My friend, Julie D. of the Forgotten Classics podcast, reads an incisive Michael Flynn essay from The Forest of Time and Other Stories |MP3|.
Well worth hearing.
Podcast feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/forgottenclassics
Posted by Jesse Willis
The SFFaudio Podcast #071 – TALK TO: George Zarr
The SFFaudio Podcast #071 – Jesse and Scott talk with audio dramatist George Zarr!
Talked about on today’s show:
George Zarr of Seeing Ear Theatre fame, SciFi.com (aka Syfy.com), Brian Smith, John Colluci, RealAudio, NPR, Satellite Radio, “doing your laundry by flushing it down a toilet”, seeing the power of a budget, what audio drama should be and how you should do it, Zippr, the most common error people make on their scripts, adapt first, the baby analogy, how Seeing Ear Theatre worked, Andrew Joffe, Tony Daniel, writing and casting, “I’ll do the Canadian accent eh?”, experimental, Too Late An Experiment In Sound, National Audio Theatre Festivals, Meet The Neighbor, silent pictures for radio, teaching audio drama Columbia College Chicago, a textbook for audio drama, the three building blocks for audio drama (voice, sound effects and music), the Swedish rule, Babylon Wisconsin, adapting short stories to audio drama, tips for writing with kids, the 10,000 bad drawings inside me, writing original stories vs. adapting existing ones (for audio drama), narration in audio drama, A Good Knight’s Work adapted from the story by Robert Bloch, Sherman Oaks, California, Tony Danza, Simon Jones, “Brooklyn vs. Eaton”, John Ritter, Henry Winkler, Sirius Satellite Radio, Three’s Company, Snow Glass Apples by Neil Gaiman, Murder Mysteries by Neil Gaiman, Two Plays For Voices |READ OUR REVIEW|, Dove Audio, Bebe Neuwirth, Brian Dennehy, The Omen IV, Voices In The Wind, Every Now And Then, School Spirit, recording live, David Farquhar, Jake Sampson: Monster Hunter, Tales Of The Gold Monkey, Indiana Jones and The Mummy, Splendid Your Honor, Vlad Tepes: Dracula by Tamora Pierce, The Adventures Of Sexton Blake |READ OUR REVIEW|, Sarah Montague, WNYC, Marcie Mancotti, Barbara Rosenblat, Small Town by Lawrence Block, The Moon Moth adapted from the story by Jack Vance, X-Minus One Project, LibriVox.org, copyright and public domain, adapting Science Fiction, Time In Advance by William Tenn, Child’s Play, Kindred, adapting longer materials (novels), making a sequel to a classic audio drama, Sorry Wrong Number, Jumping Niagara Falls, murder never smelled so good, Fred Greenhalgh and field recorded audio drama, zombies work well as audio drama, Tales From The Crypt |READ OUR REVIEW|, J. Michael Straczynski’s City Of Dreams, the campaign to get CBC to release The Adventures Of Apocalypse Al, EC Comics, By The Fright Of The Silvery Moon, Don Knotts, Don Knotts as a guest on Scooby Doo, Fare Tonight Followed By Increasing Clottiness, Keith David, Aasif Mandvi, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, vampires, van Helsing, Campbell Scott, Carrion Death, This Trick’ll Kill You (the never released on CD episode of Tales From The Crypt), H.G. Well’s The Time Machine adapted by Charles Potter, Humphrey Bogart, Lux Radio Theatre, The Death Of Captain Future based on the story by Allen Steele, Marina Sirtis.
Posted by Jesse Willis
LibriVox: Mr. Wicker’s Window by Carley Dawson
Here’s the promotional description for a gorgeous juvenile, fantasy, pirate, time travel, airship novel (all this and less than 59,000 words). It’s public domain and from 1952. It’s called Mister Wicker’s Window:
When twelve-year-old Chris entered Mr. Wicker’s shop to inquire about a job for his friend, something about old Mr. Wicker forced him to take the job himself. Chris found himself the pupil of Mr. Wicker, not the old man he first saw, but a powerful man in his forties—a magician. Chris learned how to turn himself into a fish, a bird, a fly, and with a magic rope he learned to make a boat or even an elephant.
Chris had been chosen to sail to China on a mysterious mission. Long before he sailed, Chris met the enemies who would try and stop him—evil Claggett Chew, the dandy Osterbridge Hawsey, the treacherous old beggar Simon Gosler. With a Nubian boy Chris brought to life with magic, he set out on his hazardous voyage.
Carley Dawson writes beautifully, combining fact and fantasy with skill. Her characters are lifelike and vivid, and the plot of this, her first book, is fantastically exciting and exceptionally outstanding. With power and imagination Lynd Ward has illustrated the book with over eighty drawings in two colors.
It was precisely those drawings that drew me in!
Lynd Ward, the artist, drew dozens of gorgeous illustrations just like the ones above. They kind of remind me of Darwyn Cooke and, oddly, Doctor Seuss. Every single one of them accompanies the Gutenberg etext edition. After seeing them I was absolutely compelled to seek out the audiobook. I badly wanted someone to read me the story, if only so I could spend that much more time staring at the gorgeous images. I looked on LibriVox, and achieved a double success.
But… the first version, recorded in 2009 is a multi-reader relay-style edition (SIGH). And, Arthur Piantadosi, the narrator on Version 2 of LibriVox’s public domain audiobook, is not my ideal reader either. His recording is a little hollow sounding (oh well), he stumbles over words (not good) and he makes the occasional sound effect (ARGGGH!!).
We can’t have this. No we can’t.
This sounds like a job for WILLIAM COON!
