Narrated by Janina Gavankar, Randomize by Andy Weir has a runtime of 0 hrs 50 mins on Audible.
Publisher’s Summary
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.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Janina Gavankar
- Length: 0 hrs 50 mins
- Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
- Release year: 2019
- Audible category: Literature & Fiction / Anthologies & Short Stories / Anthologies
Listener Ratings
Randomize holds an average listener rating of 4.2/5 from 4150 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.5/5
- Story: 4.1/5
- 5-star ratings: 47% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
3/5 stars — “Enjoyable enough”
Story: 2.5⭐️
Audio: 4.5⭐️Mass production of quantum computers is around the corner, which can make hacking the high random number generator (HRNG) programs that casinos use much easier targets. When a casino’s head IT guy comes to the CEO with his predictions, they implement an unbeatable system. . .except for someone with insider knowledge.
"Randomize" is an enjoyable enough, quick listen. The nerd in me enjoyed the use of quantum computing’s lack of binary restrictions and computing power as the driving force of the plot, and as a short it does a decent job creating characters who are fleshed out enough for the heist story Weir’s telling. You know the thief’s motivations and capabilities and what drives the casino owner. My main problem is the ending as it raises some serious questions.
By itself, this isn’t a bad thing—when done INTENTIONALLY. In this case, the questions are obvious ones that undermine the intelligence and shrewdness of the character established in the same scene. Had that character asked themselves at least one of these questions, it would have solidified the ending/made the actions more believable; they would have calculated the risk and made an informed choice, as is expected of them. This doesn’t happen so to me, it just seems like the character Weir wanted to win the battle of wits wins. To be fair, the defeat technically may be earned as it does exploit a character’s aforementioned weakness/flaw. The lack of IT knowledge (and interest) combined with arrogance and a desire to be the best is what’s exploited. It just seems a bit far-fetched and unearned to me.
Also, if you know about HRNGs, then you may have to work harder to buy in. I was actually surprised that his premise is basically only describing the problem with HRNGs that use pseudo-random numbers as opposed to "true", which pull data out of the environment and randomize it and then uses that. I get that he’s probably using the theoretical idea of hidden patterns bc even this uses an algorithm, but so would the HRNG used by a quantum computer? Maybe I’m missing something as I’m no software engineer.
**********End of non-spoiler review************
This potential lack is also what makes the ending not work for me as one of the issues raised about some of the HRNGs on the market is NOT the lack of randomness and ability to backtrace a program but the creation of backdoors into the system that would allow spying, and if this is already a known security issue, the FIRST thing the government and casino regulators [will do is dig into the casino owner’s financials as he will be the only person not affected. Saying "oh my system is just different" will not cut it as ALL the products will have been compromised, and they ALL come from the same company. I’m not sure there’ll be enough shell companies in the world to hide his stake in the quantum security company being proposed.
— Jovan, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “entertaining and original new story”
an entertaining story about quantum computers the gambling industry and a bright young woman. Enjoyed the story and highly recommend it to anybody looking for a quick light science fiction story.— Kindle Customer, Audible listener
4/5 stars — “Better than Artemis “
It’s a bit to short. it’s not the best short story I’ve ever read but it’s up there. Andy Weir created a thought provoking heist story and sciences the crap out of it. good enough for me.— ColonialMarine, Audible listener
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