Quite simply one of the best stories ever written and my personal favouite book of all-time. A story about a magic trick which is in itself a magic trick! ( )

Brainy, intricate, and highly engaging. Could have done without the modern frame, and the ending was a little dicey. Didn't build up the climax as well as it might have but. But I enjoyed every bit of it. ( )

When I finished watching the movie The Prestige I was in awe of the story. It is a well-crafted tale and I was curious to see what the source material was like. When I discovered that it was told in diary format I was a little disappointed. I've never done well with epistolary tales, like Dracula, for instance. But just as these two magicians are consumed by their rivalry, so too was I consumed with these pages. I didn't fix dinner, didn't exercise and didn't sleep. All I could do was turn the page. It's a riveting story. Of course, having seen the movie I knew "the secret" which helped a lot. It's hard for me to imagine what someone coming cold to the story would think upon reading certain passages. Maybe a little confused. But on a whole, the book is out there. If the movie is like leaping off a cliff then the book is like jumping off and doing air-ballet on the way down. I enjoyed the book very much but I must admit that the ending was somewhat of a disappointment. In the midst of a very dramatic moment it just ended and I felt short-changed. ( )

I picked this up because of the movie based on it. All in all it was a fun read. The book occupies only a short section of 'time' in the book's chronology; events in the novel have a ton of lead-up time. The story is told entirely from the journals of the two dueling magicians, first one, then the story is retold from the other's perspective. This is an interesting mechanic and serves to fill in the holes as each magician glosses over the wrongs he commits and embellishes the slights done to him as a man is wont to do. The twist ending is of course still there. Good book. ( )

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/20... ( )

Make no mistake, this book is amazing.Horrifyingly, I liked the movie better. ( )

Because I LOVED the movie that was based on this book, I decided to read it. After all, isn't the book always better than the movie? Well, not in this case. Except for the title, character's names and the setting, and the basic plot outline that they are rival magicians, this book has astonishingly little in common with the movie of the same name. In fact, I was quite disappointed. I read and read, hoping that I would become more engaged with it, but alas...it was in vain. I can't recommend this book because it was just wierd, and not in a "good" wierd way. Frankly, I'm amazed that someone would read this book, and think highly enough of it to make it a movie AT ALL. I guess we can thank John and Christopher Nolan for turning a pretty humdrum book into a real thriller. ( )

I really enjoyed this. Well written, engaging, and unique. ( )

This review originally appeared on the SFFaudio website.

It's difficult to say how long it's been since I've been so enthralled with an audiobook as I was with this unabridged version of the World Fantasy Award-winning The Prestige. In very few words, the production was excellent. Simon Vance narrated, and since the story is primarily told through journal entries of the two main characters, he was called upon to portray these two dark, intricate magicians. He unreservedly succeeded - his performance was stellar. Because of his subtle care, the surprises of the novel were enhanced by his reading. And there are many surprises.

The main characters are late 19th century stage magicians (or "prestidigitators", as they call themselves) named Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier. They perform in London, but at the height of each magician's popularity, they tour America and Europe. But not together. No, these two guys are mortal enemies, out to better the other by whatever means necessary. Each one in turn performs a trick on stage that seems impossible to the other, and their personal quests are rooted in finding out how the other does it, and then to perform it better.

The novel is filled with fascinating detail about these magicians and their tricks. But even more interesting are the journals themselves. It becomes quickly apparent that the journal writers are not reliable. Christopher Priest was masterful in the way he made sure that the journal writers were speaking squarely from their own point of view, which was not always technically true; rather, like journal writers everywhere, they would write something about their own motives that justified events to themselves. The result is an intricate web that is slowly unraveled throughout the book. It's an audiobook that merits a second listen; knowing what I know now, having finished, a second listen would reveal the breadcrumbs I missed along the way. I suspect I left several on the trail.Also prominent is Priest's portrayal of life in the 19th century. The values, the language, and the daily life of the characters all feel accurate, though I am no 19th century historian. The world's reaction to the advent of electricity is a fascinating example. I couldn't help but to think of modern parallels with the advent of the internet.

