Here's a really cool 29 minute radio documentary originally produced for WZBC Boston radio by Benjamen Walker entitled "Saint Phil". Host Benjamen Walker argues for the canonization of PKD. He talks with authors Jonathan Lethem and Josh Glenn about the Science Fiction genius Philip K Dick. He also gets "UBIK" tattooed on his body. You can listen to the MP3 at the WTRO Radio site by clicking HERE!.

posted by Jesse 7:23 AM -- (0) comments

 


Just posted - an Author Focus page for William Gibson. Click here to see it.

posted by Jesse 10:27 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Rolling Stones
By Robert A. Heinlein; Performed By A Full Cast
8 CDs - 7 Hours 9 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1932076808
Themes: / Science Fiction / Young Adult / Space Travel
/ Newtonian Physics / The Moon / Mars / The Asteroid
Belt /

When the Stone twins made up their minds to leave Luna City in a secondhand spaceship, they hadn't planned on having their whole family accompany them. But the Stones are not your ordinary Lunar family - no way! - and their voyage through the solar system sure proves it.

Not long ago FULL CAST AUDIO contacted us, and gave us a heads-up - a new Robert A. Heinlein novel was coming. I was blown away by their first Heinlein adaptation so I tried to keep my expectations reasonable. "Lightning can't strike twice", I told myself. "Just be happy that it is being released. That's what you asked for and that's what you got. Don't be disappointed if it doesn't live up to your expectations." I needn't have worried. The Rolling Stones is as good as the superb full cast reading of Have Space Suit, Will Travel - maybe even a little better!

It is a Heinlein juvenile, written and first published in 1952, full of Heinleinian economics, politics, and family values, which all combine with a travelogue of interplanetary adventure. Dialogue moves the surprisingly light plot along, and the narrator provides the cultural and technological backdrop.

The Stone family is made up of father Roger, mother Edith, grandmother Hazel, the eldest child Meade, the youngest Buster, and the middle identical twins Castor and Pollux. The twins are natural born inventors and entrepreneurs, so when they go looking through the used spaceship yards on Luna they've got a scheme in mind. When Roger finds out about their plans he manages to turn the whole thing into a family venture. And off they go into the solar system.

If you like Heinlein you'll love this novel but it's a little different from most juvies in that it is more a series of smaller adventures. What I like best about the book is that it ably envisions a wonderful future of interplanetary travel in a completely scientifically accurate way. The economic model that would allow a family to buy a spaceship, fuel it and use it as their personal yacht may be unrealistic, but that won't dampen your enthusiasm. It didn't mine.

Most of the actors are new but Bill Molesky is back playing another father and Cynthia Bishop plays another mother figure. Peter Moller plays another small role, and FULL CAST AUDIO founder Bruce Coville makes another cameo too. Another plus - Daniel Bostick again directs. If I had my druthers, Daniel Bostick will direct all the future FULL CAST AUDIO Heinlein releases too (on the principle you don't mess with success). The new actors are all perfect in their roles. There isn't a false performance in the bunch.

A potential stumbling block was avoided. This is a third person perspective novel, as opposed to the first person of Have Space, Suit Will Travel, so they needed a narrator. Veteran voice over actor David Baker took the reins there and together with this full cast read another faithful adaptation of a Heinlein "juvenile" novel.

What's really interesting though is that this is a straight reading with multiple readers, something I didn't fully realize in Have Space Suit, Will Travel. There are no sound effects. There are just actors reading the text and a little accenting music at chapter openings. This was another excellent choice, a straight reading works well. You don't need to paint in sound effects when the words evoke a mental image.

As is becoming the rule, the attention to detail found in the audio production extends to the fit and finish of the packaging. Jerry Russel's original cover art is absolutely beautiful to behold. The CD case is the identical design to the Have Spacesuit, Will Travel case. A thick DVD style case, with the CDs stacked and secured by two plastic clamps. Perfect! Please FULL CAST AUDIO keep recording these Heinlein juvenile novels. I'd like to say I deserve it, but even if I don't the novels sure do!

posted by Jesse 9:02 AM -- (0) comments

 


The changes keep coming - check out our new Online Audio page, which you can get to by clicking here, or by clicking the "Online Audio" button below the SFFAudio banner.

We plan to collect all of our Online Audio resources there, so if you like to listen to streaming audio, podcasts, or other downloadable stuff, that page is for you.

