by Malka Older ; read by Lindsey Dorcus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 22, 2024
Lindsey Dorcus narrates a sci-fi mystery set on Jupiter and its moon Io. Investigator Mossa and scholar Pleiti work together on a complicated new case involving multiple missing people, as well as new treachery at Valdegeld University. Dorcus portrays Mossa as brisk and straightforward; however, she captures Mossa's occasional hesitancy when it comes to her relationship with Pleiti. Pleiti is portrayed as intelligent but more emotional, and Dorcus also shows Pleiti's anxiety regarding her relationship with Mossa. Both Mossa and Pleiti must confront uncomfortable truths they have been hiding from each other. Dorcus seamlessly blends the two narrative threads of Mossa and Pleiti working through their relationship and Mossa and Pleiti solving the tricky missing persons case.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2024
Duration: 5 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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by Ada Hoffmann ; read by Nancy Wu ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2026
An all-too-real take on AI’s quenching of queer creativity, told by a bold and captivating narrator.
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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
by Martha Wells ; read by Kevin R. Free ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2026
Emotion check: Long live Murderbot.
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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
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