Red Dwarf: Titan Review (Spoiler-Free) Reviews Posted by Ian Symes on 16th July 2026, 12:30 SPOILER WARNING: While this review gives nothing away about the plot of Titan, it does contain details of the structure, prose style, and characters present in the book. It should be safe to read this before you’ve read the book, but if you’re extra cautious about avoiding every last detail, save it for afterwards. After three decades of waiting, the fifth Red Dwarf novel has finally been released. A mere six months ago, we had no idea it was coming, and yet so much has happened since then. The excitement that greeted its announcement was soon replaced by sorrow. Original co-creator Rob Grant returns, writing new Red Dwarf for the first time since 1996’s Backwards novel, only to unexpectedly pass away before he could see it released. It’s therefore an undeniably bittersweet occasion to finally have new material at our fingertips, while knowing it’s the last of its kind. But thankfully, any hint of sadness is quickly moved to the back of the mind once you start reading, and instantly lose yourself in a comfortingly familiar, yet excitingly fresh and reinvigorated world… Red Dwarf: Titan was originally conceived as a TV series, before Rob and long-time co-writer Andrew Marshall spent two years crafting it into book form. The pair’s previous novel, The Quanderhorn Xperimentations, was similarly based on a series, and followed quite a rigid episodic format, with each installment of the radio show adapted individually. That is most certainly not the case here, with the familiar Dwarf novel formula of multiple parts of various lengths, subdivided into chapters. There are five parts in total, plus a prologue and epilogue. While we don’t know how the proposed series would have panned out, the irregular length of the parts (ranging from six to thirty-one chapters apiece) and the odd number of them indicate that this has been substantially reworked from the television plan. One of the many ways it differs from the previous books, however, is that it plays out pretty much in real time. While other novels flitted between different time zones, sets of characters and even universes, almost every chapter in Titan follows on from the last, telling one continuous story. The first four novels all borrowed storylines from the TV series to varying degrees, portraying a series of different adventures for our crew. Here, there’s only one, novel-length plot, and it’s all the better for it. Yes, our characters get into numerous scrapes and diversions along the way, but it’s all in service of a singular story, which works incredibly well for a prequel. Another difference is that for the first time, the individual sub-chapters are (almost) all named too, usually with a stage direction style header indicating the location of the action. This may be a giveaway of the story’s origins as a television script (or, at the least, a scene breakdown for a proposed script), but it’s also incredibly useful, as while the book comprises one continuous story, it’s told across multiple characters in multiple locations, taking in both the luxurious Uptown and dystopian Downtown of Titan’s Xanadu spaceport, as well as checking back in on Red Dwarf itself every now and then. As well as the obvious advantages of providing variety and keeping the pace barrelling along, this approach is key to the book’s success. More often than not, we’re following Lister and/or Rimmer, as you’d expect, but for the sections where they’re not present, we get to go inside the heads of all kinds of other people, getting insights into their characters, motivation and morality. It’s not a first, of course – all the previous novels did this to varying degrees – but the cast of core characters is more extensive here than ever before, and none of them benefit more from this than Kristine Kochanski. Kochanski in Titan is used in an entirely different way to anywhere else in the Red Dwarf oeuvre, in that she’s actually a protagonist. Even in Series VII and Last Human, she was ultimately defined by her relationship with Lister. Not so in Titan, where she operates completely independently of her ex-boyfriend for the majority of the book, pursuing her own endeavours for her own reasons. It all ties up with the main plot in the end, but make no mistake that this book makes a conscious effort to establish Kochanski as a character in her own right, in a way that no iteration of Red Dwarf has really bothered to do before. As such, it’s hard to picture either Clare or Chloe as you read, as she’s so different to all previous incarnations, in a way that fully rounds out a character that has only ever been of limited dimensions previously. We also spend a fair amount of time with Captain Hollister, whose presence in this book raises some interesting questions about continuity. It disconnects Titan from the previous novels, as the captain of Red Dwarf in Infinity was a woman called Kirk, but it’s not the television universe either, as his first name is different, as hinted at in one of the marketing videos. Rimmer is a Second Technician, like he is on TV, rather than the First Technician of the first two novels. Another familiar character is given a different