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The Seep

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The Seep

By: Chana Porter
Narrated by: Shakina Nayfack
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About this listen

“A unique alien invasion story that focuses on the human and the myriad ways we see and don’t see our own world. Mesmerizing.” --Jeff VanderMeer

A blend of searing social commentary and speculative fiction, Chana Porter’s fresh, pointed debut explores a strange new world in the wake of a benign alien invasion.

Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka is a fifty-year-old trans woman whose life is irreversibly altered in the wake of a gentle--but nonetheless world-changing--invasion by an alien entity called The Seep. Through The Seep, everything is connected. Capitalism falls, hierarchies and barriers are broken down; if something can be imagined, it is possible.

Trina and her wife, Deeba, live blissfully under The Seep’s utopian influence--until Deeba begins to imagine what it might be like to be reborn as a baby, which will give her the chance at an even better life. Using Seeptech to make this dream a reality, Deeba moves on to a new existence, leaving Trina devastated.

Heartbroken and deep into an alcoholic binge, Trina follows a lost boy she encounters, embarking on an unexpected quest. In her attempt to save him from The Seep, she will confront not only one of its most avid devotees, but the terrifying void that Deeba has left behind. A strange new elegy of love and loss, The Seep explores grief, alienation, and the ache of moving on.

©2020 Chana Porter (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Excerpt from “My Play” in Sherwood Forest by Camille Roy. © 2011 by Camille Roy. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Futurepoem Books, www.futurepoem.com. All rights reserved. Excerpt from Architectural Body by Madeline Gins and Arakawa. © 2002 by Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa. Reprinted by permission of The University of Alabama Press. All rights reserved. Excerpt from “You are not dead” in Black Life by Dorothea Lasky. © 2010 by Dorothea Lasky. Reprinted with the permission of Wave Books, wavepoetry.com. All rights reserved
Absurdist Fiction Literature & Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

"Porter's gripping, subtly hopeful work of literary speculative fiction is shaped by remarkable world-building elements and acute observation of human frailties and impetus." —Booklist, starred review

"In Porter's surreal, introspective debut, a benevolent alien invasion leads humanity into a utopia, exploring themes of grief and discontentment within a seemingly perfect world.... Readers will delight in the eerie disquietude and optimism of this well-calibrated what-if." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This surreal debut takes on themes of utopia, identity, love, and loss, while readers are pulled into a full experience through Porter’s fluid prose. This unusual story will linger long past the last page." —Library Journal, starred review

“[Shakina] Nayfack's gripping performance brings a layer of dimension to this world and the questions our heroine grapples with that will keep listeners riveted.” —Booklist, audiobook review

"[Shakina] Nayfack's powerful, sardonic delivery strengthens Porter's narrative, balancing past and present to examine love, societal constructions, the intricacies of utopia, and how past experiences shape identity and selfhood. Nayfack's measured pacing grounds listeners in daily life under the Seep, while her intimate, specific characterizations pull listeners forward during challenging, painful moments." —AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award Winner

What listeners say about The Seep

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Very weird but very good

I’ve recently had my stepdad who I was close to pass away. The poignancy that the author writes about grief and how the main character handles going through the stages of grief is beautiful and I felt that deeply.

The story is very good ,very weird it drew me in.I wanted to know more about the seep and how it worked.The only reason this isn’t rated higher was the last couple chapters before the end felt a bit rushed.Overall the ending was good.

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