The Time Traveler Show Podcast # 8 : Death Between The Stars by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Podcast - The Time Traveler ShowThe Time Traveler Show podcast #8 is out now! Huzzah! The featured tale is a short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley called Death Between The Stars. The reader is Ali Groves from the acclaimed podcast drama series Children Of The Gods. Death Between The Stars first appeared in the pages of Fantastic Adventures March 1956.

The Time Traveler Show #8: Death Between The Stars by Marion Zimmer BradleyDeath Between The Stars
By Marion Zimmer Bradley; Read by Ali Groves
1 MP3 File – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: October 2006
Podcast: TheTimeTravelerShow.com

“A Terran ignores xenophic bigotry and shares a starship cabin with a non-human telepath, with unexpected results.”

To read the complete show notes for podcast #8 click HERE or download the show MP3 directly by clicking HERE.

Don’t forget, subscrition is free, so plug this feed into your podcatcher:

http://www.timetravelershow.com/shows/feed.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

The DATAJUNKIE blog delivers Octoberish audio

Jesse Willis

Online Audio

Datajunkie BlogThe DATAJUNKIE blog is run by interesting fellow named Hyperdave. On a regular basis Hyperdave posts cool covers of retro books, comics and interior Science Fiction magazine art. He also occasionally posts up “Old Time Radio” or vintage LPs in MP3 format that matches the pics! This week Hyperdave has posted a number of terrific items….

First and foremost there is a downloadable compressed folder full of H.P. Lovecraft audio goodness, to get it check out THIS post. Included in it are a number of cool vintage H.P. Lovecraft paperback covers, as well as an awesome street map of Arkham, MA that includes info on the layout of Miskatonic University. I find this very helpful because apparently all of Arkham has been strategically erased on Google Maps!

The audio content consists of the following…

MindwebsBeyond The Well Of Sleep
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Michael Hanson (Semi-Dramatized)
1 Mp3 File – 26 Minutes 44 Seconds [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: WHA Radio (Madison, WI)
Broadcast: 197? or 198? Sept. 3rd 1976
I hadn’t heard of the Mindwebs radio show prior to this posting, but a little research over at the always reliable OTR Plot Spot turned up this description:

“Not really audio drama in the strict sense of the definition, this 1970’s series out of WHA Radio in Wisconsin featured weekly readings of science fiction stories by some of the genre’s best writers. Nevertheless, since many of the readings were enhanced by music, periodic sound cues, and the occasional character voice, I consider them ‘semi-dramatized’ [SNIP] Besides, the music was so well written, and the performance of Michael Hansen, the reader, so evocative of each story’s mood, that the result was often better than most fully dramatized productions of the period. Precise episode totals are unclear, though at least 150 were aired between 1976 and 1984. Readings varied in length, but most were in half hour format.”

Also on tap in the same downloadable folder are: A strangely semi-dramatized (and slightly scratchy) anonymous David McCallum reading of Lovecraft’s The Outsider (20 Minutes 43 Seconds).

Even better there is a very good straight reading of Lovecraft’s The Rats In The Walls in two parts (running just under 1 hour). This version has the period racial slurs intact too.

And POSTED just today…

Famous Monsters SpeakFamous Monsters Speak
Performed by Gabriel Dell
2 Mp3 File (from an original 33 1/3 LP Record) – Approx. 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonderland / AA Records
Published: 1963
Product #: AR-3

It looks like all voices on this recording are actually just the one guy, Gabriel Dell.

An Evening With Boris Karloff And His FriendsAn Evening With Boris Karloff And His Friends
By Forrest J. Ackerman; Performed by Boris Karloff
1 MP3 File – Approx. 24 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Decca Records
Published: 1967
Product #: DL74833

A collection of synopses for the classic Universal films that stared Boris Karloff mixed with his performance are sound bites and musical cues from the films Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, and The House of Frankenstein.

*Thanks to Roy for the additional details!

posted by Jesse Willis

A New Pendant Productions: A META Podcast – This Week In Pendant!

