Category: Online Audio

The Defenders by Philip K. Dick

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Italian cover mirroring The Defenders

Did you know that Philip K. Dick’s fifth published story, The Defenders, is public domain? It is!

Like many of Dick’s tales The Defenders this is a post-atomic war story. The planet’s surface devastated, flushed with radioactivity, and has been abandoned. The population now lives in vast underground cities. In their place intelligent robots fight in their place.

I’ve put together a |PDF| from the original publication in Galaxy Science Fiction, which includes terrific illustrations by Ed Emshwiller. And there’s a complete ETEXT version available through Project Gutenberg. And LibriVox has the audiobook edition. Enjoy!

LibriVox - The Defenders by Philip K. DickThe Defenders
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 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.

And here’s the radio drama adaptation:

X-Minus OneX Minus One – The Defenders
Based on the story by Philip K. Dick; Adapted by George Lefferts; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: May 22, 1956
Provider: Internet Archive
East and West make war above ground with robots while both sides live underground … or do they?

Cast:
Lydia Bruce
Warren Parker
Grant Richards
Mike Ingram
Stan Early

Galaxy January 1953 - The Defenders by Philip K. Dick - illustrated by Ed Emshwiller565

The Defenders by Philip K. Dick illustrated by Ed Emshwiller

The Defenders by Philip K. Dick illustrated by Ed Emshwiller

The Defenders by Philip K. Dick illustrated by Ed Emshwiller

Here’s the X Minus One adaptation that I’ve put together with the original art from its publication in the Galaxy Science Fiction, January 1953 issue:

Posted by Jesse Willis

Good Story 019: Declare by Tim Powers

Scott D.

SFFaudio Online Audio

Declare by Tim PowersA Good Story is Hard to Find is on Episode 19! Julie and I talked about Declare by Tim Powers. I gave the book five stars over on Goodreads, because there are so many things about that book that are going to stay with me. As I said in the podcast, I’m going to read some more Powers as soon as I can. I’ve got two of his audiobooks in for SFFaudio – The Stress of Her Regard and Last Call. Last Call has been on my list for a long while, and I see that Jeff Miller, who recommended Declare for Good Story in the first place, said that The Stress of Her Regard is another of his favorite Powers novels. Looks like I’ve got a couple of excellent novels ahead of me.

Next up at Good Story is Shaun of the Dead, the zombie comedy movie. We’re recording Wednesday morning so that we’ll be back on schedule. And two weeks after that – Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I love October!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Spark #156 – Canada’s Lawful Access Legistlation and Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

CBC Radio - SparkMy taxes pay for CBC Radio One’s Spark. I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Spark is an intelligent and informative radio show that brings me snappy interviews with clever folks who talk about technology and internet-related issues. I also really appreciate that CBC, the manufacturer, doesn’t try to control my sharing my purchase with my friends. Take the latest show, Spark #156, it features an informative discussion of Canada’s upcoming “Lawful Access Legislation” as well as an interview with Ernest Cline, the author of Ready Player One. I know people who care about both topics. And thanks to Spark‘s use of creative commons those segments are available individually, with no EULA, age verification or terms of use garbage to get in the way. Spark just works.

Here’s the complete show:
|MP3|

And here are the two segments I mentioned:
Lawful Access |MP3| Approx. 20 Minutes
Ernest Cline |MP3| Approx. 13 Minutes

Podcast feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/cbcradiosparkblog

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

P.S. Sadly, CBC still hasn’t delivered on my purchase of the J. Michael Straczynski radio drama that I paid for! Pay up CBC!

BBC R4 + RA.cc: Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye RADIO DRAMA

Jesse Willis

Aural Noir: Online Audio

Radio Times review of The Long GoodbyeBBC Radio 4RadioArchives.ccJust in case you hadn’t noticed that RadioArchive.cc is back up, it is!

Woohoo!

And now that it is I’ll be sure to be watching for the complete torrent for this great sounding new BBC Radio 4 production of The Long Goodbye (it begins tomorrow)!

BBC Radio 4 - The Long GoodbyeThe Saturday Play – The Long Goodbye
Adapted from the novel by Raymond Chandler; Performed by a full cast
4 Parts – Approx. [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: October 1, 2011 – 14:30-16:00
Toby Stephens is back as Raymond Chandler’s fast-talking private eye Philip Marlowe. This is California in the 50’s, as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, reflecting all the tarnished glitter of the American Dream. Outside a club on Sunset Boulevard Marlowe meets a drunk named Terry Lennox, a man with scars on one side of his face. They forge an uneasy friendship but everything changes when Lennox shows up late one night, asking for a favour.

Cast:
Philip Marlowe…Toby Stephens
Terry Lennox…..Trevor White
Eileen Wade…Saskia Reeves
Roger Wade…Peter Polycarpou
Howard Spencer…James Lailey
Candy…Simon Bubb
Menendez…Alun Raglan

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt
Directed by Claire Grove

Check out Stuart Manning’s glowing review (left). It appeared in the latest The Radio Times.

[Thanks Roy!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

NPR: Mark Haddon on The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

NPR Weekend EditionI’m both intrigued and excited about the prospects of talking about The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. From the very first chapter, Chapter 2 (!), the narration grabbed me. The main character, Christopher, is awesomely neurodivergent and the story he’s telling is absolutely compelling. I love that it has such stunningly low stakes.

Here’s an NPR interview with author Mark Haddon from 2003.

Martha Woodroof of member station WMRA profiles author Mark Haddon, whose novel The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time features a 15-year-old math whiz with Asperger’s Syndrome who tries to discover who killed a dog with a garden fork.

|MP3|

Posted by Jesse Willis

Hypnobobs: What Was It? by Fitz James O’Brien

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Mr. Jim Moon, a recent guest on SFFaudio Podcast #126, has recorded another story you just have to hear! It’s an old one, it’s wonderful, it’s obscure and it’s been recorded with an amateur’s enthusiasm and a professional’s sound. Mr. Moon, who I’m coming to realize is something of an expert in weird fiction, tracked down the complete text – apparently nearly all modern editions have used a slightly condensed version – cleanly narrated it (without any added sound effects or annoying bed music), then complimented the reading with what I can only describe as a very thoughtful commentary of an impassioned researcher.

Honestly, how could anyone ask for more than that?

My figurative hat is off to you Mr. Jim Moon. You are what makes the internet a wonderful place to visit.

What Was It? by Fritz James O'BrienWhat Was It?
By Fitz James O’Brien; Read by Jim Moon
1 |MP3| – Approx. 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Hypnobobs
Podcast: September 18, 2011
One of the earliest known examples of invisibility in fiction is What Was It? by Fitz James O’Brien – He’s been called “the most important figure after Poe and before Lovecraft” and this story serves as a kind of a bridge between the supernatural and the scientific, between the likes of de Maupassant’s The Horla and Wells’ The Invisible Man.

Podcast feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Hypnobobs

Posted by Jesse Willis