September 2009 – Page 9

CBC’s Between The Covers podcasts Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer

SFFaudio Online Audio

Canada’s only book reading radio show, Between The Covers, no longer airs on CBC Radio One’s terrestrial radio network. But, it is still in production as a weekly podcast and continues to air on CBC Radio’s Sirius Satellite Radio channel 137. There, beginning tomorrow, you’ll hear daily 15 minute installments of Robert J. Sawyer’s 2007 novel Rollback. It’s being read by Battlestar Galactica‘s own Mr. Gaeta, Alessandro Juliani! You have to love taxpayer funded Science Fiction.

Rollback
By Robert J. Sawyer; Read by Alessandro Juliani
25 MP3s via Podcast – Approx. 6 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: CBC / Between The Covers
Podcast: September 7 – October 9, 2009
It’s 2009. Sarah Halifax decodes the first radio transmission from aliens. Thirty-eight years later a second message is received and Sarah – now 87 – may have the key to deciphering this one too …if she lives long enough. What would you do differently if you suddenly had another 60 or 70 yrs of life? Hugo and Nebula award-winner Robert Sawyer explores ethics on both the human and cosmic scale in this novel about becoming young again.

Podcast feed:
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/betweenthecovers.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

P.S. Hey CBC! Why don’t you put that J. Michael Straczynski radio drama series (that’s just gathering dust) onto your Sirius 137 station? I dare you!

Commentary: SFFaudio needs more Audio Drama

SFFaudio Commentary

SFFaudio Meta Petri Salin of the Tricrepicephalus blog seems to think we’re doing good work – and I have to agree. There’s never been a better time to be an audio fan. But his comments aren’t all praise. For instance, he thinks we’re a little short in the audio drama department (he keeps mentioning it). And, I guess I have to give him credit for spotting that too. We do lean a little more towards audiobooks than AD. Part of that is because personally I tend to listen in high noise environments – while shopping, in the car with the roof out, while riding a lawnmower – places where the subtleties of the art might be injured. Audio drama just doesn’t work as well under those conditions. I also tend to listen to audio drama and radio drama when I’m at home, especially in the evening or at bedtime. I treat audio drama, especially the downloaded stuff, as a treat, something I need not make notes about. Hence the less reviewage of it here.

So, given those limitations, I’ll try to add a bit more AD to the mix over the coming months. For now I’ll drop a few names of productions and podcasts I’ve been listening to lately…

FALCO, or more specifically, Falco – Poseidon’s Gold – BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour Drama (2009)
I’m about half way through this, the latest adaptation of Lindsey Davis’ series of novels centering on the life of “private informer” Marcus Didius Falco (private investigator) Circa 72 A.D.. It’s a terrific show, as are they all, with stunning production values, top notch acting and a real different narrative voice (lots of voice over giving us what Falco is thinking). I’m a big fan of anything to do with history, and this period of the Roman Empire is full of plenty of intrigue. Anton Lesser, the star of the production is someone I’d like to follow the career of. He’s that good.

Jake Sampson: Monster Hunter – Broken Sea Audio Productions (2007 – 2009)
I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed this show properly, and I doubt I ever will. That is a shame because I really do enjoy it. It’s exactly what you would think given the title. Basically it’s a bastardized cross between Indiana Jones and The Call Of Cthulhu role playing game. It won’t make you think any deep thoughts, but it certainly hits the sweet spot between adventurous fun and historical drama. They’ve done four complete serials so far. I wouldn’t cry too hard if they never do another, but I’d certainly be up for another just the same.

Vanishing Point CBC Radio (1980s)
I’ve been listening to a lot of these lately, many of them are absolutely not to my taste. They do however feature stellar production, and make use of many excellent actors. This means that when they do hit a solid story, it usually turns out pretty damn well. I’ll post a bigger story on this series at some point as I’ve made a ton of notes on most of the episodes I’ve listened to.

And, I also did do a big post, just the other day, on the BBC World Service adaptation of Pontypool.