Until Bill, you can take your pick…
Mr. Wicker’s Window
By Carley Dawson; Read by various
36 Zipped MP3 Files – Approx. 5 Hours 53 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: November 10, 2009
Ebook: Gutenberg.org
Printable CD Booklet: |PDF|
When twelve-year-old Chris entered Mr. Wicker’s shop to inquire about a job for his friend, something about old Mr. Wicker forced him to take the job himself. Chris found himself the pupil of Mr. Wicker, not the old man he first saw, but a powerful man in his forties–a magician. Chris learned how to turn himself into a fish, a bird, a fly, and with a magic rope he learned to make a boat or even an elephant. Chris had been chosen to sail to China on a mysterious mission. Long before he sailed, Chris met the enemies who would try and stop him–evil Claggett Chew, the dandy Osterbridge Hawsey, the treacherous old beggar Simon Gosler. With a Nubian boy Chris brought to life with magic, he set out on his hazardous voyage.
Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/mr-wickers-window-by-carley-dawson.xml
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
Mr. Wicker’s Window (VERSION 2)
By Carley Dawson; Read by Arthur Piantadosi
36 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 5 Hours 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: March 2, 2010
Ebook: Gutenberg.org
Printable CD Booklet: |PDF|
When Christopher Mason walked into Mr. Wicker’s antique shop, he had no idea he would soon be embarking on a marvellous journey to China to find a wonderful tree made of jewels. He had no idea that Mr. Wicker was a magician and could travel through time. And that the tree was sought by others, not least among them the murderous Claggett Chew, a merchant in port and a pirate on the high seas, who also had knowledge of magic. But before Chris succeeded in quest, he would know of all these things and more. And of Mr. Wicker’s friends, the sailor Ned Cilley, Becky Boozer, and the African boy Amos, changed from wood to flesh. And Christopher Mason would never be same, after.
Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/4062
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
[Thanks also to Patti Cunningham, Diana Majlinger, J.M. Smallheer and Annise]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle
From Audible:
Neal Stephenson’s monumental series of novels that blows through 17th- and 18th-century Europe like a hurricane of history, science, intrigue, and adventure – is now finally available in unabridged audio. Part historical fiction, part scientific exploration, and part swashbuckling adventure, The Baroque Cycle appeals to fiction lovers of all types.
With the author’s help, we’ve divided the entire legendary cycle into seven riveting audiobooks and added brand-new, exclusive audio introductions recorded by Stephenson for each book. The complete saga is performed by Audible favorite Simon Prebble.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
CBC NXNW: Studio One Book Club interview with Guy Gavriel Kay
I tell people I don’t listen to the radio much anymore, but that’s not quite true. Every single morning I wake up to the sound of CBC Radio One on my clock radio. And on Saturday and Sunday mornings this means I wake up to the sounds of North By Northwest, a BC based radio show that’s seemingly more often than not, about books. “The Studio One Book Club” is their long running feature I enjoy most. I was just checking their podcast feed and I re-discovered an interview I heard on the radio. Host Sheryl MacKay and a studio audience talked to Guy Gavriel Kay about his new historically inspired Fantasy novel Under Heaven. It was broadcast earlier this year in four parts. Coolly, all four parts are now available as a one hour, one episode, podcast! Have a listen |MP3|
Subscribe to the feed:
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/bcnxnw.xml
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
Posted by Jesse Willis
P.S. CBC has not yet released J. Michael Straczynski’s The Adventures Of Apocalypse Al. Pity.
The SFFaudio Podcast #070
The SFFaudio Podcast #070 – Jesse and Scott talk about the most recent arrivals and the latest audiobook releases!
Talked about on today’s show:
The Big Time by Fritz Leiber, public domain, Brilliance Audio, Audible Frontiers, Scott Danielson’s Audiobook Fix, Fafhard And The Grey Mouser, Death’s Excellent Vacation, a new Sookie Stackhouse book, Charlaine Harris, True Blood, HBO, George R.R. Martin’s blog, A Game Of Thrones, “fat fantasy”, The Stand by Stephen King, the preface to The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition, Stephen King’s version of Hansel And Gretel, “getting lost in the world”, reading for ideas, characters are not ideas, The unexpurgated version of Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger In A Strange Land, novelists are writing to the width of the supermarket paperback rack, Allan Kaster, as ebooks become more common book lengths will vary more, Outlaw Of Gor by John Norman, the movie version, Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente, the meaning of palimpsest, Aasne Vigesaa, Day By Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile by J.L. Bourne, The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison is coming to audioook!, funny old Science Fiction, comics, Crossed: Volume 1 by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, George Romero’s The Crazies, the 2010 remake of The Crazies, the “trixie virus”, the Reavers from Firefly, The Omega Man, I Am Legend, The Last Man On Earth, Upcoming Readalongs:, Assam And DarjeelingEarth Abides by George R. Stewart, Connie Willis’ introduction to Earth Abides, The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, going off the rails, the Michael Caine version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Wayne June, Charles McKibben, The Essential Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: The Definitive Annotated Edition edited by Leonard Wolf, Scott’s Pick Of The Week: Netflix Streaming, Netflix is coming to Canada, there should be a Netflix-like service for comics, Jesse’s Pick Of The Week: Crossed: Volume 1, (get issue #0 FREE online |HERE|) you have to slowly build up your tolerance for Garth Ennis, “horrifically visceral”, DC Comics Hitman, DC Vertigo’s Preacher, War Story, Battlefields, The D-Day Dodgers, Neil Gaiman, The Sandman.
Posted by Jesse Willis