At first glance, this novel is fantasy. It even won the World Fantasy Award in 1996. But is this a fantasy novel? It really isn't. Yes, there are magicians here, but they are stage magicians. As such, their tricks have perfectly reasonable explanations. Each of the main characters do specific remarkable things, but the reasons given for the way these things work are not magical, but scientific. More, I will not say, because this is a novel to be discovered for yourself, not to be read about. After I finished the book, I watched the recent film version. Be assured that there are enough major differences that a listen to this book will be a different (though similar) and very worthwhile experience. ( )

I really only read this because I liked the movie. I definitely think the screenplay does a much better job of taking the essence of the story, which is quite imaginative, and doing interesting things with it. ( )

The book that got me through the outbound trip to Charlottesville was Christopher Priest's The Prestige, a split-perspective historical novel with supernatural/fantastic elements thrown in. I'd seen the recent movie version and enjoyed it, but heard the book was better (it was, of course, but the film does in this case give the book a run for its money).

A tale of two rival illusionists during the late Victorian era, the story of their great feud and its consequences is told from each of their points of view in turn, alternating with a present-day storyline (read: framing device) featuring two of the magicians' descendants (or is it two?).

Interesting characters, a few good mysterious twists, and supremely macabre ending. Complex and quite worth reading.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2008/... ( )

Better than the movie. ( )

Kept me puzzling and figuring until the end. Fun. ( )

I think that the reason I didn’t like this book as much as I liked the movie was because the movie was pretty different than the original book. The film of The Prestige really emphasizes the action and the suspense of The Prestige the book. I actually really liked the movie–it was dark, it was imaginative, original, and a lot of fun to watch. But the action in the book just didn’t pop as much, even though the magic tricks described there were more spectacular. It’s not that I went into this book expecting to find a more in-depth version of the movie, but I wished the book had at least lived up to what’s written on the back cover.

What I did like about the book, though, was the way that Priest chose to tell the story. It’s told from, by my last count, five different people (two of whom are pretending to be the same person). Since this book is really about perception, it was a masterful touch.

I find that perception is a fascinating concept–probably because I got my literature degree a couple of decades into the Postmodernist era. But it’s interesting to realize that reality, which seems so concrete, is really a product of our perception of events. In The Prestige, a character named Alfred Bordon returns again and again to the idea that most of the magic he does is really just a matter of altering the audience’s perception of what he’s doing. And the rivalry between Borden and the illusionist Angier is a product of how they each percieve the other’s actions. If the characters had taken more time to try and see things from the other’s viewpoint, the rivalry wouldn’t have been as disastrous. But then, there probably wouldn’t have been a plot either.

In the end though, I think I actually prefer the movie. It was a much leaner telling of the story. The book, I felt, got bogged down because it was trying to do too many things at once.

(This review originally appeared on my blog, the Textual Frigate)

In a bizarre twist, I think I actually prefer the film. Although the plots aren't exactly the same, the main twists pretty much are, and I guess not having to figure those out kind of spoiled the fun of a lot of the book. However, I still think the film was a lot more tightly-plotted and, although the relatively slow pace of the book made sense because of the setting, it felt a bit waffly to read. Also, I could really have done without the whole great-grandchildren subplot, which didn't do a whole lot for me. ( )

Whatever the merits of the film based on this book (I liked it, but I acknowledge it had some flaws), the film did bring the book back into the spotlight, and for that, we must be thankful, because this is a very, very good story. Very good plot, believable and well-written characters, stylistically different but well done for each of the characters' viewpoints, and full of interesting ideas and ties to the rest of the world.

Here we have the story of two rival magicians, told through their own personal notebooks, and also their descendants, who meet at the beginning of the book in a sort of framing story. But it's the two magicians, Angier and Borden, who are the centerpieces of the story, and they are at the same time so similar and so different: their ambitions are the same, but their beliefs and ways are different. The two notebook idea really allows you to compare them fairly directly. Even in terms of style and lines, you feel like you're meant to contrast the pair, and see how much they match up.