job, another has their hometown changed to one that doesn’t fit the on-screen portrayal at all, and one is given an extraordinary backstory that doesn’t necessarily contradict established continuity, but doesn’t exactly go out of its way to adhere to it either. The “one universe to the side” tagline is indeed pertinent. Its main purpose is free up the authors to pursue their own take on the Red Dwarf universe without getting bogged down in existing lore, and crucially being able to ignore everything that happened from 1997 onwards. But it also has a direct impact on the plot, with the action in Titan‘s universe both impacting and being impacted by what’s happening in the “main” one. It opens up new avenues for storytelling, bringing together elements of time travel, alternate realities and pre-determinism to the book’s tool kit. But despite the obvious nostalgia factor, and the momentous nature of Rob Grant making a return to Red Dwarf after so long, the main distinguishing feature of Titan is that it feels so *new*. This isn’t a lap of honour or a greatest hits collection, this is a type of story that Red Dwarf has never done before. It’s completely its own thing; apart from anything else, it’s the only novel that doesn’t incorporate any storylines or dialogue from the TV series, so in many ways it’s the first truly original Red Dwarf novel. This is also reflected in the prose style. It’s not Grant Naylor, or Rob Grant solo, it’s something else. With Dwarf being Rob’s baby, it would be easy to assume that he was the driving force, but the fact that the book’s voice is so different is evidence that Andrew Marshall definitely made a big impact himself. Yes, there’s glimpses of the trademark Grantian dark humour, incorporating some largely genital-based body horror, and the dialogue between Rimmer and Lister is so nailed on that there’s no mistaking Rob’s hand. But the rhythm and pace is like nothing we’ve seen before. There’s a verbosity to the language that’s incredibly endearing. It’s a tone of voice that’s not a million miles from other versions of Red Dwarf, but is nonetheless different enough to feel utterly unique and so, so fresh. There are times when the freshness can be slightly jarring; while Red Dwarf has continued to produce content over the span of four decades, it’s nevertheless unusual to see references to things as modern as Google, Pokemon and vapes, or to read words like “influencer”, “BFF” and “bants” in a story set before episodes that aired in 1988. The word “smeg” is used sparingly, and even more surprisingly, we get the first ever use of the word “fuck” in an official Red Dwarf medium. And why not? Like with the continuity, there’s no reason that the precedent set by previous releases should stop Rob and Andrew from telling their story in the way they want to. Besides which, virtually every addition and embellishment made in Titan is utterly superb. While there’s no denying that the biggest selling point is having new interactions between Rimmer and Lister in their most classic of forms, one of my absolute favourite characters is a brand new one, a mechanoid named Carzon. While his function in the story is unsurprisingly similar to that of his fellow android Kryten, his personality is different enough to make him a character in his own right, and an utterly adorable one at that. Other newbies are also welcome additions to the ensemble, such as the single-minded and extremely violent security officer Byle, three-armed henchman Kapkap, and the wimpish trainee accountant Clifford Pear. The sheer number of previously unknown crew members we meet really brings pre-accident Red Dwarf to life, in a way that’s reminiscent of the early chapters of Infinity. They all seem to belong in this universe, and all serve to enrich it. But fundamentally, this is a Lister and Rimmer story, and these characters have rarely been served better since 1993. They’re just so them, even though we’re dropping in on them before all the development they’ve gone through on screen and in the previous books. Their interactions are as visceral and antagonistic as you’d expect from their pre-accident relationship, but their motivations, insecurities and suppressed emotions are made so clear to the reader that they’re just as sympathetic as the softer versions of the characters we’re most familiar with. Red Dwarf has always been a character comedy first and foremost, and that’s definitely the case here, although that’s not to say that the sci-fi plot isn’t also at the book’s core. Lister and Rimmer’s shore leave is interrupted early on by the intrusion of what’s probably intended to be the “main” Red Dwarf universe, which continues to influence events throughout. There was a risk that focussing on alternate-reality versions of our favourite characters would reduce the stakes, but it’s made clear that everything that this Rimmer and Lister do also has an impact on all other versions of the characters, no matter which medium and which writer(s) they’re from. And yes, Rob and Andrew do find a way to give Cat and Kryten a presence in the story, while Holly is also given more focus than we’re used to. All of which contributes to what is the only downside of Titan, which is that it’s most