Recent Arrivals from Blackstone Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

A Galaxy Trilogy, Vol. 2A Galaxy Trilogy, Vol. 2
By David Osborne, E.L. Arch, and Manly Banister; Read by Tom Weiner
11 CDs – 13 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433291081

Subtitle: A Collection of Tales from the Early Days of Science Fiction

Back in the 1950s at the dawn of science fiction, writers were turning out wildly imaginative stories for the pulp magazines. Robert Silverberg, writing as David Osborne, estimates he wrote over a million words in one year. Here are three more exciting stories from those heady days from the pioneers of science fiction:

Aliens from Space by David Osborne

The Man with Three Eyes by E. L. Arch

Conquest of Earth by Manly Banister
 
 
Science Fiction Audiobook - Juggler of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. LernerJuggler of Worlds
By Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner; Read by Tom Weiner
11 CDs – 13 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433253300

200 years before the discovery of Ringworld…

Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth’s secret weapon, humanity’s best defense against all conspiracies, real and imaginary, and all foes both human and alien. Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious plots of others?

But Sigmund may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly superior technologies. Even after the Puppeteers abruptly vanish from Known Space, Nessus schemes in the shadows with Earth’s traitors and adversaries.

As a paranoid, Sigmund has always known things would end horribly for him; only the when, where, how, why, and by whom of it all eluded him. But even Sigmund never imagined that his destiny would be entwined with the fates of worlds.
 
 
Science Fiction Audiobook - Mars Life by Ben BovaMars Life
By Ben Bova; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
10 CDs – 12 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433231261

Third in the Mars Trilogy

Jamie Waterman has made an important discovery on Mars. A cliff dwelling reveals the fact that an intelligent race lived on the red planet sixty-five million years ago, only to be driven into extinction by the crash of a giant meteor. But now the exploration of Mars is itself under threat of extinction, as the ultraconservative New Morality movement gains control of the U.S. government and cuts off all funding for the Mars program.

Meanwhile, Carter Carleton, an anthropologist who was driven from his university post by unproven rape charges, has started to dig up the remains of a Martian village. Science and politics clash on two worlds as Jamie desperately tries to save the Mars program and uncover who the vanished Martians were.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

StarShipSofa

SFFaudio Online Audio

Star Ship Sofa Podcast Science Fiction Magazine

Listen here to the full Aural Delights No 64 Ted Kosmatka mp3 show!

Editorial: The Good the Bad and the Ugly by Tony C. Smith 02:00

Poetry: Her Opals by Samantha Henderson 12:30

Flash Fiction: Where Credit Is Due by Edward M. Lerner 14:39

Fact: Science News by JJ Campanella 24:20

Main Fiction: The Art of Alchemy by Ted Kosmatka 40:22

Fact: Kim Stanley Robinson by English Assassin 01:34:00

Narrators: David Lamb, Annette Bowman, Dale Manley

http://www.starshipsofa.com/rss

Posted by Tony C. Smith

Review of Fleet Of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Fleet Of Worlds by Larry Niven and Edward M. LernerFleet Of Worlds
By Larry Niven and Edward M. Lerner; Read by Tom Weiner
8 CDs – Approx 9.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 1433229420
Themes: / Science Fiction / Hard SF / Aliens / Physics / Space Travel / Sociology /

Larry Niven teams up with fellow science-fiction writer Edward M. Lerner to take a closer look at the events leading up to Niven’s first Ringworld novel. Kirsten Quinn-Kovacs is among the best and brightest of her people. She gratefully serves the gentle race that rescued her ancestors from a dying starship and nurtures them still. But, if only the Citizens knew where Kirsten’s people came from! A chain reaction of supernovae at the galaxy’s core has unleashed a wave of lethal radiation that will sterilize the galaxy. The Citizens flee, taking with them their planets, the Fleet of Worlds. Someone must scout ahead, and Kirsten and her crew eagerly volunteer. But as they set out to explore for any possible dangers in the Fleet’s path, they uncover long-hidden truths that will shake the foundations of worlds.

Not knowing much about Edward M. Lerner or his style, it’s hard to know precisely what parts of this novel he wrote. On the whole it definitely feels like a Larry Niven book. And of course that’s a very good thing. Surprisingly nice, this “known space” novel doesn’t feel like it’s just embellishing the dark corners we’d little explored before. There is material to be mined, and mine it they do. We learn more about the General Products corporation, early Puppeteer influence on Terra, and the back story to Niven’s classic The Borderland Of Sol. The heart of the novel though is Nessus’ interaction with a crew of Humans. As well, Niven and Lerner, introduce an entirely new and compelling alien species, though we really don’t get to interact with them. Its hard to get into much more without giving out a lot of spoilers. Suffice it to say, this is a fine, though definitely lesser entry into the “known space” canon. When recommending a novel universe, I would always start with the strongest book in that universe, and expand out from there. If you haven’t read any Niven novels before this one, go listen to Protector and Ringworld first. Then, if you are as enchanted as I was with it, come back to Fleet Of Worlds for more.

Tom Weiner, who is one of Blackstone Audio’s new narrators, previously heard in A Galaxy Trilogy, brings authority to the narrative of Fleet Of Worlds. He has to work pretty hard to do both the puppeteer contralto that is supposed to sound like “Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Marilyn Monroe, and Lorelei Huntz all rolled into one.” But both it and the human females Weiner performs come off well enough – giving more of an impression of a voice change than any actual transformation.

Update: Edward M. Lerner tells me that that the follow up to Fleet Of Worlds, titled Juggler Of Worlds, is also slated for a Blackstone Audio release!

Posted by Jesse Willis