But there's also an element of mistrust that you can feel for them; they're obviously trying to hide their secrets some of the time. Borden's narrative makes it more explicit than Angier's, but it's there for both of them. Further, their recollections of events works differently. Both of them try to put themselves in the best light, but both are willing to admit they have failings. They're very human, and that's a large part of why it's so engrossing. It's also, though, that they really have surprises in store all along for us; I actually missed my guess on a large plot point, and it still fit, which is nice to see.

Anyway, bottom line: definitely worth reading. Give it a shot. I should try some of his other work at some point, too. ( )

Paradoxically, those who liked the movie may hate the novel, and those who disliked the movie may love the novel. I fall into the latter camp. The film's plot was riddled with holes and ultimately devoid of any real thematic complexity. Instead, it is essentially an attempt at a period thriller with an SF twist. That the SF twist comes out of nowhere made the film's climax laughable.

Notwithstanding the movie's ridiculousness, I am interested in 19th century stage magic and Christopher Priest has an excellent reputation. Thus, I was curious to know whether the book was as bad as the film, or whether the filmmakers had simply done a hack-job on it.

Hack-job, indeed. The novel is rich and complex, with storylines both in the past and present, and altogether more disturbing than anything in the film. Priest manages to get at the essence of what makes a great stage illusion (an understanding by the audience that it is an illusion, but an unwillingness to believe it is not real), and then sets up an intricate plot that is both a demonstration of that principle and a questioning of it.

In the novel, the magicians vie for supremacy by staging more elaborate versions of an illusion in which a man is apparently transported across the stage or theater instantaneously. The early versions of the illusion are pure stage magic, through the use of doubles. Later, however, one of the magicians manages to employ Tesla coil technology to actually transport himself through the aether. This violates the "code" between audience and magician -- the audience agrees to be tricked and the magician agrees to not present it with the kind of real magic that would upset its view of the world. Priest's novel investigates the consequences of messing with reality, with disquieting and impressive results. The framing story, set in the present, includes the magicians' families in the rivalry, as if to suggest that dabbling in real magic can visit curses on one's descendants.

The film cannot compete with the scope and depth of Priest's novel, as really no film can compete with a good novel on which it is based. Read the book instead. ( )

A part of the urban fantasy subgenre of contemporary fantasy, The Prestige tells the story of two illusionists of the early 1900s. For various reasons, these two magicians, of wholly different characters, have fallen into a feud, each trying to outdo the other on stage and in their personal lives. Alfred Borden is a magician of the old style, naturally gifted in magic, a stage magician who despises those who use magic tricks to pretend to real magical ability. Rupert Angier is a magician down on his luck that turns to pretending to be a spiritualist to make ends meet (although eventually he does make it to the stage). It is from this their feud stems, but it eventually goes way beyond that.

I recommend this book be read by those who like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke. The history filled with magic plot line will appeal to Clarke’s readers. I recommend that those who like reading the old pulp magazines give The Prestige a shot also. If you like a good mystery and don’t mind a sort of incomplete ending you might like this book as well. I enjoyed it, although I was disappointed in the ending, but then, I like my books to feel like the story is complete, and this one will leave you wondering.

Full Review at Grasping for the Wind ( )

While the plot does have some interesting twists and a unique writing structure towards the beginning. This book fails itself about two thirds of the way through leading up to an illogical and boring ending. I still gave it two stars though because it's clear that some of the better points in the book inspired the movie, which is brilliant. My advice, just see the movie. ( )

http://rivkat.livejournal.com/186221.... ( )

This was a case of the movie is vastly different from the book if I ever saw one. Wow. Basically only the names and professions of the company were preserved - almost every other element was changed. Both are very, very good in their own ways though. I understand the liberties and changes that had to be taken for the movie to work properly, but so very much was left out. There is no Michael Caine character with a nice explanation of the prestige - in the novel, the reason for the book's title is much more sinister and of greater importance.

