Blackstone Audio is offering a three day promotion on their iPhone (and iPod Touch) app. You can get I Am Legend by Richard Matheson |READ OUR REVIEW| for just $3.99 on iTunes.
If someone does get this app, please post a comment letting me know how you like it – as say compared to a regular audiobook.
Posted by Jesse Willis
Roy Trumbull, of the Story Spieler website and podcast, reports that he has now completed narrating 35 Science Fiction stories and placed them as FREE downloads over on Archive.org. Here is his |PDF| with clickable links to all 35 tales.
Thanks Roy!
Posted by Jesse Willis
Uvula Audio, the fiction podcasts produced by James Campanella, is premiering today simultaneously two Doc Savage novels back to back—The Fortress of Solitude and The Devil Genghis. Sez Jim:
Back in October of 1938, Lester Dent finally bowed to pressure from his fans and publishers and decided to reveal Doc’s major secret—the exact nature of his “Fortress Of Solitude.” Of course, in doing so, Dent realized that he would have to create a legendary villain that would become the only rogue ever to escape from Doc and come back in a sequel. That villain was John Sunlight—you have to admit even his name is seriously cool and since he is so completely black of heart, The Sunlight name is a bit of an ironic joke that characterizes the very dark bad guy.
Hitler was not quite an internationally insane figure on the scene yet so it is interesting that according to writer Will Murray, John sunlight was modeled on another power hungry nutcase—Napoleon Bonaparte. As Murray says on the European stage napoleon’s legacy of conquest still held the distinction for the most bloodthirsty even until the late 30’s.
Dent originally in his notes made Sunlight tall and gaunt like Rasputin, but when Fortress was actually published, sunlight is described with a high forehead and burning deep-socketed eyes. This is the way that napoleon was often described. Sunlight is further described as a malevolent monster who desired nothing more than to bend mankind to his wicked will.
Actually throughout both novels Sunlight has a weird funhouse kind of kinship to Doc. He is a mental genius. He far stronger than most men. He is completely emotionless—except for his bestial growls. He dislikes killing—preferring to just dominate his victims.
-Doc is bronzed and Sunlight pale
-Doc trills and Sunlight growls
-Doc’s strength comes from his developed physique and Sunlight’s from his evil mind
-Doc wears single color conservative suits and Sunlight exotic costumes of single colors
-Doc has a superb balance between mind and body.
-Sunlight is all mind and out of balance
Doc wants to right wrongs and bring peace. Sunlight insists he wants to bring peace and “be the world’s greatest benefactor” as well but as a function of his dominating the world to get it. He literally wants to wipe out war by force. He actually says at one point to Doc “We have the same aim in life you and I . . . you strive to right wrongs. And I- I am trying to right the greatest wrong of all…”
Sounds interesting hey?
Here’s the first installment: |MP3|
Podcast feed: http://www.uvulaaudio.com/Books/Books.xml
Posted by Jesse Willis
The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie is available FREE, for the month of May 2010, over on Simply Audiobooks. But, if you’re not absolutely riveted by the prospect of getting a copy for FREE, I suggest you stop reading this post NOW.
This FREE audiobook is not particularly awesome, in fact it’s pretty terrible. It has all the problems I complained about Simply Audiobook’s FREE audiobook two years ago and it has some sound quality issues too. To get the audiobook you’ll need to do the following:
First up, you’ll need to give your name and email address to Simply Audiobooks HERE.
Second, while the narrator seems fine, there are numerous headaches involved in making it a universally playable audiobook. Chief among these problems is that the download comes in the ridiculously lame WMD file format. WMD supposedly stands for Windows Media Download. The file is, of course, completely unplayable on any portable media player that I’ve ever owned. It will, however, play in a current version of Windows Media Player 11, on one of my PCs. That doesn’t mean it will play in whatever version with whatever codecs your WMP will have. Once it does get playing, you’ll be saddened to hear that Stan Winiarski’s narration is partially obscured by lots of hiss and click-pops – it almsot sounds like the audiobook was recorded on a wax cylinder. If you’re still with me, you’ll definitely want get this file more workable – in which case you will need to do the following:
1. Download and install a free piece of software called Free WMA to MP3 Converter 1.16
2. Download and install a free piece of software called 7-Zip 4.65 |
3. Create a new folder and put a copy of the WMD file in there.
4. Right clicking on that file should, if you’ve installed 7-Zip, allow you to “Extract files…”, do that.
5. After processing, your folder should be filled with 18 WMA files (that’s the audiobook) and some other junk which you can dispense with.
6. Run those 18 WMA files through Free WMA to MP3 Converter and you should now have 18 MP3 files – and you can delete the WMAs.
At this point you can pretty much takeover, I assume. Myself, I like to run most multi-MP3 audiobooks through iPod Audio Book Converter, that way I can make one big M4B file that is bookmarkable in iTunes.
Good luck!
The Mysterious Affair At Styles
By Agatha Christie; Read by Stan Winiarski
1 WMD File – Approx. 4 Hours 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simply Audiobooks Publishing
Published: 2008
Agatha Christie’s first novel introduces the legendary Hercule Poirot, his friend Captain Arthur Hastings, and the Chief Inspector Japp. Match wits with the master detective to unravel the complexity of clues and point a fateful finger at the real murderer, from among a stunning, cunning cast of candidates. *Only Available in the US and Canada
Posted by Jesse Willis
My friend Luke Burrage has, on his Science Fiction Book Review Podcast (it’s episode #92), a detailed review of the Wonder Audio audiobook The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley! Luke was supposed to be a participant in SFFaudio Podcast #56, but some particularly inopportune volcanic eruptions prevented it (that’s about the only excuse we accept for missing an episode by the way).
Luke talks about many aspects of the novel we hardly touched on, and makes a terrific case for checking out the novel for yourself! Luke gave it only three and a half stars (out of five), but it’s clearly a book he enjoyed sinking his teeth into. Have a listen |MP3|!
Podcast feed: http://www.sfbrp.com/?feed=podcast
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
Posted by Jesse Willis
Conquest Over Time
By Michael Shaara; Read by Mark F. Smith
4 Zipped MP3 Files, 1 |M4B| or Podcast – Approx. 1 Hour 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4, 2010
Pat Travis, a spacer renowned for his luck, is suddenly quite out of it. His job is to beat his competitors to sign newly-Contacted human races to commercial contracts… But what can he do when he finds he’s on a planet that consults astrology for literally every major decision – and he has arrived on one of the worst-aspected days in history? First published in Fantastic Universe in 1956.
Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/4273
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
[Thanks also to Ans Wink and Diana Majlinger]
Posted by Jesse Willis
