How High We Go in the Dark
by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Narrated by Julia Whelan, Brian Nishii, Keisuke Hoashi, MacLeod Andrews, Jeanne Sakata, Greg Watanabe, Kurt Kanazawa, Matthew Bridges, Kotaro Watanabe, Brianna Ishibashi, Joe Knezevich, Micky Shiloah, Stephanie Komure, Jason Culp
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
Fourteen narrators, each locked to a single character — this is what it sounds like when audio format stops being a delivery mechanism and becomes the actual art.
- Great if you want: literary sci-fi that finds tenderness inside apocalypse
- Listening experience: episodic and meditative — each chapter a self-contained emotional gut-punch
- Narration: the ensemble cast makes the fragmented structure feel inevitable, not gimmicky
- Skip if: you need a single throughline — this is vignettes, not a plot
About This Audiobook
When climate change unleashes an ancient plague from Arctic permafrost, humanity faces an existential crisis that spans generations. Sequoia Nagamatsu weaves together interconnected stories of survival and adaptation, following characters across centuries as they navigate a world fundamentally altered by disease and loss. From theme parks designed for dying children to cosmic journeys seeking new worlds, each vignette explores how people find meaning, connection, and hope amid catastrophe. The narrative moves fluidly between intimate personal struggles and grand societal transformations, examining humanity's remarkable capacity for reinvention when confronted with seemingly insurmountable challenges.
The exceptional ensemble cast brings remarkable depth to Nagamatsu's ambitious vision, with fourteen skilled narrators creating distinct voices for each interconnected story. Julia Whelan, Brian Nishii, and their fellow performers capture both the devastating weight of loss and the surprising moments of beauty that emerge from tragedy. The varied vocal interpretations enhance the book's episodic structure, allowing listeners to experience each character's journey as a complete emotional arc while maintaining connections to the larger narrative tapestry. The audio format particularly suits this contemplative science fiction, as the narrators' nuanced performances amplify the story's meditation on grief, resilience, and what it truly means to be human.