Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By J.K. Rowling; Read by Jim Dale
17 CDs - 19 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Listening Library
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0307283658
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / Wizardry / Youth / Magical Creatures / School /

At this point, the Harry Potter universe has become so entrenched in our culture that it’s impossible to approach the newest installment of the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, with anything like objectivity. Most readers already care so much about Harry and his associates that the reading experience has become less like enjoying a good novel and more like continuing the biography of a good friend or beloved celebrity. Which isn’t to say that The Half-Blood Prince isn’t a good novel; on the contrary, it ranks right up there with The Prisoner and Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire, and is a damn sight better than 2003’s gloomy and ultimately disappointing The Order of the Phoenix. For those of us who feel better when things are given in Star Wars terms, The Half-Blood Prince is most similar to The Empire Strikes Back; it advances and complicates our views about the series and its characters, while apparently moving backward from the hero’s inevitable triumph over the villain.

In The Half-Blood Prince, author J.K. Rowling maintains her own tradition of opening the novel without the titular hero in sight. In this case, the muggle Prime Minister of England is anxiously awaiting a visit from the Minister of Magic and reminiscing about their previous, mostly unpleasant, meetings. When Cornelius Fudge arrives, he brings news that the wizarding world is in an uproar; Lord Voldemort is apparently growing more and more powerful, Voldemort’s followers, the Death-Eaters are becoming more brazen in their attacks, and wizards, witches, and muggles are all at increasing risk of severe harm or death.

While Rowling never mentions real-world events in the books, the tone and situations of the two novels published since 9-11 indicate that the world inside her head is not completely insulated from the world outside. It’s telling of Rowling’s own views that the Ministry of Magic is, at best, ineffectual in dealing with these threats, and is often outright dangerous; in The Half-Blood Prince, the Ministry of Magic detains individuals it knows to be innocent, in order to give the appearance of making some progress against the enemy.

The initial expository scene, combined with a tantalizingly ambiguous revelation about one of the Hogwart’s professors, makes for such a dark opening that it’s an almost tangible relief when Harry finally makes an appearance. The likeable young wizard is now 16 years old, and Rowling has again taken pains to ensure that the novel has matured along with Harry. Passages dealing with the magical comeuppance of the Dursleys, the pointless ins and outs of Quidditch matches (why bother with anything but the snitch?), and the minutiae of wizard candy are fleeting and widely spaced, while more chapters are devoted to fairly violent magical battles (a faithful movie adaptation could very well garner an “R” rating), career counseling, and “snogging,” (making out, for those of us on the Yankee side of the pond).

Once the novel starts in earnest, Rowling doesn’t stray from Harry’s point of view, but she cheats somewhat by using the “pensive,” a magical device that allows Harry to explore the memories of others. The pensive is put to good use in the book, as its main function is to investigate the background of “He-who-must-not-be-named.” Readers who are hoping for a complicated, even sympathetic, take on Lord Voldemort (ala Thomas Harris’s Red Dragon) will be disappointed. It turns out that Voldemort is just plain bad, always has been, and apparently, always will be. More psychopath than sadist, Voldemort never hurts or kills just for enjoyment, his villainies are always means to an end. Voldemort’s particular brand of evil means that the guilt that might be expected to accompany these activities just isn’t there.

Other magical items are used less effectively in the story. An episode involving a bottle of “liquid luck”, called “felix felicis,” (the letters of which do not rearrange to spell deus ex machina) feels so contrived, requires a such a lengthy and complicated set-up, and requires Harry, Ron, and Hermione to act so outside their characters, that it’s one of the few times the book feels like something that somebody made up, rather than a description of actual events.

All told, however, the sixth installment in the Harry Potter series is excellent, and the unabridged recording of the novel makes for a very enjoyable listen. The folks at Listening Library made an inspired choice when they chose Jim Dale to read The Sorcerer’s Stone, and, five books, two Audie Awards, five Headphone Awards, three Grammy nominations and one actual Grammy later, his performance of The Half-Blood Prince is, to borrow a word from Harry, brilliant. Even without sound effects, music, or multiple actors, The Half-Blood Prince plays like a good BBC radio drama. Dale lends nuance and individuality to each of the characters, while his “normal,” narration voice is dignified, yet accessible. Dale also has an uncanny knack for interpreting speech adverbs; where Rowling writes “reprovingly,” or “reminiscently”, Dale puts reproach or reminiscence into the dialogue, so much so that very often the listener will be able to predict Rowling’s choice of adverb before Dale reads it. Maybe the highest compliment that can be paid to the audio book is that at no point is the reader reminded of the sub-par (but increasingly better) film adaptations of the books. While listeners who desire an experience closer to reading, with more neutral performances that allow for more personal interpretation, might resent having Dale’s vigorous interpretation thrust upon them, most listeners, particularly younger ones, will enjoy all 19 hours of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

posted by Cory 7:11 AM -- (1) comments

 


Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award winning author Neil Gaiman, who is on tour promoting his latest novel Anansi Boys and his new film Mirrormask, was interviewed on WNYC Radio's The Leonard Lopate Show on Thursday, September 29th 2005. You can download the MP3 of that interview HERE.

Gaiman was also in Australia recently (July 2005) and the State Library of Victoria has posted three MP3s of the talk he gave there. He explains about his varied career, reads from Anansi Boys and answers questions from the audience. You can download all three segments:

1:19 PM -- (0) comments

 


Blogger, journalist and science fiction author Cory Doctorow is now podcasting his fiction! Cory writes, "I've finally started podcasting! I love reading my stuff aloud, but it's not practical for me to find quiet places to sit down with a mic and a Powerbook and record. So the idea is that I'm going to record my stories in serial form from wherever I am: hotel rooms, friends' sofas, airport lounges, whatever, and post 'em." You can subscribe to the feed here, or download individual installments as MP3s here. The podcast is also available through iTunes. To kick things off he's reading from a novellette-in-progress entiled After the Siege.