likely to be a one-off. After four hundred pages, you really start to care about these versions of the characters and the familiar-yet-different world they inhabit. A new status quo is reached, and it ends with what is very clearly a sequel hook which, like the one in Backwards thirty years ago, is destined to go unresolved. It feels like there’s a deliberate attempt to establish a whole new strand of Red Dwarf – the buttskiverse, if you will – which Rob could have added to for years to come. But it wasn’t to be. It’s my fond but ultimately unrealistic hope that this isn’t the end. Who knows what future plans Rob was cooking up, and whether he’d got as far as to jotting them down into a plan that could be followed. I personally would have no objections whatsoever to Andrew Marshall taking the reins and adding more work to the canon of this side-universe, but there would be many hurdles to clear before that happens. So if Red Dwarf: Titan does prove to be a one time deal, then what a gift it is. It’s exciting, funny, riveting and joyous. It’s got a case for being the best Red Dwarf work this century. Rob Grant’s existing body of work had already ensured his legacy, but Titan proves that he never lost his knack for writing these particular characters, and never lost sight of what makes Red Dwarf work, as it did without fail when he was originally involved. It seemed to come out of nowhere, three decades on from Rob’s last major contribution to the franchise, we now have a brand new sacred text that easily sits alongside its much older siblings. In a world where the prospect of new Red Dwarf on TV seems more unlikely than ever, Titan is manna from heaven. It will fuel discussion and keep this community alive for years to come, and I’m so, so grateful that we have it. Cheers, Rob. You did not let us down. Please keep the comments of this post spoiler-free for those who have not yet read the book. For discussions of the plot of Titan, please use the dedicated threads in the forum.
Totally agree on the Lister Rimmer vibe, dialogue it’s joyous and you really can so easily picture young them doing this story. Chris Barrie nailing the part of the book I listened to the end of with him completing this story.
Nice review. I agree that the newness and freshness of this book is its biggest asset – this is a brand new story in a previously-unexplored location and is full of both new characters and fresh explorations of old ones (the running subplot involving Petersen and the story thread involving Kochanski are both unexpected but satisfying ways of using these characters). The book is also very funny, with every page featuring a great gag or an amusing turn of phrase; and the plot is a real page-turner, with a sense of forward momentum that’s familiar from Rob’s previous novels. It’s not perfect – I don’t think this novel quite gets inside the characters’ heads in the way that previous Red Dwarf novels did (with the exception of a couple of short sections), it still has a feel of being adapted from a TV treatment in places, and the ending is abrupt enough that it could give Officer Rimmer a run for its money – but it’s a better slice of new Red Dwarf than I ever could have expected at this point in time.
Heartily agree with everything written here. It’s is refreshingly new and yet comfortable and recognisable at the same time. These are our characters, albeit a fresh take in a slightly different setting. But it all works and works so well. I’m really looking forward to discussions over the next days, weeks, months, because I really believe eventually we’ll have analysed every line of every page but to me every single line has some brilliances to it. It’s either pushing the story forward continuously without lose of momentum or it’s very very funny. And it is all dripping with lots of meaning and a heap of new questions well now never have answers to > It’s got a case for being the best Red Dwarf work this century I’ve really enjoyed Doug’s Dwarf, but I think this statement might be true. Because of all of the above.
I don’t know, I enjoyed it and it is certainly a refreshing and new take on Red Dwarf but, if I could only have one, I think I’d take Dave-era Dwarf over this book.
The book definitely has the benefit of more time and exposition. I’d say it’s something the Dave era needed. But then The Promise Land was 2 hours… so maybe that wasn’t the issue there.
I have absolute respect for him, but I don’t think it’s unfair to admit that a certain level of “clumsiness” is just inherent in a Doug Naylor-only script. Perhaps clumsiness is a bad word, but he places less priority on coherence than Rob did. The setup always exists just as a vessel to transition from one skit idea to the next. Even in VII, which is the least comedic of Doug’s seasons. The fact that he took a skit written for Officer Rimmer (“promoting you to technician 2.5”) and happily transplanted it somewhere else when it suited him should offer some insight into how he constructs his scripts.
Gazpacho Soup has emerged from the stasis booth to post their Titan review: https://gazpacho-soup.com/2026/07/16/red-dwarf-titan-review/ Heads up, it’s spoilery – so don’t click unless you’ve read the book, or listened to it.
