It's hard to believe it has only been two years, so much has happened! We're still just a toddler and half of what we say is still babble but but we've grown so much! Since our birth on March 31st 2003 new audiobook publishers have sprung up, older ones have started publishing science fiction and fantasy audiobooks like it was going out of fashion (but don't worry it isn't) and the downloadable audiobook revolution has continued in earnest. And thanks to our birthday present, a new time travel machine, we happen to know the future of science fiction and fantasy audiobooks looks only brighter and brighter in the coming year... though we were a bit ditressed to learn about the destruction of New Zealand by the rampaging alien ruminant creatures from Fomalhault.

All our best, and thanks for visiting!

-- Jesse and Scott
6:23 AM -- (0) comments

 


Survival: Species Imperative #1
By Juile E. Czerneda; Read by Christine Marshall and William Dufris
1 MP3-CD, 16hr [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Paperback Digital
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1584390050
Themes: / Science Fiction / Alien Life / Biology /

Survival is the first novel in the planned trilogy entitled Species Imperative. It's science fiction in the grand tradition - written by a scientist, it contains plenty of science. As I was listening, I likened it to Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama in the way it is a constant detailed unfolding view of an alien mystery. But the comparison would have to stop there, because in this book the aliens are right there; in Rama we never got to actually see them.

The story's main character is Dr. Mackenzie Connor, who honestly wants nothing to do with aliens. Her thing is salmon, and we first meet her while she's studying salmon at a research facility in northwest North America. Then, a Dhryn arrives. A Dhryn is a six armed, blue, intelligent alien who seeks out Dr. Connor specifically to share some archaeological information with her. But shortly after the Dryhn arrives, strange things start to happen at the research facility, which propel Dr. Connor into a partnership with the alien as they unravel an enigma. Event by event and discovery by discovery mysteries unfold.

Christine Marshall and William Dufris turn in excellent performances. The two narrators tell the story seamlessly in a masterfully edited dual narration. The Dhryn's voice (performed by Dufris) is very effective, and is a great example of how audiobook narration can add depth to an author's character. Marshall has the bulk of the narrating duties here, and she sets a good pace for the prose, which contains much expositional material.

Overall, this is good hard science fiction that like all good hard science fiction leaves us much to consider; in this case about humanity, nature, and the relationship between the two.
11:16 AM -- (0) comments

 


This is slightly late (because the episode already aired), but cool nonetheless...

An interesting new spin on the phenomenon of Podcasting... The Sci-Fi Channel website is offering a podcast of a commentary track for the Season Finale of Stargate: Atlantis. It can be found here:
http://www.scifi.com/atlantis/downloads/podcast/

Ron Moore started the trend with his podcast commentary on Battlestar Galactica episodes.
5:45 PM -- (0) comments

 


The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch: A Romance
By Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean; Performed by a Full Cast
STREAMING AUDIO LINK BELOW
1 Hour [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: BBC Radio 3
Published: March 3rd 2005
Themes: / Fantasy / Mythology / Puppetry / England / Memory /

"That's the way to do it!"

Audio drama is a hit or miss affair, but the BBC knows its stuff, so it is really terrific that they produced this adaptation of a Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean's graphic novel. The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr Punch: A Romance is somber reminiscence of a young English boy's familial experiences and the resonance it had with the seaside Punch and Judy shows. North American audiences probably aren't familiar with the Punch and Judy so I'll lay out the basics... Punch and Judy is a popular British puppet show for children, featuring Mr. Punch and his "bit of stuff" Judy. The performances consist of short scenes, each of which depict an interaction between the chaotic trickster Mr. Punch and one other character. The Punch and Judy show is always performed by a single puppeteer, (known in the trade as a Professor), which is why only two characters can be on stage at the same time. Mr. Punch is a hunchback who sports a hideous grin, beady piercing eyes, a giant chin, hooked nose and the dress of a court jester. Mr. Punch usually carries a stick, with which he happily beats the other character on stage. The other character could be Judy, her baby, a crocodile, the devil or even a string of naughty sausages. The plot of this particular audio drama shows us how the particular staging of a Punch and Judy show doesn't vary the particular impact on the audience except when one has been cast in the play. McKean's original piano score haunts the production and the actors all play their roles to perfection. While not as engaging as some of Gaiman's later work this tale is nonetheless very neatly woven. This radio drama will be archived for one month on the BBC Radio 3 website. So listen while you may you naughty little sausages!