12:51 PM -- (0) comments

 


BBC Radio 4 has just broadcast Zoran Zivkovic's The Train. Which was first published in INTERZONE in 2000. Zoran Zivkovic is a World Fantasy Award winning author. This was the fourth in a series of five short stories on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Reading collected under the heading "Opening Lines" which is billed as "A showcase of cutting-edge, contemporary writing". It is archived for a limited time, likely just a 24 hours HERE.

The Train
By Zoran Zivkovic; Read by Roger Hallum
ONLINE AUDIO - 14 Minutes - [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcast: September 29th 2005
Bropadcaster: BBC Radio 4
A bank manager is travelling to an important meeting where he will announce whether or not his bank will grant a substantial loan to a new company. He's mulling over the risks involved when he meets God, who reveals that he will provide the answer to a single question. The man can't believe his good luck and asks God to solve his bank loan dilemma.

11:29 AM -- (0) comments

 


Ender's Game: Special 20th Anniversary Edition
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle de Cuir, David Birney and a FULL CAST
9 CDs - 10.5 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1593974744
Themes: / Science Fiction / War / Children / Military / Politics / Spaceships / Space Station / Aliens /

Andrew 'Ender' Wiggin isn't just playing games at Battle School; he and the other children are being tested and trained in Earth's attempt to find the military genius that the planet needs in its all-out war with an alien enemy. Ender Wiggin is six years old when his training begins. He will grow up fast. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world--if the world survives.

Many male children covet uniforms and the manly art of war - and on the surface that is what Ender's Game appears to be about, a wish-fulfillment novel for the pre-teen set. But it isn't only that. Science Fiction is an accumulative literature, perhaps more so than any other kind. Good creations stick in SF and accumulate and grow. Robots once invented, need not be reinvented. Faster than light travel, time travel or Asimov's "three laws" are tools which once created need not be ignored as outside the scope of another SF novel, quite the contrary in fact. Simply ask yourself; in what other literature could a constructed story device like an "ansible" (invented by Ursula K. Le Guin in 1966 but used in Ender's Game) be mentioned without renaming it? But it is not just the story props that SF shares, the concepts and themes of science fiction can never be fully appreciated in isolation. Every science fiction story is in dialogue with another.

Ender's Game is especially engaged with two other superlative science fiction novels that preceded it, namely Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, and like those two masterpieces of science fiction Ender's Game has something new and unique to say. Whereas Starship Troopers can be viewed as the relationship between a teenager's individualism and his relationship to society (a neo-Hobbesian social contract concept typical of mid-career Heinlien), and The Forever War as a discussion of that same relationship but with a college aged young man and his more skeptical worldview (the post Vietnam influence) Ender's Game engages neither an adult's nor a teen's relationship to his society its war. Instead Ender's Game is that relationship from a child's perspective. It is also, paradoxically, not a grunt's view of a war, as was the case with both Heinlein's and Haldeman's novels, but rather is about how the supreme commander of an interstellar war is created.

Orson Scott Card has not ignored the disconnect between a child's desire to play at war and the brutal cost of killing, and the burden of ultimate responsibility. We primarily follow Ender and his classmates as they train to command Earth's military in a genocidal war against a hostile alien threat, but the parallel story of his two siblings back on Earth compels equally. Each character in this novel is in a chess match of emotional and philosophical conflict with one another and their society. There are a few better hard science fiction stories, and a few better soft science fiction stories, but there are fewer science fiction stories as well constructed and emotionally satisfying as this one.

The 20th anniversary of the novel's re-publication brought about this audiobook. It is regrettable that the cover art of this edition is as generic as it is because the folks at Audio Renaissance have quite literally have brought greatness to the text. They've included an introduction and a postscript read by Card himself, both of which place the novel and the audiobook in its context as well as enlightening us to the author's method of its construction. Multiple readers lead by Stefan Rudnicki work perfectly to vocally illustrate each chapter, character and scene. Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle De Cuir, David Birney and the rest of the readers have given us an audiobook perfectly rendered. In what is the pattern for the Enderverse novels adapted for Audio Renaissance readers trade off at the ends of chapters, and when two unplaced voices are unattributed - except by what they actually say - two actors engage in conversation. Multi voiced readings have never been better.

And so it is with great pleasure that we enter this Special 20th Anniversary edition of Ender's Game as the first into the ranks of the SFFaudio Essential audiobooks.

posted by Jesse

Here at SFFAudio, we have considered several different ways to present what we think are the finest audiobooks out there. At one time we had a favorites list, then we considered rating each audiobook using a 5-star system. The SFFAudio Essential designation is what we landed upon. An audiobook earning a place on the SFFAudio Essential list is a five-star gem of an audiobook - a great place to start if you are new to science fiction and fantasy audio, and a necessary addition for collectors. 6:20 AM -- (1) comments

 


More new and cool podcasts:

Broadcasting from the University Of California, Davis, host Karl J. Mogel has just started podcasting his show The Inoculated Mind. It is available through iTunes' search function. Science and science fiction are the focus. The very limited website can be found at www.inoculatedmind.com

alienETHOS is a new podcast with a focus on exploring the ethical and moral dilemnas illustrated by science fiction. The examples used so far have mostly been from television and movies, but perhaps they'll delve into the more literary examples in the future. Hey guys how about James Blish's A Case Of Conscience? Check out the website here: www.alienethos.com

Spaceship Radio isdedicated to bringing you the best of the classic 1950s science fiction and fantasy radio shows like Dimension X and X Minus One. It is surprising it has taken this long to come up with such a clever idea for a podcast! Visit the slick Spaceship Radio website here.

