★Bradley, Kaliane. The Ministry of Time. S. & S. Audio. May 2024. 10:22 hrs. ISBN 9781797176888. $24.99. SF

A British Cambodian government worker is requisitioned to a top-secret program helping one of the people kidnapped from the past adjust to life in this century. She’s assigned the distantly charming and handsome Commander Graham Gore of the Franklin Expedition as a housemate and surveillance target. She’s instantly attracted to Gore, but getting a promotion is much more attainable. Besides, there are more important things to ignore, like digs at her race, why the government has sunk so much in finding refugees from the past, and whom she’s really reporting to. Bradley’s captivating debut is uniquely suited to audiobook format, living as it does in the spaces between words. Its melancholic longing is matched only by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s This Is How You Lose the Time War. Katie Leung’s performance is taut and precise, just how a buttoned-up civil servant would be. She forces listeners to understand the weight of Gore in her world and how her experience navigating her ethnicity deeply affects each facet of her life. George Weightman’s interstitials as Gore are enlightening and all-too-brief. VERDICT Equal parts meditation on belonging, slowest-burn romance, and cli-fi spy drama make an unstoppable combination.—Katherine Sleyko

★Chandrasekera, Vajra. Rakesfall. Dreamscape Media. Jun. 2024. 8:57 hrs. ISBN 9781666661927. $17.99. SF

From the mythic past to the heat death of the universe, the various lives of Annelid and Leveret flow through time together in Chandrasekera’s (The Saint of Bright Doors) layered slipstream story. Whether they meet as friends, as halves of the same self, as godlike enemies, or as hunter and hunted, their eternal return causes ripples through time and deeply affects the fate of the earth. Chandrasekera weaves the profane, the poetic, and the playful into a masterpiece. Audiences can let the precise yet dizzying prose wash over them until the narratively satisfying conclusion. Deeper attention, however, is infinitely rewarding. Close listening reveals profound thoughts on topics ranging from cycles of violence, selfhood, and historiography to body-hacking, digital afterlives, and uncloseable doors. Familiarity with Hindu cosmology offers even more throughlines, from the deep time scale of the narrative to interrogations of foundational mythology. Narrator Shiromi Arserio handles this complicated work with aplomb, keeping the rhythm and poetry of the text flowing smoothly with distinct yet understated voices. VERDICT Utterly disorienting yet still emotionally and thematically resonant, Chandrasekera delivers a narrative that will satisfy every fan of the weird.—Katherine Sleyko

★Park Seolyeon. A Magical Girl Retires. HarperAudio. Apr. 2024. tr. from Korean by Anton Hur. 2:55 hrs. ISBN 9780063373280. $26.99. FANTASY

Though Park’s sparkling U.S. debut lacks the illustrations of the print release, the story comes alive in audio. The novel follows an unnamed 29-year-old woman, overwhelmed with credit card debt and newly unemployed. She decides that suicide may be her only option, but just then she is interrupted by the Clairvoyant Magical Girl, Ah Roa. Ah Roa declares that rather than meeting an untimely end, the woman is destined to be the most powerful magical girl in the world. Her power is needed not to rescue the world from an alien invasion but to save it from the fallout of human environmental policies. Shannon Tyo’s narration is both wry and innocent as the protagonist doubtfully explores the magical girls’ union, tries to create her transformation catchphrase, and attempts to believe she could be special—or even useful. Tyo gives her a youthful voice that matures with her slow inner transformation in counterpoint to Ah Roa’s confident, assured tones. Listeners will be glad that, after a few plot twists, the protagonist finds her own path to happiness with Ah Roa at her side. VERDICT While this short audiobook grounds magical girls in reality, it is no less magical than the material that inspired it.—Matthew Galloway

★Pulley, Natasha. The Mars House. Bloomsbury. Mar. 2024. 18:31 hrs. ISBN 9781639732654. $30. SF

Pulley’s (The Half Life of Valery K) science fiction novel explores topics that range from prejudice and politics to relationship advice from woolly mammoths—all against the backdrop of a terraformed Martian colony. Xenophobic senator Aubrey Gale is intent on making Martian colonists understand the danger of Earthstrongers, or refugees from Earth, whose earlier life at higher gravity poses a threat to those born or naturalized on Mars. The only solution is to force Earthstrongers to undergo a dangerous medical procedure that could shorten or even end their lives. When Gale’s political games cause January, a recent émigré from Earth, to lose his few noncitizen rights, January strikes back. Then, a mixture of kindness and political savvy pushes Gale to offer January their hand in marriage for five years. Daniel de Bourg’s smooth, pleasant narration meshes well with Pulley’s graceful prose. Though much of the colony is of Chinese descent, Gale’s flat, American accent balances January’s British as listeners wait to discover whether politics and love can coexist. VERDICT Together, Pulley and de Bourg create a delightful listening experience, balancing a slow-burn romance with clever worldbuilding.—Matthew Galloway

★Wexler, Django. How To Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying. Hachette Audio. (Dark Lord Davi, Bk. 1). May 2024. 14:01 hrs. ISBN 9781668638057. $31.99. FANTASY

At what point in failing to defeat evil forces does one give up and join the other side? Wexler (Emperor of Ruin) explores this conundrum in the first tale of Dark Lord Davi, an exiled woman from the human realm who finds herself transported to the fantasy world known as the Kingdom. Here she battles the Dark Lord and dies again and again, each time waking up back at the point she started from. Why keep trying? Why not just become the Dark Lord? Jeanette Illidge’s narration strikes the right note, energetically capturing Davi’s outsized adventures as she tries to take on a new role. From good choices in character voices to the hilarious moments when Davi breaks the fourth wall, Illidge’s immersive narration is far better than reading the print. VERDICT A rollicking novel that doesn’t take itself too seriously, recommended for anyone needing to get lost in a good world, explore their inner demons, and enjoy some serious bloodshed. A needed addition to lighten the mood of any audio fantasy section.—Richard Winters