STREAMING AUDIO LINK:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio3_aod.shtml?radio3/thewire

Narrator ...... Richard Dillane
Swatchell ...... Alexander Morton
Grandfather ...... Hugh Dickson
Morton ...... Karl Johnson
Boy ...... Jonathan Bee
Mermaid ...... Rachel Atkins
Grandmother ...... Susan Jameson
Father ...... Stuart McLoughlin
Mr Punch ...... Geoff Felix
Sister ...... Frankie Dean
Music by Dave McKean and Ashley Slater
Directed by Lu Kemp

11:51 AM -- (0) comments

 


Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil
By James Luceno; Read by Jonathan Davis
4 CD's - 5 hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Publication Date: 2005
ISBN: 0739317350
Themes: / Science Fiction / Star Wars /

Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil is a prequel to the upcoming Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith. It takes place after Attack of the Clones, the action starting in the thick of a battle in the Clone War. Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, and the rest of the Jedi Council have thrown their resources into finding out who and where Darth Sidious is after finding a very promising lead - a holotransceiver that had been used to contact him. The tale is a very satisfying whodunit featuring Obi-Wan and Anakin following a series of clues that bring them closer and closer to Sidious, while all the time Anakin gets closer and closer to the Dark Side.

I recall watching Episode II after listening to the prequel to that film, Alan Dean Foster's Star Wars: The Approaching Storm. Early in the movie, Obi-wan and Anakin speak briefly about events that occurred in the prequel novel. It makes the books much more a part of the whole Star Wars saga to know that the movie-makers are paying attention to the novel-writers, and vice versa.

Jonathan Davis is remarkable. He nailed very passable accents for all the characters, including Yoda, Count Dooku, and Obi Wan Kenobi as played by the film actors. The pace is quick, and Davis drives the story perfectly. Sound effects are abundant, effective, and enjoyable.

In all, this audiobook is an action packed adventure full of light saber duels, dark villians, and... in short, it's Star Wars! And very good Star Wars - it should be a hit with every fan.
6:23 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Adventures of Superman: Doomsday and Beyond
Written and Directed by Dirk Maggs; Starring a Full Cast
2 Cassettes - 2.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
ISBN: 0563401974
Publisher: BBC
Published: 1993
Themes: / Fantasy / Superhero / Comics /

A review by Jake Black

In my previous review I talked about my experience with Superman, and that it was the reason that I’m doing these Superman-related reviews for SFFAudio. This week’s covers the 1993 audio play Superman: Doomsday and Beyond which dramatically retells the story of Superman’s death and return. I have to admit that I know this story inside out. It was what got me really reading comics, and especially familiar with the Superman comics. Since then, I have heavily followed them.

The story covers over 1000 comic book pages. I was skeptical as to whether or not the audio play could handle such a lengthy story in two cassettes. The play gives it a noble try, and succeeds – mostly. The “death” portion (the epic battle with the demonic Doomsday) is given very little attention. It doesn’t seem as intense as the comics did. It almost cheapens the death of the Man of Steel. Similarly the funeral portion is dramatically edited from the comic book version.

However, the “return” stuff is very loyal to the source material. It covers all of tape two, and approximately a quarter of tape 1. Some of the comic book elements, like the superhero mourning, and Lois’ encounter by the “sympathetic” Jed, were cut from the tapes for time reason, and while they aren’t necessarily missed on the tapes, though they do add a lot to the comics. One very importance difference is the absence of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Jordan’s involvement in the story set his character’s evolution in motion such that we are just now seeing the end of it in the white-hot Green Lantern Rebirth story, currently published by DC. But, the story is handled well. And it does include some cool moments from the comics prior to this story like Lois’ and Clark’s engagement, and how “they saved Luthor’s brain” to clone him (which is also still an important story in the comics.)

The overall sound is great. Like the previous Superman audio play, these tapes sound great on all of the different players on which I played them. Loaded with sound effects, which mostly sound great, there are a couple of irritations: Superman’s heat vision is an annoying buzz like those cheap ray guns that you’d get from the grocery store for $1.49; and the alien ruler Mongul’s ship is full of travel alarm-clock buzzing.

The voice actors are fantastic, as well. Superman’s voice is a bit too tenor-ish, but I’m getting pretty used to it. The rest of the characters sound great – especially the Australian Lex Luthor II, the new “Man of Steel” John Henry Irons, and the nefarious Cyborg. The only huge complaint I have of the voices is Superboy’s – the teenage clone of Superman. It is clearly an adult trying his best to sound 16 – but it becomes a really bad, really irritating impression of Bill and Ted. It’s really awful!

