During Worldcon, Stephen Eley, editor of Escape Pod, the premier podcast Science Fiction magazine, took time out on Saturday August 26th from organizing the Podcast party and doing several panels, to tour the dealers room, mic in hand, asking the con atendees: "What first inspired you to become passionate about science fiction?"

Many friendly people took time out to answer including: Rachel Turtledove (Harry Turtledove's daughter and fellow SF writer), Tim Pratt (Escape Pod alumnus), Douglas Triggs (official bannerman for Escape Pod and SFFaudio both), Johnathan Gage, Mike Resnick (Escape Pod alumnus), Vera Nazarian (SF&F author), Jetse de Vries (SF author and Interzone editor) and more!

Listen to the 9 minute MP3 documentary HERE.

posted by Jesse 9:54 AM -- (0) comments

 


It seems Weekend America (NPR) correspondent Krissy Clark dropped in at Worldcon and we've got the link to audio story she broadcast on Saturday August 26th. Krissy talked to panelists Nick Sagan (SF author and son of Carl Sagan), the legendary James Gunn and Paolo Bacigalupi (who was nominated for a Hugo in the Novelette category), and a few other folks.

You can listen to the eight minute segment via Realaudio HERE or you can subscribe to the Weekend America podcast via this feed (the segment can be found near the begining of hour one):

http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/rss/podcast/podcast.xml

posted by Jesse 11:31 PM -- (0) comments

 


I've been eagerly waiting for this one... The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas latest podcast is up and ready for your consideration:

KAMN #17: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester

Here's the description...

"Summer, Joe and David tackle the first novel to win the Hugo Award, Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man. The story is on the surface a pulp police procedural where a weary yet tenacious detective must catch a killer. What sets this story apart from typical pulp novels is the incorporation of telepaths and telepathy as integral necessities of society, for business and commerce, lifestyle quality, and for deterring crime.

The Demolished Man is generally recognized as the first novel to delve into telepaths and society, and many stories that followed, in both literature and television, borrowed heavily from the telepath behaviors Bester set up in this story."

Download the MP3 HERE.

By the way, you can subscribe to The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas show using iTunes by clicking HERE.

posted by Jesse 10:39 PM -- (0) comments

 



Hot on the heels of the first issue's podcast release comes the start of MechMuse's second issue of their ad-supported podcast. You can also visit the website and subscribe to the ad free version for just $7.00 per issue. The ad-supported FREE podcast is accessible via this podcatching feed:

http://www.mechmuse.com/issues/fall-06/cover# an iTunes Music Store search for the phrase "MechMuse".*


The truly cool tales thus far released this issue are:
Dracula
By Bram Stoker; Read by Ken Richman
1 MP3 AAC* File - 2 Hours 13 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
*chapters 1 - 4 only (later chapters are still to come)





Identity Crisis
By Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Bob Barnes
1 MP3 AAC* File - 2 Hours 2 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]






Rough Draft
By Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Rick Jelinek
1 MP3 AAC* File - 38 Minutes 50 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]






The Storyteller's Wife
By Eugie Foster; Read by Rick Jelinek
1 MP3 AAC* File - 54 Minutes 40 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]






Also, there are stories still to come for the Fall issue:

On My Way to Paradise by David Farland (Chapters 7-9)
Siren Song by David Farland
Reality, Interrupted by Jason Erik Lundberg
Dracula by Bram Stoker (Chapters 5-6)
Illusion by Mark Cole
Demon Pope by Richard Garnett

I got an early taste of these tales and managed to listen to both Kevin J Anderson stories - they rocked! When I met KJA at Worldcon I told him how much I was enjoying them and he said I was the second person that day to tell him that!

UPDATE:*Thanks to Nick for pointing out these details.

posted by Jesse
12:43 AM -- (2) comments

 


Episode #002 of the premier Horror podcast is up and out. Extra bonus points go to the co-editors of Mur Lafferty and Ben Phillips, for getting the earnest vocals of Matthew Wayne Selznick to read this story, Good Advice by Richard E. Dansky. MWS is the perfect choice for reader for a couple of reasons: One, this tale is told in a thoughtful first person perspective, a style Matt excells at. Two, anyone who's listened to Brave Men Run knows that it is set in a school milleu. Given this story is too and that this story has a horrific nature this turns out to be a curiously wicked casting against type!

Download show #002 HERE, or subscribe to the podcast with this feed:

http://feeds.pseudopod.org/Pseudopod

posted by Jesse 11:36 PM -- (0) comments

 


Rick Kleffel of The Agony Column has beat SFFaudio to the punch and posted a super-clean recording of the vast majority of the Harlan Ellison Worldcon event that happened on Saturday afternoon. The event was entitled "Harlan Tells Us." In it Harlan mentions that this may be his very last convention, so it was a real privlidge for the attending SFFaudio staff to finally get to meet the man in person. Get it while it is hot folks... Here is the 1 Hour and 5 Minute MP3.

Rick has also posted a cool 19 minute "Worldcon Report" in MP3, he describes it as "my attempt to toss together a sort of NPR style podcast that tried to give a feeling for the many facets of the Worldcon."

posted by Jesse
8:39 PM -- (0) comments

 


JohnHerman.org's The Eye has the second part of the two part video interview with James Patrick Kelly. In the vid Jim talks about his podcast novella Burn which was nominated for a Hugo (losing to as of yet unadapted to audio piece by Connie Willis, entitled Inside Job).




Click HERE to download the M4A file.

