News, Reviews, and Commentary on all forms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror audio. Audiobooks, audio drama, podcasts; we discuss all of it here. Mystery, crime, and noir audio are also fair game.
The September 2011 issue of Lightspeed Magazine (issue #16) features a reading by one of the finest narrators around, Harlan Ellison! There’s also a text interview with the author, David Brin |HERE|. Asked what inspired the story Brin sez:
“Most of the universe is the regions between galaxies, yet no stories are ever set in that vast emptiness. I like a challenge.”
And based on this you might suspect, rightly, that the plot tries to answer a problem in physics.
Bubbles
By David Brin; Read by Harlan Ellison
1 |MP3| – Approx. 37 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Lightspeed Magazine
Podcast: September 2011 “Most of the universe is the regions between galaxies, yet no stories are ever set in that vast emptiness. In “Bubbles” by David Brin, we get to know Serena, a lonely entity traveling the space between galaxies.” First published in a 1987 anthology, The Universe edited by Byron Preiss.
Categorized as “historical” and “romance” but it doesnt sound like either from the clip. It’s told in 2nd person and narrated by Jim Dale!
The Night Circus
By Erin Morgenstern; Read by Jim Dale
CDs – Approx. 14 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: September 13, 2011
ISBN: 9780307938909 A fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance.
When I heard that there was a new movie called “Killer Elite” I expected that it was just another pointless remake – this time of the 1975 Sam Peckinpah movie of the same name. Turns out it isn’t a remake, just a lifted title, and that the plot is actually based on a 1991 novel called The Feather Men! On the Wikipedia entry for the author, Ranulph Fiennes, he’s described as an “adventurer” and the novel is supposed to be based on true events.
Killer Elite (previously published as The Feather Men)
By Ranulph Fiennes; Read by Jonathan Cowley
Digital Download – Approx. [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: September 6, 2011
ISBN: 9780307934352 Here is a gripping novel, inspired by real-life events, about a private team of British vigilantes that sets out to eliminate a gang of cold-blooded contract killers. From 1977 to 1990, four former British soldiers die, one by one, supposedly due to accident or illness. But soon a link is established between the victims: a shared mission in the desert kingdom of Oman, where they fought for a sultan against insurgents and ruined the life of a rival sheikh, who in turn has sent a band of assassins to methodically slay the soldiers and salvage his pride. Now these clever assassins are on the run from an underground group of SAS vets with nothing to lose, no time to waste, and a desire to dispense their own form of justice—no matter the cost.