With the mix of music, sound effects, and a talented cast of voice actors, these are a lot of fun. I enjoyed them more than the other “Adventures of Superman” audio play I listened to previously. I think that the storytelling method may be a bit confusing to people who aren’t familiar with Doomsday, the four false-Supermen, etc. but the overall story is fantastic. If nothing else, it is a great trip down memory lane for a Superman fan who loves this story!

This review is copyright 2005 by Jake Black. You can find out more about Jake at his website, http://www.jakeblack.com.
7:30 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Fisherwoman's Daughter
By Ursula K. Le Guin; Read by Melissa Stewart
63 minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: AssistiveMedia.org
Published: 2004
Themes: / Non-Fiction / Writing / Motherhood / Feminism /

Ursula K. Le Guin's wide ranging article for The New York Times Book Review is now available to be heard, for free, on the excellent AssistiveMedia.org
website. Melissa Stewart's straight reading is good, though she stumbles here and there over a word. The real meat of this piece comes with Le Guin's insightful commentary on the history of female authorship. It covers everything from Virginia Woolf to Louisa May Alcott. Le Guin even discusses her own work. Check it out.

REALAUDIO LINK: http://www.assistivemedia.org/amrams/FishermansDaughter.ram
7:41 AM -- (0) comments

 


To Market, To Market: The Branding of Billy Bailey©
By Cory Doctorow; Read by Cory Doctorow
FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD - 23 Minutes 37 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
LINK: http://www.craphound.com/audio/Doctorow_-_Billy.mp3
Publisher: www.craphound.com
Published: 2001
Themes: / Science Fiction / Dystopia / Humor / Satire /

Billy Bailey was the finest heel the sixth grade had ever seen -- a true artisan who kept his brand pure and unsullied, picking and managing his strategic alliances with the utmost care and acumen. He'd dumped BanginBumpin Fireworks (a division of The Shanghai Novelty Company, Ltd.) in the _fourth_ grade, fer chrissakes. Their ladyfingers were too small to bother with; their M-80s were so big that you'd have to be a lunatic to go near them.

First published in Interzone, To Market, To Market: The Branding of Billy Bailey© is set in a world in which advertising has taken over every institution. This dystopic tale is a fun little story. Billy Bailey® is a 6th grader, who's something like a smarter Dennis The Menace®, but that's probably selling Billy short. Dennis The Menace® is just a fictional character. In this REAL world, REAL people are by far the more profitable brands. If you're a 6th grade boy in elementary school, you want to wear Billy's© shoes, drink what Billy© drinks and say what Billy© says. Billy Bailey® is at the top of the brand list. Everything Billy Bailey© does is predicated on what he thinks will most benefit his brand. The Billy© brand is all about playing the rake, the prankster who always beats the authority figure, which in this case is Billy's school principal. But when Billy® gets tarred with a pathetic M-80 down the toilet prank in his Pepsi Elementary© girls bathroom, Billy® must fire his agent and come up with a whole new corporate strategy - he better re-brand his image if he wants to keep his sponsors.

Doctorow does this as a plain reading. I don't expect all authors to be gifted readers - that's why they pay the professional narrators - but that isn't the problem. The problem here is with the recording. It isn't terrific. It sounds as if was cobbled together from more than one recording. Apparently it was recorded using the built-in microphone on his iBook©, but in the multiple sessions it took to record it must have been at different distances from the mic, because the sound is inconsistent. You can also hear the pages as they turn, and what sounds like a squeaking computer chair with other occasional background noises. Despite this, it's more than worth the money - it is after all completely FREE!

Doctorow's story is interesting and original. It tackles the invasion of capitalism into children's lives, and does it with a biting satire. See, even in our world, a corporation has only corporate legal responsibilities and no moral ones. Seeing as corporations have all the legal status of persons in our capitalist society it is no small wonder that people might come to think of themselves as corporations. Heck, our celebrities really are corporations! This is a very sad world. Everyone uses catchphrases to define their personal "brand", and everyone is jockeying for sponsors. Morality has been completely subverted by marketing. Those who are successfully marketed are good and those that aren't.... well, they aren't even worth thinking about - just has-beens or never-will-bes.

