This thoughtful, satisfying performance delivers an engaging listen.
T. Ryder Smith’s interesting narration is true to the many emotional tensions in the newest SF adventure by Nebula Award-winning author Sui. A blend of mystery and philosophy with a touch of horror, the story takes us aboard an ancient spaceship in the company of researchers and Vessel Iris, a death monk with an AI implant. Although Iris’s foggy voice and neutral affect match the character, they grow monotonous over long stretches of listening. Nonetheless, it’s a considered choice, and other characters’ personalities—spiky, sincere, acidic—offer enough variation to keep one involved. When it comes, the terrifying action is rendered with gripping, staccato pacing. And the insidious tone that Smith gives the enemy sentience is truly shiver-inducing.
This thoughtful, satisfying performance delivers an engaging listen.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9798897560196
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
An all-too-real take on AI’s quenching of queer creativity, told by a bold and captivating narrator.
Nancy Wu leads listeners through an interplanetary heist in a SF tale of queer pirates and childhood loss. On the planet Callisto, stories are owned by a generative AI conglomerate. Stories are watered down. Characters are one-dimensional. And storytellers like Kelli Reynolds are boxed into a singular style. When Kelli’s smuggler ex-boyfriend, Rowan, comes back into town requesting a favor, Kelli’s troubling past comes back to haunt her, and her narrow vision of storytelling gets blown wide open. Wu’s depiction of Kelli’s autism is compassionate and powerful, and she provides gender-expansive voices for various queer pirates.
An all-too-real take on AI’s quenching of queer creativity, told by a bold and captivating narrator.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs, 25 mins
DD ISBN: 9798899732737
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Emotion check: Long live Murderbot.
Kevin R. Free drops listeners into the middle of a rescue mission aboard an enormous space station. In a defining performance, Free masterfully conveys Murderbot’s sardonic running commentary, deadpan and endearingly world-weary. Murderbot has installed a mental health module since its last adventure, so there are frequent “emotion checks.” The mission, of course, runs into several complications, and Murderbot finds itself with a growing party of humans to keep safe. As the sometimes perilous, sometimes zany rescue operation progresses, Free employs subtle accents to distinguish the human characters; Nanna Naja especially is a hoot. But it’s his Murderbot, who has grown and changed over eight installments, that will have listeners rapt.
Emotion check: Long live Murderbot.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
Duration: 5 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781705041031
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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