planet.
Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).
©1968 Robert Sheckley (P)2013 Robert SheckleyListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephen
- 11-01-24
THE Hitchhikers Prequel
I am a HUGE Hitchhikers fan and avidly read anything and everything about Douglas Adams.
This absolutely brilliant book offered me a level of disappointment because I believe some of the genius I had bestowed upon Douglas Adams is actually due to Robert Sheckley.
I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I eked out the last few chapters in an effort to extend my enjoyment.
John Hodgman is the absolute right choice of narrator and helps bring to life the characters and situations in an effective and hugely visual way.
This is nothing short of brilliant!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Oliver
- 26-03-24
witty and imaginative
fabulous story, it is not long, but it is quality from front to back. when the end comes, you wish it had not. but you are still satisfied. I smiled the whole way through.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- O.B.
- 19-11-13
Wonderfully HHGTTG.
What made the experience of listening to Dimension of Miracles the most enjoyable?
I love quirky sci fi!
What did you like best about this story?
The humour and the narration
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me laugh
Any additional comments?
Can't believe Douglas Adams was only introduced to this story years after he wrote the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy. If you like the HHGTTG series (a trilogy of 5 books) you'll love this too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CLW
- 07-11-22
One of the best!
One of the best I have recently read/listened to! I’m a big fan of Asimov in this genre and I had trouble finding another author to match Asimov’s content and witty delivery. I’m so happy I found Sheckley, and in particular this masterpiece - both funny&entertaining and also thought provoking. This is SF at its best - showing where humanity is stuck in old thought patterns and proposing alternatives. Great narration also! Many thanks.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 08-07-13
If you liked Hitchhiker's Guide...
On listening to this book I was struck (as many have been) by the echoes of Douglas Adams' 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' - but I knew this book had pre-dated that. In fact on further research I discovered Adams hadn't read this book, and was shocked when he did at how similar it was.
I say this as a recommendation - if you liked the slightly anarchical & surreal humour of one, you'll love the other.
John Hodgman is a great choice for the narrator too - less well known to UK audiences perhaps, but he inhabits the characters well, and seems to offer the 'baffled everyman' perspective that the lead character exhibits throughout.
Highly recommended!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- thevicarat12
- 25-04-17
blast from the past or future
I first read at this book at school, 45 years ago. It's still brillant, perceptive, topical, funny and relevant.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Paul Snook
- 11-03-16
A Hitchhiker Ahead Of His Time
The story of a man mistakenly being awarded a prize in an intergalactic sweepstake sounds very much like the sort of thing that would have come from the mind of Douglas Adams, except that it was published ten years earlier and Adams was unaware of it until after he had completed The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
It is, by turns, humorous and philosophical and, to a lesser degree theological. Going to collect the prize is easy for Thomas Carmody; it is the journey home that proves a challenge.
The absurdist nature of this sci-fi comedy will, of course, appeal to fans of Adams work. Some of the more rambling sections can seem overlong and a touch pretentious, as though Sheckley has devised a philosophy and is running with as far as he can, whilst trying to show how clever he is, but on the whole the story moves along at a satisfying pace and you wonder just where Carmody and his cheerful and metamorphic prize will end up next.
John Hodgman presents the narrative in a compelling and occasionally over-the-top fashion and could have you listening from beginning to end in one go without pause or interruption (assuming you have the time). His delivery is nigh on perfect and he has clearly thought about each character and what nuances to add to flesh them out. At times he even reminded me Andrew Scott's insanely eccentric Moriarty in the BBC series Sherlock.
All-in-all, a wonderfully madcap adventure that deserves much, much more exposure.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mendo Shutaro
- 17-08-13
A muddled, mediocre story, read well by Hodgeman.
If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?
If you're a big fan of the randomness and lack of structure of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, then you may get something out of this.
What will your next listen be?
I generally listen to history books, and am currently listening to An Utterly Impartial History of Britain by John O'Farrell.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
It started well enough, as did Hitchhiker's.
What character would you cut from Dimension of Miracles?
Pretty much all of them, as none of them made any sense.
Any additional comments?
To me this book, like Douglas Adams' famous series, is essentially what happens when you write a book without any idea where it will end up. What follows is a series of increasingly bizarre sequences, some of which are mildly amusing, but most are just odd and random.There's little story arc here, which to me makes the book just feel rather pointless.
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