Or subscribe to the video podcast with this feed:

http://johnherman.org//theeye/?feed=rss2





posted by Jesse 6:53 PM -- (0) comments

 


Just back from Worldcon! We'll report on that later, but first, here's what came in when we were gone:

Hunters of Dune
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Scott Brick
16 CDs - 20.5 hours - [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1593979754





Star Trek: Captain's Glory
By William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Read by William Shatner
3 CDs - 3 hours - [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0743539621





Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series: Book I Part II: The Encyclopedists
By Isaac Asimov; Performed by Jim Gallant
2 CDs - 2 hours - [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Ziggurat Productions
Published: 2006





posted by Scott 11:36 AM -- (0) comments

 


Guh! I'm floored! Mech Muse's first issue is now available for free as an ad supported podcast! Previously available for just $7.00 by PayPal the entire first issue is now available FOR FREE!!! Do it now, download all 13+ hours of this amazing first issue via this feed:

http://www.mechmuse.com/issues/spring-06/cover#

The AWESOME stories included in the STUNNING first issue are:

After A Lean Winter
By David Farland; Read by Rick Jelinek
1 Mp3 File - 1 Hour 1 Minute 47 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]





On My Way To Paradise (Chapters 1 - 6 of a serialized novel)
By David Farland; Read by David Wilkinson
3 MP3 Files - Approx 6 Hours [UNABRIDGED - but not yet completed]




The Second Rat
By David Barr Kirtley; Read by Bob Barnes
1 Mp3 File - 40 Minutes 46 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]





Veil Of Ignorance
By David Barr Kirtley; Read by Rick Jelinek
1 Mp3 File - 25 Minutes 38 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]





Primary Colors
By Richard Raleigh; Read by Bob Barnes
1 Mp3 File - 58 Minutes 28 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]





The River Is Forever
By Edmund R. Schubert; Read by Rob Moffat
1 Mp3 File - 13 Minutes 33 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]






Expensive Gifts
By Miles Romney; Read by Ken Richman
1 Mp3 File - 41 Minutes 52 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]






The Elf Trap
By Francis Stephens; Read by Katherine Grey
1 Mp3 File - 58 Minutes 1 Second [UNABRIDGED]







The stories each have a few commericals lasting a couple minutes. They are well produced and don't interrupt the flow of the storytelling. But before I let you go off perhaps you'll take a moment and consider reading this interesting email that we recieved from MechMuse editor Miles Romney:

Dear MechMuse friends,

All of us at MechMuse wish to thank you, deeply, for your support and
encouragement over these last several months. We have received so
many kind notes expressing gratitude for the product and enthusiasm
for the future of MechMuse. We accomplished something significant
with our first issue. We released a professionally produced, finely
crafted anthology of audio short content. We are proud of what we
have achieved, and grateful for the contributions of every writer,
performer, artist, musician and listener involved.

While preparing our Summer issue for release, we have also been
working to significantly upgrade our website to accommodate a change
in our business model and positioning. MechMuse will be pursuing a
new revenue strategy based on advertising more than on subscriptions,
and on positioning MechMuse as a free podcast with tasteful audio ads
interspersed within our content. Though our content will be
available with commercials free of charge, our subscribers will
continue to enjoy premium service, including access to full issues at
a higher compression quality and completely without ads.

We have also been altering the layout of MechMuse.com to provide
better "at a glance" coverage of each audio feature, and to make it
much, much easier to download and listen to content. With the
release of our updated website, the free and subscriber editions of
MechMuse will be available as RSS podcasts (the subscriber edition,
of course, available securely only to subscribers), which means that
all you should ever need to do is paste our podcast address into your
jukebox application (iTunes, for example) under the "subscribe to
podcast" feature. All tracks will automatically be downloaded into
your jukebox, ready for listening. As new tracks and new issues are
released, they will automatically be imported into your jukebox,
without you ever having to download and manually import another ZIP
archive.

On August 11th, we will release our updated website along with the
free edition of our Spring issue. On August 21st, the initial
feature offerings of both the free and subscriber editions of our
Summer issue will go live (additional tracks will be released
incrementally, just as they were in our Spring issue).

Every one of you has helped to make MechMuse happen through your
belief in the project and your appreciation of the publication. We
are especially grateful to those of you who ratified our long-term
vision by purchasing six-issue subscriptions. We thank you for your
patience as we have paused to observe the sales trends following our
creative efforts, and have made decisions to adjust accordingly. We
have not received a single angry note concerning the changes to our
publication schedule, or the delay in publishing our Summer issue.
Many have written kind inquiries expressing encouragement and
anticipation for the upcoming issue. This is extraordinary. In our
subscribers we have found fellow enthusiasts for short audio fiction,
fellow collaborators in building something wholly different on the
web, and friends.

We have faced difficult decisions these past months. Though
enthusiasm for our first issue ran high among a core group of
believers, drawing the attention of the market at large has proven
difficult. Many thousands of dollars have been spent in print
advertising, exhibiting at fan conventions, and distributing coupons
and sample CDs. These efforts have proven ineffective. We remain
confident that ours is a marketable product, but successfully
communicating this new idea to the correct market segment is proving
a real challenge.

In addition to the introduction of the free edition and the upgrades
to MechMuse.com, we made a decision to completely eliminate salaries
for all MechMuse employees, and push 100% of subscription proceeds
out to our contributors. Everyone at MechMuse is now working on a
volunteer basis, and as before, all of our talented writers,
performers, artists and musicians are working for royalties. This
has necessitated a cut-back in our production schedule, resulting in
our new quarterly publication plan. This gives us the flexibility to
explore our market niche for longer, without worrying about
significant operating overhead, and also gives us more time to
capitalise on the content of each issue.

These technical changes and shake-ups in organisation and strategy
have put us behind on release of our Summer issue. I want to
reassure you that the audio has been produced, and sounds fabulous.
We have two exciting stories from New York Times Best Seller Kevin J.
Anderson, as well as another story from New York Times Best Seller
David Farland and the continuation of his gripping novel On My Way
to Paradise. Along with a group of thought-provoking short stories,
we are also releasing the first several chapters of Bram Stoker's
Dracula, performed stunningly by British voice-actor Ken Richman,
with a haunting original score by James Guymon.

