The Original takes place over the course of four days and revolves around the murder of a man named Jonathan Winseed by his wife Holly, who then goes on the run. It questions things like identity, what drives a person to be a killer, and what one is willing to do in order to stay alive.
The world of The Original takes place in a near future version of our current world where humans are essentially immortal. But this immortality comes at a price. It is achieved through nanotechnology that reverses aging and disease. However, the nanites that allow people to live indefinitely also make possible an all-seeing surveillance apparatus. This is tightly regulated by the government with significant emphasis on social liberty and individual privacy protections. Judicial, legislative and executive checks and balances are all in place—but nonetheless it is still a world in which the cost of immortality is the loss of personal privacy.
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“In this audio-first thriller narrated by Julia Whelan…Whelan shifts between character voices with aplomb while maintaining the fast-moving narrative. The central mystery and near-future technology capture the imagination right off the bat. Subtle sound effects heighten the tension, while tingly music underscores dramatic moments. Whelan’s performance of this sci-fi mystery is brimming with emotional voices that compel one to keep listening. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
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Brandon Sanderson is the author of such bestsellers as the Mistborn® trilogy, including New York Times bestsellers and the #1 New York Times bestseller Words of Radiance. In 2013, he won a Hugo Award for Best Novella for The Emperor’s Soul, set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time® sequence. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University.
Mary Robinette Kowal is a Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author, professional puppeteer, and former President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (2019–2021). In 2008 she won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and her debut novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, was nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novel. In 2019, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series, The Calculating Stars, won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, becoming one of only eighteen novels ever to do so. She lives in Nashville with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters. Sometimes she even writes on them.
Julia Whelan is a novelist, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and multiple award-winning audiobook narrator. She graduated with a degree in English and creative writing from Middlebury College and Oxford University. She is a former child actor who has appeared in multiple films and television shows.