The Twilight Tales Audio Experience, www.twilighttales.com, is a primarily horror and dark fantasy story series of readings, a kind of anthology of the horrific. Three great sounding podcasts out so far.

Sound Stages is another podcast with a bent towards radio drama (and audio drama), it has podcast things like Bradbury 13, Imagination-X and Icebox Radio Theatre. The website needs some organization but the content itself is very keen!

posted by Jesse 2:19 PM -- (2) comments

 


Imagination X: The First Album
By Jeffrey Adams; Performed by a Full Cast
1 CD - 1 hour [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Bud C. Productions
Published: 2003
ISBN: 0974201200
Themes: / Fantasy / Horror / Ghosts / Artificial Intelligence / Dreams /

If you are a fan of Twilight Zone fiction, you are going to enjoy Imagination X. There are eight dramatized stories included in this 1-hour album, each performed by a full cast:

"The House in the Woods" - A woman is haunted by visions in her dreams of a house in the woods.

"Box Love" - A hilarious look at love between two artificially intelligent kitchen appliances.

"Up on the Rooftops" - Something's moving up on the roof - is it Santa Claus?

"Background" - A researcher goes to a haunted house and tape records notes while he looks around. But the tapes contain more than his voice...

"Mandible Hill" - Do you know what the person sitting next to you is capable of?

"The Prisoner" - A tortured soul cries out his torment - or does he?

"Distance" - A space traveler deals with his computer which is also trying to deal with him.

Find this audio at Bud C. Productions - you'll be glad you did. The website leaves quite a bit to be desired, but there is some interesting information there. If you click on an episode, you can find some of Jeffrey Adams' notes on the production along with cast info. A piece of data I found interesting: The computer voice was played by the 'Speakable Items' function of my iMac computer, the existence of which was the inspiration for the episode, and, to some extent, for the entire series.

I enjoyed the time I spent with these stories, and am looking forward to more from Jeffrey Adams and crew.

posted by Scott

Labels: artificial intelligence, dreams, fantasy, ghosts, horror, Jeffrey Adams, review

6:14 AM -- (0) comments

 


The ::overclocked:: podcast is waycool. Though it covers tech, science and lots of other things it is the "sci-fi" content that interests us most. Far more intellectual than nearly every other non-fiction podcasts that talks about science fiction ::overclocked:: doesn't dwell on TV and movies as much as concepts and developments in modern Science Fiction literature. The man behind this cool Seattle based podcast is Bluejack, he's also a contributing editor to the The Internet Review Of Science Fiction. Three ::overclocked:: podcasts defintely worth listening to are listed below:

The Singularity
Show #024: The Singularity has been one of the most challenging new ideas in science fiction: challenging for writers to approach in interesting ways, as well as a challenge to everyone's beliefs about the significance of humanity. This show discusses some of the specifics of Vinge's idea, and presents some objections. It also takes a quick look at what the concept has meant for science fiction.

Post Humans
Show #017: Science Fiction has long explored ideas about the next step in human evolution: steps that we will consciously choose; science isn't quite catching up on all fronts, but scientists are undermining the very notion of consciousness.

Genre Purists
Show #006
Reading stuff that might or might not be in the spirit of science fiction (or related genres) brings some new insight to bear on the age-old topic, debated by Genre Purists everywhere, of what is science fiction? Or what should it be?

posted by Jesse 2:03 PM -- (1) comments

 


Though Podiobooks.com is leading the charge of delivering podcast audiobooks there are a number of independent novelsits and podcasters who've started publishing on their own. We've assembled a list of some of the Science Fiction, Fantasy and related titles:

Ancestor
By Scott Sigler; Read by Scott Sigler and others
- STATUS: IN PROGRESS
A technothriller centered on a transnational corporation's scheme to create a creature that can be used to harvest organs for human use. And rather than debate the issue .... extreme violence is our best option.
http://www.project-daemon.net/

Pirate Jack
By Allessandro Cima; Read by ??????
- STATUS: IN PROGRESS
A Young Adult novel about pirates with fantastic elements.
http://piratejack.blogspot.com/

The Master Of The World
By Jules Verne; Read by Eileen
[UNABRIDGED] - STATUS: IN PROGRESS
This famous public domain science fiction novel is being read by the good folks Eileen at The Public Domain Podcast. Good on ya e!
http://publicdomainpodcast.blogspot.com/

Forever Fifteen
By Kiberley Steele; Read by ??????
- STATUS: STARTED
The first and only teen vampire novel to be published so far. Think of it as Buffy the vampire. No slayer.
http://www.foreverfifteen.com/

Brace for Impact
By ?????????; Read by ????????
- STATUS: STARTED
"The mythology of Mick Aloha and Apocalypse Dowell, superhero / wrestling archenemies who must join forces for a common cause. If you're looking for literature that will challenge your mind and improve your life...sorry."
http://freepodcastnovel.com/

Tannis Island
By Gavin L. Lowe; Read by ????????
- STATUS: STARTED
"Two divers on holiday in the Middle East discover an artifact beneath the coral growth under the Red Sea."
http://www.gavinsphoto.com/page2/page2.html

Angelikae: Take Flight
By Colin Coltera; Read by ????????
- STATUS: STARTED
Described as "Fantasy / Sci-fi."
http://angelikae.blogspot.com/

Sermons on Little Known Gods
By Lauren Merritt; Read by ????????
- STATUS: STARTED
Described as "Humorous alternative fantasy."
http://cedarhillservices.com/sermons/

and perhaps most exciting....

Burn
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly?
- STATUS: BEGINS NOVEMBER
http://www.jimkelly.net/

posted by Jesse 1:03 PM -- (1) comments

 


Podiobooks.com is now in BETA and there are several great sounding speculative fiction or related "podiobooks" (podcast audiobooks) that are in the pipe. Podibooks from Podiobooks.com will be available for FREE, but all donations go to the author and the bandwith and other costs to support the podcasts. Here's a list of titles we know so far:

Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana
By Tee Morris and Lisa Lee; Read by Tee Morris
[ABRIDGED] - STATUS: COMPLETED
This was the first podcast novel finished and it is very, very good!
http://www.teemorris.com/podcast

Earthcore
By Scott Sigler; Read by Scott Sigler
[UNABRIDGED?] - STATUS: COMPLETED
Hands down the most popular Podcast novel released.
http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/

The Pocket and the Pendant
By Mark Jeffrey; Read by Mark Jeffrey
[UNABRIDGED?] - STATUS: COMPLETED
I'm listening to this one now and expect to be giving it a review after I finish.
http://markjeffrey.typepad.com/

Tom Corven
By Paul Story; Read by Paul Story
[UNABRIDGED] - STATUS: ?????????
- STATUS: ?????????
http://www.dreamwords.com/TomCorven.htm

Killed by Death
By R. Scott Bolton
- STATUS: ?????????
Four years ago, Man-of-Action Horatio Bartholomew Fist closed the final chapter on the Zombie Slave War with the apprehension of the War's most notorious criminal, Arnold X. DemiGod. Now, DemiGod has turned up missing, and Fist finds himself on the trail of the vicious killer again. Armed with his merciless Dimensional Minimizer weapon, Fist and a showgirl named Pepper Shaker traverse the universe...
http://www.authorsden.com/rscottbolton

Spherical Tomi: A Novel of Despair
by Jack Mangan
- STATUS: ?????????
Can one woman escape her past? Not if she is one of the greatest combat programmers in history. Caught between two powerful warlords in the far future, and trapped by the memory of the man she couldn't save, Tomi must face the ghosts from her own past, and hide from a world that counts her among its most heinous criminals. Add to this challenge her rapidly deteriorating cloned body, falling apart just in time to meet a new invasion from an old friend, but not quite time enough to replace, and you have the makings of an all around bad day...
http://www.irosf.com/user/show.qsml?loaduser=13579

Fiddle and Burn
By Jason Pomerantz
- STATUS: ?????????
Part comedy. Part soap opera. A fiction blog. A serialized sit-com. A daily comic strip in prose. It's the continuing adventures of the staff of Fiddle and Burn Magazine.
http://www.fiddleandburn.com/

Noggle Stones
By Wil Radcliffe; Read by ?????
- STATUS: ?????????
In his tortured dreams, the mad goblin scholar, Bugbear, saw the coming war. Pride would crumble to dust. Glory would melt to tears. Wisdom would shatter to madness. And the shadows would reign supreme. Only an eldritch scroll, a humble bee, and Bugbear’s awkward human apprentice could win this desperate struggle... a conflict that began in a time now remembered only in faded parchments, fractured whispers, and a children’s rhyme...
http://nogglestones.com/

AmerIndian 2192
by J. Scott Garibay; Read by Leanne Garibay
- STATUS: IN PRODUCTION
The story of two brothers, Wovoka and Keokuk, restoring the Native American people to a Homeland where their culture can thrive. Lodge ships, Cybershaman rituals and Tsimshian high technology are all elements in this action-oriented tale of interstellar Elder politics and personal struggles. Sounds something like the Kirniyaga series by Mike Resnick.
http://garibaywrite.tripod.com/garibay/

Escape Pod
Editor Steve Eley Read by Steve Eley and Various Readers
[UNABRIDGED] - STATUS: ?????????
Short stories, science fiction and fantasy and fun. Guaranteed to be GREAT!
http://www.escapepod.info/

????????????????
By Kelley Armstong; Read by Kelley Armstrong
- STATUS: ?????????
We're not sure what the title will be yet, but its a previously published Armstrong novel. Cool!
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Geek Fu Action Grip
By Mur Lafferty; Read by Mur Lafferty
- STATUS: ?????????
Essays with a Geek Fu Action Grip. Solid!
http://www.geekfuactiongrip.com/

posted by Jesse 12:47 PM -- (0) comments

 


Just a Geek
By Wil Wheaton; Read by Wil Wheaton
MP3 Download - 373Mb - 10 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: 10 Quick Steps
Published: 2005
Themes: / Non-fiction / Biography / Star Trek / Acting / Writing / Blogs / Internet /

So, there's this guy named Wil Wheaton, right? And he wrote this book called Just a Geek, which is filled with his experiences as a Star Trek actor, as an ex-Star Trek actor, as a stepfather, a husband, a son... in short, Just a Geek is filled with life, and it's compelling listening.

Wheaton started a blog a while back which now resides at http://www.wilwheaton.net. It's not your average celebrity website; Wheaton's blog entries are personal, honest, and interesting. He is as likely to talk about his family life as he is about his projects. And he is an excellent writer who writes things that resonate with his readers, as evidenced by the many folks who revisit his site to read more (myself included).

Just a Geek contains many blog entries from his site, along with much more material. Included are things from many parts of his life, from the time as a kid he traded a Death Star for a Land Speeder and five bucks to his experiences during and after the filming of Star Trek: Nemesis.

I knew Wil Wheaton was a good narrator before I clicked PLAY on my MP3 player, because I'd heard the audio version of the Hugo-winning science fiction story "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers" by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Wil Wheaton read that, and I thought he was excellent. I came away even more impressed here. He reads about his life as if he's talking to you personally across a table. Again, compelling is the word that comes to mind. I never once lost interest. This audiobook will make you smile, it will touch you, and it will make you want to go to Hooters for some chili cheese fries.

Oh yeah, and Wil wants all of you over for a Guinness later. Bring your own action figure.

