Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Fear Index
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
The Fear Index
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Summary
His name is carefully guarded from the general public but within the secretive inner circles of the ultra-rich Dr Alex Hoffmann is a legend – a visionary scientist whose computer software turns everything it touches into gold. Together with his partner, an investment banker, Hoffmann has developed a revolutionary form of artificial intelligence that tracks human emotions, enabling it to predict movements in the financial markets with uncanny accuracy. His hedge fund, based in Geneva, makes billions.
But then in the early hours of the morning, while he lies asleep with his wife, a sinister intruder breaches the elaborate security of their lakeside house. So begins a waking nightmare of paranoia and violence as Hoffmann attempts, with increasing desperation, to discover who is trying to destroy him. His quest forces him to confront the deepest questions of what it is to be human. By the time night falls over Geneva, the financial markets will be in turmoil and Hoffmann's world – and ours – transformed forever.
Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Fear Index
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
- inspector
- 07-04-13
interesting
It's a good idea for a book for sure and in a way there aren't enough books like this - clever novels written by someone who knows how to write and who understands the world of hedge funds and what people get up to at the exotic murky end of the finance sector. lots of well observed and clever things. I can't put my finger on it but in the end something was missing so it falls short of great. Either it's in the way it's read out or more fundamentally in the depth of the characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 31-10-22
Very enjoyable.
More relevant than ever and as always with Harris you care about the characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- sue c
- 20-02-16
Thought provoking
Gripped us to the end. Fast paced and so believable. Interesting to learn about the financial world which seems to be just an elaborate form of gambling.
This takes place over 24 hours and everything happens so fast, giving the adrenalin rush that must be felt by dealers buying and selling in the markets.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-12-15
Fairly plausible, the way things are going!
What made the experience of listening to The Fear Index the most enjoyable?
This was a great performance of a great story. Very well read.
What did you like best about this story?
I'm currently studying corporate finance as part of an MBA so the whole story tied in perfectly with some of the principles in that.
Have you listened to any of Christian Rodska’s other performances? How does this one compare?
I've not listened to any other performances but having enjoyed this, am likely to look for other performances in the future.
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Do we control the markets, or do they control us?
Any additional comments?
Definitely an interesting slant on behavioural analysis.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-04-23
Hedging works how ???
This book was downloaded without much research but i have read and listened to several books by the author and I have to say i was not disappointed. kept me entertained from the start.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Penny
- 20-10-11
Another Great Book
Robert Harris has never failed me yet. This book is an addition to the long list of his titles that I have enjoyed. I was initially worried that it might be a bit 'dark' but it was just a thoroughly enjoyable read - and right up-to-date!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Alec
- 25-10-11
Good read, remember this is fiction.
This book makes the software and financial industries seem very exciting, 'Rogue Trader' meets the 'Terminator', although the technical side is unbelievable. Robert Harris has been publicising this book in the UK press by playing on people's fear of computers and the unknown, he needs to remember that this is just fiction and Skynet has not come online yet.
If you enjoyed this book you will like both 'Daemon' and 'Freedom TM' by Daniel Suarez (although the European publisher, Penguin will not let us have the audio book that US readers have on Audible).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sian Stonehill
- 16-10-24
Another great book
Another excellent book from Harris .. I very much enjoyed the fact that it was different from most of Harris books.. not based on a historical character or circumstance but very much a novel of his imagination.. beautifully written as with all of the authors work.. characters and story excellently formed and developed.. much more of a mystery than most of Harris’s books.. I would love to see him go more into this direction..Narrator.. excellent.. highly recommended..
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Kirstine
- 28-10-11
Engaging story: could do without the Darwin
I've enjoyed a number of Robert Harris' books and in the Fear Index he hasn't lost his touch in creating an engaging thriller that keeps you listening. Hedge funds being no more than betting on the stock market is certainly a topical backdrop to an inventive, if at times implausible, story. Sci-fi meets crime fiction.
I could have done without the grafting on of supposed parallels with Darwin's evolutionary principles that often seemed forced.
Christian Rodska is an admirable narrator.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Patj
- 03-10-18
Is this the future?
I read this because my friends and I had a discussion on Artificial Intelligence. All the radio reports on the financial situation were beyond me but this didn't spoil the tension. It was a bit far fetched (I hope!)but I was sorry it concluded when it did. I thought the narrator's voice was excellent and I wish I could hear him more often.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!