The Dimension X and X-Minus One of William Tenn

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here is a complete listing of all the William Tenn stories from both Dimension X and X-Minus One. Child’s Play doesn’t have any actual children in it, instead it is much more like a Philip K. Dick plot played for humor. Venus Is A Man’s World, on the other hand, features children protagonists. It’s a curious remnant of its era, a satire on gender equality. It also has a fun bit about naming your kids after Canadian provinces. The Discovery Of Mornial Matheway is a humorous time travel story with a clever wrinkle, mining the same material as Michael Moorcock’s Behold The Man and Robert A. Heinlein’s By His Bootstraps.

Dimension X was an NBC radio program broadcast from 1950 to 1951 in the USA. One episode was based on a story by William Tenn. The same script would be re-recorded four years later for X-Minus One.

Dimension XDimension X – Child’s Play
Based on the story by William Tenn; Adapted by George Lefferts; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 24 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: June 21, 1951
Provider: Archive.org
Sam Weber used to be a meek little man. But then one day he received a “Build-A-Man” kit from 100 years in the future – that changed a whole lot. First published in Astounding Science Fiction, March 1947.

X-Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio series broadcast from 1955 to 1958 on NBC Radio stations in the USA. William Tenn had three of his stories picked out and turned into radio dramatizations.

X Minus 1X-Minus One – Child’s Play
Based on the story by William Tenn; Adapted by George Lefferts; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 23 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: October 20, 1955
Provider: Archive.org
Sam Weber used to be a meek little man. But then one day he received a “Build-A-Man” kit from 100 years in the future – that changed a whole lot. First published in Astounding Science Fiction, March 1947.

X Minus 1X-Minus One – Venus Is A Man’s World
Based on the story by William Tenn; Adapted by Arthur Small; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 22 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: February 6, 1957
Provider: Archive.org
War has severely decimated the Earth’s male population. Females now make all the rules men are subservient to women. First published in Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1951.

X Minus 1X-Minus One – The Discovery Of Mornial Matheway
Based on the story by William Tenn; Adapted by Ernest Kinoy; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: April 17, 1957
Provider: Archive.org
A time traveler from the future returns to the era of Morniel Mathaway, the greatest artist in history only to discovere that Mathaway is completely talentless. First published in Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1955.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 024

SFFaudio Online Audio

Who wants FREE Science Fiction short story audiobook collection?

I do! I do!

And here it is…

LibriVox - Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 024Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 024
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 59 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-24.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

LibriVox - The Altar At Midnight by C.M. KornbluthThe Altar At Midnight
By C.M. Kornbluth; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
Doing something for humanity may be fine—for humanity—but rough on the individual! From Galaxy Science Fiction November 1952.


LibriVox - The Defenders by Philip K. DickThe Defenders
By Philip K. Dick; Read by mkargo
1 |MP3| – Approx. 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
No weapon has ever been frightful enough to put a stop to war—perhaps because we never before had any that thought for themselves! From Galaxy Science Fiction January 1953.

Fantastic Universe March 1954Foundling on Venus
By John de Courcy and Dorothy de Courcy; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 19 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
Venus was the most miserable planet in the system, peopled by miserable excuses for human beings. And somewhere among this conglomeration of boiling protoplasm there was a being unlike the others, a being who walked and talked like the others but who was different—and afraid the difference would be discovered. You’ll remember this short story. From Fantastic Universe March 1954.

LibriVox - The Leech by Robert SheckleyThe Leech
By Robert Sheckley; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 42 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
A visitor should be fed, but this one could eat you out of house and home … literally! From Galaxy Science Fiction December 1952.


LibriVox - The Repairman by Harry HarrisonThe Repairman
By Harry Harrison; Read by Linda Dodge
1 |MP3| – Approx. 38 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
Being an interstellar trouble shooter wouldn’t be so bad … if I could shoot the trouble! From Galaxy February 1958.


Amazing Science Fiction Stories January 1960Second Landing
By Floyd Wallace; Read by Linda Dodge
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
A gentle fancy for the Christmas Season—an oft-told tale with a wistful twistful of Something that left the Earth with a wing and a prayer. From Amazing Science Fiction Stories January 1960.


Worlds Of If - January 1962The Talkative Tree
By Horace Brown Fyfe; Read by Linda Dodge
1 |MP3| – Approx. 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
Dang vines! Beats all how some plants have no manners—but what do you expect, when they used to be men! From Worlds of If January 1962.


Fantastic Universe January 1954 They Twinkled Like Jewels
By Philip Jose Farmer; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 38 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
It was only a year and a half ago that Phil Farmer, till then a totally unknown (editorially speaking at any rate) young man of Peoria, wrote himself a novel that won him instantaneous acclaim as perhaps the hottest new science fiction writer currently astir. Its title was The Lovers and since then he has gone right on proving himself a top-hand craftsman. From Fantastic Universe January 1954.