Just a Geek is available for MP3 download or on Audio CD at 10 Quick Steps - click here!

posted by Scott 6:05 AM -- (1) comments

 


Empire of the East
by Fred Saberhagen, read by Raymond Todd
15 CD’s – 18.5 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0786178833
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / Technology / Demons / Empires / Post-Apocalypse

Have you ever wondered what one modern piece of weaponry might have meant for a given side in a war in past centuries? In the world Fred Saberhagen creates in Empire of the East, it is the future rather than the past where such scenarios are explored. In this distant future magic is real, understood, and trusted, while technology from the “old world” (i.e., our time) exists in the form of mistrusted relics.

You can’t listen to this story long without comparing it to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and it compares favorably. It’s a compilation (I believe with some revision) of three earlier books written by Saberhagen. The sheer breadth of the three-part story is impressive, sweeping you through a vast world where an oppressive Eastern empire is resisted by free men of the West. The main character Rolf resembles Frodo (even beyond the near-anagramatic match of names) and another reminds the reader of Aragorn.

But Saberhagen is no poor man’s Tolkien. He manages the micro- and macro-details with great skill. There are no Tom Bombadils dancing around, hinting of early ideas left in but not fully integrated. No disrespect for Lord of the Rings intended, I’m just saying that Empire of the East merits praise in its own right.

Saberhagen’s characters were believable and easy to care about. Lord Chup is my favorite character. Is he a good bad guy? A bad good guy? And making up for in evilness what they lack in nuance, the main antagonists are gripping. Lord Ekuman is evil, but he is easily outdone in the second book by Som the Dead (yes, he is as attractive as he sounds). Then, in the third book you realize Som is simply middle management. His boss (his mother named him Ominor, perhaps expecting the worst) likes to relax to the sounds of impalement.

The breadth of the milieu is matched by lush detail. I couldn’t help thinking of what a movie version of this would be like. Saberhagen describes situations and interactions with such precision that images came to mind as easily as if I’d watched it on a screen. The story aside, it was just fun listening to Saberhagen’s writing. He captures subtleties in the action, giving you the feeling like you know exactly what it would have been like to be there. Here is a random example of his writing:

As a man dragged to the edge of a precipice will throw away all his treasures and his weapons, to grab with every finger for some saving hold, so did the demon emperor now abandon all the threads of Eastern wizardry.

If you read fantasy, you often just accept that there happens to be magic in the world, and Saberhagen does a very good job explaining the magic of his world. The magic isn’t just part of the scenery, though. In a pleasant surprise at the end, just how the world came to have magic is explained and tied into the climax. There isn’t much of a denouement, perhaps the greatest contrast between Empire of the East and Lord of the Rings.

Even if a story is great, however, it does not necessarily translate to greatness when presented in other mediums. In this case, the audio production is equal to the story. Blackstone Audiobooks did a perfect job producing the Raymond Todd narration for Empire of the East. While a reader that does not distract from a story is desirable, Todd’s voice talent goes beyond and enhances it.

Some readers have interesting voices, but they soon become distracting, like a new shirt you don, but are soon irritated by when it doesn’t quite fit and rubs irritatingly against your skin. Raymond Todd’s voice, in contrast, is like a comfortable sweater that gives familiar reassurance. He uses variations of some kind of Gaelic or Scandinavian accent with the men of the West and did a great job with it.

So thank Blackstone Audiobooks for bringing us such a brilliant novel in a very impressive production. I’ll be keeping my eye out for other stories read by Raymond Todd.

If you don’t want to carry around a case with 15 CDs, you can get two MP3 CDs for just under fifty bucks, or do a digital download from their site for only $9.95 (if it’s your first time). I think anyone who appreciates his work will be glad this part of his legacy is preserved in this quality production.

posted by Mike 6:04 AM -- (0) comments

 


Things just keep getting better in podcasting - check out Holtzbrinck Podcasts, who are now podcasting excerpts from their audiobook releases. Both Tor and Audio Renaissance are subsidiaries of Holtzbrinck Publishers. This week, they have excerpts from Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and The Precipice by Ben Bova. Good stuff, and free.

posted by Scott 2:57 PM -- (0) comments

 


Hey, it looks like Books on Tape is selling off some of their cassette stock - Click here for the science fiction and fantasy titles. Included on the list are Elizabeth Moon's Nebula-winning The Speed of Dark, William Gibson's Neuromancer, George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, and Robert Jordan's Eye of the World.

posted by Scott 2:42 PM -- (1) comments

 


Technical Error
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by David Zinn
37 Minutes - [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: 2005
Themes: / Science Fiction / Hard SF / Parallel Worlds
/ Math Fiction /

Another FREE streaming audio short story by Arthur C.
Clarke from Assistive Media. An ingenious concept for a story, Technical Error shows why Arthur C. Clarke is who he is - excellent ideas executed intelligently. The premise is too good to spoil but I'll give you a hint - imagine a world in which 90% of people are left handed.

This streaming audio story also includes a little introduction written by Clarke. Unfortunately David Zinn doesn't pause between the introduction and the story's start - making it slightly confusing. The reading is adequate; Zinn doesn't have too much to work with given the dialogue and characters, since both are rather flatish. One more minor quibble, it sounds as if someone forgot to turn off the air conditioning in the recording studio.
Available at AssistiveMedia.org.

REALAUDIO LINK: http://www.assistivemedia.org/amrams/TechnicalError.ram

posted by Jesse 5:41 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Harvest
By Alec Sand; Read by John Pruskin
1 MP3-CD - 4 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Academic MP3 Audiobooks
Themes: / Science Fiction / Space Travel / Biology / Alien life / Medicine /

Click here for an Audio Trailer

The Harvest is a short novel of future history. No, it's a bit more than just that. Alec Sand has created a detailed future in which his characters move. It is a future in which a substance called iridium has changed things significantly - it's a substance from which power is derived and the finding and mining of iridium occupies much of mankind's time. The Harvest is hard science fiction in which the ideas and concepts generously flow.

