Jesse Willis – Page 145

SSOC #022 featured Voice Of The Bloodstained God by Fred Blosser

Friday, June 17, 2011 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

Dark Horse comics has been releasing affordable phone book sized collections of the old Savage Sword Of Conan stories for a few years now. I’ve got a couple of them. That got me flipping through my old back issues, and in so doing noticing just how much content isn’t in the reprints. What is mostly missing is the bonus material: the pinups, maps, photo-essays, letters columns and of course all the ads. But just today I noticed that SSOC #22 has something I’d never seen in it, at least not with SFFaudio eyes, before. Check out this review, by Fred Blosser, of this vintage 1976 LP entitled Conan: The Bloodstained God/The Curse of the Monolith:

Voice Of The Bloodstained God by Fred Blosser

Here’s an excerpt:

The Renaissance Man of fantasy fiction.

So one might describe L. Sprague de Camp.

Novelist, essayist, world traveller, engineer, poet, collegiate fencer, popularizer of science and history. You name it, and de Camp has probably done it. To Conan fans, de Camp perhaps is most familiar as the writer who continued and expanded the saga of the mighty Cimmerian after the death of Robert E. Howard. Whatever one thinks of this work – and opinions differ – it still is difficult to deny the importance of de Camp in the genre. Recently, in association with II Vermont-based studio called Moondance Productions. Inc” de Camp took microphone in hand to essay a new role – that of oral storyteller.

The result? A new record album titled. simply. Robert E. Howard’s Conan. Featuring L. Sprague de Camp. In his liner notes, Moondance producer Alan B. Goldstein calls the LP “an historic event … the first recorded Conan story by a living author of the Conan literature.” Actually, the record contains dramatic readings of not one, but two stories. But Goldstein may well be correct about the “historic” part. At least where Conanophiles are concerned.

Side one of the LP features “The Bloodstained God,” a riproaring talc in which Conan tangles with human and demonic foes while searching for a long- lost idol of gemencrusted gold. “The Curse of the Monolith,” on side two, brings the Cimmerian up against a Hyborian Age version of the Blob while on another treasure hunt. Both yams were co-authored by deCamp- “Monolith” in collaboration with Lin Carter, “God” as a rewrite of a non-fantasy Howard swashbuckler collected in The Swords of Shahrazar (FAX, 1976) as “The Curse of the Crimson God.”

How does de Camp fare on vinyl? Very well. I think. He gives the stories a careful, unhurried reading that most listeners should find appealing. His interpretation of the various voices is also fine. I liked the surly growl that he gives Conan , and the singsong inflections for the Oriental characters.

The sound effects and music blend in nicely with the narration, indicating that a lot of technical work went into the album. “The Bloodstained God” in particular provides a field day for the special effects crew. Swords c lash, hoofbeats clop on Slone, men yell in horror as they are pitched into bottomless chasms. There’s even the creaking of a living statue climbing down from its pedestal in search of prey! These effects provide a keen sense of realism without interfering a bit with de Camp’s storytelling.

In short, if you liked Moondance’s first Conan LP (a dramatization of “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” and “The Tower of the Elephant.” reviewed in SSOC #11), you’ll find more of the same here. With of course, the added novelty of de Camp’s performance.

The LP was a limited edition printing (1500 copies made) and contained two abridged short stories with music/quasi-sound effects. I’ve never reviewed it, not being a huge fan of dramatized readings, but it is certainly interesting.

Conan: The Bloodstained God/The Curse of the Monolith
By Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter; Read by L. Sprague de Camp
1 33 1/3 RPM LP – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Moondance Productions
Published: 1976

On the other hand I do heartily recommend the two Conan audio dramas produced by Moondance that were, apparently, reviewed in SSOC #11 (I’ll try to find my copy of that issue).

Robert E. Howard’s Conan – The Tower Of The Elephant & The Frost Giant’s Daughter
Adapted by Roy Thomas & Alan B. Goldstein; Performed by a FULL CAST
33 1/3 RPM LP – Approx. 46 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMATIZATION]
Publisher: Moondance Productions
Published: 1975
|READ OUR REVIEW|

Posted by Jesse Willis

Audible.com: FREE: Go The Fuck To Sleep by Adam Mansbach (read by Samuel L. Jackson)

Wednesday, June 15, 2011Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Stefan Rudnicki and Gabrielle de Cuir produced this terrifically funny audiobook for Audible.com. It is FREE to account holders!

