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.
A vintage November 1977 ad from Fantasy & Science Fiction featuring J.R.R. Tolkien related audio. From Caedmon Audio (Harper Audio).
I’ve heard these, I used to check them out of the library. J.R.R. Tolkien seemed to relish reading his stuff aloud.
Posted by Jesse Willis
Here’s a 23 minute adaptation of The Lost Elevator, a 1931 one act play about an assortment of characters stuck between floors in a skyscraper’s express elevator.
Here’s the trailer:
And here’s the full show:
[Thanks Daniel!]
Posted by Jesse Willis
In this well-regarded CONAN novella our hero, now a chieftain in the Hyborian equivalent of Pakistan, tangles with a beautiful young queen bent on revenge. Her plot will have Conan fighting an evil sorcerer who, by will alone, can rip a man’s heart out of his chest!
And giant snakes.
The People Of The Black Circle
By Robert E. Howard; Read by Mark Nelson
1 |M4B|, 10 Zipped MP3 Files, or podcast – Approx. 3 Hours 38 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox
Published: April 1, 2013
“A stupendous story of Conan the barbarian soldier of fortune, and a tremendous adventure in the castle of the Black Seers.” First published in Weird Tales, September, October, and November 1934.
Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/7692
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
And here’s an illustrated |PDF| made from the republication in Fantastic, January 1967 (the illustrations, by Hugh Rankin, are from the original serialization in Weird Tales).
[Thanks also to: DaveC, Ann Boulais, and Jack!]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Here are links to four recent BBC programs. Myself, I’ve heard most of Neverwhere, and it’s terrific so far, but the others look pretty promising too.
Which have you heard? And what do you think?
Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere adapted by Dirk Maggs [AUDIO DRAMA]
Hothouse by Brian Aldiss; read by Gareth Thomas
Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz – Series 4 [AUDIO DRAMA] (Comments contain links to Series 1 to 3)
White Snow by Frances Byrnes [AUDIO DRAMA]
[Thanks Bob!]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Reprinted 150 times, according to ISFDB.org entry on it, I’m thinking Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart may very well be the most reprinted story ever.
It’s a pretty great story, so you can see why it would be, but with its popularity comes a flood of different free readings, most not so great. Which is why I was so pleased to find this free version by the great Grover Gardner. Goodness!
The Tell-Tale Heart
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by Grover Gardner
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Redwood Audiobooks (Listen To Genius)
Published: 2008?
Source: ListenToGenius.com
First published in The Pioneer, January 1843.
And here’s a handy |PDF| version.
Posted by Jesse Willis
A horribly good story, narrated by a proper old school narrator, the great Alan Sklar.
“‘It’s the stupidest story I’ve ever heard,’ said the bigger of the small girls, with immense conviction.”
The Story-Teller
By Saki; Read by Alan Sklar
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Redwood Audiobooks (Listen To Genius)
Published: 2008?
Source: ListenToGenius.com
And here’s a |PDF| made from the publication in Beasts And Super-Beasts (1914).
Posted by Jesse Willis