Randomize

Forward collection

By: Andy Weir

Narrated by: Janina Gavankar

Audible narration by Janina Gavankar (True Blood)

In the near future, if Vegas games are ingeniously scam-proof, then the heists have to be too, in this imaginative and whip-smart story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.

An IT whiz at the Babylon Casino is enlisted to upgrade security for the game of keno and its random-number generator. The new quantum computer system is foolproof. But someone on the inside is no fool. For once the odds may not favor the house - unless human ingenuity isn’t entirely a thing of the past.

Andy Weir’s Randomize is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

©2019 Andy Weir (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“…a sensational project…” (Spine Magazine)

“The Martian author Andy Weir brings his scientific flair to his novella about a Las Vegas casino heist...[Narrator Janina] Gavankar uses a well-balanced blend of accents, changes in tone, and varied pacing to infuse personality into her well-done character distinctions.” (AudioFile)

“This sci-fi collection boasts six stories from beloved authors, which can each be read in one riveting sitting.” (Paste Magazine)

“This is exactly how I like my techno-anxiety…Happy bingeing!” (Audible, an October Editors Pick)

Timeless human foibles mix with new technologies

I'm a very picky consumer of fiction. I guess I have a tin ear for it. I most enjoyed the more technical bits on randomness and (somewhat less detailed on) quantum computing. It poses interesting security issues in our near future. The story is one of hacking, involving social engineering. For that it's OK, or in any event, mercifully short. The discussion of food and petty cultural idiosyncracies I disliked as much as most any discussion of such things. I would prefer just a good book on randomness. The narration is a bit shrill and overwrought.

3.99 stars

This is a short, entertaining little story. There's nothing overly complex or fantastic about it, but I was engaged by it for the entire 40 minutes. I'm one of the few listeners who didn't care all that much for Weir's The Martian, but I did like this short work.

Overall rating: 3.99 stars

Brilliantly thought provoking

I don't usually sit still long enough to hear a whole story but I actually sat down and listened from beginning to end without moving!

Truly random

interesting name for an interesting book. learned a lot about topics I would have never read about. Story was okay, but the performance is what stood out the most. Listened at 1.3x

Who Profits from "Random"

Title: Randomize
Author: Andy Weir
Format: Audio
Narrator: Janina Gavankar
Genre: Mystery
Standalone: Yes
Part of a Series: Book 6 of 6 in the Forward Collective
POV: Chen, Sumi
Steam Level: Clean
3.5/5

Can you ever beat the system? How random is random? How does greed play into the system? Who benefit? Sumi is a brilliant quantum scientist who thinks she can rig a new computer system to get all nine "random" winning Keno numbers at a Las Vegas casino. What happens when intelligence, random not randomization and greed collide.