Our recently reviewed Special Collector’s Editio…

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Blackstone Audiobooks LogoOur recently reviewed Special Collector’s Edition of King Kong isn’t the only 800 ton gorilla making waves over at Blackstone Audiobooks… they’ve got plenty more new titles:

The Door Into Summer
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Patrick Lawlor
5 cassettes, 6 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786136782, 078617692X, 0786179546
Dan Davis, an electronics engineer, had finally made the invention of a lifetime: a household robot that could do almost anything. Wild success was within reach—and Dan’s life was ruined. In a plot to steal his business, his greedy partner and greedier fiancée tricked him into taking the “long sleep”—suspended animation for thirty years. But when he awoke in the far different world of A.D. 2000, he made an amazing discovery. And suddenly Dan had the means to travel back in time—and get his revenge.

The Incredible Shrinking Man
By Richard Matheson; Read by Yuri Rasovsky
6 Cassettes, 7 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786137924, 0786175761, 0786178515
Inch by inch, day by day, Scott Carey is getting smaller. Once an unremarkable husband and father, Scott finds himself shrinking with no end in sight. His wife and family turn into unreachable giants, the family cat becomes a predatory menace, and Scott must struggle to survive in a world that seems to be growing ever larger and more perilous—until he faces the ultimate limits of fear and existence.

The Worthing Saga
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Scott Brick
13 Cassettes, 15 CDs or 2 MP3-CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786129360, 0786181869, 0786183012
It was a miracle of science that permitted human beings to live, if not forever then for a long, long time. Some people, anyway. The rich, the powerful, they lived their lives at the rate of one year every ten. Somec created two societies: that of people who lived out their normal span and died and those who slept away the decades, skipping over the intervening years and events. It allowed great plans to be put into motion. It allowed interstellar empires to be built. It came near to destroying humanity. After a long, long time of decadence and stagnation, a few seed ships were sent out to save our species. They carried human embryos and supplies and teaching robots and one man. The Worthing Saga is the story of one of these men, Jason Worthing, and the world he found for the seed he carried.

Tales of Terror
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by a FULL CAST with music by David Thorn
5 Cassettes, 5 CDs or 1 MP3-CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786144327, 0786173785, 0786177535
This special audio collection features some of Poe’s best known classic stories, including “The Tell Tale Heart,” “Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” “Hop Frog,” “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “Masque of the Red Death,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Cask of Amontillado.”

How to Survive a Robot Uprising
By Daniel H. Wilson; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
3 Cassettes, 4 CDs or 1 MP3-CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786144629, 0786172908, 0786177128
This is an inspired and hilarious look at how humans can defeat the inevitable robot rebellion, as revealed by a robotics expert. The robots are coming. Are you ready? How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognize and deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous “smart” house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies? In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the secrets to quashing a robot mutiny. From treating laser wounds to fooling face and speech recognition, outwitting robot logic to engaging in hand-to-pincer combat, How to Survive a Robot Uprising covers every possible doomsday scenario facing the newest endangered species: humans.

And Coming in April, no foolin’:

The Martian Child
By David Gerrold; Read by Scott Brick
5 Cassettes, 6 CDs, 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Published: April 2006
ISBN: 0786144092, 0786174277, 0786177640
Winner of the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Winner of the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. Gerrold, a science fiction writer from California, adopts a son who has a slight behavioral problem. He believes himself to be a Martian. Gerrold begins the long, involving work of trying to earn the acceptance of Dennis, a hyperactive eight-year-old who desperately wants a father’s love, but is so insecure he feels he must be an alien. Gerrold’s memoir of the first two years with Dennis ends with the climax of Dennis running away and waiting in a city park at night for the flying saucers to come and reclaim him. Funny, endearing, and at times, heartbreaking, this is a beautifully written testament to fatherhood. This book is semi-autobiographical. Gerrold did adopt a son, but he heard about a boy who thought he was a Martian from another adoptive father.

More exciting title announcements, this time fro…

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More exciting title announcements, this time from Audio Realms, publisher of the SFFaudio Essential title The Dunwich Horror and The Call Of Cthulhu. This info comes from Fred Godsmark, the mind behind Audio Realms – in the coming months AR will be releasing a new Lovecraft title “every month during 2006!” Also he’s mentioned that he’ll be producing “a 10 volume set of REH [Robert E. Howard] stories in conjunction with Wildside Press, with artwork by Stephen Fabian.” Cool, cool news!

