The Affinities, Robert Charles Wilson
The Affinities, Robert Charles Wilson
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The Affinities

Author: Robert Charles Wilson

Narrator: Scott Brick

Unabridged: 9 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/21/2015

Categories: Fiction, Science Fiction


Synopsis

In our rapidly-changing world of "social media", everyday people are more and more able to sort themselves into social groups based on finer and finer criteria. In the near future of Robert Charles Wilson's The Affinities, this process is supercharged by new analytic technologies--genetic, brain-mapping, behavioral. To join one of the twenty-two Affinities is to change one's life. It's like family, and more than family. Your fellow members aren't just like you, and they aren't just people who are likely to like you. They're also the people with whom you can best cooperate in all areas of life--creative, interpersonal, even financial.

At loose ends both professional and personal, young Adam Fisk takes the suite of tests to see if he qualifies for any of the Affinities, and finds that he's a match for one of the largest, the one called Tau. It's utopian—at first. Problems in all areas of his life begin to simply sort themselves out, as he becomes part of a global network of people dedicated to helping one another—to helping him.

But as the differing Affinities put their new powers to the test, they begin to rapidly chip away at the power of governments, of global corporations, of all the institutions of the old world. Then, with dreadful inevitability, the different Affinities begin to go to war--with one another.
What happens next will change Adam, and his world, forever.

About Robert Charles Wilson

Robert Charles Wilson was born in California and lives in Toronto. His novel Spin won science fiction’s Hugo Award in 2006. Earlier, he won the Philip K. Dick Award for his debut novel A Hidden Place; Canada’s Aurora Award for Darwinia; and the John W. Campbell Award for The Chronoliths.

About Scott Brick

Scott Brick first began narrating audiobooks in 2000, and after recording almost 400 titles in five years, AudioFile magazine named Brick a Golden Voice and “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy.” He has read a number of titles in Frank Herbert’s bestselling Dune series, and he won the 2003 Science Fiction Audie Award for Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. Brick has narrated for many popular authors, including Michael Pollan, Joseph Finder, Tom Clancy, and Ayn Rand. He has also won over 40 AudioFile Earphones Awards and the AudioFile award for Best Voice in Mystery and Suspense 2011. In 2007, Brick was named Publishers Weekly’s Narrator of the Year. Brick has performed on film, television and radio. He appeared on stage throughout the United States in productions of Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth and other plays. In addition to his acting work, Brick choreographs fight sequences, and was a combatant in films including Romeo and Juliet, The Fantasticks and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He has also been hired by Morgan Freeman to write the screenplay adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Liviu on April 29, 2015

engaging despite that its subject is not one that usually interests me, but the narrator voice works very well and kept me turning the pages till the end; the disjointness of the novel and the rushed and somewhat pointless ending take it down two notches overall, better than i expected based on subje......more

Goodreads review by Scott on November 21, 2023

Robert Charles Wilson is an author who works with stunning concepts. As I LOVE a good concept novel he has quickly become someone whose new works I gobble up. Last Year, his story of interdimensional time-tourism/exploitation, set entirely in 19th century America is one of my favorite SF novels of th......more

Goodreads review by Melliane on July 20, 2015

Mon avis en Français My English review When I saw the summary of the novel, I admit that I was immediately very attracted. I did not really have the opportunity to read a story highlighting social networks but I admit that I was intrigued by the idea. Moreover, even if the author goes far in his ideas......more

Goodreads review by All Things Urban Fantasy on May 14, 2015

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy Lost in a crowd? Need to find yourself? A place where you just belong? THE AFFINITIES introduces a wonderful/scary world where finding your place in the world is simply an inexpensive test away; and if you don't fit into any of the 22 standard profiles, or......more

Goodreads review by Cora on August 03, 2015

THE AFFINITIES is a fascinating idea incompletely realized. The MacGuffin is a scientific theory of social interaction that can sort people into groups (affinities) most likely to cooperate based on intuitive understanding, i.e., the 'it's like you've known me all my life' feeling. In all, 22 affini......more


Awards

  • Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year