September 2007 – Page 4

Review of Tears of the Tin God

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Tears Of The Tin God
By T. Ray Gordon; Narrated by Richard Sellers and a Full Cast
1 CD – 80 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Apex Audio Theatre
Published: 2007
UPC: 701376158028
Themes: / Science fiction / Alien Artifact / Space travel /

If I were allowed only two words to review this audio drama, I would choose these: Harmless junk. But if I had to shave my word count, I wouldn’t know where to cut. Tears Of The Tin God is not a terrible audio drama. The sound and sound effects are fine, but the script is plagued by over-explanation of the familiar (as in: “…she frowned, making a face…”), juxtaposed with under-explanation of the novel. A few of the science fictional ideas are unconvincing, and the ending feels rushed and emotionally unsatisfying. Still, the enthusiastic production and the short running time make it kinda likable.

The plot is provocative, if not stunningly original: Seven future astronauts have been sent across space to investigate some immense alien artifacts on a planet called Borne 7. Upon landing on the surface of the largest artifact, one of the astronauts is ingested by it, becoming an integral part of a being with god-like power and knowledge. But are its intentions good or evil, alien or human?

The same concept is explored by Michael Crichton, sans space suits, in his novel Sphere. That one isn’t great, either, but it is superior to this one in the quality of its prose, the depth of its explanations, and the delicious thrill of its sustained tension. Tears Of The Tin God won’t take years off your life, but it kills an hour you might miss later.

Posted by Kurt Dietz

Guardian newspaper releases FREE fantasy audiobook in MP3

Online Audio

The Guardian, a U.K. newspaper with a liberal attitude, has completed the podcasting of a young adult fantasy audiobook narrated by Sir Ian McKellen (movie fans may know him as “Gandalf” from The Lord of The Rings movies). First released in 2005, this novel is the first in a series called “Chronicles of Ancient Darkness.” Fourteen weeks of podcasting (at one part per week) and the book is now complete, unfortunately the podcast feed no longer contains the early parts of the book so instead of just giving you the podcast feed we’ve gathered up all the individual files. Details follow…

Wolf Brother
By Michelle Paver; Read by Ian McKellen
14 MP3s – 6 Hours 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio / Guardian Unlimited
Published: 2005
Six Thousand Years Ago. Evil Stalks the land. Only twelve-year-old Torak and his wolf-cub companion can defeat it. Their journey together takes them through deep forests, across giant glaciers, and into dangers they never imagined.

[thanks to Moriond for the info]

posted by Jesse Willis

Podcast interview with Courtney Brown

The Sci Phi Show, has a very cool interview with Courtney Brown, who is rightly famous on this site for his excellent Science Fiction and Politics university course (it is podcast).

Download the interview direct |MP3| or subscribe to The Sci Phi Show podcast feed via this url:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheSciPhiShow

posted by Jesse Willis

New SFF radio talk show to air in Florida

SFFaudio News

A new radio program, “That Sci-fi Show” premieres tomorrow (Friday night), September 14th at 10pm, EDT in the USA on WWNN-AM 1470 in Florida. This is a two hour program from the creator of Sci-fi Overdrive, Joey Donovan. Listeners outside of Florida can listen via the Streaming Audio feed on the station’s website. No word on whether this show will be podcast.

That Sci-fi Show will feature “news on developments in the
entertainment industry in regards to science fiction, fantasy, comics, collectibles, role playing games, Japanese animation, genre conventions, and also on news of spaceflight and hard science.” Live interviews will allow listeners to call in with questions (1-888-565-1470).

For more information on That Sci-fi Show, or to book guests, contact Joey Donovan at [email protected] or call 561-752-6986

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

SFFaudio Review

Eifelheim
By Michael Flynn; Read by Anthony Heald
2 MP3-CDs – 17.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 1433206129
Themes: / Science Fiction / Philosophy / Religion / Catholicism / Aliens / Physics / First Contact / Black Death /

“Eifelheim” is a novel that’s not in a hurry. It’s a multiple course meal that offers helpings of philosophy, science, and religion at a leisurely pace that’s refreshing in today’s hurry-up climate. It was also a Hugo nominee for Best Novel of 2007.

The novel takes place in two times. In “Now”, two live-in scientists discuss and compare their findings on seemingly different subjects. One of them is investigating the absence of people in Eifelheim, a German town whose population disappeared during the 14th century. According to calculations of population patterns, this is a mathematical anomaly. The other scientist, a physicist, is trying to figure out why the speed of light is slowing down. That these two things are related is part of the story.

In the 14th century, a parish priest named Father Deitrich, who is dealing with the beginnings of the Black Death in his area, experiences first contact with an alien race that appears in his town of Eifelheim. Father Deitrich is a smart, compassionate priest, and, as he considers the aliens God’s children, he befriends them and cares for them as he can.

The focus occasionally switches back to the two scientists from “now”, who have conversations that shed light on the happenings in Eifelheim in the past. The main charm of this novel for me was the realistic portrayal of this honorable priest, and his culture. It portrays a medieval religion that was considered the source of all knowledge, and as such, the priest’s logical reasoning makes for compelling listening. To readers who enjoy philosophy and speculative science, and the history of both, it would be hard to find a modern novel more interesting.

Author Michael Flynn provides historical and physics notes at the end of the novel, and thanks should go out to Blackstone Audio for including them here in the audiobook. Narrator Anthony Heald does a tremendous job with the narration. He’s an excellent match with the material, handling accents and characters with unobtrusive skill. Choices he made with the alien voices were particularly effective.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of The Plant People by Barnes and Engle

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Plant People
By Johnny Ray Barnes Jr. and Marty M. Engle; Multicast recording
2 CDs – 2 Hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423308508
Themes: / Science fiction / Alien Invasion / Intelligent plants /

Rachel Pearson is a loner. Her only close friend, Tess, now lives in another city, and her life is measured in the days and hours between phone calls. One afternoon, as she is exploring the house under construction in a wooded lot near her home, she spies a strange plant from which something large has hatched, and its smell lures her to the edge of disaster. Two months later, the house is completed and a new family with teenaged children moves in. But strange things begin to happen around them, and Rachel wonders if they aren’t more than just odd people. Could they be something else entirely, something inhuman, with dark designs for mankind?

Plant People has a spunky heroine with a delightful upper-Midwestern twang, and an entertaining little dash-about plot that is short and mindlessly fun. Even the prose mostly soars, though not without frequent bumps. The worst occur during action sequences, when phrases like “…and just at that moment, what should I find but…” appear with distracting frequency. But it also borrows a little too heavily from classic works like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Day Of The Triffids, and strips the borrowed elements from their deeper subtext. On the whole, Plant People is like a sugar-free chocolate meringue: Briefly enjoyable, but ultimately empty of even the calories it took to chew.

[Editor’s Note: Plant People was originally written as part of the “Strange Matter” series (created by Marty M. Engle and Johnny Ray Barnes Jr.). The series takes place in the fictional town of Fairfield. Stories in the series generally center on the children attending Fairfield Middle School who encounter paranormal situations.]

Posted by Kurt Dietz