
The Genesis of Misery
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.74
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Livvie Lin
-
By:
-
Neon Yang
About this listen
An immersive, electrifying space-fantasy, Neon Yang's debut novel The Genesis of Misery is full of high-tech space battles and political machinations, starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.
It’s an old, familiar story: a young person hears the voice of an angel saying they have been chosen as a warrior to lead their people to victory in a holy war.
But Misery Nomaki (she/they) knows they are a fraud.
Raised on a remote moon colony, they don’t believe in any kind of god. Their angel is a delusion, brought on by hereditary space exposure. Yet their survival banks on mastering the holy mech they are supposedly destined for, and convincing the Emperor of the Faithful that they are the real deal.
The deeper they get into their charade, however, the more they start to doubt their convictions. What if this, all of it, is real?
A reimagining of Joan of Arc’s story given a space opera, giant robot twist, the Nullvoid Chronicles is a story about the nature of truth, the power of belief, and the interplay of both in the stories we tell ourselves.
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.
©2022 Neon Yang (P)2022 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Archive Undying
- The Downworld Sequence, Book 1
- By: Emma Mieko Candon
- Narrated by: Yung-I Chang
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its wondrous works. But in its final death throes, the god brought one thing back to life: its favorite child, Sunai. For the seventeen years since, Sunai has walked the land like a ghost, unable to die, unable to age, and unable to forget the horrors he's seen. He's run as far as he can from the wreckage of his faith, drowning himself in drink, drugs, and men.
-
-
No idea what’s going on
- By Bailey on 08-01-23
-
Gideon the Ninth
- By: Tamsyn Muir
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap out of the audio, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse.
-
-
Fun. Not art, very gory, but 100% fun.
- By Sarah K. on 10-27-19
By: Tamsyn Muir
-
Translation State
- By: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits something unexpected: a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. No one actually expects Enae to succeed; it's an empty assignment meant to keep hir occupied. But Enae has never had a true purpose—no one ever expected hir to do more than care for grandmaman—so sie is determined to accomplish this task to the best of her ability.
-
-
Single themed and not on par with the series
- By Andrew Pollack on 07-01-23
By: Ann Leckie
-
The Spear Cuts Through Water
- A Novel
- By: Simon Jimenez
- Narrated by: Joel de la Fuente
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.
-
-
Unlistenable
- By Justin West on 08-01-24
By: Simon Jimenez
-
Even Though I Knew the End
- By: C.L. Polk
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist—the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.
-
-
Good short story
- By Amazon Customer on 04-02-24
By: C.L. Polk
-
A Half-Built Garden
- By: Ruthanna Emrys
- Narrated by: Kate Handford
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a warm March night in 2083, Judy Wallach-Stevens wakes to a warning of unknown pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay. She heads out to check what she expects to be a false alarm—and stumbles upon the first alien visitors to Earth. These aliens have crossed the galaxy to save humanity, convinced that the people of Earth must leave their ecologically-ravaged planet behind and join them among the stars. And if humanity doesn't agree, they may need to be saved by force. But the watershed networks that rose up to save the planet from corporate devastation aren't ready to give up on Earth.
-
-
Really interesting and engaging story
- By Sebastian on 07-09-23
By: Ruthanna Emrys
-
The Archive Undying
- The Downworld Sequence, Book 1
- By: Emma Mieko Candon
- Narrated by: Yung-I Chang
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the robotic god of Khuon Mo went mad, it destroyed everything it touched. It killed its priests, its city, and all its wondrous works. But in its final death throes, the god brought one thing back to life: its favorite child, Sunai. For the seventeen years since, Sunai has walked the land like a ghost, unable to die, unable to age, and unable to forget the horrors he's seen. He's run as far as he can from the wreckage of his faith, drowning himself in drink, drugs, and men.
-
-
No idea what’s going on
- By Bailey on 08-01-23
-
Gideon the Ninth
- By: Tamsyn Muir
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap out of the audio, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse.
-
-
Fun. Not art, very gory, but 100% fun.
- By Sarah K. on 10-27-19
By: Tamsyn Muir
-
Translation State
- By: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits something unexpected: a diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. No one actually expects Enae to succeed; it's an empty assignment meant to keep hir occupied. But Enae has never had a true purpose—no one ever expected hir to do more than care for grandmaman—so sie is determined to accomplish this task to the best of her ability.
-
-
Single themed and not on par with the series
- By Andrew Pollack on 07-01-23
By: Ann Leckie
-
The Spear Cuts Through Water
- A Novel
- By: Simon Jimenez
- Narrated by: Joel de la Fuente
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.
-
-
Unlistenable
- By Justin West on 08-01-24
By: Simon Jimenez
-
Even Though I Knew the End
- By: C.L. Polk
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An exiled augur who sold her soul to save her brother's life is offered one last job before serving an eternity in hell. When she turns it down, her client sweetens the pot by offering up the one payment she can't resist—the chance to have a future where she grows old with the woman she loves. To succeed, she is given three days to track down the White City Vampire, Chicago's most notorious serial killer. If she fails, only hell and heartbreak await.
-
-
Good short story
- By Amazon Customer on 04-02-24
By: C.L. Polk
-
A Half-Built Garden
- By: Ruthanna Emrys
- Narrated by: Kate Handford
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a warm March night in 2083, Judy Wallach-Stevens wakes to a warning of unknown pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay. She heads out to check what she expects to be a false alarm—and stumbles upon the first alien visitors to Earth. These aliens have crossed the galaxy to save humanity, convinced that the people of Earth must leave their ecologically-ravaged planet behind and join them among the stars. And if humanity doesn't agree, they may need to be saved by force. But the watershed networks that rose up to save the planet from corporate devastation aren't ready to give up on Earth.