We have a diverse marketing and PR plan that will go into play
following the August 21st release of our Summer issue. With our free
editions, not only will we be able to grab listeners from amongst
those who are interested but not sure enough of this newfangled idea
to put money down, but now that ours is a free offering we'll have
access to an enormous podcast audience and be able to approach them
through a wider variety of established communities and publications.

This is an exciting time. We've had to tighten our belts, yes, but
we feel that our new strategy has tremendous potential. We are
dedicated to making this publication a success so that you, our
listeners, may continue to enjoy well-written, well-produced and
affordable audio short fiction!

Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding. The
confidence of this core group of subscribers is one significant
factor in our hope for the future of MechMuse.

Onward!

Sincerely,
Miles Romney, Editor
MechMuse Audio Magazine

You've got to dig people as cool as this! Way-to-go Miles! Way-to-go-everyone who has contributed and is STILL contributing to MechMuse! You guys and gals SERIOUSLY ROCK!

posted by Jesse
11:45 PM -- (0) comments

 


The intrepid Roy writes: "The Radio Times for next week arrived shortly after [my] last email. A quick scan reveals a rare 90 minute production......

The Saturday Play: Whenever on BBC Radio 4 14:30-16:00 (90 mins) Saturday 26th August. Should be available on 'Listen Again' for 7 days.

It is written by Alan Ayckbourn - a playwright well known for his comedy dramas but not, as far as I know, for Fantasy or SF. Although the RT describes this as a musical comedy, the blurb does seem to indicate this will have an SF element......"

Emily, an orphan who lives with her uncle Martin, an inventor, has her life disrupted by the arrival of her aunt Charity & uncle Lucas, and her cousin Clara. Unbeknown to Martin, Emily is bullied, and one night she witnesses a violent & cruel episode. Desperate to escape, she hides in Martin's latest invention - a time machine

The list of acting credits and characters indicate that there will indeed be an element of time travelling in the play! More info can be found on legendary UK radio producer Dirk Maggs' website - Dirk has a technical production credit on this one.

posted by Jesse 11:23 PM -- (0) comments

 


Our intrepid European corespondent, Roy, points out some interesting activity that will be happening in our neighborhood this Friday:

Problem Project
By Hugh A.D. Spencer; Directed by Jonathan W. Wind
[RADIO DRAMA]
Airs: Friday August 25th
"What is the connection between Galactic Central's Earth Expeditionary Mission and the strange occurrences on on Earth?"

This show will air live on the radio and other media but it is also available for streaming listening at the time of broadcast...

Check out the various ways you might partake HERE.

posted by Jesse 1:15 AM -- (0) comments

 


JohnHerman.org's The Eye is a video blog "about the details that make life interesting." Monday's instalment is part one of a two part interview with James Patrick Kelly.





Click HERE to download the M4A file.

Or subscribe to the video podcast with this feed:

http://johnherman.org//theeye/?feed=rss2

In the video Jim talks about his Hugo nominated (and possibly Hugo winning) novella, Burn, which he podcast earlier this year. Look for part two of the vid next Monday! Good luck with the nomination Jim! See you at Worldcon later this week!

[via Solar Flare]

posted by Jesse 12:09 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Time Traveler Show podcast #5 is ready for consumption, in between it's delictable begining and the yummy ending you will find the tasty conclusion of Jerome Bixby's much lauded It's A Good Life Science Fiction story, as well as the second half of the scrumptious interview with professional audiobook narrator William Dufris.



It’s A Good Life
By Jerome Bixby

To read the complete show notes for podcast #5 click HERE or download the show directly by clicking HERE.

To ensure you don't miss any episodes plop this feed into your podcatcher:

http://www.timetravelershow.com/shows/feed.xml

posted by Jesse 4:19 PM -- (0) comments

 


Our British friend Roy recommends a program that aired yesterday in BBC Radio 4's Classic Serial slot. He thinks it a classic fantasy not unlike Gulliver's Travels. Details follow...

Erewhon
By Samuel Butler; Dramatised by Eamonn O' Neill, Martin Shea and James O'Neill
2 Parts - 60 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: Sunday August 20th Repeats next Saturday at 21:00. Part 2/2 likewise will air a week later.

And remember folks, this serial will be available on "listen again" service for 6 days following the broadcast.

posted by Jesse 3:56 PM -- (0) comments

 


Superman: UP, UP, And Away!
Starring Bud Collyer as Superman
2 CD's - 2 hours - [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Radio Spirits
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1570197806
Themes: / Superheroes / Superman / Old Time Radio /

A Review by Jake Black

Long before anyone named Reeves, Routh, or Welling portrayed America’s greatest hero, there was Bud Collyer. Collyer played Clark Kent and Superman on the Radio for close to a decade. During that time, he also voiced Superman and Clark Kent in the beautiful Fleisher cartoons.

I recently heard Superman: UP, UP, and Away, a two-CD set that covers the first 12 episodes of the epic radio series. The series itself is notable for its many contributions to the Superman mythos, including kryptonite, Jimmy Olsen, and the famous catchphrases “Look, up in the sky,” and “Up, Up, and Away,” used because the visual of flying couldn’t be accomplished, because it was, after all, radio.

This CD set is enjoyable for its historical significance. The radio show really was that important to the mythos. Bud Collyer’s first performance as Superman is notable as he drops his voice when Superman, and speaks higher as Clark. A clever way to distinguish between the two.

There are two stories featured in the set. The first begins with the explosion of Krypton, and a very unusual origin of Superman. It is as though the adult Clark had been secluded for 30 years, wandering the Earth without talking to anyone. His earthly parents are conspicuous by their absence in the story, and Superman seems to be created by two regular Joes that Clark runs into. In fact, these strangers give him the name Clark Kent!