Available now:

The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Dagon
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Published: December 2005
“The Shadow Over Innsmouth and Dagon, arguably the most mind provoking stories by H.P. Lovercraft, are read by Wayne June bringing to life the horrors from the mind of the Master himself, in a way that only he can.”

Imminently available:

Weird Tales Magazine
2 CDs or 1 MP3 CD – Approx 2.5
Published: Starting January 2006
Purchased one issue at a time of “short stories, along with poetry, verse and editorials.”

And coming soon:

Conan ???
By Robert E. Howard
Published: Approx. March 2006

Also, if you’re very quick you might just be able to take advantage of two cool preorder offers on the Audio Realms website…

The Sailor On The Seas Of Fate
By Michael Moorcock; Read by Jeffery West with music by Glenn Morrisette
Published: January 2006
“In the second of the original Elric Saga, the fabled albino emperor journeys in self exile through the seas, and the planes of the multiverse, to battle sorcerers and demons. His becomes a journey that gives him glimpses of both his past and his future and gives him the realization that perhaps he has litle choice as to his own path … that he truly a Sailor On The Seas Of Fate.”

@ just $25.95 including USPS Priority Shipping!

also…

H.P. Lovecraft Collection – Volume 3
By H. P. Lovecraft
Published: January 2006
4 more stories by the Father Of Modern Horror.
This volume includes:
“The Horror At Red Hook”
“The Statement Of Randolph Carter”
“The Outsider”
“Herbert West Reanimator”

@ just $19.95 including USPS Media Mail Shipping!

Posted by Jesse Willis

Full Cast Audio SFF for 2006

Full Cast Audio LogoBruce Coville the force behind Full Cast Audio has announced a number of 2006 upcoming Science Fiction and Fantasy audiobooks and we’re salivating all over the list, check them out…

Airborn
By Kenneth Oppel
“An incredible swashbuckling adventure, set in a world where great airships ply the skies. You’ll love the characters, and the story has the drive and verve of a Saturday morning serial. We can’t wait to get into the studio with this one, because it’s just so darn much fun!”

*This novel was broadcast as an abridged reading on CBC Radio One’s Between The Covers in 2004. This isn’t that version, FULL CAST AUDIO will be doing it with – a full cast and a complete and unabridegd production. Woo-hoo!

Wolf-Speaker
By Tamora Pierce
“The second novel in Tammy’s beloved Immortals Quartet pulls Daine into new adventures, and reveals more about the special nature of her magic. Great characters, piles of magic, and breath-taking adventure. You’re gonna love it!”

The Will of the Empress
By Tamora Pierce
2006 Science Fiction and Fantasy audiobooks and we’re salivating all over the titles”Tamora Pierce returns to the world of Circle of Magic for this smashing novel that brings the four young mages back together as teens. Suspense! Court intrigue! Romance! Fights! All the things that you love about Tammy’s books are here in abundance. We plan to release this simultaneously with the hardcover. Be listening for it!”

Enna Burning
By Shannon Hale
“This spine tingling companion to The Goose Girl is as wildly imaginative as its predecessor. Romantic, wise, unexpectedly dark in places, it has already developed a passionate following among Shannon Hale’s fans.”

The Star Beast
By Robert A. Heinlein
“Another beloved novel from the same period as Have Space Suit, Will Travel and The Rolling Stones. This one pits bureaucrats against John Thomas and his beloved alien pet, Lummox—a conflict that brings Earth to the edge of an interplanetary catastrophe. Filled with Heinlein’s crackling dialogue, which is just made to be read by a full cast.

Bruce has also lined up some very savory treats for 2007 and “beyond”…

Emperor Mage
By Tamora Pierce
“Book 3 of The Immortals Quartet.”

The Realms of the Gods
By Tamora Pierce
“Book 4 of The Immortals Quartet.”

The Red Planet
By Robert A. Heinlein

Between Planets
By Robert A. Heinlein

The Last Hunt (Book 3 of The Unicorn Chronicles)
By Bruce Coville
“(All right, all right—I’m still working on it. But once it’s written, we’ll also be recording it. I can tell you this much: it’s going to be a long one, probably as big as the first two books put together. Not everyone lives through it, and there are a few surprises about characters we know. And, yes, I’m very embarrassed that it wasn’t finished two years ago.)”