Thanks for visiting!

posted by Scott and Jesse 6:15 PM -- (0) comments

 


Red Mars
By Kim Stanley Robinson, read by Richard Ferrone
17 cassettes / 24 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Recorded Books
Published: 2000
ISBN: 0788740849
Themes: / Science Fiction / Hard SF / Future history / Mars / Space exploration / Space flight / Planetary colonization / Terraforming

If I were to play you the prolog from Red Mars, neither telling you the title nor showing you the case (with Olympus Mons shown actual size), you would know immediately that it came from a very large book. The mystical meditation on the red planet that opens this tome plumbs the depths of human history and the width of human culture, conjuring a sense of vast space for the story that follows.

And what follows is a massive dose of exhilarating hard science fiction, the first volume in an epic trilogy charting the future history of the colonization of Mars. It grabs us with an opening sequence of mid-novel action, then backs up to lead us more meticulously from the selection of the first one hundred explorer/settlers to their first attempts at independence from the faltering socioeconomic powers of Earth nearly twenty Martian years later. Told through the eyes of half a dozen of these “First Hundred”, the novel details the technical, political, and to some extent personal growth of the colonists through their training on Earth’s Antarctica, the long space voyage between the planets, the rise of the first settlements and buildings, the initial attempts at terraforming, the breakaway of some of the settlers to another colony, the arrival of the next, larger and more diverse waves of colonization, and on to a cataclysmic finale. The story covers a lot of ground with striking believability.

The strongest point of the novel is its marvelous set-pieces, such as the radiation storm scene on the voyage out, a nearly deadly encounter with a Martian dust storm in a dirigible, and a perilous escape down a canyon system that is being destroyed by a torrential flood. Some of the best would be slight plot spoilers to mention, so I won’t. But suffice it to say they are all lovingly crafted, filled with mental eye-popping detail, and yet integrated well into the plot. This is science fiction with its fundamental sense of wonder not only intact, but bursting from every page like an alien from the abdomen. As you might expect, some of this detail and the buildup to monumental scenes leaves a few slow parts in the narrative, but the payoffs are almost always phenomenal.

Also strong is the fundamental clash of old and new economic systems, which contrast idealized concepts of human worth with the dehumanizing iniquities of our international market economy pushed to its all-too-readily conceivable limits. I tend to cheer at any work that is not afraid to point out how the cancerous growth of international corporations in our modern world devours the planet’s resources yet returns nothing of value to the overall system. This book gave me a lot of alternative ideas to dream about, and some Darth Vader-sized economic evil to hiss at cathartically.

One thing I didn’t like was the huge number of fundamental breakthroughs that are made by the “First Hundred” in various fields of science after they leave the messiness of life on earth. That premise borrows a little too much from Frederick Pohl’s Jem, for one thing. For another, as someone who does science and engineering for a living, I don’t believe that if you separate a bunch of scientists and engineers from the mundane glop of real life, you suddenly end up with astounding technical breakthroughs. If it were that easy, you could get any amazing breakthrough you wanted just by throwing a bunch of scientists and engineers in a nice padded cell.

Also, as with most hard science fiction, you could quibble that the characters lack the depth of believable human beings, and that the necessities of the plot move the characters more than their individual natures and decisions determine the plot. But you shouldn’t be reading this book for the same reasons you’d read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Come on! Red Mars may do little to illuminate the unrequited yearnings of the human soul, but that’s not the point. It boils over with effervescent ideas, dynamic images, and inspiring speculation on what human minds and hands can achieve. The characters here may feel a little hollow, and their individual voices may be pretty much interchangeable, but they do their job: they lead us into an exciting, vibrant, thrilling future world.

I will admit that the weaknesses in characterization are not greatly aided by Richard Ferrone’s narration. Don’t get me wrong, I found his cigarette-charred, “In a world where…” voice (somewhat reminiscent of my grade school secretary Mrs. Byrd) to be reliably intriguing. And he can spit out the ten-dollar words and knotty concepts in the exposition with lucid authority. However, his voice characterizations are often indistinguishable. It is possible to find yourself confused about who is speaking when the dialog comes without tag lines. This is partly Robinson’s fault for failing to provide distinctive speech patterns for all the characters, but that’s exactly where the voice of the narrator is supposed to help most. For several characters, it does. But for many, it does not.

I consider the above detractions to be minor points, however. Overall, you will find so much to gasp at, delivered with such powerful enthusiasm by both the author and the narrator, that it would be a crime to miss it. I owe a significant fine just for pushing Red Mars down my reading list for so long. If you’re looking for a hard SF novel that will make you sit up and say “Wow!” out loud, then you should get your hands on this one immediately.

posted by Kurt 8:25 AM -- (0) comments

 


I was doing some online research for a sub-page on the subject of 1980s CBC Radio Drama series Nightfall when I stumbled across a website that could give more answers than I had questions...







Nightfall-25.com is clearly the definitive source for all things Nightfall! Neil Marsh, the Nightfall-25 project director has devoted himself to celebrating Nightfall's 25th anniversary which is coincidentally THIS VERY SUMMER. Way to go Neil!

3:08 PM -- (0) comments

 


Scott originally reviewed Very Bad Deaths in May - click here to see it. I finished it myself and wanted to comment:

I finally got a chance to listen to this one! I had a smile tattooed on my face while I listened to Spider spin his SF web. I knew I would be interested to hear this one especially because it is set in and around Vancouver, British Columbia, where I live and it is chock full of local details. But after hearing it, and realizing that most people who don't live in BC probably couldn't care less about the setting what I really wanted to talk about is something a lot of listeners/readers might have missed that they should care about. Spider Robinson wrote this novel as homage to Crime Writers Of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block. Most SF readers probably don't know who Block is but they should. Block is a prolific and talented author working in the crime genre. In VBD Robinson uses many turns of phrase that are ones Block uses almost unconsciously in his many stories. Other giveaways include the theme of a horrifically understandable serial killer and a deep and abiding love of coffee. Robinson has done this sort of thing before - his novel Callahan's Con was an homage to Block's contemporary - fellow Crime Writers Of America Grandmaster Donald Westlake and Callahan's Key was inspired by the writings of Robert A. Heinlein. Another neat feature of Very Bad Deaths is that it contains the only reference in fiction to the philosophical writings of Daniel Dennett that I know of - he also manages to tie Dennett's concepts into the book's plot.

Spider is currently "collaborating" with Heinlein on a novel titled Variable Star, I hope Blackstone Audio acquires the audio rights to that one and that they get Spider to narrate! Oh and a sequel to Very Bad Deaths is also in the works.

posted by Jesse 1:24 PM -- (0) comments

 


Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
By Matthew Stover; Read by Jonathan Davis
11 CD's - 14 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2005
Themes: / Science Fiction / Star Wars / Republic / War /

Well, here it is. Thirty years after the original Star Wars film, we have the conclusion. George Lucas said in an interview that he seems to have two sets of fans, one loyal to the first trilogy, and one younger set that prefers the recent trilogy. I admit up front that I'm of the first set, and that I found Episode I very disappointing, and Episode II a bit less disappointing. But like so many others, I went right out to see Episode III immediately upon its release. This audiobook is written by Matthew Stover, based on George Lucas' screenplay for the film.

Now, I know that this is an audiobook review, but it's very difficult not to bring the film into it. The audiobook is filled with sound effects and music from the movie, and because I'd seen that movie, Lucas' brilliant and beautiful images were front and center in my mind while listening. Jonathan Davis' superior narration also took from the film as he often imitated the actors while speaking. Palpatine sounds like Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine, Obi-Wan sounds like Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan, and all to great effect. Jonathan Davis is fabulously talented. At times, his voice was altered by sound engineers (when speaking as General Grievous, for example), also to great effect. This audiobook sounded wonderful.

The movie was longish, clocking in at 140 minutes, every minute of which moved at breakneck speed. This audiobook runs 14 hours, and tells the same story as the movie, but Matthew Stover was given a lot more room to tell it. I don't know how closely he consulted with Lucas on this, but the story runs at a much slower pace with lots of backstory and deep penetration into the characters' thoughts. The first time a character is met in a story, Stover writes until he hits a natural break point in the action, then delves deep into that character's past or his current state of mind, then returns to the action. The result is a satisfying companion to the film. Knowing what I know now about the characters would make watching the film a better experience, because Lucas spends no time at all on depth of character.

I would heartily recommend this audiobook to Star Wars fans who'd like to know more about these characters. Skywalker's turn to the dark side makes a bit more sense here than it did in the movie, since his inner thoughts are revealed for us to see. Though I am still partial to the original three films, I found that this story adds depth to those stories too. Bravo to Random House Audio for producing this fine piece of work.

posted by Scott 7:02 AM -- (1) comments

 


Check out Zombie Astronaut, a great source for online audio drama!

posted by Scott 7:04 AM -- (0) comments

 


An update - We just added an Author Focus page for Neil Gaiman. 11:57 AM -- (0) comments

 


Reflex
By Steven Gould; Read by Christine Marshall and William Dufris
1 MP3-CD - 14 Hours 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Paperback Digital
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1584390042
Themes: / Science Fiction / Operant Conditioning /
Teleporation / Espionage / Marriage /

Davy thinks he's alone...but what if he isn't? When Davy was a young teen, he discovered that he was capable of teleportation. At first, it was only when he was terrified and in horrible danger. Later, he learned to control his ability and went to work for a secret government agency. Now, a mysterious group of people has taken Davy captive. They don't want to hire him, and they don't have any hope of appealing to him to help them. What they want is to own him. They want to use his abilities for their own purposes, whether Davy agrees to it or not. And so they set about brainwashing him and conditioning him, and they have found a way to keep a teleport captive. But there's one thing that they don't know. No one knows it, not even Davy. The secret is that experiencing teleportation, over and over again, can teach a person how to do it. Davy's wife Millie is the only person on Earth who has teleported nearly as often as he has. She discovered her new talent the same way Davy did -- in mortal danger, facing imminent death, she suddenly found herself in her own apartment. Now, if she can learn to control this ability, and fast, she may be able to rescue Davy.

Standalone novels are almost becoming a thing of the past in science fiction these days. So I wasn't too surprised to learn that Reflex was the second novel in a series. But what did surprise me was that there was twelve year gap between them! I haven't read the first novel, Jumper, but based on this solid adventure science fiction novel, I'm betting I'd love it too. Apparently it is classified as a YA (a Young Adult novel), which is interesting as Reflex has some fairly gritty adult situations.

As I started listening to Reflex I wasn't at all sure this was a science fiction novel. The method of teleportation used seemed to involve no science, it was some sort of innate ability - one that would logically have to defy the laws of physics - so I was thinking this would have to be a fantasy novel. Except this was the only "magic" in the story and as I would come to realize there was another more interesting scientific fiction that was very plausible and amazingly original! The plot as mentioned in the teaser above involves the capture of a teleporter. What was so original here is the way that capture is maintained. Now I don't want to give too much away but I'll give you a hint, think of The Manchurian Candidate but instead of brainwashing, think B.F. Skinner.

This is a really good novel. Not only is the writing clear and clean, but also the characters are genuinely compelling and the situation original. Husband and wife Davy and Millie are thoughtful sympathetic characters who could be quite jaded given their knowledge of what's going on, but they choose not to be. I found myself genuinely rooting for them. There's actually a nice theme about the bonds of marriage in here too, it isn't often in science fiction we meet married characters who both play a major role in the plot and it was refreshing to hear that perspective.

The villains in Reflex are suitably villainous, and have realistic motivations for their villainy. The novel is set in our contemporary time, with many references to current events, but because most of the characters are the equivalent of the jet-set of our era their access to the high-tech toys is a little better than ours. The action never flags and the cat and mouse games are intense and engaging. The more I think about it the more I am impressed with Reflex.

Christine Marshall plays all the female characters, and reads the chapters from Millie's perspective. William Dufris plays all the male characters and reads all the chapters from Davy's perspective. Together they interweave the story synergistically giving a vital energy to the text. This is another bang-up job by this energetic narrating tag team. I hope Paperback Digital keeps sending them stuff to read.

Sound quality as usual from Paperback Digital's line of MP3-CDs is wonderful. These are high bit-rate tracks, spaced approx ten minutes apart. And PD uses a light introductory music at the beginning of the audiobook. It's great! I've mentioned it in a previous review but I've just got to do it again, Paperback Digital has really got some cool original cover art. Jason B. Parker has done six covers so far - if he does another six my personal Paperback Digital collection will have to grow by six too. You can also take a peek at the original sketches done for the PD covers on Jason's website.

Reflex is also available via download from both Fictionwise.com and the Paperback Digital website.

The hardcopy, the MP3-CD, comes in DVD style cases with insert paper cover and the CD-Rom comes with disc art. Downloads are slightly less expensive but nearly as easy to load onto an MP3 player.

If you're feeling spontaneous check out Reflex. And if you like it as much as I did let me know.

posted by Jesse 6:32 AM -- (0) comments

 


Dance of Death
By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child; Read by Scott Brick
Books on Tape
Unabridged

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By J.K. Rowling; Read by Jim Dale
Listening Library
Unabridged
Harry Potter? Who's he?

Magic Street
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Mirron E. Willis
Blackstone Audio
Unabridged
A contemporary fantasy by the author of Ender's Game.

Scattered Suns
By Kevin J. Anderson; Read by David Colacci
Brilliance Audio
Unabridged
Volume 4 of Anderson's Seven Suns series. The previous three were published by Recorded Books.

Star Wars: Dark Nest I: The Joiner King
By Troy Denning; Read by Jonathan Davis
Random House Audio
Abridged
More Star Wars - I like the ones I've heard.

The Traveler: The First Novel of "The Fourth Realm" Trilogy
By John Twelve Hawks; Read by Scott Brick
Books on Tape
Unabridged

We Few
By David Weber and John Ringo; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Blackstone Audio
Unabridged
Military SF at it's best, I hear.

Wrinkle in Time
By Madeline L'Engle; Read by ?
Listening Library
Unabridged

NOTE: SFFAudio posts a list of New Releases every month on or about the 16th. If you're a publisher and would like to be included on this list, just let us know.

posted by Scott 1:46 PM -- (0) comments

 


We hope you like our new digs... we sure do! A special thanks goes to Douglas Triggs for SFFAudio's new banner and logo. Just excellent, Doug - many thanks! Click here to check out his artwork!




posted by Scott and Jesse 12:06 PM -- (2) comments

 


Scott's latest SFSite column, Vox: SF For Your Ears has a cool new interview with Steve Eley from Escape Pod, Steve dishes on what it takes to make the only paying podcast market for Science Fiction work.

You can find the interview HERE.

And you can check out Steve's Escape Pod HERE.

11:00 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Rock Rats
By Ben Bova; Read by Ira Claffey, Amanda Karr, and Cast
9 CDs - 10 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1593974922
Themes: / Science Fiction / Space Travel / Asteroids / The Moon / Environment /

The asteroid belt is a fascinating area because it does represent the gold mine of the 21st century. Gold, silver, iron, platinum, any material you want is out there, and out there in enormous tonnages. Hundreds of thousands of billions of tons of all the mineral and metal wealth you can imagine... ...the struggle in The Asteroid Wars is over who is going to control this wealth.
--Ben Bova in the Introduction to The Rock Rats

This is the second volume of Bova's Asteroid Wars, a series which in turn is part of the larger group of novels called The Grand Tour. The first book, The Precipice, detailed the initial trip out to the asteroid belt, but this novel stands on it's own and can be easily read and understood without reading the first.

Two of the people that were on that first ship to the asteroid belt, Lars and Amanda Fuchs, have returned to the belt along with many others. These pioneer miners call themselves "Rock Rats", and form a loose society reminiscent of America's Old West. You can't call the police from the frontier, so justice is handled vigilante-style, and the laws of Earth no longer apply.

The rich and greedy Martin Humphries is still part of the equation, and he's able, from his comfortable office on the Moon, to direct some of his people to stake claims on asteroids. The fact that they had already been claimed didn't matter much to him. And thus, the war over control of those resources begins.

Bova covers a lot of territory in this book. There are scenes from the frontier, including a realistic battle between two ships with make-shift weapons that work like weapons would in space. Then there are scenes from the board room back on the Moon, where discussions are takng place about how to profitably get material back to Earth and how the stuff is going to affect the global economy. At opposing sides are those who are cognizant about the environment and those who solely want cash and power.

Scott Brick and cast did a fine job with the book. The narrator switches as point of view switches in the text, and I'm fining that technique more agreeable each time I listen. All the narrators were strong storytellers, and I'm left anxious to hear the third book, which luckily is on my shelf.

Audio Renaissance has published several of Ben Bova's Grand Tour books in unabridged format.

7:29 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Consciousness Plague
by Paul Levinson, read by Mark Shanahan
7 CD’s – 9 hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Listen & Live Audio
Published: 2003
ISBN: 1593160380
Themes: / Murder / Memory / Mystery / Cognitive Anthropology /

Detective Phil D’Amato has to solve a series of murders, but he and many others begin losing chunks of their memory. It turns out a functioning memory is quite helpful when trying to solve crimes, but D’Amato manages anyway. Levinson wrote it in first-person, so when D’Amato realizes there is important information he had forgotten, you don’t know it until he knows it. That really worked well for me, giving me that startled, disconcerted feeling one would actually have in that situation.

Early in the book Phil D’Amato declares himself a “lone wolf” and immediately begins butting heads with shortsighted superiors. But if the book promises at the beginning to be cliché, don’t believe it. Detective
D’Amato brings aboard a number of collaborators as he gets the bad guy.

There are a few unbelievable moments. For example, Dr. D’Amato decides to fly to Scotland to speak with a man face to face because he is warned that the man is “really monotone” when talking over the phone. Perhaps I lack the proper empathy, not having previously been subjected to such a monotone telephone conversation that I’d rather cross an ocean just to have a face-to-face conversation, but I found the few moments like this distracting.

On the other hand, what do I know? Levinson won the Mary Shelley Award for Outstanding Fictional Work in 2003 for this novel. The plot is really quite intriguing, and pulled in credible ideas from a number of fields such as Cognitive Anthropology. (I get the feeling he googled some other areas of expertise for enough information to throw them in the mix, but let a non-googler cast the first stone.)

Mark Shanahan does different voices for over a dozen characters. How well does he do? With that many voices it depends on whether you’re a glass-is-half-full or half-empty kind of person. He actually has the perfect voice for a New York forensic detective and even the silliest voice was attached to one of the more endearing characters, so it worked for me.

7:11 AM -- (1) comments

 


Recently, we posted a list of audiobooks produced from H.P. Lovecraft's work. Thanks very much to Roy for the graphics that go with these titles! Find the complete list here.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Ghost Dance
By H.P. Lovecraft and Thomas E. Fuller; Performed by A
FULL CAST
1 Cassette - Approx 90 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sunset Productions / Atlanta Radio Theater
Company
Published: 1995
ISBN: 1564311260





The Rats in the Walls
By H.P. Lovecraft; Performed by Harlan Ellison and A FULL CAST
1 Cassette - [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Centauri Express / Atlanta Radio Theater
Company
Published: 1990
ISBN: 0929483073




12:05 PM -- (0) comments

 



Ash City Stomp
By Richard Butner; Read by Richard Butner
1 MP3 File - 32 Minutes 17 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Small Beer Press
Published: 2004
Themes: / Fantasy / The Devil / Drugs /

"The Devil was rail thin, wearing a too-large red union suit that had long since faded to pink. It draped over his caved-in chest in front and bagged down almost to his knees in the seat. A tattered red bath towel was tied around his neck, serving as a cape. He wore muddy red suede shoes that looked like they'd been part of a Christmas elf costume."

The Small Beer Press website has posted an author- read downloadable MP3 of Richard Butner's short story Ash City Stomp, taken from the anthology entitled Trampoline. You've likely read stories like this before. I'm not sure if it has a name (maybe slacker-zen would be a good one), but it is some kind of amalgam of the gen-x aesthetic with the fantastic element. Something like Neil Gaiman's American Gods as written by Douglas Coupland. It's not designed to leave you fully satisfied. Instead, its purpose is to show you the post-modern human dilemma for the educated class and their relationship to traditional fantasy elements. Butner's stripped-down dialogue is rhythmically punctuated with curly-cues of ornate hyper-description. As a reader Butner doesn't have much luck playing the female voice, but his crazy devil voice is loads of fun. The recording itself is clean, and includes an introductory hard rocking electric guitar riff. The free downloadable MP3 be found HERE.

1:38 PM -- (0) comments

 


Listen to the GrandMasters of Science Fiction via online audio
Ever wonder what your favorite Science Fiction authors sound like? We can help. Here's a complete list of the Science Fiction Writers Of America GrandMasters sorted by the year of their induction and the online audioclips and interviews that we know about.
PLEASE NOTE: File types vary ( .mp3 .m3u .ram .wav ).