On Cory Doctorow's website he says he's planning to read all of his stories and release them as free downloadable MP3s. This is a wonderful idea, and I'll be sure to listen in however he does it, but maybe he should take a page from James Patrick Kelly's FREE READS website and consider recording in a professional studio. Apparently it costs about $200 per session, but the sound quality and consistency in one makes the recording archive quality. Kelly's stuff is free too, but he does ask for PayPal donations.
10:19 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Adventures of Superman
Written and Directed by Dirk Maggs; Starring a Full Cast
2 Cassettes - 2.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
ISBN: 056339370X
Publisher: BBC
Published: 1994
Themes: / Fantasy / Superhero / Comics /

A review by Jake Black

I’m not really an avid listener of the sci-fi audio, and so it was a bit of a surprise to be invited to write two reviews for SFFAudio. However, the two they asked me to do focus on Superman, and that is a subject with which I am extremely familiar. I have spent the last three plus years working as a contributing writer for the official web sites for Smallville, wrote an issue of the comic series based on that show, and have worked on a ton of assorted academic and comic-related projects centered on the Man of Steel.

This week we’re beginning my reviews with an evaluation of the BBC Radio play The Adventures of Superman. Created in 1994 for radio airplay across the pond, the audio play was presented on two cassettes with a total running time of over two-and-a-half hours. The story is lifted straight from the comic books of 1986-87; a series called Man of Steel written by John Byrne, which relaunched Superman from the beginning. It is Superman from his first appearance in Metropolis. He meets Lois Lane and Lex Luthor for the first time. He discovers the origins of his powers, and creates the dual identity to help others. He fights street thugs, the Kryptonite-infested Metallo, the failed clone Bizarro, all the while trying to bring down the corporate magnate Lex Luthor.

The dialog and story are nearly completely lifted from the comics word for word, albeit with the occasional addition of descriptive dialog to help the listener imagine what everything looks like – clothing etc. While I understand the necessity for such expositional dialog on the tapes, it was a bit cheesy – "How could anyone dress like that, with tan pants and a black t-shirt!" etc.

The voice talent used for the play are all very talented, and create captivating characters with their voices. Nearly all of them match very closely with the voices I’d created for characters like Lois Lane, Jonathan and Martha Kent, and Lex Luthor, while the menacing Metallo and Bizarro are both well cast, too. The only voice I really didn’t like much Clark Kent/Superman played by Stuart Mulligan. While he does his best to drop his voice when he is Superman, it is too high a tenor voice to be taken seriously as either character from the beginning. Lana Lang (voiced by Shelley Thompson) is also a bit of a disappointment as she is a bit too much of a “southern belle” to be from Kansas. But, perhaps, that is due to this being a British piece with actors not knowing the distinctive regional dialects for the USA.

The play is full of nice additions, like sound effects for everything – footsteps, car horns, police sirens, gunshots, etc. However, the sound effect given to Superman’s heat vision is awful. It is similar to the little ray guns that light up and you can buy at the grocery store for a dollar. In spite of this one set back, the mix between dialog, music, and sound effects is perfect. I played it on several different players, and in all cases – including the car – the sound was pure, crisp, and all around nice. It didn’t need an extra boost of volume from any of the players I listened to.

All in all, if you are a Superman, these tapes are a lot of fun. Non-Superman fans may not enjoy them quite as much, but they do provide a good introduction to the character, his background, and his friends and enemies. I’m not totally convinced that they will bring new converts to the ways of the Last Son of Krypton, but they are, overall, entertaining, faithful to the subject matter, and well produced.

This review is copyright 2005 by Jake Black. You can find out more about Jake at his website, http://www.jakeblack.com.
11:30 AM -- (0) comments

 


Robert E. Howard's Conan - The Tower Of The Elephant & The Frost Giant's Daughter
Adapted by Roy Thomas & Alan B. Goldstein; Performed by a FULL CAST
33 1/3 RPM LP - Approx. 46 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMATIZATION]
Publisher: Moondance Productions
Published: 1975
Themes: / Fantasy / Aliens / Battle / Mythology / Gods /

Alan B. Goldstein had a dream, to bring the Robert E. Howard 1930s pulp magazine hero, Conan The Cimmerian, to audio. In 1974 he contacted Glenn Lord, agent for Howard's literary estate and proposed a radio series based on Conan. Permission was granted and a pilot was adapted from one of Howard's shortest Conan tales - "The Frost Giant's Daughter". After the pilot was completed, Goldstein brought it to Marvel Comics editor Roy Thomas. Thomas loved it and expressed an interest in contributing to the project. So together, with Alan B. Goldstein working as producer and Roy Thomas scripting, they decided that a second Conan audio adventure should be made.

