The First Omega

By: Megan O'Keefe

Narrated by: Jessica Marchbank

Mad Max meets X-Men in this razor-sharp new dystopian novella by the Philip K Dick award-nominated author of Velocity Weapon.

It doesn't matter what you call her. Riley. Burner. She forgot her name long ago. But if you steal from the supply lines crossing the wasteland, her face is the last one you'll see. She is the force of nature that keeps the balance in the hot arid desert. Keep to yourself and she'll leave you well enough alone. But it's when you try to take more than you can chew that her employers notice and send her off to restore the balance. Then she gets the latest call. A supply truck knocked over too cleanly. Too precise. And the bodies scattering the wreckage weren't killed by her normal prey of scavengers. These bodies are already rotting hours after the attack. Cowering in the corner of the wreckage is a young girl. A girl that shouldn't be there. A girl with violently blue eyes. Just like hers.

©2021 Megan E. O’Keefe (P)2022 Tantor

Fun short story

Great short story, worth a listen, builds a world and fills it with a few great twists! If you’re on a long drive it’s a great one and worth your time.

Very good story

This was very good. I feel like I might have enjoyed it more if I just read it. The actual story was better than the performance. Not bad, but I felt like the story was much harder and emotional than the reading. Still very enjoyable I only recommend while it’s included with your membership this month!

Gritty, unexpected

A fresh variation on the post-apocalyptic trained killer turning against the system. Moving without too much melodrama, uplifting without too much inspirational cloyingness. I thought the voice acting/reading was perfect for the characters and tone—it’s softer, more ordinary and young than the sentiments the main narrating character voices, but so is she! Just a touch of Texas drawl was the cherry on top and the shift into other voices was perfect in every instance.

Short and elegant

Loved this story. Exciting with interesting twists and cool character loyalties. I want more stories in this setting!

Salted earth dystopia gives a bloody good time

The mood of this one was everything: gritty, broody, and ruthless. I like that the story earned its way without relying on F bombs or the tired scene of men abusing women. The narrator’s voice was perhaps too clean and feminine for the tale, but it meshed with the writing soon enough.