BBC7 & RA.cc: The Ghost Galaxies by Piers Anthony

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 7 - BBC7RadioArchives.ccAvailable over on RadioArchive.cc is an audiobook that my friend Bill Hollweg recommends. Sez Bill:

“Ghost Galaxies [is] one of my fave short tales. A fantastic short story [that] I have in an Asimov magazine or one of those digests I got from the library and have loved it since I read it a few months back – just found the audio and thought I would share.”

Thanks Bill! I’m torrenting it now. It looks like a winner!

Worlds Of If September 1966Tor - Ghosts by Piers AnthonyThe Ghost Galaxies
By Piers Anthony; Read by Stephen Hogan
2 Broadcasts – Approx. 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2007, 2008, 2009
What happens to a galaxy when it dies? A spaceship faces an unknown future, hurtling towards the rim of the universe. First published in Worlds Of IF September 1966. This novelette was later expanded into the novel Ghosts.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Forgotten Classics: The Uninvited by Dorothy Macardle

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Forgotten ClassicsMy good buddy, Julie D. of the Forgotten Classics podcast, has just started narrating a new novel! Julie recently completed a lengthy unabridged reading of Harriet Beecher Stowe‘s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This time, instead of going for Christian allegory, Julie is narrating a lesser known 20th century novel with some SFF content. After hearing the first two chapters I’m definitely looking forward to hearing the rest. Even though I’d not read the book before I have seen the 1944 movie adaptation.

Forgotten Classics - The Uninvited by Dorothy MacardleThe Uninvited
By Dorothy Macardle; Read by Julie D.
12 MP3s – Approx. 15 Hours 44 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Forgotten Classics
Podcast: November – February 2009
Escaping from the confines of wartime London, brother and sister Roddy and Pamela are looking for a house on the west coast of England. There they find a neglected Georgian house with a bucolic seaside setting and a lovely southern exposure. Seized by fit of covetousness, Pamela insists they pool their resources and purchase the house.

Here’s the first two chapters |MP3| to get the rest I recommend you subscribe to the Forgotten Classics podcast feed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/forgottenclassics

Here are the first 10 minutes of the movie:

There have also been two radio dramatizations: August 28, 1944 for Ford Theatre with Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey and Betty Field (which looks like it isn’t online) and also a November 18, 1949 broadcast of Screen Director’s Playhouse with Ray Milland, Alma Laughton and Mary Shipp |MP3|.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Audible.com: Interviews with the people behind The Copper Bracelet

Jesse Willis

Aural Noir: Online Audio

The Copper BraceletAudible.com has two interviews of interest (available to Audible.com account holders). Both concern a rather unusual audiobook called The Copper Bracelet. It’s the sequel to The Chopin Manuscript – an audiobook created as a collaboration for the International Thriller Writers group. Here’s the novel’s description:

A peaceful picnic in the French countryside explodes in violence. A mysterious assassin hisses a deadly threat. And events are set in motion that could propel India and Pakistan down the road to nuclear confrontation.

Two years after the events of the “Audiobook of the Year” THE CHOPIN MANUSCRIPT, former war crimes investigator Harold Middleton and his Volunteers once again must crack a secretive conspiracy that not only threatens their lives, but the stability of the world. Their race against time will take them from London to the U.S. to Russia and beyond. And at the heart of it all is one question: what is the secret of the Copper Bracelet?

THE COPPER BRACELET is written by Jeffery Deaver, Gayle Lynds, David Hewson, Jim Fusilli, John Gilstrap, Joseph Finder, Lisa Scottoline, David Corbett, Linda Barnes, Jenny Siler, David Liss, P.J. Parrish, Brett Battles, Lee Child, Jon Land, James Phelan under the direction of project editor Jim Fusilli.

This is a serial novel with multiple authors, each author taking a chapter, continuing the story. I remember a similar audiobook, years ago, called Naked Came The Manatee. The most memorable thing about it was getting to see all the different writing styles.

Here are the two files of interest:

1. “Exclusive Interview with Alfred Molina” (the narrator)

2. “Authors Roundtable Interview with Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, David Hewson & Jim Fusilli”

You can get both of these downloads (as well as the first chapter of the novel) HERE.

[thanks to tamahome02000]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Five Free Favourites #12 – Sherlock Holmes Pastiche

Jesse Willis

Aural Noir: Online Audio

Five Free Favourites

Looking for more Sherlock Holmes pastiche? Indeed, so are we! In that vein, look what a set of beautiful gems I found over on RadioArchive.cc…

Cult Holmes

Poking around the internet I also turned up one viable “RealAudio” link from 1995 – using this, and some elementary HTML skill, I managed to reconstruct the links to the remainder of the files. I shall, perhaps, write a brief monograph on this process one day. If you’re looking for MP3 versions I suggest you visit RadioArchive.cc and do a search.