As one who has studied the evolution of Superman, this new origin took me out of the set, but I did enjoy the rest of the story – partially because it deals with a train and Salt Lake City (where I live). It was fun for me to hear that my hometown was featured in the first non-comic presentation of Superman!

The second story deals with a crazed scientist, and an attack with an “Atomic Beam” on the Daily Planet building, among other stereotyped Superman situations. The second story is focused on Lois, and is her debut “off the pages.”

Throughout both stories, Superman seems to hide in the shadows, more like Batman of today. No one really ever *sees* Superman. Kind of funny when compared to today’s version.

The sound quality is very clear. I am certain that it has been digitally remastered as it doesn’t sound like it is inside a tin can, as other radio plays on CD have. I really appreciate that.

The actors are wonderfully committed to their characters. Even though the occasional mad scientist laugh occasionally takes me out of the moment, there is a high level of commitment. The flying sound effects are well done. They remind me of the wind-blowing sound that was utilized successfully in the George Reeves television series. (They also remind me of the flying Superman toy that was found in Burger King Kid’s Meals this summer.)

One of the strengths on the CD is that each episode (6 episodes per story/disc) is it’s own chapter. Plus each features a short recap of where we are in the story as it begins. This is helpful, though if you sit for an hour to listen to each story straight through, it gets a bit redundant, as does the “Superman is a copyrighted character” spiel that closes each episode. But this is such a minor issue, that it hardly detracts from the whole presentation.

The biggest weakness of the set is the lack of music. Some scenes seem to move much more slowly because there is no music in the entire set. No opening credit music, no background music. It is noticeably absent, and hurts the set overall.

Hardcore Superman fans will really enjoy this CD set, if only for its historical value. The performances are wonderful, there are only a couple of minor complaints about it (the music, primarily) but over all it a fantastic addition to a Superman CD collection.

Jake Black is a writer based in Utah. Credits include comics, books, magazines, and much more. Visit www.jakeblack.com for more. 6:12 AM -- (0) comments

 


7th Son Book One: Descent
By J.C. Hutchins; Read by J.C. Hutchins
Podcast Novel - Approx. 16 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: J.C. Hutchins; Podiobooks.com
Published: August 2006
Themes: / Science Fiction / Suspense / Crime / Cloning / Conspiracy /

The President of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy.

How does that grab you? These are the first two sentences from the prologue of the podiobook 7th Son, and it just gets better from there. Next, we meet our 7 main characters: John, Michael, Jack, Father Thomas, Jonathan, Dr. Mike, and Kilroy 2.0, as each are taken abruptly away from their individual lives and brought to the 7th Son Facility. They quickly learn that their lives - and their memories - are not as individual as one would think. Each man is a clone, and each had been implanted with the same memories from childhood, using Memory Recording/Installation (MR/I) technology. Each clone has their own personality trait (for instance, one is a priest, another is a Marine, and another is a musician), and though they are clones, their physical appearances do differ slightly.

What they come to discover is they were brought together to help catch the person who assassinated the President. The 7th Son facilitators believe that John Alpha, the source in which all the other clones were created, is behind the assassination. Only they don't know how, or why. That is where the clones come in. Working together, they discover John Alpha's whereabouts, at the same time learning more and more about their pasts that never were. The clones also discover they share the same mother, who was taken away by John Alpha. The memories of their mother are the same implanted memories, and they all share them, even though the woman, Danya Sheridan, is quite real and was a memory specialist at the facility.

We find out soon enough this is a conspiracy that goes much deeper than assassinating a President. Experimenting with memory technology also has its downfalls, when in Chapter 8 we learn about NEPTH Charge Technology (Neuro Erasure-Pulsed Technology Hardware), a technology that sends such a shockwave through the brain that every one of your memories are erased. Eventually a way to control that misstep is found, but the implications should the technology fall into the wrong hands are evident.

The very next chapter is an example of this, and is by far my favorite chapter in the book. I remember it very clearly because I cringed for the entire process. For onlookers, I must have looked like I was having some sort of seizure. It is that good of a chapter.

Hutchins captures your attention from the very beginning, and with a smooth voice is able to depict each character in such a way you begin to recognize each clone's voice as their own. His writing is smart, descriptive, and his ideas are original, with plot twists that will keep you guessing right up until a secret is revealed (and there are quite a few). You're guaranteed to gasp and talk to your computer or mp3 player while listening. J.C. Hutchins gives Stephen King a run for his money. Now that I think about it, someone should let King know about this podcast novel, if he's not subscribed all ready, that is.

There are two ways to receive this podcast novel. One is through Podiobooks.com, where you will get nothing other than the chapters of the story, as if you're listening to an audiobook. The other way is subscribing to the podcast feed directly through Hutchins' website, which is how I listened. Listening to the book this way is a bit different than just listening to it as a straight audiobook. The set up is a weekly show, with an introduction, a recap of the last chapter, the chapter itself, then closing with voicemails and podcast promotions. A lot of listeners to the podcast listen week-by-week, as you would wait for the next episode of a television show. Each chapter is compelling enough, with just enough cliffhanger to keep you checking your podcatcher for the next chapter to be released. Other listeners, such as myself, joined the "Beta Clone Army" (as the fan-based Myspace group is called) later in the book. I listened to nothing else for a week-and-a-half, then had to wait like everyone else when I caught up. It was frustrating, but in a good way.

Also included in the podcast-show version of the novel is a bonus show, filled with Q&A from listeners, plugs for other podcasts, and acknowledgements. I loved listening to this extra show. Hutchins talks about his inspiration for the 7th Son story, as well as giving in-depth analysis of each clone, and how he created the characters. The hard-core fans will find it very informative, and I personally love to hear where writers get their inspirations for stories.