Go The Fuck To Sleep
By Adam Mansbach; Read by Samuel L. Jackson
Audible Download – Approx. 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible.com
Published: June 13, 2011
Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) rocks this mock bedtime story, capturing a hilarious range of emotions as the voice of a father struggling to get his child to sleep. Go the F**k to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach’s profane, affectionate, and radically honest verses perfectly capture the familiar – and unspoken – tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, he opens up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations and laugh at their absurdity. Beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny, Go the F**k to Sleep is a book for parents new, old, and expectant. Due to its explicit language, you probably should not play it for your children. Go the F**k to Sleep is available free for a limited time. Feel free to share the link to this page with tired parents and other people who could use a good swear and a laugh.

[via The Guilded Earlobe]

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases: Solaris by Stanislaw Lem

Saturday, June 11, 2011 Jesse Willis

New Releases

Steve Feldberg, a past guest on the SFFaudio Podcast (#40), writes in to tell us about a new Audible Frontiers audiobook:

Hi Jesse –

I wanted to draw your attention to our all-new, unabridged recording of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris. Not only is this the first time in audio for this classic – and not only is it narrated wonderfully by Alessandro Juliani of Battlestar Galactica – and not only is 2011 the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication – but this is a brand-new translation – and the first time the book has been translated directly from Polish to English. (The existing book is a translation from Polish to French and then to English; Lem always disavowed it as being incomplete.) Audible, in cooperation with the Lem Estate, commissioned this new translation by Bill Johnston of the Univ. of Indiana.

This is an audio exclusive; there are no current plans to publish this translation in any other form.

We’re really excited about this project. I hope you’ll give it a listen!

Thanks Steve!

And yeah, Solaris looks like it will make a really terrific listen. Early reviews are positively glowing. Check out including this compelling quote from Jason (in Kansas City, MO):

“Wow! Wow! and Wow! Brainy stuff for thinking people.”

Solaris: The Definitive Edition
By Stanisław Lem; Translated by Bill Johnston; Read by by Alessandro Juliani
Audible Download – Approx. 7 Hours 48 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: June 7, 2011
At last, one of the world’s greatest works of science fiction is available – just as author Stanislaw Lem intended it. To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of Solaris, Audible, in cooperation with the Lem Estate, has commissioned a brand-new translation – complete for the first time, and the first ever directly from the original Polish to English. Beautifully narrated by Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica), Lem’s provocative novel comes alive for a new generation. In Solaris, Kris Kelvin arrives on an orbiting research station to study the remarkable ocean that covers the planet’s surface. But his fellow scientists appear to be losing their grip on reality, plagued by physical manifestations of their repressed memories. When Kelvin’s long-dead wife suddenly reappears, he is forced to confront the pain of his past – while living a future that never was. Can Kelvin unlock the mystery of Solaris? Does he even want to?

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrivals: Macmillan Audio – Halo: Cryptum by Greg Bear

Saturday, June 11, 2011Saturday, October 15, 2011 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Macmillan Audio The first book, of a planned trilogy, called the “Forerunner Saga.” The Halo wiki has a quote from Frank O’Connor (the Franchise Development Director for Halo) saying:

“It’s going to be a trilogy. A connected universe that will remain faithful to the scale and mysteries, while exploring the detail and challenges of a VERY powerful culture. This won’t be some skirt-raising exercise in Forerunner populist-ism. Folks know way more about Forerunners than you think, but we’re definitely going to respect that strange sense of wonder and awe that Bungie infused from day one. It will be BIG Greg Bear fiction in a faintly familiar place, but one that’s full of surprises. Think Eon.”

The audiobook also includes a three and a half minute introduction, written and read, by Greg Bear himself. In it he says that he drew inspiration for the trilogy from Olaf Stapledon, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, E.E. Doc Smith, Larry Niven and Robert A. Heinlein. There’s also a sentence particularly about Ringworld.

