The Canadian Federation of Students has a new video designed to rally Canadian students for the fight against the forthcoming DMCA-style copyright bill.
[via MichaelGeist.ca]
Posted by Jesse Willis
LibriVox: The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley is best known as the author of The Mists Of Avalon, but her most long running series is set not in a fantasy middle ages of Earth, but rather on a far future Earth colony called Darkover. There are more than 40 books in the Darkover series. We have the very first one now available, thanks to LibriVox.org and the laudable narrator Mark Douglas Nelson!
The story’s pretty cool too, it’s told in first person by Dr. Jay Allison, an amnesiac. Allison shortly discovers that he is the only doctor on the planet qualified to solve the coming medical crisis, a “48-year fever” that’s a planetary pandemic that recurs at 48 year intervals. Making things even more difficult, we soon discover that his amnesia, is actually being caused by his multiple personality disorder (aka dissociative identity disorder).
The Planet Savers was first published as a “short novel” in a 1958 issue of Amazing Science Fiction magazine. In 1962 it became immortalized as one half of one of the famed Ace Doubles series (# F-153):
The Planet Savers
By Marion Zimmer Bradley; Read by Mark Douglas Nelson
4 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 3 Hours 11 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 28, 2010
The Terran colony on the planet Darkover faces imminent destruction by a plague of the deadly Trailmen’s Fever. The only hope is to develop a serum in time, but this requires the cooperation of the elusive native Trailmen, the brilliant parasitologist Dr. Jay Allison, and his split personality. First published in Amazing Science Fiction Stories, November 1958.
Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/4246
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3|
Here is a map of the planet Darkover (created for Wikipedia by David Speakman):
[Thanks also to Betty M. and Diana Majlinger]
Posted by Jesse Willis
New Releases: The Whisperer In Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft
The Whisperer In Darkness
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Phil Reynolds
3 CDs or Audible Download – Approx. 2 Hours 53 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Fantom Films
Published: April 2010
Sample |MP3|
Considered to the be one of most influential American authors, Howard Philip Lovecraft is synonymous with some of the best fantasy and horror fiction of the 20th century, second only to Edgar Allan Poe. When local newspapers report strange things seen floating in rivers during a historic Vermont flood, Albert Wilmarth becomes embroiled in a controversy about the reality and significance of the sightings, however it isn’t until he receives communication from Henry Wentworth Akeley that he is offered the proof he requires… First published in Weird Tales August 1931.
And be sure to check out the the trailer for The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s movie adaptation:
[via The Cimmerian blog]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Penguicon 2010: Adapting A Novel To A Podcast
Rick Jackson, of the Science Fiction Oral History Association, has linked to a convention panel from Penguicon 2010 entitled: Adapting A Novel To A Podcast it features Daniel J. Hogan and Mary Robinette Kowal |MP3|
I should also mention that to assuage my ever increasing guilt at not promoting SFOHA more I’ve dropped $40 into their kitty (which will be used to help “convert our archives to digital format”). But that’s not the only way you can contribute to SFOHA, if you’ve got
[via The Science Fiction Oral History Association and Daniel J. Hogan’s Magic of Eyri site]
Posted by Jesse Willis
The Princess And The Tin Box by James Thurber
First published in The New Yorker‘s September 29, 1945 issue, The Princess And The Tin Box is a short story by James Thurber that popped up onto my radar screen today. The screen read “fairy tale.” But, the more I think about it, the more I think The Princess And The Tin Box is actually more fable than straight-up fairy tale. Still, fairy tales and fables do go hand-in-hand, skipping through the minefield of morality (that’s just over the knolls of neurosis and just through the copse of everlasting obscuration). Either way both types of stories play upon our expectations. That’s the thing, in a realm where anything can happen, you’re supposed to be a wise reader if you’ll pause, every so often, and drop a metaphorically indigestible breadcrumb, making especially sure to take note of precisely where you placed it.
Posted by Jesse Willis
Leviathan Chronicles Season One wraps
It’s been a long time since I first wrote about Christof Laputka‘s Leviathan Chronicles podcast. Steve Riekeberg sez: “With much excitement, I am happy to announce that Leviathan Chronicles Chapter 25, the series’s much-anticipated season one finale, will drop on May 26th, clocking in at over an hour long!”
Here’s the trailer: |MP3|
Podcast feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheLeviathanChroniclesPodcasts
iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|
Frankly, I really haven’t been following the show since that first listen. I bet a bunch of you folks have been. What’s the word?
Posted by Jesse Willis