Month: March 2008

From a mysterious new imprint called “Audible Frontiers” (that I’ll try to find out more about) check out these new Audible.com exclusive titles including some Allen Steele novellas yum yum!

First, a Hugo Award winning novella from 1998…

…Where Angels Fear to Tread
By Allen Steele; Read by Marc Vietor
Audible Download – 2 Hours 56 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: March 2008
When two chrononauts from the 24th century travel back in time, they inadvertently disrupt the ill-fated voyage of the Hindenburg, causing it to land successfully. Now, lost in a parallel universe, their mistake will be felt by every single human being.
This title also features BONUS AUDIO: Author Allen Steele explains what convinced him to write this Hugo Award-winning novella, despite vowing never to touch the subject of time travel.

And, a Hugo Award winning novella from 1996…

The Death of Captain Future
By Allen Steele; Read by Marc Vietor
Audible Download – 2 Hours 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: March 2008
Union laborer Rohr Furland begrudgingly takes a job on a space freighter piloted by Captain Future, an immature and slightly crazed captain with an obsession for early 20th-century science-fiction novels. When they receive a distress call from a nearby space station, Furland and the first officer blend the dangers of reality into the captain’s fantasy world. This title also features BONUS AUDIO: Author Allen Steele talks about his love of pulp fiction, and its direct influence on this Hugo Award-winning novella.

And, here’s a Hugo Award Nominated novel from 2002…

Stealing Alabama
By Allen Steele; Read by Marc Vietor
Audible Download – 3 Hours 8 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: March 2008
The second American Revolution has propelled the Southern-controlled United Republic of America into power, its oppressive laws enforced by the National Reform Program’s re-education camps. The citizens are suffering from a militaristic tyranny and federal extortion at the expense of an ambitious space program designed to propagate the galaxy with model citizens of the Republic. But a silent underground faction plans to commandeer a ship and make a great escape to the stars. This title also features BONUS AUDIO: Author Allen Steele explains how he drew from U.S. history to write this Hugo-nominated novella.

Next, set one-hundred-plus years into an interstellar war between two different human cultures, the protagonist of this series is discovered floating in a hibernation/escape pod one-hundred years after he made a heroic ‘last stand’ against the enemy fleet at a famous battle. In the present, he’s a renowned hero to his side and his name and actions are used to justify poor tactics and decisions. Awakened just during a secret mission that turns out to be an enemy trap, he’s suddenly dropped into the fleet commander’s chair and expected to live up to a legend that has grown to impossible levels… That sounds very cool!

Dauntless (The Lost Fleet – Book 1)
By Jack Campbell; Read by Christian Rummel
Audible Download – 9 Hours 59 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: March 2008
The Alliance has been fighting the Syndics for a century, and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is a man who has emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief. Captain John “Black Jack” Geary’s legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic “last stand” in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics. Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance’s one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic “Black Jack” legend. BONUS AUDIO: Author Jack Campbell explains how the legend of King Arthur, the Greek historian Xenophon, and other writings influenced the Lost Fleet series.

Fearless (The Lost Fleet – Book 2)
By Jack Campbell; Read by Christian Rummel
Audible Download – 9 Hours 51 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: March 2008
Outnumbered by the superior forces and firepower of the Syndicate Worlds, the Alliance fleet continues its dangerous retreat across the enemy star system. Led by the legendary Captain John “Black Jack” Geary, who returned to the fleet after a hundred-year suspended animation, the Alliance is desperately trying to return home with its captured prize: the key to the Syndic hypernet, and the key to victory. Geary is convinced that the Syndics are planning to ambush the fleet and finish it off once and for all. Realizing the fleet’s best (and only) chance is to do the unexpected, Geary takes the offensive and orders the fleet to the Sancere system. There, a multitude of possible routes home give the Alliance fleet a better chance of avoiding their pursuers – and an attack on the Sancere shipbuilding facilities could decimate the Syndic war effort. Weary from endless combat, the officers and crew of the Alliance fleet can’t see the sense in charging deeper into enemy territory – prompting a mutiny that divides them and leaves Geary with higher odds against him than ever before. BONUS AUDIO: Author Jack Campbell describes how he brought real-world physics to the Lost Fleet series.

Courageous (The Lost Fleet – Book 3)
By Jack Campbell; Read by Christian Rummel
Audible Download – 9 Hours 42 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: March 2008
The Alliance has been fighting a losing battle against the Syndicate Worlds for over a century. Now, Captain John “Black Jack” Geary, who returned to the fleet after a hundred-year suspended animation, must keep the Alliance one step ahead of its merciless foe. After a series of deadly engagements, the Alliance fleet is severely damaged and its arsenal is running low. Forced to halt in the Baldur Star System to raid the Syndic mines for raw materials, Geary is anxious to get moving again. But what should the fleet’s next move be? The Syndics are starting to catch on to Geary’s tactics, and as the Alliance ships jump from system to system, it’s getting harder to keep one step ahead. What’s more, Geary has started to piece fragments of intelligence together into a highly disturbing picture: the Syndics have been keeping the existence of another potential player in the war a secret – and this unknown power may have the means to annihilate the human race. BONUS AUDIO: Author Jack Campbell explains how his own background in the military shaped the Lost Fleet series.

Posted by Jesse Willis