Halo: Cryptum (Book One of the Forerunner Saga)
By Greg Bear; Read by Holter Graham
7 CDs – Approx. 8 Hours 40 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: March 29, 2011
ISBN: 9781427210081
One hundred thousand years ago, the galaxy was populated by a great variety of beings. But one species–eons beyond all others in both technology and knowledge–achieved dominance. They ruled in peace but met opposition with quick and brutal effectiveness. They were the Forerunners–the keepers of the Mantle, the next stage of life in the Universe’s Living Time. And then they vanished. This is their story. – Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting is a young rebellious Forerunner. He is a Manipular, untried–yet to become part of the adult Forerunner society, where vast knowledge and duty waits. He comes from a family of Builders, the Forerunners’ highest and most politically powerful rate. It is the Builders who create the grand technology that facilitates Forerunner dominance over the known universe. It is the Builders who believe they must shoulder the greatest burden of the Mantle–as shepherds and guardians of all life. Bornstellar is marked to become a great Builder just like his father. But this Manipular has other plans. He is obsessed with lost treasures of the past. His reckless passion to seek out the marvelous artifacts left behind by the Precursors–long-vanished superbeings of unknowable power and intent—forces his father’s hand. Bornstellar is sent to live among the Miners, where he must come to terms with where his duty truly lies. But powerful forces are at play. Forerunner society is at a major crux. Past threats are once again proving relentless. Dire solutions–machines and strategies never before contemplated–are being called up, and fissures in Forerunner power are leading to chaos. On a Lifeworker’s experimental planet, Bornstellar’s rebellious course crosses the paths of two humans, and the long lifeline of a great military leader, forever changing Bornstellar’s destiny …and the fate of the entire galaxy. This is a tale of life, death, intergalactic horror, exile, and maturity. It is a story of overwhelming change–and of human origins. For the Mantle may not lie upon the shoulders of Forerunners forever.

Posted by Jesse Willis

iambik audio: 50% off all audiobooks

Thursday, June 9, 2011 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

Hey this is a great deal! Use this promotional code at the checkout point to get a 50% discount off of iambik audio‘s already incredibly great prices:

#jiam2011

And, be sure to include the pound sign.

Here are a few of purchase suggestions:

The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold
Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips
Alcestis by Katharine Beutner

Posted by Jesse Willis

Random House Audio: Three FREE audiobooks: Louis L’Amour, Holly Black, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Thursday, June 9, 2011 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Random House Audio has made three very different audiobooks available for FREE DOWNLOAD on their website. One’s a novel, and the other two are short stories. As all three are in the MP3 format and just single files (even the novel) I’m going to HuffDuff all three later today. I’ve already started listening to Louis L’Amour title, and I’ve got to tell you, the introductory material in which L’Amour himself tells stories from his own life, is ABSOLUTELY RIVETING – it’s amazing, amazing stuff.

White Cat: The Curse Workers, Book One
By Holly Black; Read by Jesse Eisenberg
1 |MP3| – Approx. 6 Hours 41 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Listening Library
Published: May 11, 2010
ISBN: 9780307711816
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers—people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn’t got magic, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail—he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago. Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen.

Nate The Great Goes Undercover (From Nate the Great Collected Stories: Volume 1)
By Marjorie Weinman Sharmat; Read by John Lavelle
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Listening Library
Published: May 13, 2008
ISBN: 9780807216651
Nate the Great has his first night case! Somebody is raiding Oliver’s garbage can each night, but who? The list of suspects is long. Nate courageously encounters a skunk and a telephone pole, but not until he goes under cover of the garbage can lid does he narrow the suspects down to one.

Survival
By Louis L’Amour; Read by Richard Crenna
1 |MP3| – Approx. 1 Hour 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: Nov 9, 1999
ISBN: 055345031X
This harrowing adventure of shipwreck and survival is L’Amour’s fictionalized account of the heroic true story of merchant seaman Tex Worden and his efforts to save the passengers of the doomed Raratonga. A unique look at the early life and times of one of our most cherished writers, Survival is the action-packed oral biography of a true American original, an audiocassette that no L’Amour fan will want to miss. Includes biographical notes read by L’Amour himself.

Posted by Jesse Willis