Phreaks

Get Your Phreak On

Review by: The Audiobook ReviewThis gave me a touch of nostalgia and I wasn't even born when it was set! I guess I've been a fan of hacker and phreaker type stories for longer than I can remember, and this full-cast audio drama by Matthew Derby ticks so many boxes.

It's a 10 episode serial telling the story of Emma Gable, a blind, socially awkward and unaccepted teenager in small-town USA. Her main hobby is randomly dialling phone numbers and talking to whoever answers... until one day her world changes when she stumbles upon a secret number.

Her story is expertly interwoven with her family struggles - her mother dying of radiation exposure, her father absent and spending time at a commune while fighting demons of his past - as well as the story of the Bell agents trying to stop her and her newfound phreak family.

This full-cast drama of talented voice actors sucked me and didn't let up. I listened through the entire thing in one day (thanks, in part to having nothing else to stop me while self-isolating as I wait for Covid-19 test results - who said a pandemic had to be all bad??!)

I have to give two huge thumbs up to Bree Klauser, the voice of Emma in her introductory role to voice acting. Bree Klauser is a legally blind/low vision actor (you may know her from Apple TV original "See" alongside Jason Momoa) who I envision making waves in Hollywood as she undoubtedly picks up more roles. A thoroughly captivating voice that pulled this story together.