It’s no secret that I absolutely love the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free. So when one of the shorts became available I had to listen. At just under an hour, Wells offers a glimpse into a mission involving ART, Iris, Tarik, and Matteo.
by Martha Wells
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #2.5
Narrator: Kevin R. Free
Length: 53 minutes
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.2x
Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover...
Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy features sound design and special effects to enhance your listening enjoyment
While Rapport was released after Systems Collapse, the events take place after the second audiobook, Artificial Conditions. It doesn’t matter when you listen to Rapport, but for the record, it is Murderbot Diaries 2.5, and if you haven’t begun this series, it would be more insightful to read it after Artificial Conditions.
Rapport is very short and just 53 minutes long. It’s not a complete story but a glimpse into the Perihelion crew as they begin a dangerous mission on a corporate-controlled station. The station is in the middle of a hostile takeover, making it extremely difficult. They are looking for pre-rim artifacts, and it’s a good thing ART has learned some new tricks.
I loved the inside look at the dynamics of this team. Especially the relationship between ART and Iris. Looking back, as I have listened to all the novellas, this short story hints at things regarding team members and gives us a closer look into the world itself.
Kevin R. Free narrates this series, and I was delighted to listen to this short. I had imagined that these shorts would be put into an audiobook anthology, but it appears TOR will release them individually on audio. At least for now.
Amazon | Audible
About Martha Wells
Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including The Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads), the Ile-Rien series (including The Death of the Necromancer) as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, media tie-ins (for Star Wars and Stargate: Atlantis), and non-fiction. Her most recent fantasy novel is The Harbors of the Sun in 2017, the final novel in The Books of the Raksura series. She has a new series of SF novellas, The Murderbot Diaries, published by Tor.com in 2017 and 2018. She was also the lead writer for the story team of Magic: the Gathering's Dominaria expansion in 2018. She has won a Nebula Award, an ALA/YALSA Alex Award, a Locus Award, and her work has appeared on the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Award ballots, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been published in eleven languages.
About Kevin R. Free
Kevin R. Free is an actor, writer, director, and producer whose work has been developed both regionally and in NYC. He is an accomplished voice actor, having created voices for commercials and, most notably, the voice of Kevin for the popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale. He is proud of his 20 years as an audiobook narrator whose work spans many genres.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Anne - Books of My Heart
Kevin Free is amazing.
Sophia Rose
Oh cool! They made an audio of this one. I loved this glimpse into crew life, too.