Ok, I loved this... But then that was a given really.
I've loved Brin's writing ever since I first read The Postman, and consider him pretty much my favourite SF writer of the eighties (River Of Time is stompingly good - on mention of which, if he ever offers EP rights to "Thor meets Captain America" please buy it.. Buy it right NOW!). Card is fantastic, but Brin pips him on sanity grounds.
So when I first guessed that EP was going to get a Brin (I believe there was a hint way back in October that "A major 4 letter name eighties writer is on the cards") I've been looking forward to this. And finally she comes.
I can immediately see why you bought it. I mean, this story rocks and its got a good concept that works well. But it isn't an easy audio experience either. By EP standards this piece is LONG, and the chapter structure breaks up the arcing in a way that doesn't work too well in a one listen experience. The exposition scene between the two main characters really drags in audio (on mention of which, as a man who considers The West End my second home and loved all that local regional geography thrown in, please pronounce Leicester Square as Lesster Square) but its fascinating and absolutely essential... Its just a lot of content for audio, where you expect the punch now, rather than a novella which can get away with really going in to some of its themes. This isn't to say Sullydog didn't do a good job, he really did... But exposition is so much harder to pull off in audio.
Anyway, enough about that because I think its strengths outweigh its audio weaknesses. The plot is fantastic, and I spent the whole story trying to spot when he got infected, but I am still unsure whether he was, and I for one enjoyed the conclusion... But yes, unless you read it as "his life after being deliberately infected by less" its a difficult one to maintain interest with. I personally like a good anti-hero narrator so I can cope with the other reading too.
But yeah.. Fantastic.. I'll keep throwing enthusiasm at it...
More Brin!