Jesse Willis

Online Audio

This Week In Pendant - PodcastThis Week In Pendant! is a BRAND NEW podcast that outlines the ongoing audio dramatizations of Pendant Productions (one of two rivals in my affection for best audio drama umbrella group). The premiere episode has the founder and executive producer of Pendant, Jeffrey Bridges, bringing you the Pendant news, show announcements and an interview with Emilie Leadley as well as an exclusive preview clip from episode 4 of Umket Industries Presents: The Dixie Stenberg and Brassy Battalion Adventure Theater. Subscribe via this feed:

http://www.pendantaudio.com/twip_podcast.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Star Trek: Captain’s Glory by Shatner with Reeves-Stevens

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Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Star Trek: Captain's Glory by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-StevensStar Trek: Captain’s Glory
By William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Read by William Shatner
3 CD’s – 3 hours – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0743539621
Themes: / Science Fiction / Star Trek / Space Travel / Aliens /

40 years of Star Trek. In the last year I’ve heard quite a bit about that, and it really is amazing when you sit down and think about it. In 40 years, there have been five television series, ten movies, and hundreds of novels, and even though the last series was cancelled, the franchise still has a very strong fan base. Truly something. Why is it so popular? To me, the answer is simple, and threefold. First, it was the first television show I ever watched that spoke to me about bigger issues. Sure, it wasn’t always lofty, it wasn’t always touching. But sometimes it was, and I liked it. Second, it was optimistic. It presented a future where many of the daily troubles we deal with are ancient history. And third, despite the optimistic future, the characters were people, even if they were aliens. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are still amongst my favorite all-time characters, even after all the fiction (science or not) I’ve consumed since discovering the series back in the 70’s.

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are all in Captain’s Glory, the latest Shatner/Reeves-Stevens collaborative Star Trek novel. Like most of the previous Star Trek Simon and Schuster Audio titles, this one is abridged, and presented with sound effects and music. William Shatner narrates, and does a fine job with it. Of course, he performs Kirk to perfection. Since Kirk is the main character, that works out real nice, but the novel is populated with characters from all the incarnations of Star Trek on the screen (except for Enterprise) and don’t expect good impersonations. Janeway, Picard, Riker, Troi, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and others are all here.

The authors do a good job using characters that should be there in the timeline. The story takes place after Star Trek: Nemesis, but at the same time on a timeline that belongs to these novels alone. Scotty was moved forward in time in a TNG episode, and Kirk was in a movie. (Listen to Shatner’s The Return to find out how and why Kirk is still alive…) Spock is long-lived and appeared in a TNG episode, as did McCoy, even though he was quite old. This novel refers often to events that occurred not only on the screen, but also in previous novels in the ongoing series.

The story is classic Star Trek material. An entity with incredible power cruises through the galaxy, causing all kinds of havoc. Warp engines are failing all over the quadrant as the entity does its thing. Then Kirk and friends get involved. When his son is taken (see previous books), all bets are off as Kirk’s actions to get him back pit him not only against the entity, but against Starfleet and Picard.

The abridgement is quite well-done. I had no problem following any of it, and I enjoyed it a great deal. I felt that this was the best of the Shatner novels, with the exception of The Return. It was good fun.

Wow. I just wrote an entire review of a Star Trek novel without mentioning how much I hope the next movie isn’t a prequel. Maybe next time.

Links:

  • SFFaudio’s very own Star Trek page – if it’s Star Trek, and on audio, you can find it here.
  • Simon and Schuster’s Star Trek page – an informative page on the hundreds of Star Trek novels published by Simon and Schuster

    Posted by Scott D. Danielson

    • Crazy Dog Theater creates Gothic Tuesdays through October via Ireland’s RTÉ Radio 1

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    Online Audio

    Online Audio - RTÉ Ireland Radio 1Our UK correspondent, Roy, sez that RTÉ Radio 1 (Ireland Public Radio) is airing a new series throughout October. Ireland’s award winning Crazy Dog Audio Theatre has created “Audio Gothic” a series of five radio plays. Each of the plays is written, directed and produced by Roger Gregg, recently hailed on BBC Radio 4 as ‘one of a handful of truly great radio dramatists.’

    Varying in styles from dark comedy to sombre character studies, each play focuses on individuals who struggle with loneliness, loss and self-delusion. Each production features all of the hallmarks of Crazy Dog Audio Theatre; original music scores, location recordings, state-of-the-art sound design and some of the very best Irish and international voice talents.

