May 2009 – Page 2

Recent Arrivals from Blackstone Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

A Galaxy Trilogy, Vol. 2
By David Osborne, E.L. Arch, and Manly Banister; Read by Tom Weiner
11 CDs – 13 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433291081

Subtitle: A Collection of Tales from the Early Days of Science Fiction

Back in the 1950s at the dawn of science fiction, writers were turning out wildly imaginative stories for the pulp magazines. Robert Silverberg, writing as David Osborne, estimates he wrote over a million words in one year. Here are three more exciting stories from those heady days from the pioneers of science fiction:

Aliens from Space by David Osborne

The Man with Three Eyes by E. L. Arch

Conquest of Earth by Manly Banister

Juggler of Worlds
By Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner; Read by Tom Weiner
11 CDs – 13 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433253300

200 years before the discovery of Ringworld…

Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth’s secret weapon, humanity’s best defense against all conspiracies, real and imaginary, and all foes both human and alien. Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious plots of others?

But Sigmund may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly superior technologies. Even after the Puppeteers abruptly vanish from Known Space, Nessus schemes in the shadows with Earth’s traitors and adversaries.

As a paranoid, Sigmund has always known things would end horribly for him; only the when, where, how, why, and by whom of it all eluded him. But even Sigmund never imagined that his destiny would be entwined with the fates of worlds.

Mars Life
By Ben Bova; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
10 CDs – 12 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433231261

Third in the Mars Trilogy

Jamie Waterman has made an important discovery on Mars. A cliff dwelling reveals the fact that an intelligent race lived on the red planet sixty-five million years ago, only to be driven into extinction by the crash of a giant meteor. But now the exploration of Mars is itself under threat of extinction, as the ultraconservative New Morality movement gains control of the U.S. government and cuts off all funding for the Mars program.

Meanwhile, Carter Carleton, an anthropologist who was driven from his university post by unproven rape charges, has started to dig up the remains of a Martian village. Science and politics clash on two worlds as Jamie desperately tries to save the Mars program and uncover who the vanished Martians were.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

DRT Summer Showcase #3: The Knightmare

SFFaudio News

And here are details from the first of Decoder Ring Summer Showcase #3‘s program…

The Knightmare by Bill Cunningham

The man behind this production, Bill Cunningham, says that “The Knightmare is a hero cut from the same cloth as The Shadow or The Green Hornet.” Not unlike Decoder Ring’s Red Panda himself! In this 2-part episode, The Knightmare is fighting Hollywood gangsters, Hollywood cops and Nazis (probably not from Hollywood). Unlike RP this story is set in Los Angeles.

The Knightmare (The Murder Legion Strikes at Midnight)
By Bill Cunningham; Performed by a full cast
2 Parts – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Decoder Ring Theatre
Podcast: May 30th, 2009 & June 6th, 2009

Podcast feed:

http://decoderring.libsyn.com/rss

Here’s a downloadable sample from the intro to the show |MP3| and |HERE| is the full press release.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Decoder Ring Theatre: Summer Showcase 2009

SFFaudio News

Decoder Ring Theatre - Summer Showcase #3

Gregg Taylor, of Decoder Ring Theatre, writes in to tell us about his upcoming Summer Showcase #3 (this is the third year):

“We start our next edition of the DRT Summer Showcase in a week and a half with a two part thriller by New Pulp Media Baron Bill Cunningham called The Knightmare and then continue with a pair of Westerns (one old-timey, one much less so, both by Phil Bledsoe). Through the course of the summer we’ll also have a pair of science fiction stories, Thinking In Ternary by Tim Prasil who wrote “The Crasher and Magic Of The Movies for us a couple of seasons back, and Shienki by Matthew Stephens. We’ll also be running a couple of Decoder Ring Spotlight episodes, where I’ll be turning the bright lights of our lovely audience on a pair of audio production groups of which I am very fond, Icebox Radio and Texas Radio Theatre… and that’ll bring us through to the fall.”

Thanks Gregg! It sounds like we’re in for a terrific summer!

And, since the regular season has wrapped up, that means the Red Panda Adventures and Black Jack Justice are complete – time for me to get listening.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Imager by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

SFFaudio Review

Imager (The First Book of the Imager Portfolio)
By L.E. Modesitt, Jr.; Read by William Dufris
2 MP3-CDs – 18 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781400161805
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / Politics / Coming of Age / Economics /
| MP3 Audio Sample |

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. has published over 50 novels, both science fiction and fantasy. Imager, his latest novel, is the first time his work has appeared on audio.

Imager is the start of a new fantasy series called “The Imager Portfolio”. It’s the story of Rhenn, who at the beginning is an apprentice portrait painter. In a life-changing event, he realizes two things: First, he can no longer continue in his profession, and second, he is an “imager” – a person who can make things real by visualizing them in his mind. Imagers are not common, but common enough to be feared and respected in Modesitt’s world.

After this, the novel takes it’s time in following Rhenn grow into his new-found ability. He climbs the ladder as an imager taking various and interesting training that use his ability in unique ways. My first thought was not that an imager would make a good bodyguard, but imaging something into a person’s body makes for quick defense – or a potent offense.

William Dufris is wonderful as always. The novel is not quick paced, as if Modesitt is using this volume to firmly create the world for future volumes. Dufris is as engaged a narrator while relating the details as he is during the exciting bits. A pleasure to hear!

Tantor will be publishing the next two volumes of this trilogy, and I will be listening!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Gresham College: Neal Stephenson – Science Fiction versus Mundane Culture

SFFaudio Online Audio

More on the Audio Vs. Video debate with an ABSOLUTE GEM of a lecture.

The Fork: Science Fiction versus Mundane Culture
By Neal Stephenson
1 |MP3| – Approx. 38 Minutes [LECTURE]
Venue: Gresham College
Recorded: August 5th, 2008
Four professors discuss the origins of science fiction, its overlap with other genres and its developments over more than a century.

And for those who prefer their content video…

I disagree with Stephenson’s labels for 300 and 300 Spartans. I’d classify 300 as lame and 300 Spartans as good. But, Stephenson is right, Hugo Weaving would make a good Vulcan.

[via Adactio]

Posted by Jesse Willis

WNYC: RadioLab – AV Smackdown

SFFaudio Online Audio

May 19th’s broadcast of WNYC’s Radiolab program asked the question: Which is better, RADIO or TELEVISION. To determine the answer an audience was asked: Which is better at pictures? Which medium is better at emotions?
Which is more fun? |MP3|

The results of the contest might have been different had it been a question of video vs. audio, rather than TV vs. radio.

I’ve occasionally thought that if I was forced to choose between losing my eyes or losing my ears my answer would depend on whether I’d have some audiobooks at my bedside in the hospital.

[via Adactio]

Posted by Jesse Willis