We have a modern-day couple of descendents of both magicians. They are in possession of diaries of both men. The diaries tell about their great rivalry and what happened to put them at odds with each other. The reason given in the movie is not the same reason as in the novel. As the two great-great-grand kids read the diaries, they find clues to events that happened when they were kids. GGG-son is convinced he has a twin brother even though there is no evidence, and GGG-daughter is convinced that Andrew has been to the house before even though he has no memory of it. Once we understand the nature of Algeir's trick with the Tesla device and GGG-daughter relates the incident of Andrew's supposed first visit to her house, we get a fairly horrifying understanding of what happened.

This is a much more paranormal angle than the movie presents. In the movie, Algier goes to Tesla (on Borden's urging, to ostensibly throw him off track of Borden's real secret) to find a device to create a trick to rival Borden's. His understanding of magic is more limited than Borden's and he doesn't make creative leaps and only understands a trick when he's told the secret. This is part of the irony when Algier and Tesla stumble on `real' magic. The price is the prestige. The illusion was so grand that Algier could command great fees and also great license with the theaters - he closed the set, much to the annoyance of the crew.

Borden now has to relentlessly pursue the secret to Algier's improved Transported Man. Both Bordens. If I had not known there were two, the book would not have illuminated that as well as the movie does. There are some clues in the writing - Borden referring to himself as me and I in a sense that conveys another person reading and writing. As in the movie, his wife, girlfriend and assistants have no idea. Only his engineer knows there are two. It was a very precarious way to `live' a life. Bizarre and difficult, I can't imagine it succeeding outside of fiction.

The pursuit of the ruin of each other is what drove Algier and Borden. Not just fame and fortune in their own right, but if they would be won at the expense of the rival, all the better. Algier still sets a spy among Borden's crew and that spy eventually turns against her master, delivery the false clue as a parting gesture.

I found the returns to the present a bit jarring because my immersion in the world of 19th century magic was so complete. Both Borden and Algier are equally despicable. Borden is more vicious and physical with his attempt at ruining Algier, but Algier is no saint. And physicality does enter into the equation with a vengeance and a finality that brings the story to an end. The ending is a bit out of nowhere, but is haunting and deliciously ambiguous. ( )

I found The Prestige to be disappointingly unsatisfying. The book had such potential, but the author failed to deliver characters worth caring for and a plot worth understanding.

Thankfully, Christopher Nolan's movie version saved the best plot devices and created a coherent story where Priest failed.

Wonderful idea, but poorly executed. ( )

Andrew Westley has always been obsessed by the idea that he was one of a pair of identical twins. As it happens, an unknown woman also wonders if Andrew, adopted as a young boy and the natural child of a man named Clive Borden, has a twin. She sends Andrew a book, Secret Methods of Magic, written by his ancestor and edited by hers. When the two meet, their stories and those of their magician ancestors begin to twist together, as they have for generations.

The book is complex in that it's told by multiple narrators with major portions told in diary form and set in different time periods. Yet it is never confusing. The mysteries introduced are paid off in a most satisfying way as the experiences of the characters intertwine and allow the reader to see events from different points of view.

The themes of obsession, death, hate, deceit, and revenge are expressed fully in the diaries of two late 19th Century magicians whose rivalry escalates and encompasses successive generations to a surprising conclusion.

http://nhw.livejournal.com/957092.htm...

I wondered at first if The Prestige actually had any sfnal content at all, or if it was going to qualify as genre only in the same way as, say, The System of the World. But by the end of the story it's pretty clear that this is science fiction, though in a particularly creepy and eerie way; the story of two rival stage magicians at the turn of the nineteenth/twentieth centuries, combined with the technology of Nikola Tesla, and all kinds of questions about family secrets and unreliable narrators. I really enjoyed it. ( )

I read this book because of seeing the movie and I'm glad I did. I liked the movie a lot and enjoyed the book even more. ( )