Actors Owen McGee and Paul Falzone were again hired to reprise their roles as "The Narrator" and "Conan" respectively. And thus was born the second audio dramatization "The Tower Of The Elephant". Unfortunately their vision of a Conan radio series was dashed. By the late 1970s, radio dramas were virtually dead. Only these two stories were ever adapted for the aborted Conan radio series. But Goldstein would go on to produce at least one more Conan record - but that, my Hyborian friends, is another story.

Side One - "The Tower Of The Elephant" - 27 Minutes 29 Seconds
Conan is in Zamoria's City Of Thieves, Arenjun, where in a local tavern he overhears a boastful kidnapper. Before dispatching the cur Conan discovers the whereabouts of The Tower of the Elephant and of the fabled jewel rumored to be secured within it. Soon after Conan is at that bejeweled tower, determined to rob it of it's jewel - but he has much to contend with - he must surpass another thief, ravenous lions and a giant spider. And what he finds in the tower's interior is like nothing else in this age undreamed of. Howard's prose is frothy, wondrous and direct. The performances here are letter perfect and the power of the original short story is successfully translated.

Side Two - "The Frost Giant's Daughter" - 17 Minutes 41 Seconds
This, the shorter of the two dramatizations, again takes its stylistic cues from Howard's pulp roots; nearly every word of this adaptation is taken directly from the original text itself. "The Frost Giant's Daughter" is set in the high mountains that border Vanaheim and Aesgard where Conan has just fought a fierce battle, lying exhausted and near death on the battlefield, a near-naked woman suddenly visits him. Her voluptuous body re-ignites his will to live but when she mocks him, he chases her for seeming endless leagues across the snow-covered mountains. Conan finds it strange that she does not seem to feel the cold that chills his bones, dressed as she is shouldn't she be frostbitten? Of course it is all a trap, this "woman" is no mortal, she's lead Conan to her two massively dangerous looking "brothers". The performances and narration paint a vivid mental film full of both preternatural storytelling and mythological virtue. Structured more as an incident than a plotted adventure the layered mythology of Howard's invented Hyborian world casts a spell upon the listener. We feel Conan's weariness and we follow along hotly in his footsteps as he's tempted by that fleet-footed Valkyrie. It all has a dream like quality and it's juicily full of pulpy goodness. I truly wish Alan B. Goldstein had got his dream and these two audio adventures had become the first two episodes in
the Conan radio series.
3:20 PM -- (0) comments

 


Very Bad Deaths
By Spider Robinson; Read by Spider Robinson
10 CDs - [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0786182431
Themes: / Science Fiction / Serial Killer / Psychic /

Many listeners don't like it when the author narrates his own story. I've never understood this, especially when it comes to science fiction, which has a long history of this. Early Caedmon titles featured Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov reading their own works. Live readings are common events at science fiction conventions. And I find that I usually like author-read audiobooks. The author lends an extra dimension to the reading that a third-party narrator simply can't provide.

Every now and then you run across an author/narrator who is good enough at narrating that you'd like to see him narrate some other author's books too. Harlan Ellison is that good, for example. And so is Spider Robinson. He reads in such a comfortable, personable way that it's easy to imagine that this guy you know popped in for lunch and is telling you this story over the kitchen table. I enjoyed his reading so much that I wondered first how good his Callahan Chronicals would be read by him (not that Barrett Whitener did a bad job - he didn't), and further, how Spider would be narrating another author's work, like, say, a Heinlein novel. The answer? He'd be pretty damn good. I found myself eager to return to this audiobook every time I was forced to put it down.

Along with Russell, who is the loosely autobiographical main character, the story involves a serial killer with a fetish for inflicting pain, a psychic roommate who is appropriately named "Smelly", and a female cop who is not a lesbian. The story flits from the past, where Russell first met Smelly, to the present, where Smelly seeks him out to tell him that he read the mind of the serial killer as he flew over his house in an airplane and they better by God do something about him.

The story is mainly about these characters going after the serial killer, having many conversations about whether they should go after him. Robinson keeps it interesting throughout, but doesn't hesitate to move off the plot for some tangential opinion dumps, or some science fiction references, or some puns. The story moves, and is personal, enjoyable, often funny, and touching. And the bad guy is flinchingly bad. Enjoy this one. 9:22 AM -- (1) comments

 




Larry Niven is on Hour 25 - click here!.
8:23 AM -- (0) comments