I had a lot of fun with this book, even if it was just the audio experience due to being an American and taking what I could get. I’d go so far as to say it was better than either solo Dwarf novel, but I would place Titan beneath both Infinity and BTL. There’s a lot of great character moments, extremely funny lines of dialogue, great ideas and worldbuilding, but its overall really scattershot, not everything ties together, and the baked-in confidence it has that it will have future installments to succeed it ends up being its biggest enemy in many ways. Still, happy to have gotten it than never at all.
Gazpacho Soup has emerged from the stasis booth to post their Titan review: https://gazpacho-soup.com/2026/07/16/red-dwarf-titan-review/ Heads up, it’s spoilery – so don’t click unless you’ve read the book, or listened to it. ‘Oo woke ‘im up?
It’s so so so good and I am upset we won’t get any more. I like Doug Dwarf a lot, but I have to be honest, there hasn’t been Red Dwarf like this for 30 years
Somehow managed to get the audiobook off Amazon (via audible) for £3.47. It was showing as 81% off. Have I managed to benefit from some temporary glitch!? Definitely no credit used
Somehow managed to get the audiobook off Amazon (via audible) for £3.47. It was showing as 81% off. Have I managed to benefit from some temporary glitch!? Definitely no credit used Ahh.. I’d already bought the kindle version. The audiobook is then heavily discounted.
I’m really curious what kind of internal rights issues prevents the book from being sold to the States digitally (or elsewhere? I think its only being sold to those living in the UK), either as an ebook or audio. It can’t be an intentional decision because that’s a lot of money being turned away. If that guy who was on the inside when the book was being written and came to the forum recently might know, I’d love to hear it.
I’m really curious what kind of internal rights issues prevents the book from being sold to the States digitally (or elsewhere? I think it’s only being sold to those living in the UK), either as an ebook or audio. It can’t be an intentional decision because that’s a lot of money being turned away. If that guy who was on the inside when the book was being written and came to the forum recently might know, I’d love to hear it It won’t be internal rights issues, it’ll be boring local publishing. This may not be 100% accurate but my understanding is publishing of anything is done by territory, and requires publishers in each territory to get on board. Even digital material. It requires the UK publisher to find a US or other territory publisher to work with. Mostly so that publisher can navigate whatever laws are in place for publishing and sales in that territory, and then to collect and account for the sales and adhere to local tax regs etc Its all very mundane stuff.
Thats a massive discount for a new book. Amazon heavily undercut the competition, often at the expense of the creators and publishers, to maintain market dominance
Thats a massive discount for a new book. Amazon heavily undercut the competition, often at the expense of the creators and publishers, to maintain market dominance Yeah, an indy bookshop opened in my town last year and the owner was telling me how Amazon can afford their massive discounts on books and it was really depressing. I’m intending to ditch my Kindle for an e-reader alternative as soon as I can. (I read too many a year to afford to buy them all as physical books)
despite giving it to me a week early on request, my local Waterstones does seem to have not have any copies out on the shelf yet, either in new releases or sci fi.
Weirdly, I noticed when I went in the other day that they haven’t replaced the copy I purchased so it didn’t appear to be on the shelves anymore (this was before release date). I wonder if it going through the tills pops up an alert to tell the staff off or something.
I read the whole book in a day which must be a decent sign. I really hope it is a successful ebook that means the original books also arrive as ebooks one day. IWCD in particular is so good that this never stood a chance if compared to it but it’s good fun and definitely has some feeling of Red Dwarf about it.
Finished my copy today and I don’t know how to feel about it. There’s a huge melancholy for me with it, obviously due to Rob’s passing and all that that entails, but also just a… I dunno… Just a sense of how ‘lightning in a bottle’ the Grant Naylor era feels now. It shines a spotlight on the creators solo efforts just as much as Last Human and the Dave era shows do. I find myself, no matter how much I enjoy what I’m watching/reading, wondering what could have been. There’s some great imagery in Titan. There’s some great lines in Titan. The villain and the circumstance leading up to the story was great lore building, and very meta if you know your Dwarf, but done very well. There was also a lot of poor overly-described insults. There were small bits of absolutely cringe fan service. It’s a very different beast to the other novels, and different to Backwards too. I’m glad it exists, and I’m glad it’s being reviewed well and folks are liking it. I wanted to like it much more than I did.