LibriVox - Warm by Robert SheckleyWarm
By Robert Sheckley; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
It was a joyous journey Anders set out on … to reach his goal … but look where he wound up! From Galaxy Science Fiction June 1953.


Amazing Science Fiction Stories April 1959Wind
By Charles L. Fontenay; Read by Linda Dodge
1 |MP3| – Approx. 38 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 7, 2009
When you have an engine with no fuel, and fuel without an engine, and a life-and-death deadline to meet, you have a problem indeed. Unless you are a stubborn Dutchman—and Jan Van Artevelde was the stubbornest Dutchman on Venus. From Amazing Science Fiction Stories April 1959.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Reading at the Speed of Sound at Tor.com

SFFaudio Online Audio

Fantasy Audiobook - The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex BledsoeOver at Tor.com, a new podcast called Reading at the Speed of Sound, with Susan Dunman at the helm. In the first episode, Susan reviews The Sword-Edged Blonde by Alex Bledsoe, read by Stefan Rudnicki. |MP3|

Here’s the podcast feed:

http://www.tor.com/rss/category/SpeedOfSound

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Hey Want To Watch A Movie? podcast talks John Carpenter’s The Thing

SFFaudio Online Audio

I just finished watching one of John Carpenter‘s earliest movies. Someone’s Watching Me! (1978) is a very obscure Carpenter movie, filmed for TV, and featuring a number of what I guess would be called prototypical Carpenter signatures. After a few minutes I started taking notes. Here are a few of my notes:

-Stars David Birney (a well respected audiobook narrator)

Adrienne Barbeau‘s character is a lesbian (and that has nothing at all to do with the plot)

-The main character, Leigh Michaels (played by Lauren Hutton) works at a Los Angeles TV station with the call sign WJHC (J.H.C. = John Howard Carpenter)

-Leigh Michaels lives in “Arkham Towers”

This got me thinking about other John Carpenter movies I’d watched – which reminded me of a podcast I participated in a couple years ago. I did a podcast commentary on John Carpenter’s The Thing with Christiana Ellis, Mike Meitin, Adam Morey, Brandon Hill, Tee Morris, and Philippa Ballantine for the Hey Want To Watch A Movie? podcast.

Hey Want To Watch A Movie? John Carpenter's The ThingThe Thing
Commentators Christiana Ellis, Mike Meitin, Adam Morey, Brandon Hill, Tee Morris, Philippa Ballantine and Jesse Willis
1 |MP3| – Approx. 2 Hours 13 Minutes [FILM COMMENTARY]
Podcaster: Hey Want To Watch A Movie?
Podcast: September 23, 2008

Podcast feed:

http://watchamovie.libsyn.com/rss

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: The Valley Of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Aural Noir: Online Audio

LibriVoxI’ve previously written about the Sherlock Holmes novel called The Valley Of Fear. It feels like a rather unusual Holmes novel given that Holmes isn’t actually present in the majority of the narrative. But, if you think about the most famous Holmes story of them all (also a novel) The Hound Of The Baskervilles, you may also recall that Sherlock Holmes wasn’t in that one much either. Unlike The Hound Of The Baskervilles, where most of the action stems from a local English legend, most of plot of The Valley Of Fear takes places in the United States – taking inspiration from a real life criminal conspiracy. Still, Conan Doyle isn’t importing everything. We get lots of details about master-criminal Professor Moriarty and his non-fiction inspiration (Jonathan Wild) too.

This newly released version, available free from LibriVox.org, is a complete narration by a single reader, Katie Riley. While she hasn’t given us the definitive FREE edition, there are several mispronunciations in the first few chapters, her reading is serviceable.

LIBRIVOX - The Valley Of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Valley Of Fear
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Read by Katie Riley
15 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 6 Hours 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: February 8, 2010
Doyle’s final novel featuring the beloved sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, brings the detective and his friend to a country manor where they are preceded by either a murder or a suicide. A secretive organization lies culprit and an infiltration of it is in order.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/3664

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[Thanks also to Diana Majlinger and Leni]

Posted by Jesse Willis

William Tenn speaking at PulpCon 35

SFFaudio Online Audio

ThePulp.netThePulp.net, a fan-produced website devoted to the pulp magazines, has a recording of William Tenn (aka Philip Klass) from 2006. It was recorded as part of a one man panel at PulpCon 35. Sez Rick Jackson of The Science Fiction Oral History Association:

“Phil talks about working with John W. Campbell, Horace Gold and Fred Pohl among many others. He certainly had the gift of gab. If you feel saddened at his [William Tenn’s] passing as I do, this recording will bring smile to your face.”

PulpCon 35 (2006) - Rusty Hevelin (LEFT) and William Tenn (RIGHT)

|MP3|

I’ve added this file to my HuffDuffer podcast feed: http://huffduffer.com/jessewillis/rss

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[via The Science Fiction Oral History Association]

Posted by Jesse Willis