There is a ton of fan-hype surrounding this podcast novel, and it's easy to be swept up in it. Whether you listen as a "podiobook" or as the podcast show, 7th Son will captivate your imagination and hold it hostage right up to the end. The writing is strong and easily stands alone, which is why it has the fan base it does. Book two begins September 26th, so there is plenty of time to subscribe to this book and catch up.

posted by Dani 12:12 PM -- (3) comments

 


I-SCI-FI is an internet radio show that focuses on media SF of all kinds. They were recently invited to cover the red carpet for the William Shatner roast, which will air this Sunday on Comedy Central. They've made their show available for download on their front page. Join in the fun as these guys describe their experience - Rex and crew have a great time doing what they do, and you will too. They'll take you to the red carpet as the stars arrive (they get interviews with several of them, like Carrie Fisher and Rene Auberjonois to name a few), then describe the taping of the show itself, and the post-party!

This episode is available for download in MP3 format. Normally, I-SCI-FI runs live from 7p-9p Mountain Time every Thursday night, and listeners are invited to join their chat room during the broadcast.

posted by Scott 10:23 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Dark Worlds Of H.P. Lovecraft Volume 4: The Rats In The Walls, The Shunned House, The Music Of Eric Zann
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs - 2 Hours 41 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1897304242
Themes: / Fantasy / Horror / Music / Atavistic Guilt / Cannabilism / Mushrooms /

Curse you, Thornton, I'll teach you to faint at what my family do! ... 'Sblood, thou stinkard, I'll learn ye how to gust ... wolde ye swynke me thilke wys?... Magna Mater! Magna Mater!... Atys... Dia ad aghaidh's ad aodaun... agus bas dunarch ort! Dhonas 's dholas ort, agus leat-sa!... Ungl unl... rrlh ... chchch...

This collection from Audio Realms is the fourth in a series, and the second to be reviewed. There are three CDs and three complete and unabridged stories here, first published between 1921 and 1937. The tales are archaically constructed. If you sat down and try to read one of the paragraph-long sentences that Lovecraft wrote you'd probably begin to wonder why it actually works. Then if you considered that this is the guy who makes curious genealogists or amateur historians the center of his horror stories it becomes almost baffling how he manages to keep our attention at all. There is no doubt though: Lovecraft has our attention. I think I am on safe ground in calling him, at the very least, one of the true giants of Horror fiction. Here are three stories that will prove it...

The Rats In The Walls
The Delapore family, late of Massachusetts, has returned to its ancestral family estate in rural England. Their genealogical and historical research reveals that their ancestors have maintained a strange atavistic responsibility to the land and the ruin upon which their keep was built. Woe be to the friendly neighbors of the long-away Delapores, for the Delapore blood runs thick in their veins and loudly thrums with ancestral duty, as loudly perhaps as the "venimous slithering of ravenous rats in the walls."

The Shunned House
The house of this story is reported to have been based on a couple of real houses that Lovecraft actually visited. One in particular in Providence, RI at #135 Benefit Street, as in the story, is supposed to be the main inspiration. This story also uses local Providence folklore and history for added depth, but I suspect that if even one fifth of the rest of this story were true we'd have to nuke Rhode Island from orbit, just to be sure. I think some people consider this to be one of Lovecraft's lesser tales but this one really got me. I am probably a bit more mycophobic than your average person, though. If you don't like mushrooms, or if you're even a little afraid of them, listen to this one with the lights on.

The Music Of Eric Zann
One of the most frequently adapted of Lovecraftian tales. The narrator, a near-vagrant, recalls a fellow lodger of a mouldering lodging house in a mysterious French city. Erich Zann is being stalked by a nameless horror that comes to him at night. Only the eerie music he produced was not nearly as haunting as horror that chased him. First published in 1921, still powerful.

SFFaudio Essential narrator Wayne June is back! His grave rumbling voice and his letter perfect pacing makes each of these three tales a shuddersome experience. But I do have a one problem with this entry in the terrific Dark Worlds Of H.P. Lovecraft series. It isn't the production; these CDs sound awesome. Wayne June's reading of these three stories is absolutely definitive. His unaccompanied performance is utterly chilling - this series truly must be heard. It isn't the packaging that is the problem, with original art by Allen K. The images on this series are reminiscent of the art found within the pages of the pulps in which these stories were first published. No, my problem isn't with any of these things. My problem is with choice to censor a couple of lines of the text in The Rats In The Walls. It makes me want to cry. Maybe Lovecraft was indeed being a racist when he wrote the offending words (in naming Delacore's cat "Nigger-man"), but I'm a purist. Instead of calling Delacore's cat "Nigger-man" Audio Realms has changed it to "Blackman." If the text is good enough to be republished year after year ought we not preserve it as it stands, racism and all? True horror is by its very nature transgressive, but I want all the horror in my life to be in fiction. A cannibalistic incestous serial murderer of homeless children is scary in fiction but as long as its fiction I'm up for it. Keep all the racist crazy-talk in the fiction, I say, because that is where it all belongs.

posted by Jesse 9:12 AM -- (0) comments

 


In the midst of writing my very first review for SFFaudio, I came across a fun podcast that I thought would be very appropriate to post about here.

Second Shift is an audio drama tale of three college students who, while waiting in line for the opening of the latest sci-fi fantasy movie, are transported into a fantasy role-playing game. The story is on its fourth episode, with the next one available on the 18th. Click the picture to head to their website, or copy/paste this feed into your podcatcher:

http://www.secondshiftpodcast.com/xml/2shift.xml

OK, my break is over!

posted by Dani 5:21 PM -- (2) comments

 


The Stonehenge Gate
By Jack Williamson; Read by Harlan Ellison
7 CDs - 8.5 hours - [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9780786146550 (Cassette), 9780786174119 (MP3-CD), 9780786167784 (CD)
Click here for audio sample.