    Audio GothicRoy writes: “Given Crazy Dog’s track record this should be well worth investigating at least. However, I’m not sure that the Tuesday Play slot is necessarily archived for later listening or mp3 download even though from the ‘past shows’ link previous Crazy Dog productions such as Diabolic Playhouse still appear to be available from 2004.”

    Crazy Dog has posted the entire 5 episode description on their website.

    Tuesday 3 October:

    SEANY BOY
    Unable to deal with his grief, Seany Boy, an elderly Cork farmer, has retreated into his fantasy of being a gun toting, singing cowboy of the Old West. Seany is dismissed as a colourful eccentric until he draws a gun to intervene in a racist attack on an asylum seeker and the consequences rapidly spiral out of control. Liam Heffernan stars in this modern tale of the West.

    Tuesday 10 October:

    BRAD’S BOOK OF LIES
    Following a nervous breakdown, the world’s greatest marketing guru awakens to the fact that the only truth he’s ever known is how to best tell lies. He resolves to become a new person but soon discovers that the world around him will not let his old self die. Simon O’Gorman stars in this dark comedy.

    Tuesday 17 October:

    MARY MAGUIRE SURROUNDED BY LOVED ONES
    A moving portrait of a lonely Dublin woman spending a day reunited with her long-lost nearest and dearest. Karen Ardiff stars as Mary Maguire in this tale of loss and love.

    Tuesday 24 October:

    MARSYAS: THE HIPPEST SATYR
    A modern jazz retelling of the Greek myth of Marsyas, a humble satyr who comes under the spell of a cursed magical horn. Leading Irish guitarist Giordai Ua Laoghaire is the featured musician in this comic musical fable of pride and self-delusion.

    Tuesday 31st October:

    MARINETTE 1.1.
    A special Halloween tale of voodoo and vengence. A maladjusted computer expert comes to believe he’s being guided by a vengeful voodoo spirit named Marinette. Phil Proctor of RUGRATS stars in this voodoo tale for Halloween.

    Thanks for the heads-up Roy!

    posted by Jesse Willis

    Review of Strawberry Automatic by T. Ray Gordon

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    Science Fiction Audiobook Review

    Science Fiction Audiobook - Strawberry Automatic by T. Ray GordonStrawberry Automatic
    By T. Ray Gordon, Full Cast Production by Richard Sellers
    1 CD – 78 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
    Publisher: Apex Audio Theatre
    Published: 2005
    Themes: / Science Fiction / Androids / Terraforming Mars /

    The Automatics are androids, and trained fighting machines. When they fought for their own rights, they were, of course, declared non-personal non grata and the ones that could left Earth for other parts of the Solar System colonies. Strawberry Automatic is tall with flaming red hair, beautiful and deadly as they come. On Mars there is a company running the terraforming operation. Naturally someone wants to speed up the process using illegal nukes, and someone else wants to stop them.

    I say “of course” and “naturally” because as I listened to this CD I had no trouble keeping slightly ahead of the story line. I kept thinking “This is a 1950s sci-fi story.” On his CD sales website, producer and narrator Richard Sellers says that T. Ray Gordon wrote 72 original manuscripts during the 1950s, which have never been published until now. So I was right. And as seems to be the cliché with pulp and radio writers, he was alcoholic and killed himself in 1961.

    As a story Strawberry Automatic is a fairly good sci-fi adventure. As a script it relies too much on narration, some of which could have been written into dialogue or eliminated to keep the story moving faster. This might have made the script longer, though, and it appears they had decided to keep it to one CD. The production values are high, as the producer works as a voiceover artist and knows his trade. He also narrates the story. The acting is quite good, and it shows that Sellers knows his community of good performers. They just need someone to help them develop the script a bit before moving on.

    The production values and the fact that it was not a story that had ever been produced before garnered it an Honorable Mention for the 10th Annual Mark Time Awards for Science Fiction Audio this year. Click here for more info.

    The first of Gordon’s stories made for audio by Apex Audio Theatre, Inhumanity Quest, was also produced by Richard Sellers, and it shares many of the qualities mentioned here regarding the story, the production quality, and the performances.

    I liked the production a little better the second time I heard it, as I could listen a bit more critically. It is well done. But I don’t know if I could listen to 72 of this kind of tale.

    Reviewed by Jerry Stearns, Great Northern Audio Theatre