Civilizations

A Novel

De: Laurent Binet, Sam Taylor - translator

Narrado por: Gary Tiedemann

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them....

Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Tainos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken.

Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe. What does he find? The Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation, capitalism, the miracle of the printing press, endless warmongering between the ruling monarchies, and constant threat from the Turks. But most of all, downtrodden populations ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquiring power - Machiavelli's The Prince. It turns out he is very good at it. So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and for a great war that will change history forever.

Laurent Binet's Civilizations is a wildly entertaining counterfactual novel from one of Europe's most exciting writers, about the modern world, colonization, empire, and the eternal human quest for domination.

©2019 Editions Grasset et Fasquelle; Translation copyright 2021 by Sam Taylor (P)2021 Tantor

Fun but kinda hops around

Lighter than Binet's HHhH, a fun pastiche of Conquest narratives where the Incas invade Europe. Kind of just cuts off at the ending but otherwise it is an enjoyable reworking of Early Modern history. narration leaves something to be desired, pronunciation sometimes bizarrely flubbed though at least consistently so.

A BRILLIANT BLEND OF HISTORY AND FICTION

The narration was excellent. Lively. The story was chocked full of historical fiction and detail. It compelled one to continue listening.

A unique and fascinating counter factual history

Kaleidoscopic, dramatic, humorous and endlessly entertaining, Civilizations is populated by characters familiar and strange in situations that turn history on its head. Strongly recommended!

a pleasure for the historically minded

I love this whack ass book. My colleague recommended it to me when I was looking for a book that was “a romp”. It is 1000 percent a romp. You’ll be amused by what happens to Luther. A pleasure for the historically minded and nice short chapters for before bed listening.

Fascinating story

Terrific listen. I enjoyed the mixing of fact and fiction into one compelling narrative. The story let’s the mind wander and think “what if…???” My heart broke when it ended.

Why the Cervantes turn?

interesting use of historical figures and events to tell a new story. Out of the blue comes a more personal perspective in Cervantes, as if the author got bored and realized he had wanted to write a different story. Also, too much reliance on third person narrator.

Too Much Religion

This read like someone just wanted to do a thought experiment with a bunch of world religions and there was no consistent plot to follow. There was one section with about a hundred different rules that were read individually, and the end just ended with nothing being wrapped up or expounded upon into our present day. I don't know what this was, but it was not a novel.