There was also a lot of poor overly-described insults. There were small bits of absolutely cringe fan service. It’s a very different beast to the other novels, and different to Backwards too. I’m glad it exists, and I’m glad it’s being reviewed well and folks are liking it. I wanted to like it much more than I did. Yeah, I think I might agree with this. I’ll be glad to have a physical copy though, look over a few things I might have missed while I was just listening.
There was also a lot of poor overly-described insults. I’m still really enjoying the book but this is the one thing that’s letting it down a bit for me. Of course you want pre-accident Lister and Rimmer to have an antagonistic relationship, but here it seems kinda one-note at times, with the pair of them trading overly florid insults to the point where it gets a little tiresome tbh. There’s some cracking dialogue and some really funny bon mots, but I think it needed dialling down.
Although I do enjoy Titan more than Backwards, the dialogue felt much more natural there than here. Might be a consequence of not having written for these characters in a long time you end up accentuating their characteristics from what you remember.
A really nice review which I waited until I’d finished the book to read. I agree with many of the comments made. There are a huge number of positives to the book and, as it is around 400 pages, there are enough ideas to hypothetically fill 1 or maybe even 2 series of the show. I have to say that due to Rob’s passing and some personal struggles, there were certainly chunks of it that I didn’t enjoy reading. I may well get more out of it when I read it again or listen to the audiobook.
it’s hard to picture either Clare or Chloe as you read I see C.P. I’m getting vivid mental images through the whole thing, actually. I can see the show. But I think novel is best. It’s got a case for being the best Red Dwarf work this century. Definitely a strong case. But I’ve not finished it yet, and The Promised Land would be the other heavyweight contender.
Welp, finally finished it. It’s good. It doesn’t feel as deep as any of the other four, but that hardly matters. Most of the criticisms are superficial and already mentioned: a few too many cute references (including one particular name that I really wish hadn’t come up – since 1992, in fact – although it turned out harmless), increasingly strained one-liners, mostly (but not exclusively) from Rimmer – Blackadder similes that even Blackadder was stretching for by the end, alliterative allusions that aren’t funny or believable as words anyone would say, even Rimmer. And it has third act problems (or maybe fourth – I think it might have four acts). Most notable of which is the fact that it contains no ending. I can forgive that to an extent, because it was clearly intended to kick off a whole new series – and one which I would have loved – but that being the case, it was a really stupid idea to drop dead before the first book even came out. Cuh. BUT it’s funny, tightly plotted, and funny. And also funny, which forgives a lot.
While I think about it… I’m not saying buy the Sunday times this week, but if you did, you might enjoy the hardback fiction bestseller charts. (Honestly, don’t buy it just for that) audio should be available in the us now, although it might possibly take a day or two more to feed through. Ebook should follow next week or so I hope. Physical will probably wait for the paperback. There *may* be some smeg ups from the recording. (There are). Will work out how to get those to you but may save them for the paperback. I’ll be at the Birmingham signing if anyone wants to say hello. Honestly absolutely thrilled by the response, and obviously devastated that Rob isn’t here to see it. But his family, and of course Andy, are seeing all of the love.
Best Red Dwarf of the 21st Century? Absolutely. Maybe it’s the recency bias, but I’ve read it twice now and am halfway through the audio. I might be inclined to just say Best Red Dwarf with no caveats. It’s magnificent.
Just noticed that both Titan and Quanderhorn are not exportable on Google Play. They are both on Libro.fm so at least that’s an option for DRM-free downloads but it further raises why they disabled the export option on Google. Most audiobooks I’ve looked up there allow exporting.
I’m 60 pages in and genuinely loving it. Honestly, I’m surprised. I was braced to say “it’s good but not really what I wanted” or something along those lines. Frankly, it’s awesome. To me, the tone and setting and voice are exactly what I wanted. Some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and great world building. Time to get on with it then.