1.
BBC 7 - The Spy's Retirement by Jon Courtenay GrimwoodThe Spy’s Retirement
By Jon Courtenay Grimwood; Read by Andrew Sachs
1 Broadcast – Approx. 28 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2005
How did Holmes and Watson meet?
|REALAUDIO|


2.
BBC Radio 7 - The Lady Downstairs by Christopher FowlerThe Lady Downstairs
By Christopher Fowler; Read by Hannah Gordon
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2005
Holmes’ landlady has picked up a few tricks over the years.
|REALAUDIO|


3.
BBC Radio 7 - The Deer Stalker by Paul CornellThe Deer Stalker
By Paul Cornell; Read by Andrew Sachs
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2005
Holmes finds a most unusual weapon.
|REALAUDIO|


4.
BBC Radio 7 - A Shambles In Belgravia by Kim NewmanA Shambles In Belgravia
By Kim Newman; Read by Andrew Sachs
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2005
Professor Moriarty helps out a lady.
|REALAUDIO|


5.
BBC 7 - The Adventure Of The Lost World by Dominic GreenThe Adventure of the Lost World
By Dominic Green; Read by Andrew Sachs
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2005
Holmes investigates a series of gruesome trombonist murders.
|REALAUDIO|

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrival: The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Scott D.

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Fantasy Audiobook - The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon SandersonThe Gathering Storm – Book Twelve of The Wheel of Time
By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer
26 CDs – 34.5 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781593977672

Here’s the first of the final three novels of the massive Wheel of Time series. Kate Reading and Michael Kramer continue narrating, which is great news.

Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, looms. And mankind is not ready.

The final volume of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, was partially written by Robert Jordan before his untimely passing in 2007. Brandon Sanderson, New York Times bestselling author of the Mistborn books, was chosen by Jordan’s editor—his wife, Harriet McDougal—to complete the final book. The scope and size of the volume was such that it could not be contained in a single book, and so Tor proudly presents The Gathering Storm as the first of three novels that will make up A Memory of Light. This short sequence will complete the struggle against the Shadow, bringing to a close a journey begun almost twenty years ago and marking the conclusion of the Wheel of Time, the preeminent fantasy epic of our era.

In this epic novel, Robert Jordan’s international bestselling series begins its dramatic conclusion. Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, struggles to unite a fractured network of kingdoms and alliances in preparation for the Last Battle. As he attempts to halt the Seanchan encroachment northward—wishing he could form at least a temporary truce with the invaders—his allies watch in terror the shadow that seems to be growing within the heart of the Dragon Reborn himself.

Egwene al’Vere, the Amyrlin Seat of the rebel Aes Sedai, is a captive of the White Tower and subject to the whims of their tyrannical leader. As days tick toward the Seanchan attack she knows is imminent, Egwene works to hold together the disparate factions of Aes Sedai while providing leadership in the face of increasing uncertainty and despair. Her fight will prove the mettle of the Aes Sedai, and her conflict will decide the future of the White Tower—and possibly the world itself.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Scott D.

SFFaudio Review

Genesis by Bernard BeckettGenesis
By Bernard Beckett; Read by Becky Wright
4 CDs – 4 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781423381501
Themes: / Science Fiction / Philosophy / Artificial Intelligence / Freedom /

Anax is a student who wants to enter the prestigious Academy and who is undergoing her final exam. A grueling oral presentation of several hours long given before examiners who conduct question and answer sessions is the device used by Bernard Beckett to show us Anax’s world. Anax’s presentation is about an almost mythological figure of history, Adam Forde. Adam lived in a time when the outside world suffered from catastrophic plagues which were responded to by building a wall around their island republic and shooting anyone who tried to break through. When he breaks one of the republic’s most sacred laws, Adam is put on trial. It is Adam’s crime and trial that Anax analyzes.

As Anax takes us further into Adam’s story we gradually become engrossed in questions of personal freedom versus safety and quality of life that arise. Beckett pushes this question further toward the end where Adam becomes engaged in a life-and-death game of wits that turns on the differences between mechanical intelligence and human intelligence. As Adam struggles to find a defining difference we become involved as well in considering what it is that makes us human.

The examiners are philosophers which, as Plato imagined in The Republic, are the rulers of Anax’s society. The emphasis on philosophy in the question and answer session is anything but dry. Anax is forced to push her knowledge and logic past any limits she has previously imagined in order to perform adequately. Ultimately Anax is forced to the same sorts of examinations that we have been doing through the story, which culminate in an interesting twist.

Becky Wright’s narration perfectly points up the elegant prose and superb style of writing. She does an excellent job especially since there is not a lot of action in the novel and most of it is told through conversation or Anax’s presentation of her story.

This is a short audiobook at only four hours long. Yet it is a gripping four hours. Highly recommended.

Posted by Julie D.