Salsa Nocturna: Stories

By: Daniel José Older

Narrated by: Daniel José Older

A 300-year-old story collector enlists the help of the computer hacker next door to save her dying sister. A half-resurrected cleanup man for Death’s sprawling bureaucracy faces a phantom pachyderm, doll-collecting sorceresses, and his own ghoulish bosses. Gordo, the old Cubano who watches over the graveyards and sleeping children of Brooklyn, stirs and lights another Malaguea. Down the midnight streets of New York, a whole invisible universe churns to life in Daniel José Older’s debut collection of ghost noir.

©2012 Crossed Genres Publications. All stories are Copyright 2012 Daniel José Older and are used with permission. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"It’s so rare to read something that doesn’t sound like anything you’ve read before, and so invigorating." (John Green, author, The Fault in Our Stars)

Just Curious

This is great, but why did the audio version leave out one of the short stories from the collection?

Great Stories

Any additional comments?

Older is fast becoming a favorite of mine. Loved these short stories and enjoy his styling as a narrator.

5 Stars for Salsa Nocturnal

I throughly enjoyed this experience! The stories are captivating and the world building is well crafted. The narration by Daniel Jose Older transported me to this magical, fantastical New York! Bravo sir! Bravo!

I absolutely recommend this audio book/book to anyone who enjoys well-narrated, engaging short stories!

I will read/listen to his work in the future!

Engaging Supernatural Detective Stories

Where does Salsa Nocturna: Stories rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was a unique and entertaining listen. I enjoyed the mixture of police procedural with ghost story. The book is both serious and tongue-in-cheek. DJO's work is intentionally told from the perspective Latino and Black people. This perspective enriches the story and it's clear that DJO has done a lot of historical research on Black history in NYC etc to stretch canvas his story is painted on.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Salsa Nocturna: Stories?

I don't really like this question because it makes me want to spoil things. So I'm going to refuse to answer it. I'd rather people experience the book for themselves.

What does Daniel José Older bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first I thought it was pretty hokey that the author was also the performer in this audiobook. I viewed it as a flaw or something a little funny that could be overlooked for some great storytelling. But, truth be told, DJO's style really grew on me and I think his literal voice is one of the best things about this audiobook. He knows how he wants his characters to sound and feel and that comes across in this recording.

Who was the most memorable character of Salsa Nocturna: Stories and why?

All of the main characters are memorable. Gordo, a fat Cuban musicman who deals with the living and the dead, is high on my list. One weakness of the book is that I found it hard to tell the difference between him and the protagonist Carlos in the beginning because the stories are narrated by both of them at different times.

Any additional comments?

This is the only Amazon or Audible review I have ever written in my many years as an Amazon customer. I think people should listen to this audiobook.

Hip with sly humor, 3-D people, great narration

An amazing book - vivid descriptions all around, from the characters, to the settings, to the little everyday actions that we take for granted and most authors don't use. The narration is perfection. If you enjoy the mix of current times (iPods, internet) with alternate reality (ghosts that have to deal with an alphabet agency bureaucracy that has detectives, agents, bad supervisors, and gung-ho trainees) then you'll have fun with this book.

Add in the New York setting, people of color and their cultural history and current impact then the telling of the stories just gets better. I'm going to listen to this book again - it is jam packed of details and I want to be able to listen to this book with my full attention to catch them all.