In this future, Gideon and his sister Dara reside. Dara has a disease that Gideon is somehow convinced has a cure somewhere "out there", so he takes her with him on a mining expedition to a new planet. Dara finds much there.

There was some lecturing during the story, which I felt slowed things down a bit. The author could have found smoother ways to introduce information, but it was all interesting, and I found myself eager to know what happened next. I liked the story as a whole very much.

John Pruskin narrates, and overall was very good at keeping my interest. There were a few errors in the narration, but again - I was always eager to continue, and a listener can't ask for much more than that. He maintained a good, consistent pace throughout and read with clarity.

A unique aspect of this audiobook is its soundtrack. There are several songs that play at various times throughout the audiobook, usually as bridges between chapters or sections. A band called Silk84 provides this music, and the songs are included in full in a different folder on the MP3-CD. I'm listening to some of this music as I write this... I like it! The music ranges from upbeat dance music to beautiful piano music, and though I didn't always feel the music matched my mood while listening, what Academic did with music in this audiobook is unique and it worked! Yeah, Silk84... I like the sound of your guitar. (You can find Silk84 on iTunes.)

You can get a copy of The Harvest from Academic MP3's website by clicking right here.

posted by Scott 5:38 AM -- (0) comments

 


Our very own reviewer Mary Robinette Kowal (a name I'm convinced you'll be seeing often attached to published fiction) has an audio story available on a website called The First Line. The story is called "Rampion" and it can be downloaded here. The story will leave you wanting more! And The First Line? An excellent concept. Check it out!

posted by Scott 9:47 AM -- (1) comments

 


Just posted - a new Author Focus page featuring Grandmaster Robert A. Heinlein. Click here to see it! 5:47 AM -- (0) comments

 


Here are the New Releases for September - a fine looking bunch of audiobooks, I must say...

Anansi Boys
By Neil Gaiman; Read by Lenny Henry
Harper Audio, Unabridged
The sequel to American Gods - can't wait!

Dragonflight
By Anne McCaffrey; Read by Dick Hill
Brilliance Audio, Unabridged
This is a mass market re-release of this title, now available on CD and MP3-CD

The Road to Dune
By Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson
Read by Scott Brick
Audio Renaissance, Unabridged
Click here for the SFFAudio Review!

Speaker for the Dead
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Various
Audio Renaissance, Unabridged
Click here for the SFFAudio Review!

Star Wars: The Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
By Troy Denning; Read by Jonathan Davis
Random House Audio, Abridged

The Warrior's Apprentice
By Lois McMaster Bujold; Read by Grover Gardner
Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
Available on cassette, CD, and MP3-CD
This is the second Vorkosigan novel released by Blackstone.

Thud!
By Terry Pratchett; Read by Stephen Briggs
Harper Audio, Unabridged
The latest Discworld novel.

To be included in our monthly New Releases post, please contact Scott or Jesse. We'd be happy to include your audio, as long as it is genre related.

11:25 AM -- (0) comments

 


Crazy Dog Audio Theatre's series THE LAST HARBINGER will be featured this Friday the 16th on BBC Radio 4's A World In Your Ear programme just after the main lunchtime news.

Each week the BBC producers and team of researchers of A World In Your Ear select and present samples of what they describe as the 'world's best radio'.

In a special space- themed programme, A World In Your Ear hails Crazy Dog Audio Theatre's THE LAST HARBINGER as; 'a combination of dark comedy, social critique and riveting radio', singling out this series as a 'political satire for our times'.

On-line listeners can hear the programme at their convenience any time next week at the BBC A World In Your Ear page:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/aworldinyourear.shtml

posted by Scott 6:52 PM -- (1) comments

 


James Patrick Kelly, has just released two more FREE READS! These are science fiction and fantasy short stories read by Kelly himself . As with the previous 10 stories released, these are top shelf downloadable MP3s. Jim also tells us that his FREE READS recordings will be showing up more and more on Fictionwise.com - where they'll feature new introductions by him (which will certainly offset the fact they aint 100% FREE there). Of course if you listen to a FREE READ, enjoy it and then don't send Kelly a PayPal donation the guilt will be crushing.

This week's releases are:

Bierhorst, R. G., Seera, B. L. and Jannifer, R. P. ‘Proof of the Existence of God and an Afterlife.’ Journal of Experimental Psychology. Volume 95, Spring, 2007, pages 32-36.
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 - 29 Minutes 22 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: http://www.jimkelly.net/pages/free_reads.htm
Published: September 2005

Barry Westphal Crashes The Singularity
By James Patrick Kelly; Read by James Patrick Kelly
1 MP3 - 8 Minutes 57 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: http://www.jimkelly.net/pages/free_reads.htm
Published: September 2005

2:51 PM -- (0) comments

 


Speaker for the Dead
By Orson Scott Card; Read by David Birney, Stefan Rudnicki, Gabrielle de Cuir, John Rubinstein, Scott Brick, Amanda Karr, Lisa Nemacheck, Don Schlossman
12 CD’s – 14 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1593974760
Themes: / Science Fiction / Relativistic Space Travel / Sentient Life / Families / Communities /

Have you ever wished your computer was an intelligent entity you could interact with? Yeah . . . me either. And why don’t we? Because one day when you sit down at your terminal the computer will ask you, “Shall we play a game?” And you’ll say, “How about some Halo 2?” And it will reply back, “How about Global Thermonuclear War?” And unless you think fast and figure out some child’s game that will teach the computer the pointlessness of nuclear war, you’re in a lot of trouble.

There are many other examples of the basic evilness of intelligent computers, like Hal 9000, the recently released Stealth and the entire world of The Matrix.

