The Audie Awards are given every year by the Audio Publisher’s Association for excellence in audiobook publishing. In 2003, a Science Fiction category was added, but a number of genre titles won awards previous to then, and continue to win in other categories. Just completed: A complete list of Audie Award-winning science fiction and fantasy titles.
Thanks for visiting!
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Scary Stories with Alan Maitland
By various; Performed By Alan Maitland
1 Cassette – 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: CBC Radio
Published: 2002
ISBN: 0660187825
Themes: / Horror / Classics / Family / Short Stories /
Alan Maitland is a veteran Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster, who reads seven classic horror stories and poems here. The cassette makes for quality family listening, and Maitland reads with energy and enjoyment.
My favorite of the group is The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. It’s true that I’ve read it several times and have heard it performed a couple of other times, but still – I enjoy it every time, and did again here. The heart beats below the floorboards, and Maitland helps us feel it.
The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes is a classic poem. I know it best from Loreena McKennitt’s musical version, and it was interesting to hear the poem read aloud.
Other stories and poems included on the 1 hour cassette: Goblins Who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens, The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service, The Witches’ Convention and Reunion of the Night Creatures by Rose Robert, and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce.
The whole recording had a sort of Ray Bradbury feel to it, but that could be because I identify Bradbury so strongly with Halloween. This audio would be a worthwhile and appropriate purchase for family listening.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Thanks to SFFAudio reader Esther for a couple of additions to the Hugo Award Winners on Audio page:
For 1970 Best Novel Winner The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin we added this audio version:
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, abridged and read by the author, Waldentapes (Warner Audio), Abridged, 1985, ISBN: 068132774X
And for 1966 Short Fiction Winner “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” we added this audio version:
“A Boy & His Dog” & “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ said the Ticktockman” by Harlan Ellison, read by the author, Unabridged, ISBN: 0681327774, Waldentapes (Warner Audio), 1985
Thanks very much, Esther!
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Most of My Friends Are Two-Thirds Water
By Kelly Link; Read by Alex Wilson
FREE MP3 Download – Click here for link to file at www.spokenalex.org
– 27 minutes, 20 seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: http://www.spokenalex.org/
Published: 2005
Themes: / Science Fiction / Alien Invasion / New York / Metafiction / Writing /
Jak calls me with the first line of a story. Most of my friends are two-thirds water, he says, and I say that this doesn’t surprise me. He says, no, that this is the first line. There’s a Philip K. Dick novel, I tell him, that has a first line like that, but not exactly and I can’t remember the name of the novel. I am listening to him while I clean out my father’s refrigerator. The name of the Philip K. Dick novel is Confessions of a Crap Artist, I tell Jak. What novel, he says.
Another FREE tale from author Kelly Link’s short story collection Stranger Things Happen. Link is a Nebula, World Fantasy, and James Tiptree Jr. Award-winning author. Her urbane speculative fiction always compares well to Nalo Hopkinson and Walter Mosley – but Link takes that post-modern mentality, rotates it 90 degrees, and adds more of a sense of play. I’m ambivalent about metafiction, which this most certainly is. Sometimes it works wonderfully, but it’s harder with short stories, as they tend to be fairly crowded with concepts already. Most of My Friends Are Two-Thirds Water comes away decently. Narrator Alexander Wilson reads well, but since the narrative voice is that of a female this is not the
perfect match of voice to story. Still, how can I complain when the reading is letter perfect and the price is 100% FREE! Downloadable here.
Posted by Jesse Willis
The Diane Rehm Show is one of my favorite radio shows. On Wednesday, July 20, Diane featured a one-hour Readers Review of A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. It’s archived, and you can listen online at your leisure – click here to get to the page you need.
SFFAudio’s review of the audio version of A Wizard of Earthsea can be found here.
A couple of other items of genre interest on the Diane Rehm Show:
For an interview of Elizabeth Kostova about her novel The Historian – click here.
From 2004, an interview of Susanna Clarke, the author of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which is a Hugo Nominee and a World Fantasy Award nominee. Find it here.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
The Helmsman
By Bill Baldwin, Narrated by Justin Brooks, C.J. Critt, Patrick Seaman, Roger Jones, & Steve Botha
MP3 Download, 576Mb – 10 hours [UNABRIDGED]
ISBN: 1587521539
Pub Date: 2005
Publisher: Timberwolf Press
Themes: / Science Fiction / Military Science Fiction / Space Travel / Aliens / Battles /
One of the few survivors of a League sneak attack on his poor and miserable homeworld of Careseria, Wilf Brim sets out to settle the score. Were it not for the attrition from the war that followed, Wilf would never have escaped his lower-class status and been accepted into the Academy. Now, freshly graduated, young Sublieutenant Wilf Ansor Brim, Imperial Fleet, begins his first assignment, Helmsman of the I.F.S. Trucluent.
I’m honestly not certain how to categorize this book audio-wise. Though it is listed as “unabridged”, the recording itself says “Based on The Helmsman by Bill Baldwin”, and is very near a 10 hour audio drama. There is a narrator (a very good one), but all of the dialogue is read by other actors, and there are sound effects throughout. The important question is “did it work”, and the answer is Yes, though the occasional unbelievable actor really pulls the listener out of the action.
The novel is pure military pulp science fiction. There is a ton of technical jargon as characters tune disruptors and such. Vehicles are often called “field pieces”, time is measured in “metacycles”, and everyone says “Aye, sir!” quite a bit. The action moves quickly as battles lead to more battles. The title is listed as “mature” for some sexual scenes.
In a nutshell, The Helmsman should please fans of military SF. The sound quality is very good, and the main narrator excellent. This is the first of several volumes – the Timberwolf Press website promises Galactic Convoy (currently available), The Trophy, The Mercenaries, The Defenders, and The Siege.
This title is available at Paperback Digital.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson