In a futuristic world, death is no longer a problem due to 'nanites' that can repair and restore your body and if you do meet with a fatal accident, allow you to be recloned complete with memories and feelings. Nanites also let you colour and 'theme' your world the way you want with architecture, design and music to your taste. When Holly Winseed wakes in a hospital she's told that she is a modified clone with a limited life span of four days, made solely for the purpose of finding and killing her original who has murdered her husband Jonathan.

Sanderson and Kowal's future world is both fascinating and scary. It raises questions of identity, morality and individuality with those choosing to opt out of using nanites known as check-outs. This audiobook only publication is the length of a novella and the world building was skillfully done for such a short piece and I could imagine it working well in a longer book. For me the plot was not as strong but was well written and produced. A background of music and sounds adding to the atmosphere and tension when required. Initially I found the sound track distracting but it did work well in some parts of the story. Julia Whelan's narration was also well done, particularly with her voicing Holly's puzzlement and loss over the death of her husband.

I really enjoyed this story. I felt Sanderson's touch in the world building and the themes of the characters, which was crafted very well.

It was such an interesting and different take on clones. I was more interested in learning about the clone culture more so than the mystery, but I have to say the ending was extremely clever and made me want to re-read the book immediately, which is always a great sign.

I do wish more of the characters were developed other than the main character. I wouldn't mind if this would be a series because I feel there is so much left to be explored in this world, another good thing.

This is a fantastic sci-fi novella. I very much enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Very well done. and I think the narrating was very well done as well

The Original is an audio-first story from Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal. I received a review copy through NetGalley. I’ve read some of Sanderson’s previous work but it was my first exposure to Kowal. The Original is a near future sci-fi story where humans have developed cloning technology. If they can afford, people can pay to have a clone set up for if they die. Weekly appointments to back up all memories assure that the clone will be able to mostly pick up right where the authentic article left off. The Original focuses on a woman named Holly whose life is turned upside down when she awakens as what’s known as a replica. This special kind of clone is created only when the original human has broken the law and is on the run, with the express purpose of hunting down those they were created from.

Cloning in science fiction is a trope nearly as old as the genre itself. What I appreciated about The Original is that it didn’t fall into the same trap most plots based on cloning do. Rather than treat the cloning revelation as a big plot twist, the authors build a world where it’s well understood that clones are real and what their function in society is. Clones know that they’re clones and other people know when someone is now a clone and not their original body. This lets the authors explore the relationship that the replica Holly has with her original self. The actions that have led to replica Holly’s creation seem wildly out of character to herself and the tension built in our main character’s investigation and slow understanding of what happened to fill in the gaps in her memory was effectively pulled off. It didn’t feel like the same-old stale cloning story that’s been done one hundred times before.

The Original also touches on other near future technology that one can imagine actually existing. The book reads a bit like an episode of the Black Mirror in it’s ability to portray technological advancements in a more sinister light. In addition to cloning, one of the prominent themes of the book is the damage that virtual and augmented reality may have on human society. It’s not hard to imagine the world that’s been built by Sanderson and Kowal as one of the likely directions society would head with more integration with reality warping technology.

This is a short audiobook. It clocks in at about three and a half hours. I actually like the model of putting out novellas and short audio originals in-between longer books for science fiction authors. Martha Wells, John Scalzi, and now Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal have made good use of the format. There’s plenty of room to tell a complete and satisfying story without turning the book into a full-blown sci-fi epic. The Original was a good example of that short-story focused storytelling. The production is top-notch. There’s a soundtrack but it’s never over-done. Julia Whelan is the narrator and she’s one of the best in the audiobook narration game.

I enjoyed The Original’s take on technology, its bite size manner, and the high-quality production of the audiobook. The ending is satisfying, but leaves just enough wiggle room that I can imagine there being another entry. If that’s the case, I’d look forward to reading it. I hope in the future that authors will be as willing as Sanderson and Kowal to try this different publication model.

For my full thoughts, see my September 18th, 2020 Friday Reads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na53OuwonYs&ab_channel=Josh%27sBookishVoyage

This is was an easy and fun story. It was creative and exactly what I was looking for at the moment. This follows a women who wakes to find shes been cloned and tasked with finding her original self so that she can be brought to justice for a crime she committed.

This is a futuristic world where people have nanites to keep them young and healthy, but they also help store your memories. In the event of death, people can be brought back.