One series that I plan to start listening to sometime soon is…

Cold Blood – BBC Radio 7 (January 2005)
This was done by Simon Bovey, the same guy who wrote Slipstream, which I thought was absolutely smashing. BBC Radio 7 describes Cold Blood as “[a] Chilling drama set in 2015 at an Antarctic research station” and apparently listeners have loved it too saying:

‘The writing and acting is marvellous….a sumptuous production!’

Sounds good hey?

My friend Julie Davis, of Forgotten Classics, recently suggested I try out a couple new mystery series…

The Teahouse Detective BBC Radio 4 (1998 – 2000)
Based on the stories of Baroness Orczy, dramatised by Michael Butt.

Colvil and Soames BBC Radio 4 (1996 – 1998)
Mysteries investigated by intelligence officers Henry Colvil and Alex Soames.

I’ve now gotten both of these via Radio Downloader. Now I just have to make time to listen to them.

Another BBC series that’s piqued my interest is Saturday Night Theatre. Someone over on RadioArchive.cc has been posting a few of these up as torrents and everything I’ve heard from it has been excellent. Bill Hollweg’s raves about The Tale Of The Knight, The Witch And The Dragon, for instance, prompted a post on it, and I know a lot of folks loved that one.

I also mentioned the BBC radio adaptation of Tiger Tiger, based on the novel Alfred Bester on a recent podcast. Similar-wise, I’ve recently got my mitts on Saturday Night Theatre’s version of Arthur C. Clarke’s 1961 novel A Fall Of Moondust (it’s available in a 2 CD set from BBC Audio) and I’m really looking forward to hearing that.

On the commercial front there’s been a couple reviews that I’ve done of the new Blake’s 7 series |HERE| and |HERE|. Those come with our highest recommendation, the “SFFaudio Essential” designation.

Similarily, I’ve got another highly recommended series for you:

Audible.com is now offering the ever elusive and highly sought after so called “BRADBURY 13” produced in the early 1980s by Brigham Young University.

Who cares about Mormon Audio Drama?

Well my friends, even if you’re no latter day saint, you really should!

See the Mormon church loves AUDIO DRAMA. Just ask Orson Scott Card.

As a consequence of doing so much of it Mormons do it very well. And thus the BRADBURY 13 is arguably the best audio drama ever produced in the United States Of America.

The series is based on 13 unconnected short stories by Ray Bradbury. They are full 3-D sound productions, with quality acting, and ultra-rich soundscapes. 12 of the 13 had been made available in the 1990s on cassettes (email me if you want to buy these – I’ve still got some left) but now, finally, all 13 are available in a modern digital format. This, combined with the fact that Audible.com’s new “Audible Enhanced Audio” format is in STEREO! This means that many audio drama fans are going to be extremely happy.

There are a couple of other things I can recommend for fans of Audio Drama who still find us wanting.

1. Listen to our podcast. Scott and I listen to more than we review. A lot of that is audio drama – we talk about it, and many other things, on the podcast.

2. Make some recommendations yourself. I don’t mean just drop the names of these shows, I mean really tell us what you’re listening to and why you like it, or don’t like it. Post it up as a comment, write it up on your own blog, or send me an email.

So, that’s what on my audio drama plate. What audio dramas are you folks listening to?

Posted by Jesse Willis

Maria Lectrix: Morale by Murray Leinster

SFFaudio Online Audio

Maureen O’Brien has wrapped up her reading of Murray Leinster’s Morale, another Military Science Fiction story set in the same universe as Tanks (which Maureen read a few weeks ago). Sez Maureen:

We’re apparently still fighting the Japanese, too, though I still doubt that anybody Asian would be using the yellow imperial color for an ordinary flag. (Well, it’s not something most people would think about, and it worked as shorthand for his audience.) But really, the identity of the enemy doesn’t seem to have been all that important to either story, which is odd for the days of the “Yellow Peril” showing up tons in sf. (And really, that’s not fair. Japan was building up its military strength all during the early twentieth century, which was why military guys worried about it. It may have fed into racist fears, but Japanese militarism and expansionist imperialism was real.) As would become characteristic of Leinster, even when you meet the enemy face-to-face in “Tanks”, the enemy is made up of ordinary guys. Whatever causes the horrific nature of war, Leinster seems pretty clear that it’s not a matter of furriners being furrin. This makes his characters’ moral outrage at the events in Morale more effective, I think.

