Mech Muse’s March/April 2006 Double Issue (Issu…

Online Audio

Mech Muse Issue 1
Mech Muse‘s March/April 2006 Double Issue (Issue 1) is now available! This brand new science fiction and fantasy audio download magazine contains 13 hours of content. Tracks are encoded at a high quality 160 kbps. Though we originally reported it as costing $5.00 USD per issue the price is actually $7.00 USD or $35.00 for a six issue subscription.

Stories included in the first issue are:

After A Lean Winter by David Farland
On My Way To Paradise (Part I of a serialized novel) by David Farland
The Second Rat by David Barr Kirtley
Veil Of Ignorance by David Barr Kirtley
Primary Colors by Richard Raleigh
The River Is Forever by Edmund R. Schubert
Expensive Gifts by Miles Romney
The Elf Trap by Francis Stephens

There are also a column on film and other non-fiction audio features still forthcoming.

Mech Muse guarantees access to a purchased issue for a minimum of 60 days after purchase, and a possibility after that. Also of note are the abilities to download either in a ZIP file or by RSS! Another bonus is what appears to be full downloadable cover art for each individual tale.

The Mech Muse website looks really terrific check it out HERE.

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases: Brad Lansky and the Alien Engineer, a Protophonic …

SFFaudio New Releases

Brad Lansky and the Alien Engineer, a Protophonic audio adventure, Audio Drama
Visit Protophonic.net for audio samples of this retro SF audio drama.

How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
This one looks like a lot of fun…

Mystic Quest by Tracy and Laura Hickman, read by Lloyd James, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
The second book in the Hickmans’ Bronze Canticle epic fantasy trilogy.

Star Wars: Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn, read by Jonathan Davis, Random House, Abridged
Another Star Wars title from the guy who started it all back in the early 1990’s with Heir to the Empire.

Titan by Ben Bova, read by various, Audio Renaissance, Unabridged
A novel from Bova’s Hard SF Grand Tour is always welcome!

Slice Of Sci-Fi has just interviewed Chris Mack,…

Online Audio

Children Of The Gods LogoSlice Of Sci-Fi has just interviewed Chris Mack, author of a new audio drama series entitled Children of the Gods. Nope, its not a sequel to the Erik Von Daniken book Chariots Of The Gods? Instead it’s a new audio drama series podcast that reminds listeners of Battlestar Galactica. Here’s the teaser:

Our home is in ruins.
Our future is in doubt.
Humanity fights for its very survival against an enemy
it cannot defeat. We are all children of creation, but
which of us are the Children of the Gods?

You can check out the podcast HERE.

posted by Jesse

Review of Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica
By Jeffrey A. Carver, based on the teleplay written by Ronald D. Moore and Christopher Eric James, based on a teleplay by Glen A. Larson
Read by Jonathan Davis
4 CD’s – 4 hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2005
Themes: / Science Fiction / War / Robots / Military / Government / Space Travel / Mythology / Religion /

Has anyone else noticed how good television has become during the past ten years? Well, 13 years. In 1993 Babylon 5 first aired, ushering in a new wave of science fiction and fantasy television that is both smart and damned entertaining. Following B5 was Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly. Many would put Farscape and Stargate in the same category. I haven’t seen enough of either to make that judgment. We could quibble about the list of this new wave all we want, but currently at the crest of that wave is the Sci-Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica, which is, without doubt, the best science fiction show currently in production.

This audiobook is an abridgement of the novelization of the first Battlestar Galactica show, which was a 4-hour mini-series that originally ran in 2002. I admit that even typing that makes me wince. An abridgement of the novelization of a television show. How much farther from Shakespeare can a person get? Not exactly high falutin culture here.

But this story is edgy, tense, and complex. It opens with a complacent human race that has gotten used to life without their enemy, the Cylons. The Cylons were human-built machines that rebelled, then accepted an armistice agreement around 40 years before the beginning of this audiobook, which is primarily about the sudden unexpected attack on humanity by the Cylons. The attack leaves the Battlestar Galactica as one of the very few ships that survives, and the immediate aftermath sets up several storylines that are followed in the television series.

Jonathan Davis, who keeps pretty busy with the many Star Wars audio titles, narrates, and does his typical and excellent job with it.

I’m a fan of this series, and was happy to receive this audiobook. Though the audio offers nothing new over the miniseries itself, it was an enjoyable way to experience the story while driving. I’m not sure if Audio Renaissance plans to continue releasing Battlestar Galactica titles, but because of the nature of the series, they would have to release every episode since each one is dependant on what takes place before.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Radio Drama Series: Johnny Chase

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Johnny Chase Agent Of SpaceThis past season we’ve had about a dozen inquiries about Johnny Chase, Secret Agent of Space the late 1970s early 1980s CBC Radio Drama series. We suspect this is mostly due to it airing on the XM Radio’s Sonic Theater channel 163 recently – which is sadly only available in the USA. More unfortuantely the series is no longer available to Sonic Theater, at least in the forseeable future, and no CD or cassette editions of the 79 episode series have been known to have been manufactured. Unlike many USA Science Fiction OTR series like X-Minus One, Johnny Chase is not in the public domain in either Canada or the USA. So what is a Johnny Chase fan to do? Well, we’ve got some contacts at CBC and we’d be happy to pass along any petition to make the show available on CD. If you’re interested in spearheading this petition, or just want to be informed when we get more info you can reply to this post with your contact details and we’ll keep you apprised of the Johnny Chase situation.

FYI: You can make your email relatively safe from spammers by turning your @ symbol into something else. For instance my email address is: [email protected]. But if I want to avoid becoming inundated with spam I can post it like this: jessewillis*yahoo.com.

posted by Jesse

Click here for a complete list of Audie Award fina…

SFFaudio News

Audio Publisher's Association LogoClick here for a complete list of Audie Award finalists. The awards will be presented on May 19 in Washington, DC at the National Press Club.

In the Science Fiction category, here are the finalists:

Dragonsblood by Todd McCaffrey, Brilliance Audio

Market Forces by Richard K. Morgan, Tantor Media, Inc., SFFaudio Review forthcoming

Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card, Audio Renaissance, SFFaudio Review

The Rolling Stones by Robert A. Heinlein, Full Cast Audio, SFFaudio Review

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, Blackstone Audiobooks, SFFaudio Review

In other categories, Campbell Scott received a nomination for his narration of The Shining by Stephen King. A marvelous audiobook, that is – click here for the review. And I was pleased to see Blackstone’s The Sherlock Holmes Theater get a nomination in the Audio Drama category.

Good luck to all the nominees!

On a side note, I was very pleased to serve as one of the judges for this year’s awards, though I was not given the Science Fiction category.