Month: April 2013

The Ghosts by Lord Dunsany

SFFaudio Online Audio

I quite like this one. It makes a fit companion to The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The Red Room by H.G. Wells.

The Ghosts begins as straightforward haunted house story, one coming out of the Gothic tradition. Our hero, a skeptic, is staying with his brother at an ancient baronial estate. There, he argues with his brother about the existence of ghosts, and what sorts of evidence for their existence would be acceptable. Then, in order to make his point, he proceeds to induce in himself a ghostly experience by means darkness, drugs, and deprivation.

Are the ghosts he sees real and if so, is his point proved?

The Ghosts by Lord Dunsany - illustrated by Sidney Sime - "Oneleigh"

The Ghosts by Lord Dunsany - illustrated by Sidney Sime - "A Herd Of Black Creatures"

Miette’s Bedtime Story PodcastThe Ghosts
By Lord Dunsany; Read by Miette
1 |MP3| – Approx. 15 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Miette’s Bedtime Story Podcast
Podcast: March 21, 2006
First published in 1908.

LibriVoxThe Ghosts
By Lord Dunsany; Read by William Coon
1 |MP3| – Approx. 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: 2006
First published in 1908.

Here’s an illustrated |PDF| made from the publication in The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Hoard Of The Gibbelins by Lord Dunsany

SFFaudio Online Audio

Lord Dunsany’s take on the sword and sorcery sub-genre is high on the Dunsany and low on the Lord (which is itself a very Dunsanian trait).

The Hoard Of The Gibbelins illustration by Sidney Sime

LibriVoxThe Hoard Of The Gibbelins
By Lord Dunsany; Read by Greg Elmensdorp
1 |MP3| – Approx. 10 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 24, 2007
The bold knight Alderic seeks the fabled hoard of the Gibbelins. First published in the Jan 25, 1911 issue of The Sketch.

Here’s a |PDF|.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Thank You: AdSense $$ for January February 2013

SFFaudio News

Google Adsense January February 2013

Thank You SFFaudio’s income for the months of January and February 2012 was $131.64. Recently arrived this latest dispatch from Google’s advertising division is much appreciated. Thanks folks!

As for the accounting…

Well, $45.48 (plus change) goes to mailing of various audiobooks (Thanks Jenny!).

I spent $25.35 (plus change) on some excellent LEGO pieces from FindMyBrick.com..

I think I’ll bank the rest. There’s going to be expenses. I just can’t predict how they’ll go.

Thanks very much people.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Colors of Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Please welcome another new reviewer, Tom Schreck. Tom heard about the call for reviews from another new reviewer that you will hear from shortly.

SFFaudio Review

The Colors of SpaceThe Colors of Space
By Marion Zimmer Bradley; Read by Jim Roberts
Publisher: Speculative! via Brilliance Audio
ISBN: 978-1-4692-5948-2
5 discs – 5 hours [UNABRIDGED]

Themes: / space / aliens / science fiction / interstellar travel /

Publisher summary:

Young Bart Steele, Space Academy graduate, is waiting in a spaceport for a ship to take him home when something happens that suddenly thrusts him into the center of a quest for the secret of interstellar travel. The method of faster than light travel, called “warp drive” in later Sci-Fi stories, is a tightly kept secret of an alien race known as the “Lhari.” Some humans feel that they should not have to depend on the Lhari to get to far away planets and enlist Bart to help them wrest the secret from the Lhari by undertaking a perilous mission. Bart’s survival and the freedom of the human race suddenly depend on his courage and wits.

The Colors of Space is one of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s earliest books and is a solid enjoyable book. It’s short, the pace keeps moving, and overall comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Mankind has expanded throughout the solar system and nearby star systems but it takes years to travel those distances with their current technology. Sometime in their exploration they met an alien race called the Llari who have the capability of faster-than-light travel. The Llari are happy to supply such transport to humans but won’t share the secrets of their technology with humans. The humans and Llari entered into a mutually beneficial relationship for interstellar travel, but some parts of humanity have become disgruntled of the monopoly the Llari hold. Our protagonist Bart Steele gets involved in a human plot to discover this secret in this story.

The book is fairly simple so don’t expect any deep/intricate character development, but it explores interesting social issues like relating to people different from yourself, friendship, and loyalty.

Jim Roberts has a great voice but his performance comes off kind of stiff and dry. As I got further into the book, I either got more used to his reading style or he relaxed a bit in his reading. If trying to decide between the print or audio version, the audio book version is pretty good but I don’t think it adds anything to the enjoyment of the book.

Posted by Tom Schreck