First Goodreads ratings are in. Here’s the Rob and Doug Top 10 charts as of a week after publication date: 1. Sin Bin Island: 4.27/5 and 30 ratings. 2. Better Than Life: 4.09/5 and 13k ratings 3. Infinity Welcomes: 4.08/5 and 29k ratings 4. Backwards: 3.98/5 and 10k ratings 5. Titan: 3.89/5 and 39 ratings 6. Last Human: 3.86/5 and 8k ratings. 7. Incompetence: 3.78/5 and 2k ratings 8. Fat: 3.68/5 and 1k ratings 9. Colony: 3.64/5 and 1k ratings 10. The Quanderhorn Xperimentations: 3.38/5 and 126 ratings Probably need to create some sort of Rate Your Music algorithm for those couple of books with really low rating numbers…!
I realize the older books have been around to rate for longer but it kinda seems like no one rates on Goodreads anymore. Or nobody reads.
I’m 60 pages in and genuinely loving it. Honestly, I’m surprised. I was braced to say “it’s good but not really what I wanted” or something along those lines. Frankly, it’s awesome. To me, the tone and setting and voice are exactly what I wanted. Some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and great world building. Time to get on with it then. Update. I’m now 210 pages into it and, while my feelings about the book remain largely positive, there’s been some remarkably weak and lazy stuff in the jokes department. :(
shout out to the audiobook commentor who said “Great impressions The reader does great impressions of all the main characters, but his Rimmer is absolutely spot on.” 100% agree with him. (Spotted by a Discord regular who isn’t on the forums)
Just finished listening to the audiobook today after taking my good time with it, and overall I really enjoyed it. The characterisation was solid, there were lots of great ideas and lines, giving Kochanski a decent amount to do was refreshing, and Chris Barrie mostly nailed the performance of it. That said, it was unfortunately far from perfect. It had a weird pacing issue for me, where there was rarely an individual part which lacked the proper momentum, but taken as a whole, the actual main plot progressed pretty slowly, so it still dragged in a fair few places. There was a movie’s worth of plot, but – at Chris Barrie narration pace – it took the equivalent of 22 regular episodes to get through. I know a lot of that is just due to the medium, but the balance was still a bit off. Echoing Kris Carter’s comments, I did also feel like a lot of the banter/reciprocal insults were there by obligation and not because they naturally fit, like there was some kind of quota they were trying to reach. It was a bizarre experience emotionally, because I was always enjoying it, but I couldn’t not think about how good it would have been to have Grant and Marshall writing a proper Red Dwarf book, and yearn for that project over this one. Because as cool and interesting as the alternate universe pre-accident setting is, it feels ancillary to what Red Dwarf is: an episodic sitcom about an unlikely group of people stuck together in deep space. That’s what I’m here for, and that’s why I’ve always preferred the TV show to any of the novels, but the previous 3 Rob Grant Dwarf novels were at least mostly episodic and mostly post-accident; Titan, in that respect, may be the least Red Dwarf-y Red Dwarf story yet. And the way they contrive to kind of include The Cat and Kryten anyway in spite of the setting just makes it more frustrating that they didn’t – or couldn’t – just do a normal Red Dwarf story. Maybe that was a stipulation of the legal agreement between Naylor and Grant, but if so it was a stupid stipulation and they should not have made it. When all is said and done, I’ll give it a Better Than Last Human/10! And I look forward to revisiting it with the physical book, or if I’m in the mood to re-experience just 1 Red Dwarf story, and have a spare
I have been wondering how much my mixed feelings about the book are to do with the fact I just wasn’t that interested in the premise even when it was announced.
I’m still very slowly making my way through the book and while I am enjoying listening, I can’t help but think of when I first got my hands on Infinity as a 12 year old and was so excited to read it I plowed through it within 2 days. I just don’t feel the same spark.
Titan reflects its origin as a TV pilot. It’s lightweight, very digestible and concise. It’s meant to attract a new audience. The other books Rob contributed to all felt like they were aiming for something deeper, some sort of message at the end of the story. For Infinity, it was the way Lister kept going further and further away from home until he settled for a dream. For Better than Life, it’s the breakthrough in Lister and Rimmer’s friendship, both coming through for the other. For Backwards, it’s Rimmer’s redemption arc and Lister finally getting back to a version of Red Dwarf (“close enough”). I don’t think there’s anything remotely as deep in Titan, but at the same time, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I can see myself reading this more often than the others precisely because it’s so… idk, Roger Moore? It’s fun and it moves along.
