The rise and fall of D.O.D.O a novel

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Summary

From bestselling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidently meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: she must sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for the rather large sum of money. Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London's Crystal Palace--the world's fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world "jams" the "frequencies" used by magic, and it's up to Tristan to find out why.And so the Department of Diachronic Operations--D.O.D.O.--gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back, and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive . . . and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial--and treacherous--nature of the human heart.Written with the genius, complexity, and innovation that characterize all of Neal Stephenson's work and steeped with the down-to-earth warmth and humor of Nicole Galland's storytelling style, this exciting and vividly realized work of science fiction will make you believe in the impossible, and take you to places--and times--beyond imagining.

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "*Starred Review* What would you give to bring magic back into the world? According to Stephenson and Galland's enticing speculative thriller, Melisande Stokes paid a high price. Stranded in mid-nineteenth-century England, she records a chronicle of her involvement with the Department of Diachronic Operations (D.O.D.O.). Her account explains how military officer and trained physicist Tristan Lyons recruited her to work for D.O.D.O. in the twenty-first century. Melisande's skill with several ancient languages made her uniquely qualified to translate a collection of documents from a variety of time periods and locales. Working together, she and Tristan discover the impossible, that magic is real and was openly practiced until 1851. Further investigations lead them to Frank Oda, a former MIT physics professor who tried to patent an ODEC, a device that may allow for practicing magic. The powers at D.O.D.O. are determined to have magic back at any cost, but for the ODEC to work, they need a witch, if one still exists. Assuming they find a witch and restore her powers, how can they trust her? Combining Melisande's recollections with journal entries, mission logs, emails, transcripts from multiple characters, and epic Norse poetry, the authors spin a complex and engaging what-if tale that blends technology and history. Ready-made for fans of intricate speculative fiction.--Lockley, Lucy Copyright 2010 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "The engaging collaboration between bestseller Stephenson (Seveneves) and historical novelist Galland (Crossed) is presented as five volumes of collected materials, ranging from handwritten journals and letters to printouts of PowerPoint presentations and white papers. These materials chronicle the establishment of DODO, a black-budget operation created to restore magic to the present through the application of science. The Diachronicle, written by Melisande "Mel" Stokes in 1851 London, introduces her as a 21st-century linguist stranded unwillingly in the past, just before the Great Exhibition of 1851 effectively brings an end to magic. Stokes was recruited from her Boston University academic work by the charming Tristan Lyons to do lucrative work translating documents and reporting any common patterns for DODO. Quantum physics, witchcraft, and multiple groups with conflicting agendas, playfully mixed with vernacular from several centuries and a dizzying number of acronyms, create a fascinating experiment in speculation and metafiction that never loses sight of the human foibles and affections of its cast. Agency: Darhansoff & Verrill. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Additional Information

Subjects	Electronic books Technology Fiction Magic Fiction Time travel Fiction Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Science fiction. Fantasy fiction. Audiobooks.
Publisher	[Place of publication not identified] :HarperAudio2017 2017
Edition	Unabridged.
Contributors	Galland, Nicole, 1955- author. Bouvard, Laurence, narrator. Atkinson, Shelley, narrator. Merlington, Laural, narrator. Barrett, Joe, narrator. Damron, Will, narrator. Daniels, Luke, narrator. Fass, Robert, narrator. Foster, James Anderson, narrator. Gilbert, Tavia, narrator. Morey, Arthur, narrator. Stifel, David, narrator. Thurston, Charlie, narrator. Udall, Kate, narrator. OverDrive, Inc.
Participants/Performers	Read by [Laurence Bouvard, Shelley Atkinson, Laural Merlington, Joe Barrett, Will Damron, Luke Daniels, Robert Fass, James Foster, Tavia Gilbert, Arthur Morey, David Stifel, Charlie Thurston, and Kate Udall].
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: OverDrive Listen Format: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook Requires OverDrive app 3.0 (Windows) / 1.0 (Mac) / 1.0 (Windows Mobile)
Description	1 audio file : digital
ISBN	9780062676986 9780062676986
Other	Classic View