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Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic

By: Nick Carr
Narrated by: William Jackson Harper
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Publisher's summary

Growing up is hard enough without the added pressure of a hiccup in the fabric of space-time.

Wally Roux is a teenage genius with a big imagination and a big heart, who just moved to Savannah, GA, from Maine with his mom, who adopted him when he was an infant. In this charming and sweet solo performance, Wally investigates what is causing a number of strange events and occurrences. He explores and gets lost within space-time - an infinite, indefinable, and mysterious void that you can’t see but when you slice into it you can feel it.

Part science fiction and part coming-of-age story, Wally Roux follows one boy’s journey of self-discovery and self-identity.

Playwright Nick Carr was awarded a commission through the Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund, an initiative dedicated to developing innovative original plays driven by language and voice. As an Audible commissioned playwright, he received funding and creative support to develop Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic.

Note: Wally Roux contains adult language.

Experience this title in immersive 3D audio by setting your download quality to High within the app. Headphones recommended. For more, browse our entire collection of 3D audio listens.

©2019 Nick Carr (P)2019 AO Media LLC
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Go Behind the Scenes of Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic

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Our favorite moments from Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic

Cutting into space-time
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A voice from another world
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"I think you're doing music wrong."
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  • Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic
  • Cutting into space-time
  • Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic
  • A voice from another world
  • Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic
  • "I think you're doing music wrong."

About the Creator

Nick Carr is a screenwriter and playwright from the Pacific Northwest. His work has been produced around the country, from Aspen to New York. He was the recipient of the Gary Garrison Prize for playwriting at the American College Theater Festival in Washington DC; a selected writer for Theater Masters’ Palm Beach Developmental Workshop Series; and a Kennedy Center Fellow at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference. His original pilot, The Roadside, won the Gold Prize for TV Drama Pilot in the 2015 PAGE International Screenwriting Competition. He holds a BFA in film and television production from the Savannah College of Art and Design and an MFA in dramatic writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Los Angeles.

About the Performer

William Jackson Harper currently stars as Chidi in NBC’s hit comedy series The Good Place, opposite Kristen Bell and Ted Danson. The critically acclaimed Peabody Award-winning show received the AFI Award for TV Program of the Year in 2018, as well as Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice award nominations for Best Comedy Series. This year, Harper received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. This summer, Harper stars in A24’s thriller Midsommar alongside Florence Pugh and directed by Ari Aster. This spring, Harper completed production in Participant’s untitled legal drama focused on the scandal revolving around the DuPont chemical company. Directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and produced by Mark Ruffalo, Harper will star alongside Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, and Bill Pullman. His additional feature film credits include Paterson, True Story, and All Good Things. On television, Harper will next appear as the character Xander opposite John Krasinski in the second season of Amazon’s Jack Ryan. Additionally, Harper has made guest appearances on numerous acclaimed television series including 30 Rock, The Blacklist, Law & Order, and High Maintenance. Born in Dallas, Harper has an extensive background in theater, co-starring alongside Cristin Milioti in After the Blast at Lincoln Center, as well as on Broadway in the Tony Award–winning play All the Way, with Bryan Cranston. Most recently, Harper made his playwriting debut with the drama Travisville, which centers on a Texas church community untouched by the tumult of the civil rights movement. The play opened in October 2018 at New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre to critical praise, with The New York Times noting Harper’s "serious writing chops."

What listeners say about Wally Roux, Quantum Mechanic

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    7,101
  • 4 Stars
    3,707
  • 3 Stars
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    3,223
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    685

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Could have been just as good

The story could have been just as good without the swearing. I don't feel like I can recommended it to some younger family & friends.

It also felt a little... unfinished. Would have liked to hear more about Wally.

Performance was awesome. I look forward to hearing more read by Mr Harper.

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85 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, great narration, but TOO MUCH NOISE

I'd give the book 4 stars overall and 5 for the narration if it had been produced differently. But the sound effects were annoying and sometimes louder than the narration. The story was good, the narrator was great. There was just way too much noise there, too. It did not enhance the listening experience, but instead distracted from it.

Example: I do NOT need to hear the sound of someone chewing with their mouth open in order to envision the scene. I can picture that sound well enough in my head already, thank you.

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59 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Laughed, laughed some more, thought really hard, and felt my heart swell

I loved the narration to this story. He had great comedic timing and inflection keeping you on the edge of your seat excited for the next sentence and laughing out loud. The writing was wonderful, and though there were moments of science, it wasn’t anything too heady. I would love to hear more stories about Wally Roux!

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40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Despite what you think...

This is not a book for young kids. Every second word is a swear word or other phrase you don’t want your 10 year old saying. I exaggerate but not by much in some chapters. I downloaded it thinking it would be good for my young son based on the story - but after listening to it first I would not let him listen until he is 18.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Good, but too much foul language

I never met a 13 year old that swore that much, especially when adults were around. I’m not against the use of curse words, I was in the military. I can let loose a string that’ll make most people gape like fish. They are part of our language. I cannot believe a 13 yr old would speak with them in casual conversation with his mother, though.
The overall story was good. It was entertaining enough to find a smile cross my face in several places, intellectual enough to keep my focus. I wish there was a bit more hard science included. That omission was a little disappointing.
I saw a video featuring Nick and William. Nick said the book was about finding your identity. I didn’t get that message. The message I heard was “Think critically.” I liked the writing. I may look for future works by Nick.
William did a good job narrating. It was a bit halting in many places, but as he was voicing a 13 yr old, I think it fit the character.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Coming of age as a super genius (and black)

Wally is 13 years old and having a rough time after moving to the South with his single white mother. There he deals with racism, bullies, falling in love for the first time, oh, and stopping the laws of physics from destroying the world. You see, Wally is a bone fide super genius with a natural talent for fixing anything... thanks including the fabric of time and space on the quantum level.

The race thing, is always there, but not always front and center. The story does not preach at you on that topic... there plenty of other stories to do that. This story transcends petty bigotry. Instead the message here is to be yourself, an individual, regardless of the idiots around you trying to make you be like them.

The story speaks to all of us and particularly to all teens going through discovering who they are and who they want to become.

Well done and recommended.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Great content and imagination. Love the narrators voice too. You won’t be disappointed with this short story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

i was wrong audience. probably good book for YA

narrator was fine. liked the sound effects. at least it was short or i woukdnt have invested time in finishing it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Acceptable if viewed as a statement not a story

Excellent narration.
Think of this as a 1 act play and you may enjoy it more.

It does get better halfway in as it is clear that this piece is not really about quantum theory and other than as a source of arrogance, it is not really about science. So the weak support of either doesn't matter. It's not even really about portraying disdain for various stereotypical Christian archetypes. Nor even is it really about racism is various forms. That's why people say it just ended in the middle of the story. It wasn't about the story.
It ended when it completed the statement being made. The piece is about looking at what is and is not and accepting the good and the bad. At least I think so. I'm not going to give it a relisten just to be sure.

I read things too literally and also think that swearing triggering laughter is a pavlovian response. So I didn't find it funny at all. I think I laughed at one thing.

I was repeatedly impressed by the post-production value. I even jumped back when walking once when a raspy sound appeared to come from down and to the right where I was about to step.

The narrator was phenomenal.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Surprise!

I was not expecting to hear a story this good from a freebie. It’s definitely worth the time!

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2 people found this helpful