You’ll notice how much stronger this story is than Tanks. A year or two can make a big difference in a writer’s skills — or an editor’s, for that matter.

Another fascinating thing about old science fiction is the stark contrast between when people understood the uses of technology (and therefore thought its application was sure to be widespread in ten years), and when the technology actually became practical and widely adopted. Sometimes it just takes a while.

Morale
By Murray Leinster; Read by Maureen O’Brien
6 MP3 Files – Approx. 82 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: August – September 2009
Provider: Archive.org
While America fights a war on one coast, a new front is about to open — the homefront — as the enemy attacks civilian towns with a giant war-machine like no other. But the enemy war-machine is a target, too, and there are more ways to win than with guns… First published in the December 1931 issue of Astounding. This story is set ten years after the events of Tanks.
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3| Part 5 |MP3| Part 6 & 7 |MP3|

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC World Service: Pontypool [the radio drama]

SFFaudio Online Audio

The BBC World Service commissions an annual collection of new radio plays from around the world each year. They call it “Worldplay” and this year’s theme was “science.” Entries came in from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the USA and Canada. It was Canada’s entry that has drawn my ear. Not only because it is Science Fictional (and Horror-ish) but also because it happens to be related to a movie that I told you radio drama fans would probably dig. Here’s a CBC Edmonton review of the movie |MP3| (now on DVD). Perhaps this Pontypool radio drama would have been broadcast on CBC Radio One too, had not the CBC radio drama department been virtually mothballed. Luckily, the BBC and ABC Radio National seem interested in airing new Canadian radio drama even if CBC itself isn’t.

Now for a few caveats. As the Horror Squad blog points out this is not, strictly speaking, a new recording but rather a radio drama created by editing the movie’s dialogue and sound effects tracks. Ultimately, this does hurt the piece; it would have been better to have had these terrific actors in the studio to recreate their performances (as was done by the likes of Lux Radio Theatre). But to my ears this edit is good, if not the ideal. Here’s what Horror Squad said:

“This is actually not a new recording, but simply the original audio of the film re-cut as a play. If you haven’t seen the film, I’d highly recommend you do before giving it a complete listen. As fantastic as the audio side is, one of the best things about the film is Bruce McDonald’s [he’s the film’s director] ability to visually trap you within the confines of the radio station, which is something I fear this 40 minute shorter take on the material is without.”

I myself have a couple factoids about Pontypool the radio drama. I’ll throw out there. First, this AD has a different ending than does the film. Second, it’s substantially abridged. The movie runs 97 minutes, with dialogue running over the opening and closing credits; whereas the AD runs only 53 minutes. The AD’s end credits also, by the way, say that Pontypool, was directed by Gregory J. Sinclair as a production for CBC. This is news to me considering I haven’t heard it broadcast on CBC radio this year, or even announced for the fall. Sinclair, incidentally, is the producer of CBC Radio’s last standing radio drama series, Afghanada. Have a listen to Pontypool. It’s a very Canadian zombie story. I really liked it a lot!

Pontypool
By Tony Burgess; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – Approx. 58 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC World Service / Worldplay
Broadcast: June 21, 2009
“Shock jock Grant Mazzy has, once again, been kicked-off the Big City airwaves and now the only job he can get is the early morning show at CLSY Radio in Pontypool Ontario, which broadcasts from the basement of the small town’s only church. What begins as another boring day of school bus cancellations, due to yet another massive snow storm, quickly turns deadly when reports start piling in of people developing strange speech patterns and evoking horrendous acts of violence start piling in. But there’s nothing coming in on the news wires. Is this really happening? Before long, Grant and the small staff at CLSY find themselves trapped in the radio station as they discover that this insane behaviour taking over the town is actually a deadly virus being spread through the English language itself. Do they stay on the air in the hopes of being rescued or, are they in fact providing the virus with its ultimate leap over the airwaves and into the world? Based on the novel Pontypool Changes Everything. Starring Stephen McHattie, Lisa Poole, Georgina Reilly, Rick Roberts, Hrant Alianak and Daniel Fathers .