Robert A. Heinlein (1974)
Stranger in a Strange Land - Time Enough for Love
"Robert Heinlein Day" - "eggs in one basket"
"colonies beyond Earth" - "through the universe"
Jack Williamson (1975)
-An interview from the Fast-Forward archives
Clifford D. Simak (1976) - None known

L. Sprague de Camp (1978) - None known

Fritz Leiber (1981) - None known

Andre Norton (1983) - None known

Arthur C. Clarke (1985) - None known

Isaac Asimov (1986)
-Asimov interviewed by Terry Gross 1986
-A Wired for Books interview from 1987


4:40 PM -- (0) comments

 


Don't forget, tonight at 10:00PM CBC Radio One, will be airing the BRAND NEW Science Fiction radio drama Birth. Written by Robert J. Sawyer and Michael Lennick and produced by Joe Mahoney. Tune in with your radio or if you are outside of Canada, with your browsers...
HERE

ALSO! You can get a behind the scenes peek, check out some of the photos taken during the recording... HERE

12:09 PM -- (0) comments

 


The official website of SF writer Brian W. Aldiss has recently been redesigned, and it now contains a page with some audio discussions and interviews, and an audiobooks page which lists audio versions of his novels. I was surprised to see only two listed!

3:13 PM -- (1) comments

 


Inside Man
By H.L. Gold; Read by William Mills, Sam Gartner and
Roxanne Mills
1 MP3 File - Approx. 32 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Renaissance E Books / REB Audio
Published: 2005
Themes: / Science Fiction / Humor / Empathy / Telepathy / Psychology / Domesticity /

Why would Lester Shay need anything new to occupy his mind? He is a newlywed of just 3 months! But, when you can't shut out the pained emotions and feelings of the machines with which you live, even a passionate young bride isn't quite enough!

First published in the October 1965 issue of Galaxy magazine, the 15th Anniversary issue, Inside Man garner a Nebula nomination for best science fiction short story of the year. But despite the nomination this is, by no means, a classic of the genre. Horace Gold was a far better editor than he was a writer. Despite the caveats this is a well produced multiple voice reading of the exact sort of story that appeared in Galaxy magazine under Gold's editorial reign. Funny and original. And though hearing the mid-twentieth century values voiced today seem at best rather quaint, this short story still yields an interesting twist. The readers' voices are clear and this a relatively straightforward and professional production. The highlight for me though is actually the three minute biographical and historical introduction to the story written by Jean Marie Stine. It is always a good idea to place an older story in its context. But I must say the spacey music that accompanies the introduction doesn't actually improve it. Inside Man is available now as a high quality MP3 through Fictionwise.com.

9:59 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Ninth Annual Mark Time Awards for the Best Audio Science Fiction of the Year (for production year 2004) were presented at the CONvergence Science Fiction Convention at the Sheraton Hotel South in Bloomington, MN on July 1st, 2005.

GOLD MARK TIME AWARD
-No Award given-

SILVER MARK TIME AWARD (tie)
"Paradox"
Strange Interludes, Fort Worth, TX
Stephen Couch, writer/producer

"Snowbank"
Icebox Radio Theater, International Falls, MN
Jeffrey Adams, writer/producer

HONORABLE MENTION
"Rod Renegade: Chaos for Hire"
Texas Radio Theatre, Arlington, TX
Shannan and Rich Frohlich, producers

SPECIAL AWARD - BEST ADAPTATION
"The Menace From Earth"
Atlanta Radio Theater Company, Atlanta, GA
William Alan Ritch, producer. Story by Robert Heinlein.

GOLD OGLE AWARD
"Next Years Girl"
Willamette Radio Workshop, Portland, OR
Sam A. Mowry and Cynthia McGean, producers

SILVER OGLE AWARD
-No Award given-

HONORABLE MENTION
"Three Skeleton Key"
One Act Players, San Mateo, CA
Glenn Carlson, producer

SPECIAL AWARD - BEST ADAPTATION
"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"
Willamette Radio Workshop, Portland, OR
Sam A. Mowry and Cynthia McGean, producers

Judges for the 2004 Mark Time and Ogle Awards were:
Simon Jones - "Arthur Dent" in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Kris Markman - National Audio Theatre Festivals
Brian Price - Great Northern Audio Theatre
Philip Proctor - The Firesign Theatre
Jerry Stearns - Great Northern Audio Theatre

Congratulations to everyone!

I, for one, have only heard one of these productions - if you are a producer of science fiction, fantasy, or horror audio drama, please consider sending them our way for review on SFFAudio. Click here to contact me for more information.

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