But in the world of Ender Wiggin there is Jane, restoring hope to all us social skill-less speculative fiction nerds that one day we can be adored by a digital babe. (And don’t give me that “I’m not a nerd, I’ve got skills” stuff–how many other artificial intelligence characters that I didn’t list have you thought of already? Hmm?)

As a sentient, non-human being that interacts with Ender via an interplanetary network of computers, Jane is the ultimate information resource. Not only is she not threatening humanity, Jane is pleasant, caring, and humorously informative. She is easily one of the most likable non-human characters you’ll read, but that isn’t why you should listen to this book.

You should listen to this book because it is a masterwork on human behavior. Orson Scott Card is often praised as a master developer of characters, but if every other book he has written had flopped, this book itself earns him that recognition.

Andrew (Ender) Wiggin was unable to return to earth after he destroyed the Formics in Ender’s Game. Racked by guilt after learning he destroyed a (relatively) innocent form of life, he wrote a book explaining the whole situation, and by doing so became the first “Speaker for the Dead.”

Fast forward a few thousand years. Andrew is only a couple decades older, thanks to the relativistic effects of space travel, and a mythology has developed about him. He is known historically as “Ender the Xenocide,” whose name evokes the same warm fuzzy feelings we associate with the name “Hitler.” “Andrew Wiggin” is also remembered, but as the writer of the near-canonized The Hive Queen and The Hegemon and initiator of the profession of speaking for the dead.

Those around him don’t know that both the Xenocide and the original Speaker were the same person, or that Andrew is him. Andrew is drawn to the colony planet Lusitania to help preserve another sentient species (the piggies). Speaker for the Dead picks up with events that lead to conflict between the piggies and humans, and Ender’s decision to go to Lusitania to help. There he meets the family of a man whose death he is to speak, and who are in the middle of the piggy problems via their scientific/anthropological roles.

As Ender comes to know the family we come to know and love them too. We learn what understandable need or desire or pain is behind their choices. For example, at no point do you agree with the mother’s behavior as years of angry distance from her children starts to bear bitter fruit. But you also see how love, pain and loss have distorted her reality. You despise her behavior, feel compassion for her suffering and understand her intentions. That is reality in all its rich, painful complexity.

But Speaker for the Dead does something even more amazing. It accurately shows the process of change. Change for an individual is a complicated enough process. Showing how a family changes is much more complicated. I am astonished at how accurate that process is portrayed in the book. I have yet to read another book that comes close to describing family change as well as Speaker for the Dead.

Having David Birney and Stephan Rudnicki both narrate the book is like have Shaq and Michael Jordan both on your team in a pick-up game. Those are the only two listed on the CD case, which is really unfair because there is an entire cast and not one person falls short of absolute excellence in their narration. They are the U.S. Olympic Team of readers. The others include Gabrielle de Cuir, John Rubinstein, Scott Brick, Amanda Karr, Lisa Nemacheck, and Don Schlossman.

And while I’m complaining about the case, couldn’t they have put a relevant picture on it? That funky tower thing and the planet surface below it looks like Capitol, but that’s a whole other set of Orson Scott Card stories. I guess the publisher wants the association with the original book cover, but Jane or a pequenino, or any other image actually related to the story would have been nice.

And why stop my spiral of increasingly trivial complaints there? I decided I really don’t like cardboard flap-around cases for the CDs. They are harder to handle, which matters if you are listening while driving, and I think it is easier to scratch a CD in that than in the hard plastic cases with soft sleeves.

I find that I especially like listening to books I have read in the past. If you’re already a fan of Speaker for the Dead, the audio version is a must.

posted by Mike 5:54 AM -- (0) comments

 


Avast, Alessandro Cima has started podcasting his short novel Pirate Jack. It is a terrific sounding Young Adult novel with fantastic elements (time travel methinks). If you like pirates... and who among this heathen host don't? This one be one for you. Each chapter is under ten minutes in length me hearties, and tis released in roughly weekly installments. Plug this link into your podcatcher to hears it:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/PirateJack

Or download directly through the website. Arrggghhh matey! That be one fine podcast for the young scabbardly unns and for peg-legged old seamen alike.

And if ye choose to comment on Cap'n Alessandro's site tell 'im the crew of SFFaudio.com sent ye.

4:30 PM -- (0) comments

 


Scott Sigler, author of the wildly successful Earthcore - the first podcast novel to get a commercial paperbook sold based on a FREE-GIVEAWAY MP3 viral marketing campaign - has just released the first chapter in his next "podiobook", entiled Ancestor, it's another high-tension, high-tech and violent adventure that's three parts technothriller and one part science fiction, it's not a sequel to Earthcore, but it sure sounds like it'll be as popular. You can get all the details at Scott's page on Ancestor HERE. I've subscribed for free through iTunes and you can too, just copy this...

http://feeds.feedburner.com/ancestor

...into the "subscribe to podcast" box, found under "advanced" on the top of the main iTunes interface.

11:35 AM -- (1) comments

 


Multiple Hugo Award winning author, and friend to speculative fiction audio fans everwhere, James Patrick Kelly, has clued us in to some very exciting news! His forthcoming novel, entitled Burn, will be PODCAST! Burn is the story of an eccentric billionaire who's purchased a planet, for the purposes of founding a new utopia, the inhabitants of which must forsake modern technologies. Burn is currently slated at being podcast over sixteen weeks - likely mp3 installments read by Kelly himself, and commencing November 1st 2005! We will keep you posted with more information as it becomes available. Thanks Jim!

10:13 AM -- (0) comments

 


Voices in Your Head is a cool spinoff of the IT Conversations series hosted by Dave Slusher (from The Evil Genius Chronicles) - these Podcasts are really terrific interviews!

