September 2006 – Page 4

More vintage vinyl: Arthur C. Clarke and Aldous Huxley performing their own WORK!

An SFFaudio contributor, code named “Esther,” has pointed out that Record Brother Blog also has a couple of other spoken word albums posted. One by Arthur C. Clarke and one by Aldous Huxley!

Transit Of Earth and The Nine Billion Names of God Read By The Author Arthur C. Clarke
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by Arthur C. Clarke
3 Mp3 Files (from an original 33 1/3 LP Record) – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Caedmon
Published: 1975
Product #: TC-1566

Click HERE for the Record Brother post, the three files are at the bottom.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World
By Aldous Huxley; Performed by Aldous Huxley and a Full Cast
2 Mp3 File (from an original 33 1/3 LP Record) – [RADIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Pelican Records
Published: 1979
Product #: LP-2013

This is a CBS Radio Workshop Theatre of the Mind production, with Aldous Huxley performing as the narrator and with an original score is by Bernard Herrmann. It was originally broadcast in two parts on January 27th and February 3rd, 1956. The liner notes on the hard copy are by Ray Bradbury, and recall his interactions with Huxley.

Get both parts by following these links:

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World SIDE 1 & SIDE 2

Esther also recommends listening to Huxley speaking about modern (1962) techniques for controlling human behavior at the UC Berkeley’s MEDIA SITE.

There’s a Real Audio (streaming) link to his March 20, 1962 lecture,
“The Ultimate Revolution” and also separate links to the program and Q&A.

Thanks Esther!

posted by Jesse Willis

The Time Traveler Show Podcast # 7 : With a FREE Andre Norton short story!

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Time Traveler Show podcast #7 is available for download now. The featured tale is a short story by Andre Norton entitled The Mousetrap. The reader is Rick Stringer from Variant Frequencies. Mousetrap was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction’s June 1954 issue. Also included in this episode is a panel discussion with Sarah Zettel, Anne Harris, John Scalzi and Tobias Buckell that was recorded earlier this month at the Kerrytown Bookfest in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Mousetrap
By Andre Norton; Read by Rick Stringer
1 MP3 File – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: September 2006
Podcast: TheTimeTravelerShow.com

To read the complete show notes for podcast #7 click HERE or download the show MP3 directly by clicking HERE.

And if you haven’t already subscribed do so by placing this feed into your podcatcher:

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

posted by Jesse Willis

Secret World Chronicle Podcast from Mercedes Lackey and Steve Libbey

Check out this slick new podcast – The Secret World Chronicle, created by Mercedes Lackey and Steve Libbey. What is The Secret World Chronicle? From the website:

The Secret World Chronicle is a braided novel series created by authors Mercedes Lackey and Steve Libbey. It takes the “superhero” concept back into its pulp roots, but with a modern science fiction approach. Pretend that comic books never took hold of the superhero idea – that’s the Secret World concept.

They’ll be podcasting weekly episodes of this SF/Superhero novel series (The Introduction and Parts 1 and 2 of the Prologue are up already), and here are the links:

Website: http://www.secretworldchronicle.com
Podcast Feed: http://www.secretworldchronicle.com/feed.rss

Enjoy!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

J.R.R. Tolkien Reading and Singing From The Lord Of The Rings

SFSignal.com has found a tasty Tolkien treat on the Record Brother Blog: “J.R.R. Tolkien reading and Singing his Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers/The Return of the King” This was originally released by Caedmon on LP in 1975 but was actually recorded by George Sayer, Tolkien’s good friend, in 1952, prior to the trilogy’s publication.

J.R.R. Tolkien Reading And Singing His Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, The Return Of The King
By J.R.R. Tolkien; Read and sung by J.R.R. Tolkien
2 Mp3 Files (from an original 33 ? LP Record) – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Caedmon
Published: 1975
Product #: TC-1478

Record Brother has asked that syndicators only point to his blog post rather than link to the files directly, so GO HERE, to get the goodness.

Side 1: The Two Towers excerpts
Side 2: The Return of the King

“On side one we have Sam and Gollum discussing stewed rabbit (and fish and chips!). Tolkien is better by far reading the tales and songs of Treebeard and the Ents and expressing his (Tolkien’s no less than Fangorn’s) love of trees and sorrow at their destruction. But for me side two is the stronger, with a powerful and moving account of the Muster and Ride of the Rohirrim. Close your eyes and you are there with Merry amongst Théoden’s host on the long ride to Mundburg.”