I have been wondering how much my mixed feelings about the book are to do with the fact I just wasn’t that interested in the premise even when it was announced. The actual plot was less interesting to me than just having some fun in a Red Dwarf setting, from a new but authentic gestalt voice. All the world-building in the novel and promos make it feel like a rich RPG world where they can explore new dark avenues every time I read it again. Then I remember it’s a conventional novel and it’ll always be the same.
I’m still very slowly making my way through the book and while I am enjoying listening, I can’t help but think of when I first got my hands on Infinity as a 12 year old and was so excited to read it I plowed through it within 2 days. I just don’t feel the same spark. I know you don’t necessarily have the choice, but I think that if you had a physical copy (or e-book) to read, you’d be plowing through it just the same. My copy arrived on a Friday lunchtime, while I was working, and yet I’d finished it by around the same time on the Saturday. It’s a lot harder to do that when it’s something you have to concentrate on listening to, at least for me, whose reading pace is considerably quicker than Chris Barrie’s talking pace.
I know you don’t necessarily have the choice, but I think that if you had a physical copy (or e-book) to read, you’d be plowing through it just the same. My copy arrived on a Friday lunchtime, while I was working, and yet I’d finished it by around the same time on the Saturday. It’s a lot harder to do that when it’s something you have to concentrate on listening to, at least for me, whose reading pace is considerably quicker than Chris Barrie’s talking pace. Same for me. It was a real page-turner and I finished it in a couple of days.
Yeah I flew through the book, I was booked on everyone Maybe it’s because I’ve already read it, but I’m struggling to engage with the audio book. And this is the problem I have with audio books in general. Music and podcasts can be quite passive, but audio book you have to focus on and I’m just not in an environment usually where I want to do that.
I can’t get through a single audiobook. Audio dramas and hour-long audio adventures with sound effects and whatnot, yes. But not just listening to someone read. I will always stick with physical copies.
I find nonfiction works best with audiobooks. Listening to an autobiography being read by the author feels like what it’s made for, really and I find I can zone in and out of it without losing the thread which you can’t really do with fiction. But I also quite enjoy listening to the audiobook whilst reading the text, which is what I’ll probably do with this one.
I don’t feel I need the audiobook as its own experience, but if it ends up on YouTube eventually and I’m due a re-read, I’d go with it.
I had to go with the audiobook too, as I was waiting for my physical copy to arrive, and because I’m such a fast reader (I’d reread Infinity, BTL and Backwards in the couple of weeks leading up to the release of Titan; while I’d lazily made my way through Infinity a few pages every – or maybe even every other – day over a week or so, I reread BTL in a couple of days, and whizzed through Backwards in less than 24 hours), I found that I felt it dragging a lot, which just makes listening a chore. In fact, I think I may have zoned out a bit during Part Four, so I’m looking forward to having a proper reread of that myself (I’m giving myself a few days grace before diving immediately back in).
I don’t think it dragged at all, it’s really fast paced and almost gives you whiplash. But the lack of a really core story feeding through it all is probably what makes it feel like it’s not moving. There are events that inform the actions of Lister, Rimmer and Kochanski, but they are just bouncing from page to page without really having agency in their own story and by the end, other than *that* reveal, not a huge amount has really changed and the central plot is really just a device that trigger events. Much like them we’re really none the wiser as to whats supposedly happening in the universe. Which I think is the point and we’re probably meant to divorce ourselves from that idea but it does leave the book feeling like there’s no central structure or narrative, which I think can make it feel like it drags for some people. But equally, as some of us have said, the physical book was a real page turner. I was hooked on every line. I can’t say that for the audio experience.
The first half was a page turner. I started to feel the second half dragged. I’m looking forward to experiencing it again with the audiobook though to find out if that was just me or the book.
I’m still very slowly making my way through the book and while I am enjoying listening, I can’t help but think of when I first got my hands on Infinity as a 12 year old and was so excited to read it I plowed through it within 2 days. I just don’t feel the same spark. Agreed. I had to actively make time to settle down and read this, rather than picking it up whenever I had a spare 30 seconds and forgetting what else I was meant to do. I only finished it yesterday because I was at a polling station for an election, turnout was low and I didn’t want to just be doomscrolling all day!