This is also available in MP3 format via RadioArchive.cc along with more of the Worldplay dramas.

And, for australian listeners without torrent capability, via ABC Radio National |STREAMING|.

[via Monster Rally]

Posted by Jesse Willis

P.S. I think perhaps it’s time for CBC to sell the J. Michael Straczynski radio drama series that they produced and never aired, to a station that will actually broadcast it! Maybe BBC:WS?

LibriVox: Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock

SFFaudio Online Audio

Mark F. Smith, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, is the sole narrator of the latest LibriVox gothic novel. It’s author, Thomas Love Peacock, was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s and an employee of the East India Company. Writes Mark F. Smith:

“Peacock wrote Nightmare Abbey as a satire, and he has folded in allusions to or quotations from literally dozens of other works [the details of which are HERE]. He makes use of many long, impressive-sounding words (some of which he very possibly made up!). Ignore these and his occasional Latin phrase, treat the rest as a farce, and you’re on track for a fun listen!”

Nightmare Abbey
By Thomas Love Peacock; Read by Mark F. Smith
15 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 3 Hours 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 26, 2009
Deep in the fens of the British coast sits the gloomy mansion that goes by the name Nightmare Abbey. It is inhabited by persons of very low opinion of the human race, and in fact they pride themselves in the depths of their detestation. Others of its denizens believe the ultimate exercise and product of the human mind ought to be chaos. Now let the young master of the house get snared by the wiles of a beautiful young lady. And for good measure, toss in another beautiful young lady. Now Scythrop (named in honor of an ancestor who became bored with life and hanged himself) is about to find that two such make too much of a good thing!

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/nightmare-abbey-by-thomas-love-peacock.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

FREE @ Audible.com: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea [IN SPANISH]

SFFaudio Online Audio

S’il vous plaît excusez-moi. Je ne parle pas bien le français. En fait, je suce à elle. Mais j’ai encore moins en espagnol. Mais je veux encore parler de ce drame audio. C’est une version GRATUITE de 20,000 Leagues Audio Drama Jule Verne Under The Sea est disponible à l’Audible.com – en espagnol. Confus? Oui, moi aussi.

20 Mil Leguas Viaje Submarino [20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in Spanish]
Based on the novel by Jules Verne; Performed by a full cast
FREE Audible Download – Approx. 1 Hour 40 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: FonoLibro Inc.
Published: 2007
Provider: Audible.com
FonoLibro se enorgullece en presentar el audiolibro en español 20,000 Leguas de Viaje Submarino de Julio Verne considerada la primera y mejor novela de ciencia ficción de la literatura universal. Era el año 1866, y el océano pacifico estaba aterrorizado por monstruo marino. El gobierno americano envía a bordo del buque de guerra Abraham Lincoln al especialista en vida marina Pierre Aronnax a que investigue este hecho. Cuando esta nave es hundida por esta misteriosa criatura, el Profesor Aronnax y otros dos supervivientes descubren que no era un monstruo, sino un maravilloso submarino, el Nautilus, comandado por el enigmático Capitán Nemo. Nemo se rehúsa a llevar los sobrevivientes a tierra, sin embargo los lleva a bordo del maravilloso submarino en un fantástico viaje lleno de aventuras, tormentas, monstruos marinos, tesoros, y hasta la fabulosa ciudad perdida de Atlantis. FonoLibro les trae la obra maestra de Julio Verne en una impresionante dramatización, con un elenco completo, maravillosa música y efectos especiales que le harán sentir que esta en el fondo del mar a bordo del Nautilus viviendo esta maravillosa aventura.

Posted by Jesse Willis