-
-
Really interesting and engaging story
- By Sebastian on 07-09-23
By: Ruthanna Emrys
-
The Spare Man
- By: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tesla Crane, one of the richest women in the world, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between Earth and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and her husband is named as the prime suspect. To save him from the frame-up, Tesla will risk exposure and face demons from her past. Even though doing so might make her the next victim.
-
-
Classic mystery, forward worldbuilding
- By Deana on 10-16-22
-
A Psalm for the Wild-Built
- Monk & Robot, Book 1
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Em Grosland
- Length: 4 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
-
-
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
- By Daniel Cascaddan on 07-15-21
By: Becky Chambers
-
The Priory of the Orange Tree
- By: Samantha Shannon
- Narrated by: Liyah Summers
- Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction - but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
-
-
In a word, WOW
- By Kevin Potter on 03-09-19
By: Samantha Shannon
-
The Art of Prophecy
- A Novel
- By: Wesley Chu
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
So many stories begin the same way: With a prophecy. A chosen one. And the inevitable quest to slay a villain, save the kingdom, and fulfill a grand destiny. But this is not that kind of story. It does begin with a prophecy: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. And that prophecy did anoint a hero, Jian, raised since birth in luxury and splendor, and celebrated before he has won a single battle.
-
-
wow
- By Tsong J Maa on 04-17-23
By: Wesley Chu
-
Babel
- Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution
- By: R. F. Kuang
- Narrated by: Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Billie Fulford-Brown
- Length: 21 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.
-
-
The novel language lovers have been waiting for
- By LisaLee on 09-06-22
By: R. F. Kuang
-
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
- Wayfarers, Book 1
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Rachel Dulude
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space - and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe - in this lighthearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.
-
-
Unbearable narrator.
- By Christian Woolley on 06-18-19
By: Becky Chambers
-
Some Desperate Glory
- By: Emily Tesh
- Narrated by: Sena Bryer
- Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the majoda their victory over humanity. They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. When Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to Nursery to bear sons, she knows she must take humanity's revenge into her own hands.
-
-
YA Space Opera fights fascism but pulls punches
- By Dream Fractal on 06-26-23
By: Emily Tesh
-
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
- A Novel
- By: Shannon Chakraborty
- Narrated by: Lameece Issaq, Amin El Gamal
- Length: 16 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.
-
-
Not City of Brass, A Fun Swashbuckling Adventure
- By Pele on 03-23-23
-
Unsouled
- By: Will Wight
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sacred artists follow a thousand Paths to power, using their souls to control the forces of the natural world. Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he's ever known...and forge his own Path.
-
-
Amazingly Addictive and Oddly Cleaver
- By ronnito on 05-31-19
By: Will Wight
-
The Surviving Sky
- Surviving Sky, Book 1
- By: Kritika H. Rao
- Narrated by: Pranshu Mishra, Sharmila Devar
- Length: 18 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below. Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few.
-
-
Great Story, Stupendous Delivery
- By Wyatt Nelson on 07-14-23
By: Kritika H. Rao
-
Infinite
- By: Jeremy Robinson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
-
-
a rather complex science fiction story
- By Midwestbonsai on 12-26-17
By: Jeremy Robinson
-
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- By: Sean Williams
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The overthrow of the Republic is complete. The Separatist forces have been smashed, the Jedi Council nearly decimated, and the rest of the Order all but destroyed. Now absolute power rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious - the cunning Sith Lord better known as the former Senator, now Emperor, Palpatine. But more remains to be done.
-
-
Audiobook Unleashed
- By Alex on 02-27-09
By: Sean Williams
Critic reviews
2022, NYPL Best Books of the Year, Long-listed
“This vibrant tour de force presents a simultaneous embrace and inversion of Chosen One narratives. Yang’s prose is lush and gripping throughout, and [the] universe is complex and gorgeously rendered . . . This is a triumph.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Come for the giant robot space battles, stay for the fascinating worldbuilding and the heartbreaking insight into the politics of fanaticism and emotional manipulation.”—Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author of the Murderbot Diaries
“Neon Yang conjures a glittering, dangerous world where politics and religion clash in gemstone castles that float among the stars. Misery will tantalize, frustrate, and seduce you.”—Annalee Newitz, author of Autonomous
What listeners say about The Genesis of Misery
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-06-23
Narration was lacking
Pretty cool story though I don’t think the smarminess came across as it would have just by reading.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ryan Helm
- 07-23-23
so-so story, unremarkable narration
the only thing that stood out to me was the way it ended. won't say spoilers, but I thought it had a very unique and interesting conclusion. unfortunately, I found the everything else about this book unremarkable and unfortunately bland or boring at times.
it seemed like the author was trying too hard to make things descriptive and flowery, and they didn't quite have the skill/talent for that deep immersive style. they would have been better served keeping the story succinct and punchy.
narration was alright, but didn't help with the boredom and lack of enthusiasm I felt listening to it.
I think the original sci-fi setting is another positive point and it's a fictional world that I wanted to explore more. but I felt like there was very little presented to us on that front unfortunately.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 12-01-22
narrator is exhausting
it was like listening to someone deadpan a speech. the narrator reads the words. they don't tell it like a story.
also, there wasn't a whole story here. leaving things open is one thing. but nothing of great interest was really concluded.
maybe wait for the next book and read it instead of listening to it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joshua Gettinger
- 03-08-24
Terrible writing
Tin ear for dialogue. Extravagant violence. Many in our sci-fi, reading group did not even finish.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!