So, I have been listening to Serial Box’s Ninth Step Station for nearly two months now. In case you’re thinking, what is Serial Box? Ninth Step Station? I’ll tell you this. Serial Box produces new stories every week for a diverse range of audio stories. Each story also comes in eBook form too. It’s like stepping into a new world for an hour each week.

The Ninth Step Station series is set in a futuristic post-war Tokyo where you might end up on the side of a milk carton if you’re caught in one of the several rolling blackouts. The story follows Emma Higashi and Miyako Koreda. A first-time detective team up fighting against technologically enhanced criminals and gender bias in a world full of dark political machinations. This week’s review is of episode number eight titled “The Clawed Limb”.

If previous episodes of Ninth Step Station were any indication, the writers like to highlight the dangers of technology. It’s been like a Black Mirror tale set in Tokyo. I have been really enjoying the series thus far. Episode eight does not disappoint. Here’s the synopsis “When a man obsessed with body modifications attacks his girlfriend, he says his hand has a mind of its own. Yeah, right. Right?” That extends to the rest of the tale that hits Cronenberg levels of haywire body mod madness.

RELATED – Ninth Step Station Episode 8 Review: The Loud Politician

The lead detectives initially are called in to investigate an attack a man Maruyama Touma carried out against his girlfriend Takahashi Aoi. The man has cybernetic hands and he claims they were in control during the attack. Miyako and Emma are sleuthing when they catch a sense of déjà vu when a strikingly similar scene of murderous mods unfolds at a diner.

Episode eight was a real treat. There’s still all the high wire political squabble and bureaucratic prodding that have become hallmarks of Ninth Step Station. There’s also a bit more exploring into the ways in which technology and biotechnology intersect with the denizens of this world. We’ve known about Emma’s eye implant and seen other slight body modifications but nothing as serious as what we get in this episode. Here we have moded arms, legs, and heads. It all zeniths into an epic Cronenberg like cacophony that is a double-edged sword of gore and hilarity.

As always, the narration by Emily Woo Zeller is spot on. I do wish there was an easier way to pick up where I left off but that’s my only gripe this week. It seems like the writers are really giving this story what it needs to end on a high note. If the previous weeks, episode seven and this episode eight are any indicators to what’s to come, I’m thrilled.

Grade: A

+ Brisk compelling narrative
+ Interesting plot
+ Narration by Emily Woo Zeller
+ Intrigue
+ Strong villain
+ Technological aspects

To check out the series for yourself, go ahead and CLICK HERE!

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