The story uses our main protagonist as a means to explore the morality and logistics of this type of utopia (or dystopia), and that is really where it shines. MRK and Sanderson do an excellent job creating an exciting book with a fascinating conversation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Wow. This story was so interesting! Not like anyone is surprised, considering Sanderson helped create this novella. But it was so good! I will be keeping my eye out for any of Mary Robinette Kowal published works. Who knows, she might be a new auto-buy author.
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The audiobook is immaculate!! There are sound effects, recordings, music... literally all the works. I don’t know if I could handle such a production for a normal 13 hour audiobook, but it really worked for this short 3 hour story. Also, the narrator *chef’s kiss* was fantastic.
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I feel like I could easily share spoilers if I describe the plot, so I will keep it simple. Sci-fi novella exploring the definition of humanity, second chances, dependability on technology, and choosing to be willfully ignorant of the world around you... if this sounds even slightly interesting you should consider picking this book up. You could read it in one sitting! Treat yo self!
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Thank you NetGally and Recorded Books for providing me with an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review. Published September 14th, 2020.
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I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley.

This was fun. I've been a fan of Brandon Sanderson for years, though I'd never read anything by Mary Robinette Kowal. As a collaboration, this was great..

In a not-too-distant future, we follow the story of a recently revived Holly. She can't remember what happened, but soon learns that she was a clone. Her Original apparently murdered her husband, and the authorities wanted Holly to track down her Original to bring her to justice. By justice I mean kill her. Holly's reward would be then to replace her Original and settle back into "normal" life.

As expected, this is a grand adventure as Holly pieces together clues and uses her personal enhancements to survive and learn the details of this strange case. Of course, it's not all in black and white....

Oh, I almost forgot to mention it, but I loved the narrator. Julia Whelan had the perfect voice and narration for Holly, really keeping me engaged.

The Original had a really interesting concept but I did not stay engaged like I wish I could have. The narrator was amazing and Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors but I wasn't invested in the story. This might have been because it was so short and I am used to longer books.

I'm typically not a big fan of dramatized audio productions because I find them a bit distracting, but this one was phenomenal. I highly recommend this audio for the quality production alone.
The story was fast paced and very compelling. I was hooked from chapter one. Since the audiobook is only about 3 hours long, I would suggest going into it blind and just enjoying the ride. I would recommend it to everybody, even those who aren't into sci-fi.

I eat up anything that Brandson Sanderson write and this was no different. My expectation were very high for this Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal collab and this reached every one of them. I went into this book blindly putting all my faith in Sanderson and this did not fail me. I love the twist this did on the whole AI/cloning concept. So original and so refreshing! I loved how it explored the validity of a clone and the inner conflict which arose from it. A great addition to the sci fi genre. I highly recommend this!

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

Fast paced sci- fi thriller that begins with the protagonist Holly awakening in the hospital to discover that she is now a clone Of herself and tasked with the job of hunting down her original. Her original has been charged with murdering her husband and Holly has four days to find her and kill her. If she doesn’t she will be destroyed. This is a fast moving narrative with solid world - building at its core, but the very abrupt ending left me wanting more.

A short tale about morality, identity and reality.
I admire when authors co-write books. I'm always here for it, and I would love to see it happen more often. In this case, Brandon Sanderson, an old favourite, joined Mary Robinette Kowal, a new to me author. I'm adding her book, The Calculating Stars, to my TBR right now.
The audiobook felt flawlessly designed, various sounds and music playing in the background, creating an ambience that didn't intrude with the narration. The Original follows the Provisional Replica of Holly, created with the sole purpose of hunting down her Original. I liked 'fake' Holly as a character a lot, but I understand that it could be tiring to follow her around 24/7 for three days.
The plot reminded me somewhat of Altered Carbon, but everything else was so different. We discover a unique and intricate technology called nanites. These injectable things can stop ageing and disease, as well as completely customizing yourself and those around you. This last concept was brilliant. People were able to choose a theme to shape their surroundings. You could see both authors went through a lot of research to create and develop this world, and I appreciate that immensely.
It was short, slightly longer than three hours, which I savoured. Every minute mattered. The only thing off was the pacing, lightly disparate. And fighting scenes happened so quickly I got lost and had to listen again slowlier. But I would recommend if you are a Sci-Fi fan.

I’m going to be honest: I didn’t listen to this book. I realized after I got it that the author is a homophobe, and I have no interest in reading/reviewing/recommending it.

Overall, this was a solid, if not predictable, scifi thriller with a good balance of intrigue and action. Personally, I thought the premise felt a bit unbelievable, but it was easy enough to go along for the ride.

While I love Sanderson's fantasy stories, I tend to find his science fiction a bit lackluster. I find his scifi concepts tend to be a little cliche, failing to bring any new ideas to the genre. Yet, in terms of science fiction, this one was very accessible. The technology described (like "theming") was very easy to understand.

