Refresh Audiobook By Salim Lemelle cover art

Refresh

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Refresh

By: Salim Lemelle
Narrated by: Kevin Free
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.95

Buy for $6.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Refresh is an explosive, powerful short story about a near-future dystopia in which citizens can commodify every waking moment of their lives with computer-generated augmented reality. But this ubiquitous, game-changing technology can create dangerous consequences, especially for society’s most vulnerable people.

Welcome to Refresh: With nothing but a pair of computerized contact lenses, the app allows you to immortalize and share your experiences in virtual reality, and to step right into the life of anyone you’d like - for the right price. And in the near-distant future, there is no longer a question of who uses the app, only how: to record and share special occasions, like weddings and vacations? Or to push the envelope toward something more controversial, more shocking, more sinister?

This thought-provoking listen follows a young Black man who, in order to profit from his own marginalization and to make a larger statement, hatches a plan for a confrontation with a police officer that’s sure to capture the attention his profile desperately needs. But when the lines between performance and experience are blurred, is he prepared for the reality of what’s at stake?

Refresh is both a compelling futuristic tale and a gut-wrenching commentary on our world and the reality of being Black in America.

Please note: This audio contains strong language, distressing situations, and descriptions of violence that some listeners may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.

©2020 Salim Lemelle (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC

©2020 Salim Lemelle (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC
Science Fiction Fiction Scary
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

About the Creator

Salim Lemelle is a genre/sci-fi writer from Southern California. Salim sold his short story Quietus to QC Entertainment (Get Out) which he will adapt with Steven Caple Jr. (Creed 2) for Steven to direct. Before that, Salim was selected as a fellow in 2015 for the prestigious Universal Pictures Emerging Writers Fellowship. He attended Pomona College earning his BA, then later receiving his MFA in screenwriting from The University of Southern California’s School for Cinematic Arts.

About the Perfomer

Lauded for his boyish voice, emotional range and fluid vocalizations, Kevin R. Free is one of the narrators of the 2011 Audie Award-winning Here in Harlem and an Audie Award Finalist for his narration of The Red Pyramid (with Katherine Kellgren). Kevin was named a Golden Voice in 2012 by AudioFile Magazine and is a recipient of 10 Earphones Awards, including one for his narration of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Known World. A narrator of over 300 audiobooks since 2001, he is especially proud of his narration of several series including Martha Wells’s Murderbot Diaries, Walter Dean Myers’s The Cruisers, and Jay Bell’s Something Like. More info about Kevin can be found at www.kevinrfree.com.

Featured Article: The Best Short Story Audiobooks to Immerse Yourself In Now


Short stories have had a huge impact on the canon of great literature. In fact, some of history's most revered novelists—Ernest Hemingway, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Louisa May Alcott among them—wrote short stories, which make excellent introductions to their work. Plus, these bite-size listens are the perfect way to get a big dose of literary inspiration even when you’re short on time. To get you started, we’ve compiled a list of listens.

What listeners say about Refresh

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    389
  • 4 Stars
    205
  • 3 Stars
    126
  • 2 Stars
    49
  • 1 Stars
    32
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    439
  • 4 Stars
    179
  • 3 Stars
    69
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    352
  • 4 Stars
    173
  • 3 Stars
    112
  • 2 Stars
    42
  • 1 Stars
    43

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story!

I can’t wait for your next story Salim! I did not see that ending coming

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So Incredibly Innovative

Such a creative idea. I’m really shaken by the storyline and the narration. Just overall great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Could be a series

It's a short story that could easily be a full sci-fi novel or tv series. It presents a believable future and raises questions about the utility and abuse of technology and the ways we respond to injustice and need.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great premise, well realized with a believable end

An interersting extrapolation of trends in social media with a very beliveable if ironic resolution.
Well narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Very Thoughtful and Enjoyable Listen

First off, the narrator was wonderful. Very easy and enjoyable to listen to. This story was surprisingly thought-provoking, engaging, and well done. It packs a lot into a short piece of fiction and it will leave you thinking about the truth of it for days. Highly recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not "could have" been...it WAS good

I am so confused about what a prior reviewer complaining of foul language was spouting off about. I didn't encounter anything at all like that in this story which was both captivating and jarring at the same time. Loved it, glad I listened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Quick, engaging, poignant

Captures your attention immediately. Wonderful commentary on current societal issues regarding technology, privacy and more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this

I was only able to give this short story a single star in all categories but I would have gone with 5 stars. It was a good story. It could be taken even further, expanding on at least 5 subjects: technology/ai, police brutality, black lives matter, lgbtq+, relationships between the elderly and their children in the "new age", how people make money in the "new age". It was fascinating!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I don’t know…

It was good. But pretty depressing. Maybe because the future presented here seems so possible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting storyline

This is a very interesting storyline. This could definitely be turned into a series, book or movie, I would love more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!