Ready for Murderbot Audiobooks?


Martha Wells’ novella All Systems Red, which won the Nebula Award last weekend, is also an award-winning audiobook.

The Murderbot Diaries are being issued as audiobooks for the first time, read by ace narrator Kevin R. Free.  The first book, All Systems Red, just came out and has already won an AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award.  Check out this video of Kevin talking about the book.

And click the link to hear this Soundcloud All Systems Red sound clip.

The second audiobook in the series, Artificial Condition, was published in May; the third, Rogue Protocol, will be released in audio and print editions simultaneously in August; the fourth and final book, Exit Strategy, will appear in audio and print in October.

Love Martha Wells?  Don’t miss some of her other audiobooks:

Find more reviews of sff audiobooks at the AudioFile Magazine website.

8 thoughts on “Ready for Murderbot Audiobooks?

  1. I dunno… shouldn’t Murderbot have an androgynous voice? That’s definitely a man, though he’s got the deadpan down wonderfully.

    To me, Murderbot is androgynous or non-gendered, maybe tilting a bit female with the interest in soap operas. Say 90-95% non-gender, 5-10% female.

  2. I’ve listened to both Death of the Necromancer and Wheel of the Infinite in audiobook format and enjoyed the readers of both, so glad to hear this.

  3. Kevin R. Free is a great narrator! I’ve listened to other SFF he’s narrated, and while reading “All Systems Red” was great, now that they’re doing audio, I’m going to just get the audio from now on (I only have the first in ebook). 😀 It’s great to hear the last two will be released alongside the print/ebook versions.

    Nice little video; interesting to call it a coming-of-age story. That’s a different but reasonable take on it.

    @Lurkertype: My years-ago wander through soap operas makes me 5-10% woman?! 😉 Meh.

    I like Free’s version of Murderbot a lot. I think of Murderbot as sexless/genderless, but a masculine voice fits what I’d imagine. Though with respect, that’s not an uber-masculine voice, though sure, obviously male. Or is that because I know he’s a guy? I’m not sure what an androgynous voice sounds like, actually. I’ve met men with somewhat feminine-sounding voices and women with voices I’d describe as masculine, so I don’t really even know what’s what, I’m realizing. 😉

  4. P.S. Murderbot’s second soap opera just sounds like adventure in the outer reaches of the galaxy, but “Sanctuary Moon” definitely sounds like a soap opera. I’m not sure a voice has anything to do with one’s tastes in mindless TV, though. 😛

    Yes it’s late and I’m in a rambling mood, sorry. Plus I may not have checked the box. ::blush::

  5. I listened to Artificial Condition and it was excellent – Kevin R. Free does an amazing job with the tone. I don’t think the masculine voice is an issue, as the text makes it abundantly clear that Murderbot doesn’t identify with any gender: there’s certainly no in-universe reason why a genderless robot wouldn’t have a masculine voice.

  6. I’ve heard Annie Lennox described as having a masculine voice, and heard male singers who sound like her. Nina Simone strikes me as having one. I’ve also heard a couple of trans men’s pre-T and post-T voices (singing) and can say they do change even when the vocal range doesn’t, but can’t describe the change. It’s probable a trans woman could, because estrogen does not raise a voice, so those who have managed to gain a feminine sound have done so via active vocal coaching by an SLP, and conscious effort. Thet however may not want to be a 101 source.

    Kevin R Free has always struck me as having a very gentle middle range voice, mostly male but with some feminine overtones. And an expressive range that belies the “gentle” above.

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