From my friend @ Prisoners Of Gravity‘s comes the complete PoG episode on “Racism”…
Commander Rick, in set of 17 year old interviews, looks at how racism was handled in comics, Science Fiction and Fantasy. Among the interviewees are, Spider Robinson, William F. Wu, Samuel R. Delany, Jewelle Gomez, Owl Goingback, Karen Haber, Andre Norton, Will Eisner, Denys Cowan, Louise Simonson, Gilbert Hernandez, Dan Piraro.
Posted by Jesse Willis
A new online retailer called TheAudioBookShop.com is serializing, for FREE, some terrific sounding audiobooks from Audio Realms‘ catalogue of feisty fantastic fiction!
Gonji (Vol. 1): Red Blade From The East
By T.C. Rypel; Read by Brian Holsopple
Approx. 8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
Published: July 25, 2009
ISBN: 1897304544
Provider: TheAudioBookShop.com
Cast out from his Japanese homeland, Gonji, the Samurai warrior, journeyed across barbaric Europe in the quest of Vedun, the distant city in the loftiest peaks of the Carpathian Alps. Ceaselessly fighting the hated plague and hostile peasants, Gonji struggled to reach the mighty walls of majestic Vedun. But demons and dragons, and mages and monsters pursued the warrior across the wintry plains and the jagged mountains. His swords flashing with fury, Gonji battles his foes and strengthened his will, determined to conquer his hardships, and fulfill his destiny!
There’s no word on how long these serializations will be available so ya’ll should get into it straight away. Here’s what’s been released so far…
Upcoming serializations include:
The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft Vol. 6, At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft <- Beginning March 29th! The Strangely Beautiful Tale Of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber <- Beginning March 29th! Posted by Jesse Willis
SFFaudio’s 7th Anniversary Reviewathon continues!
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By John Varley; Read by Peter Ganim
2 Hours 53 Minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: 2008
Themes: / Science Fiction / Mystery / Murder / Computers / Hacking /
This novella won the Best Novella Hugo in 1985 and the Best Novella Nebula in 1984. In 1984 I was 16, and my prize possession was a Commodore 64 computer. I recall programming on it, writing stories, and playing games. hmm. Not much has changed since then but the hardware, it looks like.
A story published in 1984 in which computers play a huge role is a history lesson. Floppy disks, modems, BBS’s – made me long for the good ole days. What was science fiction in 1984 now reads like historical fiction with an SF twist.
Victor receives a phone call one day from a computer, which tells him to run next door to his neighbor’s house. It will keep calling until he does it, says the computer. So he does, entering the house of a man he didn’t know well and finding him dead, an apparent suicide. Police and others are called in because this dead neighbor was into a lot of stuff: surveillance of neighbors, hacking into government systems, manipulation and theft of big money, all through his computers and his phones. Peter Ganim narrates the mystery well.
This is the longest story I’ve reviewed so far this month; it clocks in at 2 hours, 53 minutes. I LOVE novellas, and there is so much great science fiction out there at this length. Hollywood, take note! If you are mining for material, check out the science fiction novella.
Audible Frontiers has published many novellas, including more by John Varley (The Persistance of Vision is really excellent) and some by Connie Willis and Allen Steele.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Sheepfarmer’s Daughter
By Elizabeth Moon; Read by Jennifer Van Dyck
16 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2010
Paksenarrion — Paks for short — is somebody special. She knows it, even if nobody else does yet. No way will she follow her father’s orders to marry the pig farmer down the road. She’s off to join the army, even if it means she can never see her family again.
And so her adventure begins . . . the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.
Here is her tale as she lived it.
Oath of Fealty
By Elizabeth Moon; Read by Jennifer Van Dyck
18 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2010
In the original trilogy starring Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, headstrong daughter of a farmer on the north edge of the kingdom, Paks follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren’t anything like she imagined . . . yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks’s former comrades in Duke Phelan’s Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.
Thanks to Paks’s courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title–and enemies–in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies–and those he has not yet discovered.
Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli’s survival–and that of Tsaia–depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.
Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their world. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister–and far more ancient–than they can imagine.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Hello, all!
We here at SFFaudio Headquarters have been working to get more accurate subscriber numbers for the blog and the podcast, so we added our feeds to Feedburner. I don’t see an easy way to get everyone switched over to those feeds, though. My attempts to forward the current feeds using WordPress add-ins have failed because we have two separate feeds here – a blog feed and a podcast feed. When I kick on an add-in, it forwards BOTH feeds to the same Feedburner feed. Anyone know a workaround?
In the meantime, may I encourage you to switch to our new feeds?
Blog: http://feeds.feedburner.com/sffaudio
Podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/sffaudiopodcast
Thanks everyone! Have an excellent day. And don’t forget to report all sightings of Ancient Ones to Jesse.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
This is the 18th story this month, and I’m still clinging to my sanity…
Dagon
Contained in The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 2
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 3.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304013
Themes: / Horror / The Sea / Cthulhu / Black Slime / Insanity /
I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, since by tonight, I shall be no more. Penniless and at the end of my supply of the drug which alone makes life endurable, I can bear the torture no longer.
This poor guy then goes on to tell a story that starts at sea, middles with a wallow in black slime and other crazifying ancient things, and ends right where it starts – with the narrator’s “appreciable mental strain”. The trip takes about 15 minutes and Lovecraft does plenty in that space. If someone wanted a brief introduction to him, “Dagon” would be an excellent choice because it’s short yet contains some of Lovecraft’s trademark subject matter, including a lone man taking a long walk to an ancient place, seeing things no man should see, and struggling with his sanity afterward.
Wayne June narrates, and we’ve said it here before – he was born to read this stuff. Instantly compelling and chilling. Lovecraft and June are a perfect match.
Audio Realms published a whole line of these Lovecraft collections, all read by June. Since the last time we posted about them, they have become available for purchase and download at The Audiobook Shop. The downloads are DRM-free, and most of the excellent Audio Realms audiobooks are there.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson