The SFFaudio Podcast #070

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe 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

JAMES BOND: You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming

Jesse Willis

Aural Noir: Online Audio

“You only live twice:
Once when you’re born
And once when you look death in the face.”
-James Bond

You Only Live Twice (1964 Playboy Magazine)

If you’ve only seen the movie version of You Only Live Twice you’re in for a very pleasant surprise. Ian Fleming’s original novel is strikingly different from the movie of the same name. The movie, written at least in part by Roald Dahl, uses very little of the book – just a few of the characters and a couple of the settings. And while the movie’s story structure is very familiar, (having been later recycled in The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker and Tomorrow Never Dies) this stands in sharp contrast to the seemingly one-off nature of the novel (and the radio drama).

You Only Live Twice (1964 Playboy)

At the novel’s start Bond is despondent and listless over the death of his wife (recently murdered by Ernst Stavro Blofeld). Seeing Bond unable to do his job, M promotes him and gives him a “last-chance opportunity to shape up.” Bond is re-numbered as 7777, and assigned an “impossible mission”: to convince the head of Japan’s secret intelligence service, Tiger Tanaka, to betray the CIA and provide access to their top secret Soviet communique decryption machine. Much of the middle of the novel then takes the form of a kind of homosocial courtship between Bond and Tanaka. Eventually, Tanaka agrees to give up the data, but only in exchange for Bond’s agreeing to assassinate an eccentric resident alien named Dr. Guntram Shatterhand. Shatterhand, it seems, is operating a politically embarrassing “Garden of Death” where too many Japanese are going to commit suicide. Aided by former Japanese movie star Kissy Suzuki, Bond accepts the assignment on his personal authority, and with help in the form of make-up and training, attempts to penetrate Shatterhand’s coastal castle. Throw in a marriage, a pregnancy, lots of ninjas and a temporary case of amnesia and you’ve got one loaded story!!

You can get a great sense of of the novel from the exceedingly faithful radio dramatization available over on RadioArchive.cc!

Michael Jayston makes a fine Bond and Clive Merrison’s performance as Tanaka is solid, if not authentically Japanese.

BBC Radio 4You Only Live Twice
Based on the novel by Ian Fleming; Adapted by Michael Bakewell; Performed by a full cast
1 MP3 – Approx. 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broacaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: 1990
Provider: RadioArchive.cc
Cast:
James Bond…..Michael Jayston
‘M’…..David King
Henderson…..Jame Laurenson
Tanaka…..Clive Merrison
Kissy…..Sayo Inaba
Trembling leaf…..Danielle Allen
Ando…..Bert Kwouk
Priest…..Danid Bannerman
Blofeld…..Ronald Herdman
Irma…..Maxine Audley
Molony…..Michale Turner
Kono…..Mark Straker
Tracey…..Emma Gregory
Mariko…..Tara Dominick

And, the unabridged audiobook (as narrated by Simon Vance) is available over at Blackstone Audio.

BLACKSTONE AUDIO - You Only Live Twice by Ian FlemingYou Only Live Twice
By Ian Fleming; Read by Simon Vance
6 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – Approx. 6.8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2001
ISBN: 9781433261350 (cd), 9781433290398 (mp3-cd)
Bond, a shattered man after the death of his wife at the hands of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, has gone to pieces as an agent, endangering himself and his fellow operatives. M, unwilling to accept the loss of one of his best men, sends 007 to Japan for one last, near-impossible mission. But Japan proves to be Bond’s downfall, leading him to a mysterious residence known as the “Castle of Death,” where he encounters an old enemy revitalized. All the omens suggest that this is the end for the British agent and, for once, Bond himself seems unable to disagree…

Posted by Jesse Willis

Lux Radio Theatre: No Highway In The Sky based on the novel No Highway by Nevil Shute

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

I was talking with a friend of mine about Nevil Shute. Shute has been blipping onto my radar since about ten years ago when my Science Fiction uncle gave me a copy of Slide Rule: The Autobiography Of An Engineer. Over the years I’ve gotten into Shute’s fiction, notably On The Beach and A Town Like Alice. Most recently I just finished watching, and listening to No Highway In The Sky, a pair of adaptations of Shute’s novel No Highway. Here’s the premise:

The Rutland Reindeer, a recently developed trans-Atlantic passenger aircraft, is approved for flying. But one Anglo-American scientist thinks the Reindeer’s tail may just up and fall off when it hits the golden number of flight hours. He’s got the numbers to prove a catastrophic failure is inevitable, but that won’t be enough to ground the already flying Reindeer. So, he’s dispatched to Labrador to inspect the wreckage of a recently crashed Reindeer. It was reported to have been downed by “pilot error” but our scientist thinks it may have been metal fatigue. Then comes the twist we can see coming from miles away, our hero finds himself flying aboard just such another doomed aircraft. Can the logic of his calculations be enough to persuade the captain to turn the Reindeer back to England? Or will they crash into the North Atlantic?

No Highway In The Sky

Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich reprise their roles on Lux Radio Theatre’s adaptation of the film – the main difference between this version, and the movie (besides the lack of video), is the in-studio audience laughing at the character based comedy in this story of suspense. It’s well worth a listen!

Lux Radio TheatreNo Highway In The Sky
Based on a novel by Nevil Shute; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 56 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBS / Lux Radio Theatre
Broadcast: April 21, 1952
Theodore Honey (James Stewart) is a highly eccentric “boffin” with the Royal Aircraft Establishment. A widower with a precocious young daughter, Honey is sent from Farnborough to investigate the crash of a “Reindeer” airliner in Labrador, which he theorizes occurred because of a structural failure in the tail caused by sudden metal fatigue. To test his theory in his laboratory, an airframe is continuously shaken in eight-hour daily cycles. It isn’t until Honey is aboard a Reindeer that he realizes he himself is flying on one such aircraft and that it may be close to the number of hours his theory projects for the fatal failure. Despite the fact that his theory is not yet proven, Honey decides to warn the passengers and crew, including actress Monica Teasdale (Marlene Dietrich).

Here’s a section of the Dell Mapback edition of No Highway showing the locations mentioned in the story:

No Highway by Nevil Shute DELL MAPBACK

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Rocannon’s World by Ursula K. Le Guin

Scott D.

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le GuinRocannon’s World
By Ursula K. Le Guin; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
5 CDs, 5 hrs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781433210822
Themes: / Science Fiction / Anthropology / Interstellar travel / Aliens / Telepathy /
Listen to sample

Against a cold war subtext of a well-meaning interstellar civilization trampling other cultures in its blind panic to defend itself against a nebulous enemy from beyond the galaxy, Ursula Le Guin kicks off her vaunted Hainish novels with a tale that blends elements of high fantasy, space opera, anthropology, and political commentary. It’s got a little bit of everything: a quest for revenge across two continents and an ocean by boat, by foot, and flying cat-horse back; a main character immersed in adventure, yet torn by guilt for his own decisions and those of his government; a classic “god gambit” featuring an invincible, invisible suit of armor, a sword, and a trial by fire; and not one, not two, not three, but five species of intelligent hominids on the same planet.

Okay, so not all of it flies as plausible science fiction. But it is compelling, as a ripping good adventure yarn, as an examination of how legends are created, and as a thought-provoking examination of our own cultural chauvinism. The complexity of emotions that roil in Rocannon’s soul as he moves into and through this world are so believable, the implausibility of some of the story elements evaporates from our notice. And even the multiplicity of intelligences works on a symbolic level. The subterranean clay-folk, the laughing Fiann, and the lords and mid-men of the North all function like the multiple poles of human nature, offering a mirror of our own nobility and baseness.
Is it LeGuin’s best? Not by a longshot. She’s still developing her craft here, still conforming to a male-dominated genre, and still working on making characters that live and breathe. But the focus on anthropology, the nobility of the small being ground beneath the powerful, and the truth that lies beneath layers of language made for falsity that will permeate so much of her later work are all there.

This is a work of solid storytelling that carefully juxtaposes just the right elements at just the right angles to produce not cold logic but warm emotion. As such, Stefan Rudnicki’s muscular, antiseptic voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver this tale. His tone is impeccable, his pronunciation exact, yet within moments all you hear is rushing wind, blaring static, crackling flames, and shocking silence, the sounds of exhilaration, heartbreak, fear, and guilt. It’s well worth your time.

Posted by Kurt Dietz

Voices In The Wind Audio Theatre

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Voices In The Wind Audio TheatreExecutive Producer David Farquhar of the audio drama troupe called Voices In The Wind Audio Theatre, writes in to tell me about audio drama production group. From the website:

Voices In The Wind– Audio Theatre, formally Design Sound Productions. Our mission is to produce quality audio drama programs which reflect a wide range of genres including Suspense, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi and Seasonal Presentations. Our production studio is located in Chatham, Ontario Canada, and we have had the good fortune of working with noted actors, writers and directors from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle in the United States as well as from Toronto, Guelph, Windsor and Huntsville in Canada.

And notably, among their roster of professionals is Seeing Ear Theatre veteran George Zarr! Check out these free downloads:

Running To Detroit by Dave CarleyRunning to Detroit
By Dave Carley; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 38 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Voices In The Wind
Published: July 2010
A mother and daughter plan on crossing the border from “Canuckistan” into Detroit, Michigan in an effort to “boost the American economy.” Sadly, a passport problem makes the change their plans – but all is not lost, as a pair of shady characters can help!

School Spirit by George ZarrSchool Spirit
By George Zarr; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CFCO / CHRW
Broadcast: Halloween 2005
“After a nighttime brush with the supernatural will Michelle’s first day of High School, be her last?”
SCHOOL SPIRIT was recorded live at the Von Ayres Cultural Center in Wallaceburg, Ontario on May 14, 2005 for later broadcast on CFCO AM 630 / 92.9 FM – Chatham and CHRW 94.9 – London on Halloween night 2005. The program was also featured on M Radio and The Sonic Society.
Stars:
ALEXANDRA POOLE: Michelle
NOELLE DUPUIS: Mom
GLEN TURNER: Dad and Fiend
JC CHARBONNEAU: Marcy and Mrs. Stanton
ANTHONY POSER: Ghoul
JASON DOLSEN: Newscaster and Mr. Jameson
PAT GOUGH: Homicidal Teacher
Crew:
Written and Directed by: George Zarr
Executive Producer/Background Ambiences: David Farquhar
Post Production: George Zarr
Recording Engineer/Front of House Mix: Brett Sansom
Musical Accompaniment/Spot Sound Effects: Joseph Benoit
Foley Sound Effects: Denise Benoit and Christina Roberts
“Voices In The Cold Wind” Lyrics by Frank Stasio, Music by George Zarr Performed by Noelle Dupuis and Denise Benoit, musical accompaniment by Joseph Benoit

Every Now And Then by George ZarrEvery Now And Then
By George Zarr; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 33 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CFCO / The Radio Works
Broadcast: 2003
“A sunny day, a quaint antique store, browsing through the artifacts of the past. To some, these are the ingredients for a pleasantly-spent afternoon. To Frank, it is the beginning of a journey that will tear his world inside out. Is his amusing and puzzling journey down memory lane an actual journey? Or a careening descent into insanity?” Every Now And Then [is] an original radio drama of suspense produced for broadcast on the New York based radio series The Radio Works and their 70 member stations across the USA and CFCO AM 630/92.9 FM. The Program was also featured on M Radio and The Sonic Society.
Cast:
GREGG RAINWATER: Frank and Johnny
NOELLE DUPUIS: Diane and Mabel
NORM MCLEOD: Mr. Sagen, Sea Captain and Sailor
ALEXANDRA POOLE: Virginia
PAT GOUGH: Mrs. Spencer
BOB STEELE: Horse and Carriage Driver, Newspaper Vendor and Sailor
DAVID FARQUHAR: Voice on Gramophone
Crew:
Written and Directed by: George Zarr
Executive Producer, Recording Engineer and Post Production: David Farquhar
Original Music: George Zarr
Vocals: Noelle Dupuis

Dark Road To Nowhere by Joey OuelletteDark Road to Nowhere
By Joey Ouellette; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 13 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio One (Windsor, Chatham and Sarnia), CFCO, Sound Affects
Broadcast: Halloween 2003
“It was a dark and stormy night, Simon and Felicia were out driving along a lonely country road, when suddenly, something jumped out in front of their car, was it a Halloween trick, an illusion or the beginning of a nightmare?
Cast:
ANTHONY POSER: Simon
ANDREA KING: Felicia and the Old Woman
JOEY OUELLETE: Mr. Howard the Keeper
HOST: Norm McLeod
DAN LIPINSKI: Igor
Crew:
Written and Directed by: Joey Ouellette
Executive Producer/Recording Engineer/Post Production: David Farquhar

Posted by Jesse Willis