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Dragons of the Dwarven Depths: The Lost Chronicles, Volume I
By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, read by Sandra Burr
13 CDs, 1 MP3 disc – 15 hrs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9781423316107 (CDs), 9781423316121 (MP3 disc)
Themes: / Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / Heroic / Sword and Sorcery / Magic / Adventure /

In an untold story from the War of the Lance, the companions have saved the refugees of Pax Tharkas and led them to a hidden valley. For a time they are safe, but the forces of the Dragon Army are in pursuit.

This novel takes place after the first Dragonlance novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The story starts with a large ensemble of characters already in place. Along with the refugees that these characters have saved, they must choose a path for escape. The Draconian army is still strong and hungry for vengeance against the rebels. The best path for the group is to send a small group to the underground dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, where they hope to find shelter for the winter for their party, and also find the legendary Hammer of Kharas.

As a reviewer it’s important to tell you that this is my absolute first exposure to the Dragonlance universe. This book is very much a sequel of sorts. Although it’s the first book of a trilogy, it’s filling in the untold tales of Dragonlance’s first trilogy.

This book is not a good jumping-on point to the series. It took effort to pay attention through the early parts of the book, because characters are introduced in quick succession. After you get to know the characters (and they separate into smaller groups) the listening becomes much easier.

Looking at the cover, it would be foolish to expect more than a Tolkienesque fantasy. And that’s exactly what you get. An adventure with a pantheon of familiar fantasy creatures as well as humans. The characters all had distinct traits and their own motivation. The evil characters are just that – evil – yet interesting. But more interesting was that many of the characters on the side of good came in various shades of gray.

My favorite element of the audiobook was listening to the excellent performance of Sandra Burr. She has a pleasant narrative voice. She creates many unique voices for the menagerie of characters. Not only does she have to do the dialog of mostly males, but many are not even human. Her voice characterizations helps the listener sort out all the different inhabitants of the novel.

The writing of this book had to present some difficulties for the authors. The characters all have a past and future in other books, so there are many restrictions that would have to be adhered to for the sake of consistency and continuity. As a new reader to the series I did not get a sense that the characters were being “shoe horned” into a contrived story. In the end, the story kept me engaged, and for fans of the Dragonlance books, I’m sure it’s a welcome addition.

posted by The Time Traveler

Review of Chrysalis by Ray Gross

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Chrysalis
By Ray Gross; Performed by a Full Cast and a Narrator
1 Mp3 File – 2 Hours 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: AudioCinema.com
Published: 2006
Themes: / Science Fiction / Science / Religion /

GRAHAMScience is the purest form of religion.
Struggling genius Graham Godfrey, together with his select team of young discoverers, is led from Georgetown University to the mysterious Bainbridge Institute by his ambitious uncle in a quest to harness a new quantum energy source. But the project takes an unexpected turn and unfolding events thrust Graham into his haunted past where a dark secret shrouds an unspoken family tragedy.

Audio Cinema’s Chrysalis is a screenplay done for audio – when you listen what you’ll hear is a new hybrid – you could think of it as a complete table reading of a film script by the cast of a film prior to the filming. Added to the reading are a soundtrack and sound effects. A narrator reads all the non-dialogue lines in the script, in an conspiritorial, almost whispering, voice. The character’s lines are all performed by individual actors. Sound effects and music accompany the action. Now you might think this sounds like audio or radio drama, but it isn’t, nor is it a full cast reading of a novel, instead it is something I’ve never heard before, a completely new thing. This is a movie screenplay 9/10ths of the way to completion – a complete movie without the visuals. The experience is comparable to listening to the Descriptive Visual Service® found on some WGBH (PBS) television dramas.

The script is interesting and the production moves along at a nice clip. There are few, difficulties here and there, the narrator mispronounces “facade,” one or two other minor things ruffle the experience. I quite liked the ideas. The plot is thoughtful and in some respects echoes like a happier version of Theodore Sturgeon’s short story Microcosmic God. In structure it’s like the 1983 film WarGames. I worry about the format though. I’m a fan of audio tracks of film and tv. Sometimes the narration, the sound of the story, will tip you to things you’d have missed in the visual landscape. If you take the audio track from Babylon 5 and just listen to an entire show you’ll get 90% of the story. Stories, good stories, are idea driven, whether it is narration or dialogue, good ideas come from the soundtrack not the visuals. The ideas in Chrysalis resonate. I don’t need to see the movie of Chrysalis, I’ve heard it.

Posted by Jesse Willis