Here's a list of notable interviews so far:

James Patrick Kelly - MP3
Eileen Gunn - MP3
Cory Doctorow -MP3
Wil McCarthy - MP3

2:58 PM -- (0) comments

 


***NOTE***
Because of the CBC strike, these links aren't working. Sorry! I'll post an update when things are cleared up. --sd

Quirks And Quarks, CBC Radio's excellent and long running Saturday afternoon science program is not only a great source of science news - it's also a great Science Fiction resource! The show's host, Bob McDonald, has even narrated an SF novel and is obviously a fan of both science and Science Fiction.

Every week, the program presents the people behind the latest discoveries in the physical and natural sciences, from the smallest sub-atomic particle to the largest objects in the sky and everything in between. The program also examines the political, social, environmental and ethical implications of new developments in science and technology. And now Quirks And Quarks has also got into podcasting too! Show segments are available in MP3 format for FREE!

Here's a list of links to show segments that deal with
Science Fiction concepts:

Multiple Worlds & Parallel Universes (April 16, 2005)
LINK: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2004-2005/mp3/qq-2005-04-16a.mp3

Telepathy (November 20, 2004)
LINK: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2004-2005/mp3/qq-2004-11-20a.mp3

First Contact (March 9, 2002)
With SF writer Robert J. Sawyer
LINK to Part 1:
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/01-02/mp3/qq090302a.mp3

LINK to Part 2:
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/01-02/mp3/qq090302b.mp3

Settling The Stars (February 23, 2002)
With SF writers Joe Haldeman, Charles Sheffield and
Geoffrey Landis
LINK: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/01-02/mp3/qq230202a.mp3

Terraforming Mars (May 12, 2001)
LINK: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/00-01/mp3/qq120501a.mp3

posted by Jesse 12:44 AM -- (0) comments

 



Podcast411 has done a really terrific interview with Steve Eley, the talented editor of Escape Pod (the PREMIERE speculative fiction podcast magazine). If you havent already subscribed to Escape Pod listening to this interview will give you all the reason you need.

posted by Jesse 10:37 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Road to Dune
By Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Scott Brick
12 CD's - 14 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: JUST RELEASED - September 2005
ISBN: 159397776X
Themes: / Science Fiction / Dune / Desert / Religion / Commentary / Journal / Short Fiction /

In a sentence, The Road to Dune is an intriguing collection of Dune "extras" that should please any fan of Frank Herbert. Including myself.

A quick background on me as far as Dune goes - I read the first novel once, then listened to George Guidall's unabridged narration of the same book. I also heard The Butlerian Jihad, which was written by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert's son) and Kevin J. Anderson. I mention all this so that you can know my level of Dune knowledge - I am by no means an expert. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, as you may know, have continued Frank Herbert's Dune series by adding two trilogies of prequels to Herbert's existing books. They've consulted notes that Frank Herbert left behind, and the opening of this book explains that to some degree. Bill Ransom, who collaborated with Frank Herbert on a few books, also weighs in, describing his writing life with Frank.

Next up is a short novel called Spice Planet which represents the first version of Dune, or what Dune could have been. The novel is certainly better, but Dune World was also engaging and interesting from the perspective of a person who has read the novel (what's different, what's the same) and as a very good story in its own right.

Also included are deleted scenes and alternate endings from Dune and Dune, Messiah, letters and notes from Frank Herbert during the time he was trying to get Dune published. Especially interesting are some letters to and from John W. Campbell, Jr., the editor of Analog Science Fiction Magazine, which serialized the first Dune novel, but declined the second one.

Four short stories by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are here, too. The first, "Whisper of Caladan Seas" was originally published in Amazing Science Fiction and takes place during the first Dune novel. The other three, "Hunting Harkonnens", "Whipping Mek", and "Faces of a Martyr" are set in the prequel times that Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson write about in their trilogies. They are very good stories, all.

Scott Brick narrated, and I am reminded why I enjoy him so much. His narration is energetic, dramatic, and powerful, but never over the top. I never tire of his rich voice and the believable, living characters he performs.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book on several levels. For a person writing a thick tome of a science fiction novel, this glimpse into Herbert's process is very educational. For a fan of Dune, this look into what could have been is very entertaining. For a fan interested in the history science fiction, the correspondence between Campbell and Herbert and the story of the novel's purchase and publication by Chilton are pure gold. And for a fan of good stories, there's plenty here to enjoy.

posted by Scott 6:01 PM -- (0) comments

 


The Shining
By Stephen King; Read by Campbell Scott
14 CD's - 16 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0743537009
Themes: / Horror / Ghosts / Alcoholism /

The Shining was first published in 1977, and is one of my three favorite Stephen King novels, the other two being 'Salem's Lot and The Stand. Incidentally, Simon and Schuster Audio recently published a fine unabridged version of 'Salem's Lot, but no The Stand in sight!

The Shining's main characters are Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, his psychically gifted son Daniel, and the majestic (and haunted) Overlook Hotel. The story begins when Jack Torrance accepts a job as winter caretaker of the hotel, which closes 6 months out of the year because of its remote location in Colorado. Jack and his family are to stay at the Overlook during the winter, taking care of the building while snow flies around them. The family looks forward to a healing time alone, but the hotel and its ghosts have different plans.

King creates a rich array of characters here. From Jack Torrance and his alcoholism to Wendy, a kind but damaged person in her own way, and Daniel, whose power inadvertently gives the spirit inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel a gateway to become more than just frightening apparitions.

Campbell Scott gives a superior performance here. I couldn't imagine this novel being done any better. It was very difficult for me to keep Jack Nicholson's performance of Jack Torrance from Stanley Kubrick's film version of The Shining out of my head. Campbell Scott seemed to embrace this, though, because Nicholson is perfect for that part. Campbell Scott apparently is, too, because every character in this novel, including Torrance, was engaging and believable.

posted by Scott 7:58 PM -- (0) comments