MaddAddam

A Novel

By: Margaret Atwood

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne, Bob Walter, Robbie Daymond

Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Science Fiction, 2014

A New York Times Notable Book

A Washington Post Notable Book

A Best Book of the Year: The Guardian, NPR, The Christian Science Monitor, The Globe and Mail

A GoodReads Reader's Choice

Bringing together Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood, this thrilling conclusion to Margaret Atwood's speculative fiction trilogy points toward the ultimate endurance of community, and love.

Months after the Waterless Flood pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, Toby and Ren have rescued their friend Amanda from the vicious Painballers. They return to the MaddAddamite cob house, newly fortified against man and giant pigoon alike. Accompanying them are the Crakers, the gentle, quasi-human species engineered by the brilliant but deceased Crake. Their reluctant prophet, Snowman-the-Jimmy, is recovering from a debilitating fever, so it's left to Toby to preach the Craker theology, with Crake as Creator. She must also deal with cultural misunderstandings, terrible coffee, and her jealousy over her lover, Zeb.

Zeb has been searching for Adam One, founder of the God's Gardeners, the pacifist green religion from which Zeb broke years ago to lead the MaddAddamites in active resistance against the destructive CorpSeCorps. But now, under threat of a Painballer attack, the MaddAddamites must fight back with the aid of their newfound allies, some of whom have four trotters. At the center of MaddAddam is the story of Zeb's dark and twisted past, which contains a lost brother, a hidden murder, a bear, and a bizarre act of revenge.

Combining adventure, humor, romance, superb storytelling, and an imagination at once dazzlingly inventive and grounded in a recognizable world, MaddAddam is vintage Margaret Atwood - a moving and dramatic conclusion to her internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy.

©2013 Margaret Atwood (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"The final entry in Atwood’s brilliant MaddAddam trilogy roils with spectacular and furious satire.... Her vision is as affirming as it is cautionary, and the conclusion of this remarkable trilogy leaves us not with a sense of despair at mankind’s failings but with a sense of awe at humanity’s barely explored potential to evolve." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Ten years after Oryx & Crake rocked readers the world over, Atwood brings her cunning, impish, and bracing speculative trilogy - following The Year of the Flood - to a gritty, stirring, and resonant conclusion.... Atwood is ascendant, from her resilient characters to the feverishly suspenseful plot involving battles, spying, cyberhacking, murder, and sexual tension.... The coruscating finale in an ingenious, cautionary trilogy of hubris, fortitude, wisdom, love, and life’s grand obstinacy." ( Booklist)

The final battle - maybe

This is the third book in the Maddaddam Trilogy.

Most of this book is the backstory of the history of Zeb and Adam One, and how they came to be involved with Crake and Pilar. However, it also tells how Toby trains one of the Craker children, a little boy called Blackbeard, to write, so that he is able to take up the task of writing the history of the Maddaddamites and the Crakers. It also tells how the conflict with the Painballers is resolved. And most surprisingly, it tells how, with Blackbeard as their interpreter, the Maddaddamites and the Pigoons come to an understanding and agree to work together on the hunt for the Painballers and to cease hostilities between each other. Although some parts near the end are sad, the overall tone of the book is hopeful.

Great narration.

Pigoons!

A satisfying end to the series, even though the time-jump conclusion seemed a bit abrupt (a la GOT S8). I will miss hearing the word “Pigoons”. I will not miss hearing “Oh, Jimmy”.

The Answers Revealed

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Highly recommend this book to complete the trilogy. Is there hope for mankind; possibly.

What was one of the most memorable moments of MaddAddam?

Toby's knowledge of Zeb's survival and ability to accept Zeb and herself together finally and openly. The Craker, Blackbeard's growth into his role in the greater community was both amusing and encouraging.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story of Fuck was both entertaining and believable on some level. I will view this phrase in a much different way.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The pigoons and their request/bargain with the others to resolve the problem of the painballers offered hope for the future as two species at odds unite to overcome.

Any additional comments?

To have all three novels on Audible would be ideal. A very enjoyable and prophetic read. Perhaps one we should pay attention to as well.

Loved it!

I was apprehensive about getting the last book, because of the many disappointed reviews made. But I couldn't not finish the story and see what the author had to say about the ending of her creation, so I bit the bullet and bought it. I am not disappointed. I loved the whole series, and each one is great in its own way, even though they are a trilogy. Reading books like these makes me wish I could write, that I had been blessed as Margaret Atwood has.

Fantastic!

Another gem from Margaret Atwood! A relevant and cautionary tale for our times. 2 thumbsup!

Great book, great narrators

I enjoyed this book very much. I don’t usually like stories with weird futuristic beings, animals etc. but loved every single character from each hunan to every sci-fi subhuman. This was definitely the best of the two books that preceded it in this series. There are parts that still make me laugh when they cross my mind.
The narration was perfect. I enjoyed having different voices reading different parts/characters. I can’t wait till enough time passes so I can listen to it again.

Very enjoyable

I really enjoyed the trilogy. each of the books was different, and there were some repetitive parts in this one where it was obvious that Atwood was retelling details from the first two books. The story was really good, though, and very thought-provoking.

Wow

Anyone who negatively reviewed this series, especially this book, is soulless.
I'll spare my opinion of the first two books, but I will say that this one was a perfect ending and summary.
devastatingly well built and written.
I became painfully invested in all the characters and loved that she fit everything together from the first two books.
Honestly. just read this. it's a bit slow at some points but includes necessary details imo.

I adore this whole series.

loved it. great narration. "review requires at least 20 words". uuummmm....I'm an Atwood fan and the series is one of her best.

Strange and lovely

I thoroughly enjoyed this series. It is strange and disturbing and funny and lovely all at the same time. The readers were excellent. I would recommend this to people who enjoy a post apocalyptic theme, with quite a bit of genetic science and a little fantasy to top it off.