Emergency Skin cover art

Emergency Skin

Forward collection

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Emergency Skin

By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Jason Isaacs
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About this listen

2020 Audie Award Winner for Best Science Fiction

Audible narration by Jason Isaacs (Star Trek: Discovery)

What will become of our self-destructed planet? The answer shatters all expectations in this subversive speculation from the Hugo Award - winning author of the Broken Earth trilogy.

An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet’s finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: A graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind - hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out ages ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.

N. K. Jemisin’s Emergency Skin is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

©2019 N. K. Jemisin (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Dystopian Fiction First Contact Genetic Engineering Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Genetics Funny Witty Thought-Provoking Global Emergency

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Critic reviews

“Emergency Skin, by the award(s)-winning Jemisin, is part of a sensational project called Forward, which brings together six writers, each telling a story about Earth’s imagined future.” --Spine Magazine

“Narrator Jason Isaac’s voice is the perfect mix of insistent, pedantic, and scornful…This brief but clever tale is truly best enjoyed on audio.” (AudioFile - Earphones Award Winner)

“The tale is a fascinating experiment in story structure…Thoughtful and interactive.” (LOCUS)

“This is exactly how I like my techno-anxiety…Happy bingeing!” (Audible, an October Editors Pick)

All stars
Most relevant  
Let the greedy launch themselves into space, only without the selfish billionaires can our world prosper

Hope for the future

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I just really enjoyed this. I loved the premise of the plot, I loved how the story was told. Solid bit of sci-fi, albeit it short.

Solid bit of sci-fi

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alot of the text is one side of a conversation, which I thought worked very well. enjoyable and interesting short story.

told from an interesting perspective

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Very short but don’t be put off by that, as it’s really very good, a definite must listen to.
Clever in the way it’s told, you wouldn’t think it’d work but it just does.


Wow this is good, thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Absolutely brilliant. This was a hot to listen to I can't believe I didn't read this sooner.
The best way to describe this book is that it's intelligent writing. you are listening from the POV of a Nagging A.I and a revolutionary "alien". The earth N.K created is one I want to live in. This is an excellent introdutory to her writing.

Brilliant!

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The choice of Jason in this role of AI was inspired. His shift between accents was incredible. The story whilst straightforward was heart warming. .

Best choice of actor

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Why have I never heard of this author before? This story was briliant. I didn't know it was possible for someone to write so amazingly. My review of this story can't do it justice because I haven't the author's way with words. I too am obsessed with immortality, but this story delves into what the consequences of eternal life might be, and what such an existence would entail. Should we want for longevity at any cost? And yet the vibe of the author's storytelling is also quirky in a smart clever way. So glad I've found a new favourite author to read! Well, listen to audibooks. And this one being narrated by Jason Isaacs is brill. He's so good at accents it seems he's really born where he's talking from.

Incredible

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This one hit me hard. A quick read (listen) to smash your senses. Beautiful. Read it.

Boom!

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I enjoyed this story tremendously, and the narrator. Themes include: technological advancement, humanity, survival.

How Earth could be.

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A great premise for a captivating story about oppression in the name of privilege for the few, and the start of a revolution for a shared abundance. The plot slowly builds up and finally reveals the horrible truth about the protagonist's world and destiny, mostly unbeknownst even to him. The only narrating voices we hear are that of the guiding AI, dictating the best course of action to the soldier on a crucial mission, and that of the local inhabitants of the seemingly hostile planet. Yet, the protagonist's actions and decisions appear even more remarkable and poignant. Great job by the audiobook narrator too.

What if even skin was a luxury?

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