Superman Returns
By Marv Wolfman; Read by Scott Brick
8 CDs - 9.5 hours - [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0786145455 (Cassette), 0786171332 (CD), 0786175729 (MP3-CD)
Click here for audio sample.



posted by Scott 10:54 AM -- (0) comments

 


BBC7 and the 7th Dimension are replaying an intriguing original audio drama, "a fast-moving science fiction adventure series, especially made for BBC 7 by the team behind last year's highly successful COLD BLOOD," airs today through Friday at 6:30pm and 12:30am....

The Voice Of God
5 Parts - 30 Minutes each [AUDIO DRAMA]
In a remote region of Australia, Britain is developing a devastating weapon - a weapon dubbed, "The Voice of God." For the person who created it, the first firing is a moment of celebration; this is a moral weapon with world changing implications. In the hands of the UK as the world's policeman it will herald global peace. But according to Aboriginal legend, it's Armageddon.

Also remember, this will be avilable via the Listen Again service soon after it airs.

posted by Jesse 7:16 PM -- (0) comments

 


I'd never seen a real Mark Time Award until Joe Mahoney (CBC Radio Producer and the wizard behind both Steve The First and Steve The Second) posted this image to his Flickr account. Check it out:



Cool huh? Joe wrote this story about it on his blog too.

posted by Jesse 12:08 PM -- (0) comments

 


I've now heard the first episode of Pseudopod. As an immediate response I've made a $25.00 PayPal contribution to the podcast. If you subscribe to the Pseudopod podcast and like what you hear I dare you to meet or beat my contribution. Show the co-editors of Psuedopod, Mur Lafferty and Ben Phillips, that you are as serious as a blow to the head. Tell them, with your contribution, that you really mean business, and that you want regular Horror fiction delivered in the MP3 format. Don't think of it as blood money, think of it as a way to give the devil his due.

posted by Jesse 11:25 AM -- (0) comments

 


The stars have aligned, the proper sacrifices have been made and the great portal has opened. Gasp in wonder, wet your undies and behold as the new premier fiction Horror podcast has finally manifested!



Subscribe to the free feed of the Psuedopod:

http://feeds.escapepod.org/Pseudopod

posted by Jesse 10:50 AM -- (0) comments

 


Dani, the lead Audio Addict, over at the Society Of Audio Addicts blog has posted a very shiny story!

"Your friends at Sonic Society who bring you all the awesome audio cinema you've been listening to for a year now have their own production company too, Sonic Cinema. For the past 5 months they have been working very very very very very very hard on a fan production of the Firefly tv series.

And they're finished! WooHOOOO!"

Episode one of this brand spankin' new series is up and ready for download. Oh, and be sure to stay tuned after the credits for a special interview with the creators! Get it HERE or subscribe to either The Signal or The Sonic Society podcasts:

The Signal:

http://signal.serenityfirefly.com/podcast.xml

The Sonic Society:

http://sonic.libsyn.com/rss

posted by Jesse 6:05 PM -- (5) comments

 


The Time Traveler Show podcast #4 up an ready for consumption! Onboard for this adventure he's got a professional audiobook narrator performing a story voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the 20 finest science fiction stories ever written!

Narrator William Dufris has been honored with an amazing 14 Golden Earphones Awards (from Audiofile magazine), and has been an Audie Award finalist on no fewer than four occasions! The Time Traveler has him reading the first half of...

It’s A Good Life
By Jerome Bixby

This tale was previously adapted for the original Twilight Zone television series. Also on deck for show #4 is an exclusive interview with Dufris! You'll be able to hear Part 2 of both the interview and It’s A Good Life in Show #5. To read the complete show notes for podcast #4 click HERE or download the show directly by clicking HERE.

To ensure you don't miss any episodes plop this feed into your podcatcher:

http://www.timetravelershow.com/shows/feed.xml

posted by Jesse 10:24 PM -- (0) comments

 


Yuri Rasovsky is known to SFFaudio readers as one of the folks responsible for the excellent 2000X radio series, as well as many, many other pieces of audio drama (click here for his audiography). Online over at the National Audio Theater Festival site, he's offering a piece of his mind in the form of an online text titled: The Well-Tempered Audio Dramatist: A Guide to the Production of Audio Plays in Twenty-First Century America. Here's the Table of Contents:

1. Introduction by Norman Corwin
2. Give Me a Break!
3. Overview
4. Project Management
5. The Production Assistant
6. The Text
7. Manuscript Formats
8. Microphone Acting
9. Casting
10. Blocking in Stereo
11. Directing Actors
12. Production
13. Foley
14. Appendices
--1. Audio Dramatist's Lexicon
--2. Professionalism and Studio Etiquette
--3. Credits and Announcements
--4. Useful Forms
--5. Vocal Health
--6. MP3 Files (incomplete, in-progress)
--7. Further Study
15. About the Author

posted by Scott 8:06 AM -- (0) comments

 


The Lost World
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, performed by a full cast
2 Cassettes, 2 CDs, Approx. 2 hours – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 1997
ISBN: 7671401800 (cassettes), 9780671577209 (CDs)
Themes: / Science fiction / Adventure / Exploration / Dinosaurs / Lost Civilizations / Archeology /

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is known as the creator and writer of that most famous sleuth, Sherlock Homes. Doyle was somewhat resentful of that character's phenomenal success as it overshadowed all his other writings. His most popular and enduring work that did not feature Sherlock Homes is The Lost World, the story of Professor Challenger and his team of explorers that go to the Amazon jungle and find a primeval plateau inhabited by dinosaurs and ape-men.

