Recent Arrivals: Elizabeth Moon

Scott D.

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Fantasy Audiobook - Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth MoonSheepfarmer’s Daughter
By Elizabeth Moon; Read by Jennifer Van Dyck
16 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2010

Paksenarrion — Paks for short — is somebody special. She knows it, even if nobody else does yet. No way will she follow her father’s orders to marry the pig farmer down the road. She’s off to join the army, even if it means she can never see her family again.

And so her adventure begins . . . the adventure that transforms her into a hero remembered in songs, chosen by the gods to restore a lost ruler to his throne.

Here is her tale as she lived it.
 
 
Fantasy Audiobook - Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth MoonOath of Fealty
By Elizabeth Moon; Read by Jennifer Van Dyck
18 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2010

In the original trilogy starring Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, headstrong daughter of a farmer on the north edge of the kingdom, Paks follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren’t anything like she imagined . . . yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks’s former comrades in Duke Phelan’s Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.

Thanks to Paks’s courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title–and enemies–in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies–and those he has not yet discovered.

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli’s survival–and that of Tsaia–depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.

Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their world. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister–and far more ancient–than they can imagine.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

SFFaudio Feeds, Toil and Trouble

Scott D.

SFFaudio News

SFFaudio MetaHello, all!

We here at SFFaudio Headquarters have been working to get more accurate subscriber numbers for the blog and the podcast, so we added our feeds to Feedburner. I don’t see an easy way to get everyone switched over to those feeds, though. My attempts to forward the current feeds using WordPress add-ins have failed because we have two separate feeds here – a blog feed and a podcast feed. When I kick on an add-in, it forwards BOTH feeds to the same Feedburner feed. Anyone know a workaround?

In the meantime, may I encourage you to switch to our new feeds?

Blog: http://feeds.feedburner.com/sffaudio
Podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/sffaudiopodcast

Thanks everyone! Have an excellent day. And don’t forget to report all sightings of Ancient Ones to Jesse.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft

Scott D.

SFFaudio Review

This is the 18th story this month, and I’m still clinging to my sanity…

Horror Audiobooks - The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft, Volume 2Dagon
Contained in The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 2
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 3.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304013
Themes: / Horror / The Sea / Cthulhu / Black Slime / Insanity /

I am writing this under an appreciable mental strain, since by tonight, I shall be no more. Penniless and at the end of my supply of the drug which alone makes life endurable, I can bear the torture no longer.

This poor guy then goes on to tell a story that starts at sea, middles with a wallow in black slime and other crazifying ancient things, and ends right where it starts – with the narrator’s “appreciable mental strain”. The trip takes about 15 minutes and Lovecraft does plenty in that space. If someone wanted a brief introduction to him, “Dagon” would be an excellent choice because it’s short yet contains some of Lovecraft’s trademark subject matter, including a lone man taking a long walk to an ancient place, seeing things no man should see, and struggling with his sanity afterward.

Wayne June narrates, and we’ve said it here before – he was born to read this stuff. Instantly compelling and chilling. Lovecraft and June are a perfect match.

Audio Realms published a whole line of these Lovecraft collections, all read by June. Since the last time we posted about them, they have become available for purchase and download at The Audiobook Shop. The downloads are DRM-free, and most of the excellent Audio Realms audiobooks are there.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

New Podcast: The Functional Nerds

Scott D.

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Functional Nerds PodcastPatrick Hester and John Anealio have a new podcast they call The Functional Nerds. In Episode 001, they talk about:

In the very first episode of The Functional Nerds, Patrick Hester and John Anealio chat about the new iPad from Apple, what it means to be a ‘functional nerd’, about: science fiction media, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, Felicia Day and The Guild, SciFi site SFSignal.com, the Atari 2600, old iPods and CD’s, the Whuffie factor from of Cory Doctorow’s science fiction novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Elantris, Steam for the Mac, console gaming, Blizzard, World of Warcraft (for the Horde!), Blizzcon, PhilCon, Gregory Frost, Haze by L.E. Modesitt Jr., J.V. Jones, Dennis L. McKiernan, Dragondoom, TOR books, SciFi Songs, The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, Iron Sky by Charles Strauss, Spellwright by Blake Charlton, Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson and NaNoWriMo.

I enjoyed myself! Thanks, guys! Looking forward to future episodes…

Find Episode 001 here: |MP3|

And here’s the podcast feed:
http://functionalnerds.com/feed/

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Recent Arrival: Dimiter by William Peter Blatty

Scott D.

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Audiobook - Dimiter by William Peter BlattyDimiter
By William Peter Blatty; Read by William Peter Blatty
8 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2010

William Peter Blatty has thrilled generations of readers with his iconic mega-bestseller The Exorcist. Now Blatty gives us Dimiter, a riveting story of murder, revenge, and suspense. Laced with themes of faith and love, sin and forgiveness, vengeance and compassion, it is a novel in the grand tradition of Morris West’s The Devil’s Advocate and the Catholic novels of Graham Greene.

Dimiter opens in the world’s most oppressive and isolated totalitarian state: Albania in the 1970s. A prisoner suspected of being an enemy agent is held by state security. An unsettling presence, though subjected to unimaginable torture he maintains an eerie silence. He escapes—and on the way to freedom, completes a mysterious mission. The prisoner is Dimiter, the American “agent from Hell.”

The scene shifts to Jerusalem, focusing on Hadassah Hospital and a cast of engaging, colorful characters: the brooding Christian Arab police detective, Peter Meral; Dr. Moses Mayo, a troubled but humorous neurologist; Samia, an attractive, sharp-tongued nurse; and assorted American and Israeli functionaries and hospital staff. All become enmeshed in a series of baffling, inexplicable deaths, until events explode in a surprising climax.

Told with unrelenting pace, Dimiter’s compelling, page-turning narrative is haunted by the search for faith and the truths of the human condition. Dimiter is William Peter Blatty’s first full novel since the 1983 publication of Legion.

And here’s an excerpt!:

Posted by Scott D. Danielson