Overall, this was a quick read with a fast moving narrative. I would recommend it to readers looking for a light, escapist scifi thriller.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

The Original is a fun, fast-paced sci-fi thriller that makes fantastic use of the audio format. (sound effects and music when appropriate give this an immersive feel) A woman wakes up to find she is a cloned version of herself. Created because she killed her husband, she is tasked with tracking down and executing her Original. It's not a long story, but one that kept me engrossed throughout. The pace moves along at a good speed and there are many questions to be answered, but all from within this fascinating future world where what's real and what isn't can be unclear, humanity faces new challenges from lack of risk, and ephemerality is valued as an art form. (i.e the profession of the MC was to carve oranges into artistic forms). For how short the book is, there's a lot of solid world-building and I think this was a cool collaboration. I would love to see more stories in this world! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Original is a novella length sci-fi novel, available exclusively as an audiobook. It is set in a futuristic world and follows a woman named Holly who discovers that she is a clone created to kill her 'original'. The original Holly has been accused of killing her husband, but nothing is certain in this world built on appearances and 'theming'. Holly has four days to prove innocence, or kill her original and take her place.

I love audiobooks, but I was daunted by this one because of the genre. I typically prefer to read SFF books physically, as it helps me to grasp the world and all its details more easily. With these kinds of books, listening passively for just 30 seconds can really pull me out of the story and make me lose my bearings. This proved to be the case with this book, but not to as a great an extent as I had feared. I feel like I definitely missed some details and would perhaps benefit from a second listening. However, I think this audiobook was perfectly produced. Julia Wheelan expertly narrated the story and I realise appreciated the sound effects and music throughout. They weren't too loud that it drowned out the narrator, and they added tension and suspense to the storyline.

I really enjoyed the themes explored in the book: reality, identity and morality. While pretty typical for sci-fi, the production, plot and short length made it feel refreshed and compelling. It was easy to get hooked into the story from the get go, and made for a really immersive experience.

However, the short run time was also a factor in why I didn't absolutely love the book. I felt like we didn't get enough time to fully flesh out the characters and the world, and would have preferred to take a little more time to do so. But as complaints go, wanting more isn't the worst thing in the world and is probably a side effect of me being used to full lengths novels. I don't think this is the type of book that I will find myself thinking about for years to come, but that's okay! I think it is just important to set your expectations right before starting it.

I appreciated the ending, and think it was probably the best way to go- but I still didn't feel completely satisfied. If you prefer your mysteries completely wrapped up and explained, maybe give this one a miss.

Overall, I found The Original to be a fast paced, quick and immersive experience. If it is available to you and the premise sounds intriguing- I would give it a go! If worst comes to worst, it is only a few hours of your time.

★★★☆☆.5 stars

Thank you to RB Media for this ALC

Release Date: 14 September 2020

This was a super-creative, interesting Sci Fi Thriller from two of my favorite authors. The world was fascinating, and I was definitely entertained the whole time. 4/5 stars because I almost felt like it was too short (and because I have SUCH high expectations for both authors). Highly recommend though!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced audio book and to RB media!

This was such a fun, short ride! I actually wasn't expecting that ending at all. This was such a unique concept. I found myself literally doing nothing else while listening to this, which thankfully was fine since I listened to this book in less than 2 hours.

There is cloning basically in this world, and the chance to always be young and live for a long time. With that said, they also keep your memories for when you "die" so they can put that in a new body for you. They ALSO will send a clone after you if you commit a crime and need to be taken down. Yes, you would be killing yourself. How weird and freaky is that? So when Holly finds out she has to go after herself and she has 4 days to do it, she doesn't have much of a choice but to do it.

I loved the music that was with this audiobook. It kind of helped the crazy parts be more crazy, and the suspense to be more intense... I just loved it. The narrator was fantastic too!

Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal make a fantastic team!

Huge thanks to Netgalley & RB Media for the opportunity to give this a listen. The Original by Brandon Sanderson & Mary Robinette Kowal was such an interesting concept and I fully enjoyed this quick read.

4 stars for me

While the ending did feel a bit rushed, I did enjoy this story. Read the audiobook in 1.5 hours (thanks 2x listening speed) and found myself so engrossed into the story, I didn’t do anything except listen.

The entire concept as I said is an interesting one. A futuristic world where nanite technology has taken over. Holly, a clone is woken up to discover she must kill her original for committing a crime. The book spans over 4 days as we follow Holly on her mission.

The audiobook itself was fantastic, the narrator was good! There were some sound effects and music which only increased my enjoyment! It made me feel like I was really there in the story.

If you enjoy quick reads & action, then definitely pick this one up. Brandon Sanderson & Mary Robinette Kowal don’t disappoint.

The Original is a short audiobook set in a futuristic world where everyone is filled with tech that allows them to see the world how they want to, but it all comes at a price. The story follows Holly, who wakes up as a copy of herself, learning that her "original" self committed a terrible crime - and she now has a court order to track down her original and make her pay for her crimes. In exchange, this new copy of her, with altered abilities and memory, will be able to continue living her life.

I really liked the concept of this book and the world building that they did in such a short amount of time. The story itself kept me guessing up until the end, and they did a great job packing a lot of action into this story. I'd love to see them write another book set in this future landscape. The narration was also done very well.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.