Alien Voices was formed in 1996 by Star Trek alumni Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie with writer-producer Nat Segaloff. These are full cast adaptations with sound effects and music. The Lost World was released as the third Alien Voices title after The Time Machine and Journey to the Center of the Earth. They recorded this release in front of a live audience during the Grand Slam's Star Trek convention in 1997. The production values are great with terrific sound and a talented cast.

I've never read the original work by Doyle, so I won't speak on the adaptation's faithfulness. I did look over the text enough to know that the character of Professor Summerlee was switched from male to female for this adaptation. This was a wise move that added a dimension that was not in the original work. Professor Summerlee is played by Roxann Dawson and is strong-willed and independent. Which is as it should be, and Prof. Summerlee stands out as the most interesting character in the cast. Unfortunately, this is one of the few elements that seem fresh and interesting.

My main contention with this adaptation is that it moves too slowly in the beginning. Nearly the first third of the story takes place in London as Professor Challenger gathers his crew for the expedition. This story is an old one. Although as I mentioned I haven't read the book, I am familiar with the story. We know there are dinosaurs coming, and yet we have to wade through the lengthy backstory. The narrative follows a straight chronological order. A better approach, while still being a faithful adaptation, would be starting the story in the Lost World with some heavy action. The backstory could then be filled with flashbacks in more episodic doses. One of the characters, Malone, is a newspaper reporter that goes on the expedition as a correspondent. The reporter sends dispatches to the newspaper. This narrative device could have been easily utilized to encompass these expositorial flashbacks. So despite a great performance by cast and crew, this versions pacing and lack of surprises makes it a tiring listen.

posted by The Time Traveler 6:50 AM -- (0) comments

 


SFFaudio is going to The 64th World Science Fiction Convention!

At least three members of the SFFaudio.com staff will be in attendance for most of the convention. We begin arriving the morning of Thursday the 24th. If you are going to be there we'd like to hear from you. What events will you be attending? Which ones should we attend? Got any WorldCon veteran's advice for us?

If you're a audiobook producer, narrator or audio dramatist let us know which events you'll be at, we will try to attend. If you're an audiobook reader, podcast fanatic or podcaster let us know where the cool kids hang. Clue us in! This is WorldCon baby. WorldCon!

posted by Jesse 5:25 PM -- (0) comments

 


Podcaster, SFF author and reviewer Jason Erik Lundberg has re-recorded and re-mixed two of his stories that were previously podcasted in his Lies and Little Deaths, virtual anthology. You can grab em both here:

"Songstress" (MP3 - Aprox. 5 Minutes)

"Enlightenment" (MP3 - Aprox. 15 Minutes )

And, if you hadn't already caught it you might also want to check out Jason's reading of Kelly Link's World Fantasy Award winning (1999) short story The Specialist's Hat (available HERE).

posted by Jesse 3:48 PM -- (0) comments

 


August 8th 2006 will see the premier of episode two in The Dixie Stenberg And Brassy Battalion Adventure Theater audio drama series. I've listened to the first show and found it to have a charming 1940s retro radio serial feel to it. The premise is seemingly inspired by a cross between the real life Flying Tigers of WWII and the film of The Rocketeer. If I'm reading the signs on this one correctly it sounds like it'll be about a covert squadron of heroic female P-47 Thunderbolt pilots and their specially equipped super-planes! Get in on the ground floor by subscribing using this feed:

http://www.pendantaudio.com/dixie-podcast.xml

posted by Jesse 3:05 PM -- (0) comments

 


Science Fiction and Fantasy author Eric Nylund has recorded a short story and posted it on his website. He writes "This is not a Halo story. It is a noir fantasy with a nod to H.P. Lovecraft."

The story first appeared in the collection entitled Elemental: The Tsunami Relief Anthology: Stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Butterflies Like Jewels
By Eric Nylund; Read by Eric Nylund
1 MP3 File - 34 Minutes 25 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Source: www.EricNylund.net
Posted: July 2006

[via Locus Online]

posted by Jesse 1:01 PM -- (0) comments

 


John Joseph Adams (aka The Slush God) reports on An Evening with Harry, Carrie, and Garp, during which J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and John Irving did some live reading at the Radio City Music Hall.

And, the multi-talented Mary Robinette Kowal, prompted by John Joseph Adams' post, offers a primer on "Reading Aloud" on her blog, with more to come.


posted by Scott 8:30 AM -- (0) comments

 


V For Vendetta
Novelization by Steve Moore; Read by Simon Vance
11 Cassettes, 8 CDs or 1 MP3-CD - 9.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0786144637 (Cassette), 0786170777 (CDs), 078617711X (MP3-CD)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Dystopia / Terrorism / Anarchy / England /

-- Click here for an audio sample --
"Remember, remember the fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and plot. I know of no reason why The Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot..."

This audiobook had a long and treacherous road to release. Perhaps even worse, it has a questionable provenance. V For Vendetta, the unabridged audiobook, is several steps removed from the original source material. Worse still, the adapted property has been completely disowned by its original creator, celebrated graphic comics writer Alan Moore. He quite literally had his name removed from the movie credits, the novelization, and consequently this audiobook - in short he wants nothing to do with it.

Alan Moore is a famous figure in comics, and his opinion carries much weight among comic book readers. Because of all this, V For Vendetta, the novelization of the movie of the same name, is in serious jeopardy of being dismissed. But given the original material's quality and the near classic vintage - the character and setting for "V" was originally birthed in early 1980s - you might be inclined to give this audiobook a try anyway. And for that you will be rewarded.

The road to release began with The Wachowski Brothers, the creators of the film The Matrix, optioned the story. They purchased the rights and scripturally adapted the graphic novel of V For Vendetta for the screen. After the film began production their script was then again adapted, this time as a movie novelization (or as the industry calls it a movie tie-in novel). The novel was written by Steve Moore, who, while no familial relation to Alan Moore, is very much his friend. Then Blackstone Audiobooks stepped in, hiring Simon Vance to voice an unabridged audiobook version of the Steve Moore's novelization of The Wachowski Brother's script of their movie which was originally based on Alan Moore's original comic book series (that was collected into a graphic novel). See what I mean about a treacherous road? At any point along this journey the story could have been ruined. But what happened instead is that it has been IMPROVED! Indeed I think story-wise this is the best version of V For Vendetta...

