New Reviews: Science Fiction

Earl T. Kim performs a sci-fi story about an orb that appears in Seoul and absorbs any human it touches. Jeong-su watches as his neighbor is taken and somehow made to split, multiply, and spread across South Korea. Jeong-su is not a hero, but he's driven to reach and protect his elderly parents. Kim shifts among colorful voices that never edge into comical extremes. As the... Read More

Amara Jasper narrates an eerie horror story set aboard a spaceship carrying mostly frozen bodies. Halley hopes to escape a political scandal on Earth with a high-risk job as a glorified janitor on a massive spaceship carrying a cargo of cryogenically frozen humans. A trio of glitchy AI holograms accompanies her, and there seems to be something in the vents . . . always just out... Read More

Sometimes employing a pair of narrators to deliver an audiobook just makes sense. This crackling space thriller is a perfect example. Nicol Zanzarella voices recently demoted spy Corin Timony, along with the other characters who work at the multinational spook agency called The Bazaar, which is located on the lunar colony of New Destiny. Narrator Timothy Andrés Pabon animates... Read More

This new space opera is narrated by Savy Des-Etages. Nimah has worked hard to excel as a cadet, and now she's ready to begin her job as an agent for the Stars Intelligence and Government Authority. But her future is threatened when people learn she's the granddaughter of a famous pirate who has been accused of terrorism. Nimah has little choice but to join the motley crew who... Read More

Narrator Nicolette McKenzie conjures a stifled and decaying world in this unusual dystopian story. Aging sisters Evelyn and Lily have been alone together for longer than they can remember, tending their garden despite a growing dysregulation of time and the seasons. The appearance of a boy inside the supposedly secure wall surrounding their property throws everything about the... Read More

Jolene Kim narrates this sci-fi heist audiobook steeped in Hawaiian culture and language. Edie spent eight years in prison after their partner, Angel, sold them out. But Angel has one more job, and Edie's family back home on Kepler space station needs their support. Kim's voice is pleasantly low and unhurried, steeping listeners in the rich setting and slow-paced writing style.... Read More

Think an interplanetary gastronomical showdown sounds silly? Think again. Narrator Soneela Nankani brings depth and heart to this imaginative sci-fi. Earthling Saraswati Kaveri travels to the planet Primus to compete on the elite cooking show "Interstellar MegaChef." Things don't go as planned, and Saras ends up cooking in a prestigious kitchen, only to face ridicule and... Read More

Chris Andrew Ciulla narrates a thought-provoking story about a small team of observers who arrive at a dying planet and confront an unusual alien race. Warin's only job is to monitor and report on the final days of Retti 4, where an extinction-level virus is about to wipe the planet clean of the "rettys" that inhabit it. He learns the aliens aren't primitive but are vastly... Read More

Mary Robinette Kowal narrates her latest science fiction novel, putting her skills to excellent use in the fourth installment of the Lady Astronaut series. It's the 1950s, and Elma York has just landed on Mars to prep the planet for its first group of settlers. A pilot and mathematician, Elma has already paved the way for women in space, but now she faces unexpected hurdles:... Read More

Blair Baker narrates this sci-fi mystery. Dorothy Gentleman is a detective aboard the HMS FAIRWEATHER, an interstellar passenger ship--spaceship, that is. To her surprise, she wakes up in an unfamiliar body just as a murder victim is found, a situation that leads to several more terrible developments. Baker's depiction of Dorothy's initial confusion over her predicament quickly... Read More

Scott Brick narrates a fantastical adventure that blends science fiction and cosmic horror. Cammie, an astrophysicist, is part of the first team sent to study the Nether anomaly. Researchers believe the anomaly might be a means to travel deeper into the universe, but there are signs that ancient beings have already explored it. Brick plays with rhythm and cadence to build... Read More

Indiana Jones meets "Quantum Leap" in this thrilling new science fiction series, splendidly performed by Roger Wayne. Twenty years after a failed attempt at going back in time to retrieve a long-lost gold menorah and leaving behind his mentee/partner, Aaron, Dr. Rabbit Ward tries again--this time in 535 C.E. Constantinople. Once there, he establishes some connections in the... Read More

With his slightly raspy timbre and resigned tone, narrator Tim Lounibos hits just the right notes for this twisty cyber-whodunit. Lounibos plays his part straight, which is a wise move considering that the plot of this noir satire is fast and funny. Set in the 22nd century, the story features Orr Vue, who is investigating a murder that is part of a massive conspiracy. Think... Read More

Wil Wheaton narrates the newest comic sci-fi novel by John Scalzi. When the moon unexpectedly turns to cheese, humanity has to deal with the aftereffects. Wheaton chronicles the reactions of a sweeping cross-section of Americans during the first lunar cycle post-change: Scientists and government officials, billionaires and moguls, cheesemongers and retirees--literally everyone... Read More

It takes just the right narrator to weave a story of the world ending. Eunice Wong proves up to the task in this fascinating audiobook. In Nayler's gripping cybernetic thriller, governments across Europe start to crumble when their AI leaders begin to fail. Wong skillfully brings to life a handful of characters who get caught up in the turmoil of a deteriorating Europe. She... Read More