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  • Emergency Skin

  • Forward collection
  • By: N. K. Jemisin
  • Narrated by: Jason Isaacs
  • Length: 1 hr and 4 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (44 ratings)

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Emergency Skin

By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Jason Isaacs
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Publisher's Summary

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.

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)

What listeners say about Emergency Skin

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well written

Very clever story. Gets you thinking about current societies and the issues that they face.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Stunning reading

Great story, unbelievable reading. In the hands of Jason Isaacs I suspect this story is more powerful as an audiobook than as text.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amy
  • 20-11-2022

Short but brilliant

Between the incredible writing and Jason Isaacs performance? No question it’s a five star listen. Highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Really cool

This was a really cool little story that is told uniquely. Jason Isaacs narrates it very well, and I loved the petulance of the AI.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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NK Jemisin is actually a genius

Everything she writes it’s brilliant—the prose is accessible, yet complex and layered if you are prepared let it take you deeper. So when I saw this short story on audible, there was no question I would add it to my library! Jason Isaacs performs it beautifully, this was a joy to listen to. Will re-listen again for sure, wish I could give it 10 stars!

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Just TERRIBLE. dont be tricked..

Didn't realise it was only 1 hour long. I wasted a credit on this. This is my genre but it was unlistenable. I am an idiot.

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1 person found this helpful

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