Soon after the opening of the novel a mysterious figure named "V," who dresses in a Guy Fawkes costume, promises to destroy the British Parliament buildings on November 5th, one year hence. It is a bit unlear at first, is the fascist governing party the target of this threat, or perhaps it is the people of England in general? Only one woman has even a clue. Her name is Evey. With war raging round the world, an English supremacist party called "Norsefire" has fully secured governmental authority in England. Some time ago, Norsefire successfully seized the initiative, and now England's remaining citizenry are in a stranglehold of their own making. At the start of the novel the government controls media and a petrifying secret police force seemingly made up of little more than street thugs prowls the streets after dark. In the recent past the last of the last of the concentration camps has closed - their grisly work completed. The populace has been lulled into their docility by a combination of mindless television drama, propaganda posing as opinion, and horrifying news stories about how much worse everywhere else is. So when an anarchic revolutionary destroys London's Saint Paul's Catherdral in pyrotechnic display, the compliant populace is only slightly stirred. The government explains that it was just a "scheduled demolition" and many Britons even believe it. But when "V," a seeming superhero/supervillan goes on BTN the sole governmental television network, and announces a violent campaign to be capped in by the destruction of parliament buildings in one year's time the populace begins to question if "England shall prevail" or whether it even should.

Like George Orwell's classic dystopia 1984 the totalitarian regime in V For Vendetta rose to power by exploiting people’s worst fears and firing-up their prejudices. Interestingly the viewpoint character is not V himself. V's personal history, past a certain point, remains mysterious right to the end. Despite a completely third person perspective we basically follow a young woman named Evey through this tale. V saves Evey early on in the novel from a rape by government agents known as "Fingermen." Evey's journey is not unlike that of the population, for which she can serve as an emotional example. One other character, a police Inspector named Finch, as dutiful and honest a detective as one'd want, offers another view of that same populace coming to grips with the type of society in which it lives. Finch is assigned to pursue the mystery of V, and in so doing unravels the history of the party's origins and V's vendetta. About two-thirds of the way through Evey's journey with V and his vendetta Evey is captured and tortured. Her only solace during her ordeal is a scrap of toliet paper with a moving biography of her neighboring victim. The payoff from this is extremely surprising, utterly transendant and I think probably even true. There isn't enough praise to go round for this one, Alan Moore for originally writing it of course, the Wachowski Brothers for recognizing it and popularizing it and Steve Moore for preserving and enhancing it. They all deserve major public honours here.

On the audiobook end, Simon Vance is my new favorite British narrator. The Shakespearean inspired "V-speech" that he delivers near the beginning of this audiobook is without parallel in my experience. It's deliciously composed, elegantly constructed and with Vance's performance, wonderfully delivered. The film version of this same speech is very good too, but I actually found myself better able to follow it via Vance's excellent enunciated delivery. Steve Moore, the adaptor of the film's script, has done something special. He's taken many inspired liberties with the script by filling in as much detail as he could to flesh out the story - nearly every effective new addition to the story was taken from the original source material the comic book version of V For Vendetta. Finally, I can thankfully say that the plot detail involving the destruction of the British parliament buildings (including London's Big Ben) is preserved from the film version. This is extremely important. To be sure there is a scene of the destruction of the British parliament buildings in the original graphic novel but the timing of it there is far less effective in terms of a story's arc. Though it might be controversial to say, I think it is true: The Wachowski Brothers, in their adaptation of Alan Moore's story, clearly understood the power of terrorism better than Alan Moore himself did at the time of the comic's writing. The goal of terrorists is to show that an authority cannot control the terrorists. When a terrorist threat, like the destruction of a weighty architechtural symbol, is made and then carried out that effect is achieved. Some fear comes from a lurking dread of some muzzy non-specific threat but true political power stems from being able to call every shot, make the predictions on destruction and have them all come true every single time. In rejigging the story to make the destruction of the British parliament buildings happen near the end instead of the start, the already powerful story of V For Vendetta is vastly improved. An SFFaudio Essential.

posted by Jesse 6:22 PM -- (2) comments

 


SFFaudio contributor Roy, has two unusual scoops for us today...

In "The Wire" slot (BBC Radio 3 21:00-21:45 Saturday 5th August UK Time) there will be a repeat from last October of Jeff Noon's Dead Code: Ghosts Of The Digital Age. The Radio Times describes it thusly: "Among the ruins of a housing estate in a futuristic, post digital world, music haunts the streets as Joe & Dixie struggle with the loss of Charlie".

Over on BBC Radio 4, in the "Book At Bedtime" slot are five nightly readings of Algernon Blackwood Ghost Stories (BBC Radio 4 22:15 31st July - 4th August).

The Willows
Two travellers camped in the wilderness encounter malevolent forces beyond their understanding. Read by Hugh Ross

The Empty House
An aunt and her nephew attempt to spend the night in a haunted house. Read by Hugh Ross

Ancient Sorceries
An Englishman staying in a sleepy French town makes a terrifying discovery. Read by Hugh Ross

Smith - An Episode In A Lodging House
When his fellow lodger comes to borrow a book, a student his caught up in powerful rituals. Read by Hugh Ross.

The Glamour of the Snow
A tourist at a mountain ski resort becomes captivated by a mysterious young woman. Read by Hugh Ross

And remember folks, these shows are available through the various "listen again" services unique to each BBC channel for 6 days following the broadcast.

posted by Jesse Willis
6:49 PM -- (0) comments