I’m holding in my hands, right now, the February…

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Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine February 2006 CoverI’m holding in my hands, right now, the February 2006 treeware issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. It’s just so damn cool!

The Feb 2006 “On The Net” column by James Patrick Kelly (pages 13 to 16) are all about what we all love – ‘Science Fiction and Fantasy Audiobooks, Online Audio and Podcasting’! About the experience of audiobooks, what listening to them is like, what is available and where to find it all. JPK talks about the revolution that is Audible.com, then gushes over Escape Pod, Tell Tale Weekly and Seeing Ear Theater as well he mentions our own humble website, something he considers “the best audiobook resource on the web!!!*”

w00t! Seeing our names in Asimov’s is way-waycool. We are immortal now. Thanks JPK and thank you SFFaudio readers, 2006 is going to be our best year yet!

*exclamation points added by me, for effect.

posted by Jesse

Podiobooks.com, has finally finished beta-test…

Online Audio

Podiobooks.com Banner

Podiobooks.com, has finally finished beta-testing and has now OFFICIALLY launched! In honor of this, they’ve added two more speculative fiction related podcast novels to the roster:

Podiobooks.com's How To Disappear CompletelyHow To Disappear Completely
By Myke Bartlett
Which bills itself as… “part film noir detective story, part fantasy adventure, part East End gangster tale.”

Podiobooks.com's Amber Page And The Legend Of The Coral Stone Amber Page And The Legend Of The Coral Stone
By Stacey Cochran
By the numbers this podiobook has… “1 creepy old man, 27 exploding cars, 4 gunfights, 2 car chases, 1 cruise ship, 5 evil bad guys, 1 school bus, 1 fiery Harley-Davidson motorcycle, 2 massive earthquakes, 1 tropical Hawaiian Island, 1 super-evil criminal organization known as the S.H.R.O.U.D., and 1 broken family that must come to love one another again…”

Check it out!

Review of A Colder War by Charles Stross

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - A Colder War by Charles StrossA Colder War
By Charles Stross; Read by Pat Bottino
1 CD – 80 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Infinivox
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1884612482
Themes: / Science Fiction / Horror / Alternate History / Politics / War / Evil / Cthulhu Mythos /

“Warning. The following briefing film is classified SECRET GOLD JULY BOOJUM. If you do not have SECRET GOLD JULY BOOJUM clearance, leave the auditorium now and report to your unit security officer for debriefing. Failing to observe this notice is an imprisonable offense. You have sixty seconds to comply.”

The biggest single threat to NATO may be the Shoggoth Gap. The wild card is Lt. Col Oliver North, President Reagan’s man. Roger Jourgensen, CIA operative, is at the center of this crisis. If all the political wrangling doesn’t work out perfectly there will be hell to pay, or worse, far, far worse.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! A modern novellete in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, rich in detail, frightening in execution! Stross’ stunning tale will pull you back into that old cold war era embalming fear and then magnify it into non-euclidian infinities. Imagine David Cronenberg directing Dr. Strangelove based on a script by H. P. Lovecraft. Imagine an alternate history in which nuclear bombs are not the ultimate weapon, but instead they are merely a stepping stone to eldritch technologies accessible through certain trans-dimentional forces first encountered in 1920s Antarctica, technologies which neither the USA nor the USSR can quite contain. Stross has admitted A Colder War is directly inspired by Lovecraft’s novel At The Mountains Of Madness. The amount of research and historical mastery Stross sprinkles throughout the narrative creates a verisimilitude necessary for truly effective alternate history. Insert the CD and then shudder in horror as the concept locks you in for the duration.

Pat Botino’s tremulous voice isn’t at all typical for professional narrators, but when it comes to subverting heroic self-assurance, he’s got no equal. Here it works extremely well. The production is loud and straight, the way I like it. A few voice effects are used to distinguish documentation bookmarks of each section. Nothing flashy, nothing distracting. I’d be satisfied if every straight reading single narration audiobook was done this way. For a while now I’ve been telling just about anyone who would listen that editor and producer Alan Kaster at Infinivox has been picking out the best modern short science fiction and tunring it into fabulously read audiobooks. This latest wave of Infinvox’s GREAT SCIENCE FICTION STORIES includes three Charles Stross audiobooks.Lobsters, Antibodies and A Colder War. Each of these is available for just $7.99 right now on the Infinivox website. There’s nary a better value on the web!

Posted by Jesse Willis