A cast of gifted narrators inhabits this edgy, sometimes gruesome, collection of short stories by Japanese author Murata, best known for her cult novel, CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN. Eunice Wong delivers the title story, as well as "A Magnificent Spread," lending a tone of mischief to tales of macabre food adventures. Nancy Wu's warm voice deftly handles the most sentimental of the stories, "A Summer Night's Kiss" and "Two's Family." Natalie Naudus, Jeena Yi, Pun Bandhu, and Emily Woo Zeller round out the rest of this first-rate team of storytellers; each of their voices is unique, but each is also a piece of a larger mosaic. This is what a masterful audio collection of short stories should be and one that experienced listeners will relish.
Pub Date: July 5, 2022
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798212188326
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Fans will welcome Free’s performance of this brief addition to the Murderbot universe.
Maintaining the same sardonic tone that works so well for the Murderbot Diaries audiobooks, Kevin R. Free narrates this story that, for once, isn’t told from Murderbot’s perspective. The crew of Perihelion, an intelligent research transport ship, is preparing for a mission aboard a space station. Peri sounds delightfully snotty in its interactions with Iris and the rest of the crew. The ship is implementing new strategies to keep its crew safe, and it’s being cagey about what inspired them—but we slowly realize that it’s because of Peri’s experience with a certain rogue SecUnit in a previous installment of the series. Sound effects, including beeping computers and whooshing air, add to the SF atmosphere.
Fans will welcome Free’s performance of this brief addition to the Murderbot universe.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
Duration: 53 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250489241
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2026
Chillingly good.
Coeditor Hawk (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma) orients listeners to the stories about to unfold, presented by Indigenous creators both well-established and new, all united in their mission to share unapologetically Native horror. Listeners will encounter monsters from various traditions as well as purely fictional ones, and many tales are informed by the ravages of four-plus centuries of settler colonialism. The array of voices underscores the cultural diversity of the collection. Not one narrator fails to engage, but a standout is Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock nations), who voices "The Corpse Room," by Debra Magpie Earling (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), set at a mission-run boarding school. A survivor speaking from decades’ distance, she recollects the unholy goings-on with ferocious immediacy.
Chillingly good.Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 54 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217406746
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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