THE MEMORY LIBRARIAN And Other Stories of Dirty Computer

Musician and actor Janelle Monáe adds author and narrator to her considerable list of accomplishments with this story collection based on the themes of her 2018 album DIRTY COMPUTER. In this Afrofuturist dystopia, the totalitarian entity New Dawn seeks to hunt down and strip away all perceived deviance from humanity. Monáe's narration of the eponymous first story is softly menacing as she introduces listeners to Seshet, a bureaucratic memory thief who longs for love and connection. The rest of the stories are engagingly voiced by Bahni Turpin, who uses her crisp and flexible tones to portray characters at odds with Seshet's mission, would-be victims turned rebels against conformity. Together, they create a memorable experience for listeners seeking classic science-fiction themes with new horizons. N.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2022]