Review of Soldier of the Legion by Marshall S. Thomas

Soldier Of The LegionSoldier of the Legion
By Marshall S. Thomas, performed by a full cast
MP3 Download – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Timberwolf Press
Published: 2002
Themes: / Science fiction / Military / Space opera / Aliens / War

“Dat Spitz fight lak hell,” said Perrault…
“An’ dat Buck fight lak two hells,” was Francois’s answer.
— Jack London’s Call of the Wild

War is hell. Ever since Sherman put it so precisely, the rest of us have been forced to merely tip our hats and let the matter rest. Then along comes Marshall S. Thomas’s Soldier of the Legion which can’t help but pick at this scab. But even if comparing war to hell weren’t a holey sock at the beginning of the book, it would be by the end of it. Every time the slightest skirmish breaks out (which is roughly every other chapter), out trots the tired old dog of hell (Cerberus, a holdover from when the Greeks ran the place) to do his duty.

The opening hellish battle is a perfect encapsulation of the kind of mindless action and equally mindless discussion the rest of the audio play offers, proceeding from lurid descriptions of made-up, inexhaustible weapons to the effects of those weapons on the human bodies of the irredeemably evil bad guys (the Systies). Blood splatters, it sprays, it explodes, it flows, it gushes. Sometimes gore does, too, but mostly it’s blood, blood, blood. Then nearly naked women appear, and the hero tries to contain his drool and his bullets as an embarrassingly unconvincing argument breaks out among the blond-haired, blue-eyed heroes.

The rest of the book is exactly the same, with each breakout of violence a laughable attempt to supersede the hell of the previous engagement. The troops fly to another planet, kill dinosaur-like aliens in a deep cave (double hell), save and kill primitive peoples, return to a settled world to “spy” ineptly and engage in a covert operation that plays out as stealthily as a frontal assault (hell squared), and then return to a primitive planet to battle an even worse enemy than they first thought (hell convolved with hell). But it is all just a repetition of the first chapter. In between battles, there will be awkward, pointless conversations; breasts naked and otherwise that the hero will fall in “love” with; love scenes that consist of people telling each other how much they love each other and will die and/or kill for each other; and sexless sex scenes that dither about without titillation or consummation. All acted with a style reminiscent of that seen in movies where people get paid more for how they look without clothing than for how they emote. It’s uncomfortable enough to make you actually look forward to the empty-headed shooting.

Add to this an unthinking first-person narrator called “Thinker” and the attempted multiple use of the adverb “scarily” without ironic intent, and you have a brackish, gritty brew. The story ends, after its single interesting set-piece, with our heroes literally hanging from a cliff over (you guessed it) hell, but I would rather be tasered than be forced to listen to the sequel. This book is like a live grenade: If it comes at you, get the hell out of the way!

This book is available at Timberwolf Press on Audio CD and MP3-CD, or from Audible.com as a download.

Posted by Kurt Dietz

CBC Radio One’s Saturday Morning program North…

Online Audio

CBC

CBC Radio One
‘s Saturday Morning program North by Northwest has finally posted both all four parts of that George R.R. Martin Studio One Book Club interview and discussion started last Saturday. Host Sheryl MacKay and the audience talked to Martin about his latest in the Song Of Ice And Fire series of novels: A Feast For Crows. I found it a very candid and interesting look into the creation of the land of Westeros. You can listen to both parts via RealAudio:

Click HERE to listen to Part One (14 Minutes 31 Seconds)
Click HERE to listen to Part Two (17 Minutes 37 Seconds)
Click HERE to listen to Part Three (12 Minutes 42 Seconds)
Click HERE to listen to Part Four (17 Minutes 31 Seconds)

posted by Jesse Willis

Alex Wilson of The Spoken Alexandria Project & T…

Online Audio

Spoken AlexAlex Wilson of The Spoken Alexandria Project & Telltale Weekly informs us that in February, he’ll be podcasting Tobias S. Buckell‘s “Getting Past Being Joe Blow Neopro” columns. Which were originally published in the Hugo nominated Speculations (an online resource for writers wishing to break into or increase their presence within the science fiction, fantasy, and other speculative fiction subgenres). All six columns will be released free with a Creative Commons License and come out on a twice-weekly basis starting on the February 1st 2006. Click HERE to subscribe to the Spoken Alexandria Podcast using iTunes, or click HERE for all other RSS subscriptions.

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Anne Manx on Amazonia

Anne Manx on AmazoniaAnne Manx on Amazonia
By Larry Weiner; Performed by a Full Cast
2 CD’s – 2 hours – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Radio Repertory Company of America
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0977134202
Themes: / Science Fiction / Private Eye / Cloning /

Anne Manx on Amazonia is the fourth installment in the Radio Repertory Company of America’s ongoing Anne Manx series. All four titles are available on their website, but don’t worry if you haven’t heard them. You’ll probably want to hear the other three after hearing this one, but you won’t have to to understand what’s happening.

In a nutshell, here’s the plot:
On Amazonia, they have a very unique way of replacing their queen. They clone her. The first attempt to clone the current queen fails, so they toss the baby out and try again… only the clone survives. Fast forward several years, and the flawed clone (who obviously survives) gets Anne Manx to help her get back to Amazonia. Woven throughout this is the rich, ongoing story of the conflict between Anne Manx and Richmond, her evil nemesis.

Anne Manx is played by Claudia Christian, of Babylon 5 fame. Richmond is played by Patricia Tallman, who was also on Babylon 5. Both of these actresses succeed in bringing their characters to vibrant life. The queen and her two clones were played by Barbara Harris, who was simply wonderful. I never had a problem distinguishing which character was speaking – they were three distinct people. I don’t doubt that Barbara Harris would make a superior audiobook narrator if she ever chose to try it.

To the great performances and excellent script add the sheer quality of production. RRCA is producing quality entertainment.

Anne Manx on Amazonia is funny, action-packed, and touching. Fine writing, a wonderful cast, and first-rate production make this the best installment in the Anne Manx series. Don’t miss it!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson