The Punch Escrow

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The Punch Escrow

By: Tal M. Klein

Narrated by: Matthew Mercer

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About this listen

It's the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We've genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport - a secretive firm headquartered in New York City. Their slogan: Departure...Arrival...Delight!

Joel Byram, our smartass protagonist, is an everyday 22nd century guy. He spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human, jamming out to 1980s new wave - an extremely obscure genre - and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. Joel is pretty much an everyday guy with everyday problems - until he's accidentally duplicated while teleporting. Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.

Adventure

Hard Science Fiction

Science Fiction

Technothrillers

Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

"Narrator Matthew Mercer is perfectly cast as smart-ass Joel Byram. One can almost see Joel's facial expressions as he navigates a world in which he's been duplicated in a teleportation accident. This futuristic story is made Monty Python-like by Mercer's outstanding voicings. His version of the synthesized voice of the 171-year-old founder of a religious cult is beautifully mechanical. His rendering of the two Levantine spies' accents is marvelous. And his depiction of the transformation of a hardworking science guy into full-fledged mad scientist is spot-on. Many characters, many voices - one terrific performance." (AudioFile)

Most relevant

Matt Mercer has an amazing voice and he's the only reason I picked this book. If you've listed to Critical Role and wished all these other people would stop talking and let Matt speak, this might be worth your while. Despite Matt's beautiful voice, I could bearly listen through this. It's just so boring, I (and everyone else who's seen any sci-fi teleportation) have thought about the crux of the story, and it's an interesting question. Which is why it's so annoying that the book kinda faceplants as soon as it gets going. The idea is that the really intelligent protagonist doesn't think of the very obvious implications of the MacGuffin, which is laughable and immersion-breaking.

The book has many interesting ideas, it's a shame it wasn't written by someone who knew what to do with them.

An excellent telling of a uninteresting story