2 B R 0 2 B

By: Basil Sands

Narrated by: Basil Sands

In a future where sickness and disease are a forgotten memory, and death itself has been cured, population control requires special consideration, and the concept of 'Life for Life' has a new definition.

The original short story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on which this remade version of 2BR02B is based, appeared in the January 1962 edition of "Worlds of If."

This version is a complete rewrite based on the original story including significant artistic and textual changes, while retaining the general concept, the bones, of Vonnegut's original story.

©2013 Basil Sands (P)2013 Basil Sands

A Great Re-make of Vonnegut Classic

I wrote my main review for this audiobook on Amazon, but here's the gist:

This story is smart. The title translates to, "To be or 'naught' to be." You can read the original Vonnegut version for free on Project Gutenberg. Sands' version extends and re-writes this original short story. Sections are exactly the same as Vonnegut's, so to me this version feels like a Director's Cut, but with a new director behind the camera adding newly shot footage. The story still works.

I like not fully knowing about what a story is about before reading it. Having known this story's "spoilers" before listening made this an uneventful read except for the new material thrown in. If you do any research on "2BR02B" you will get spoilers (or seemingly spoiler-y write-ups).

Parts of Vonnegut's story are very staccato, like bullet shots. Adding to these scenes with extra description kind of slows it down. No matter how colorful the new imagery may be. For this, I subtracted a star.

It looks like Basil Sands has his own recording studio, and he sounds great. No "other" sounds sneak their way in. He has recorded for others and himself on many occasions, and his experience shows.

If you're looking for a well-written, thought provoking 30 minute audio-read, this book works quite well.