Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful

By: Arwen Elys Dayton

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Karissa Vacker, Brittany Pressley, Full Cast

"An alternately charming and horrifying exploration of what it means to be human and how far we'll go in pursuit of personal and societal 'perfection.' I devoured this book." (Kiersten White, New York Times best-selling author of And I Darken)

For fans of television shows Black Mirror and Westworld, this compelling, mind-bending novel is a twisted look into the future, exploring the lengths we'll go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimen and what it means to be human at all.

The future is curious.

Stronger.

Today, our bodies define us. We color our hair; tattoo our skin; pierce our ears, brows, noses. We lift weights, run miles, break records. We are flesh and blood and bone.

Faster.

Tomorrow has different rules. The future is no longer about who we are - it's about who we want to be. If you can dream it, you can be it. Science will make us smarter, healthier, flawless in every way. Our future is boundless.

More beautiful.

This is a story that begins tomorrow. It's a story about us. It's a story about who comes after us. And it's a story about perfection. Because perfection has a way of getting ugly.

Audiobook cast of narrators:

• "Part One", read by Michael Crouch
• "Part Two", read by Karissa Vacker
• "Part Three", read by Brittany Pressley
• "Part Four", read by Christopher Gebauer
• "Part Five", read by Ari Fliakos
• "Part Six", read by Rebecca Lowman

Three starred reviews!

"A deep and suddenly necessary exploration of the beautiful and terrible futures we face. Every story leaves you desperate for more. Somehow, the further from today Dayton travels, the more real it becomes." (Hank Green, number-one New York Times best-selling author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing)

©2018 Arwen Elys Dayton (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2018

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018

“Powerful, poignant, and action-packed, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is an exciting sci-fi adventure.” (Bustle)

"Appealing to fans of Black Mirror and Westworld, it’s a thrilling read that explores an exciting and terrifying near-future." (Paste)

"Imaginative and incisive, this asks readers to ponder what makes us human and if we'll know when we've crossed the line, becoming something else." (Kirkus Reviews)

Creepy, and awesome, and clever - HIGHLY RECOMMEND

So I wasn’t sure what to expect when I downloaded this book, but man was I surprised. It is really well researched (I fact-checked quite a few things out of curiosity). Arwen Elys Dayton has a wonderfully visual style, so the story itself is very entertaining. Several days later, I am still thinking about this world she created. It’s a real place, and could be our future if we’re not careful.
It’s a good read. You won’t be disappointed.

SO CAPTIVATING! I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING!

Each character draws you deeper into the story! So amazing and really makes you think! Highly recommend listening to this, all the narrators did a fantastic job! I finished the whole audiobook in a day, it was so good!

Separate Stories that Do Not Connect

I wish I had known this book was a collection of separate and 'unfinished' stories before I began to read it. The only connection between the stories are the Modifications to human anatomy. I would have enjoyed it more if the author's note at the end of the book was placed at the beginning, instead.

6 unfinished stories.

Ayn Rand would have been proud of the slippery slope logic that drove the underlying premise of this book. The premise? Who knows really. Maybe what would happen if religious extremism was progressive.

Each tale contained in this book is unfinished, culminating in a story that has no real conclusion with a (hopefully unintentional) call for humanity to stay pure?

It’s more of a strange manifesto written in half-baked parables than anything else. All due credit for being interesting though.

This was amazing!

The book was amazing. If you like story’s of dystopian futures you will love this book. There is so much detail and it is like a movie in your head! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Interesting but a bit too open ended

6 very interesting stories that tell the tale of centuries of human craziness and what will happen to us if we are not careful. The only issue I think is with the short stories. Because it takes a little bit to get into it and get invested in the characters then I wish I would know more of what happened to them and if they turned out ok.
But overall good book

genetic mods- Medical Necessity? Frivality?

I listened to Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful on Audible and I think this format, with different narrators for each part, was the best way to experience this one. Audio books are great for when you need to multitask and flit around doing other things like cleaning the house (or not). Some of these were so good I found myself sitting down and binge listening instead of zipping around and tidying up. Oh well...for me, a dirty house is a fair price to pay if your adventure is worthwhile. It just so happens that this book of intertwined vignettes was imagined so beautifully and written so flawlessly that I couldn't help but fall in love. That's right, I'm not shy about shouting this one out...I LOVED this book! I adored each and every single vignette as well as the book as a whole! BUT It was not a smooth transition from skepticism to Amore. There were quite a few times where I found myself saying "This is messed up!! I DEFINITELY don't like this story. I hope it ends soon" and then when that specific narrative started to wrap up I thought to myself "hey, that was both stunning and poignant!".


The book spotlighted the ever changing personal and societal opinions regarding the Necessity vs. Frivality of biomedical and genetic tinkering/advancements. Each portraiture was slightly more extreme than the last. What is considered acceptable to tinker with? Which modifications are deemed medically necessary (are these even acceptable?) and which are derived from pure vanity and hubris? Are there lines not to be crossed? Where does Religion fit into this and how does that viewpoint influence others? How far would you go to uphold your beliefs? Where are we headed as a species? AND ultimately, are we engineering our own extinction?


Usually I am not one for compilations but this one caught my eye, especially with such a high rating at the time. I just had to see... erm, hear what the fuss was about. Believe me when I say that this interconnected, chronoscopic amalgamation of voices is worth the price and time you'll spend! I really loved the many evolutions within each story: the modifications, each person's/country's perspective, and most of all how/if they perceive each other as fellow "Humanbeings" after all is said and done. I loved to witness the many transformations of the unifying character Reverend Tad. Most interesting was how malleable and slippery his role/possition/ideals and contributions were and what he meant to others.

This is a great addition to the Scifi Fantasy genre!! I highly reccomend this book, especially if you're into pondering the pros & cons of biomedical engineering and where we are headed with such advancements becoming more readily available to the masses.

~Enjoy!

I could read this over and over again!

I wanted to read this slow so it lasted longer but it was too good to put down! i loved this book!

Fantastic

I recommended this to my social media feeds. It was such a fascinating story. With the audible version it took it to another level. it really gave the story something that I desire from many fictional books. A sense of drawing you into the world.

Great performances and interesting stories

Thought-provoking short stories centered around coming of age in an era of genetic modification and transhumanism. Performances were excellent. Would recommend.