Month: December 2012

Mindwebs: A Walk In The Dark by Arthur C. Clarke

SFFaudio Online Audio

A Walk In The Dark by Arthur C. Clarke

This story by Arthur C. Clarke is rather unusual, at least it’s unusual for Clarke, as it’s more about a mood than an idea. But, the writing is still crisp, and that makes it worth hearing.

MindwebsMindwebs – A Walk In The Dark
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by Michael Hanson
1 |MP3| – Approx. [UNABRIDGED with a music bed]
Broadcaster: WHA Radio
Broadcast: 1976
Source: Archive.org
Armstrong, an astronaut alone at night on world far from Earth, must blindly walk four miles through the dark. First published in Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1950.

[via Tinkoo Valia]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Corpse-Rat King

SFFaudio Review

The Corpse-Rat King by Lee BattersbyThe Corpse-Rat King
By Lee Battersby; Read by Michael Page
1 MP3 CD / 10 CDs– 11 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio from Angry Robot
Published: 2012

Themes: / Fantasy / Undead / Kings / Mistaken Identity /

Marius dos Hellespont and his apprentice, Gerd, are professional looters of battlefields. When they stumble upon the corpse of the King of Scorby and Gerd is killed, Marius is mistaken for the monarch by one of the dead soldiers and is transported down to the Kingdom of the Dead.

Just like the living citizens, the dead need a King — after all, the King is God’s representative, and someone needs to remind God where they are.

And so it comes to pass that Marius is banished to the surface with one message: if he wants to recover his life he must find the dead a King. Which he fully intends to do.

Just as soon as he stops running away.

I made the mistake of going into this book with too high expectations. It was a comedy fantasy with a criminal protagonist and was narrated by Michael Page. I was hoping for another The Lies of Locke Lamora. It’s not. Despite this, I was nearly won over.

This is the tale of the merchant’s son turned-bad Marius. He is a master at assorted cons and gambling. Yet he has nothing to show for his talents. He has picked up, almost by accident and certainly against his better judgement, a dimwit of an apprentice. Surprisingly death seems to bring out the best in Gerd and he is a much more intelligent character after he dies. Whether this is intended I’m not sure, as he is only criminally dim until the point when he dies.

The middle of this book takes Marius on tour of assorted locales, including the delightfully and accurately named Dog Crap Archipelago, before closing in on the target of his quest. As entertaining as parts of this journey were, it felt almost random and aimless. I’m still not sure what they contributed to the whole of the story to justify their presence. Marius is no-doubt meant to grow from these encounters, but it was done far too subtly for me to follow.

The story has a stronger finish as Marius and Gerd embark on a caper to steal a corpse and then escape.

A good concept with great wordsmithing. Sadly the character growth and sense of the world were only given lip service. The plotting and resolution came together more because that was how the story was to finish than that it was where the story actually led. In short, this book needed a few more times through with an editor to tighten up a pretty, but weak story.

Michael Page is a delight to listen to. His characterisation is rich and plummy.

Posted by Paul [W] Campbell

Review of Halo: The Thursday War by Karen Traviss

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - HALO: The Thursday WarHALO: The Thursday War
By Karen Traviss, Read by Euan Morton
15 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2012
Themes: / Science Fiction / Video Game Tie-In / Aliens / Artificial Intelligence / War /

This is the second book in the Halo Kilo-Five trilogy by Karen Traviss. It’s 15 hours of thinking you know what is going to happen, only to have it change right before you.

The Glasslands, Book 1 of the trilogy, got us an introduction to ONI’s Admiral Parangosky special black ops team “Kilo-Five”. The Thursday War lets us see more of who they are and how they think. It starts off right where “Glasslands” left off. No time to breath! Kilo-Five has to get back to Sanghelios to rescue one of their own that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Those of you that play the Halo video games will really enjoy understanding more about where some of the Halo 4 characters come from. You gotta love the AI for Kilo-Five: Black Box or BB for short. Not only does he give a little attitude to the team but he almost has emotional traits and worries like humans. Or Meat Bags as the team calls them.

I give 5 thumbs up to Karen Traviss and her writing style. For me it was like I was the AI in their systems watching, hearing, and feeling their every move. And not only from the Humans but from the Sangheili (Elites). I was able to look at them as another race not just a target on the screen. The kudagra to all of Sanghelios hopes is the mighty UNSC INFINITY, a floating city. That shows the Sangheili they are no longer top dogs.

If you like the Halo universe then you will love The Thursday War, and the audiobook is so much better with the reading by Euan Morton. He is amazing with how he brings the characters out with their voices.

Posted by Mike

Mindwebs: Adam And No Eve by Alfred Bester

SFFaudio Online Audio

Adam And No Eve by Alfred Bester

This well regarded, and much anthologized, Science Fiction short story didn’t seem to have any point to it. I didn’t much like it, not until the very end, when I realized suddenly where it was going to go. It went there. I like it.

MindwebsMindwebs – Adam And No Eve
By Alfred Bester; Read by Michael Hanson and an unnamed female narrator
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [ABRIDGED with a musical bed]
Broadcaster: WHA Radio (Madison, WI)
Broadcast: November 24, 1978
Provider: Archive.org
The last man on Earth is dying. His only companion, man’s best friend, hates him. First published in Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1941.

Adam And No Eve, comics adaptation

Posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: My letter to Gottfrid Svartholm Warg (co-founder of The Pirate Bay)

SFFaudio Commentary

In response to a post on the front page of The Pirate Bay this morning…

TPB, Call for letters

…I’ve just written a letter to Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, the co-founder of the torrent site The Pirate Bay. Gottfrid, who is at this moment languishing and incarcerated in a Swedish prison, is to me a prisoner of censorship (though the traditional word for it is probably political prisoner).

Among other things my letter relates of the good TPB has done for me, and countless other downloaders. I specifically point out an audio drama that was unjustifiably trampled by an evil corporation that claimed a violation of their trademark.

I wanted Gottfrid to know that his efforts to make TPB were appreciated. In my letter I also compare TPB to my public library, tell him about some of my current projects, and express my frustration with the current copyright climate.

Letter to Gottfrid Svartholm Warg

Posted by Jesse Willis