News, Reviews, and Commentary on all forms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror audio. Audiobooks, audio drama, podcasts; we discuss all of it here. Mystery, crime, and noir audio are also fair game.
Science Fiction author John McDaid has just released a novelette as an MP3!
Keyboard Practice, Consisting Of An Aria With Diverse Variations For The Harpsichord With Two Manuals
By John McDaid; Read by John McDaid
1 MP3 File – Approx. 2 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: jmcdaid’s blog
Published: Jan 29th 2006
Posted by Jesse Willis
Anne 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
CBC Radio One‘s Saturday Morning program North by Northwest had a cool treat for us this morning with their Studio One Book Club. The guest was fantasy author George R.R. Martin who talked with host Sheryl MacKay and the audience about his latest in the Song Of Ice And Fire series of novels: A Feast For Crows. Part two of this two part book club meeting will air next Saturday, February 4th 2006. You can listen to the first part via RealAudio HERE.
UPDATE: The RealAudio link is not working yet, but I’ve left a message on the NXNW answering machine to let them know, hopefully it’ll be working later today.
iTunes Podcast directory main page has a frikkin’ huge ad for Escape Pod up today!
And Epod’s editor Steve Eley, has clued us in – as of right now the Escape Pod podcast has about 3500 current subscribers downloading in a 24 hour period. Snakes on a plane! That’s so awesome!
MechMuse is a new “audio magazine” publishing short stories, serialized novels, columns and interviews, all in the audio format. Each monthly issue is set to include between ten and fifteen hours of “fresh” Science Fiction and Fantasy content which will be downloadable onto an iPod or any other portable audio player. Short stories will be drawn from both new and established authors, novels will all come from “best-selling” authors. MechMuse’s debut issue (March 2006) issue is set to be released at MechMuse.com on Feb. 15th 2006. It will feature a short story After a Lean Winter and the audio novel On My Way to Paradise both by David Farland as well as feature works by Kevin J. Anderson. Other contributions include The Second Rat by David Barr Kirtley and more tales by the likes of Richard Raleigh and Edmund Schubert. Subscriptions cost $5 per month, or $25 for six months. There’s also a special coupon available that’ll give you a $1.00 discount off the first issue too!
The Raven
By Edgar Allan Poe, Read by Bill Mills
MP3 file – 19 min. [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: REB Audio books
Published: 2005
Themes: / Horror / Poetry / Mourning / Depression
“Once upon a midnight dreary,
While I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore…”
— A.E. Poe, The Raven
That’s how the poem begins, drawing a pall of melancholy over us with its first syllables. This audio book, however, takes a little more time getting there. As if reflecting the distance from this mood we might be starting, the first tones are of bouncy pop music as the company and title are introduced. Then comes Bill Mills’ voice, warm, and rich as hickory smoke, leading us down into darkness with a brief, stylish bio of the author.
When the first line finally arrives, I have to admit, I cringe for just a second. The slow, broken delivery—scattering audible periods where the text shows, at most, commas—has just a whiff of Shatner-reading-Lucy-in-Sky-with-Diamonds over-interpretation. But that passes in an instant, and I find myself discovering new wonders in nearly every spoken line of a poem I’ve read probably a hundred times. I have a tendency to dismiss rhymed poetry as lightweight, as my brain usually prefers humming the tune to learning the meaning behind the words, but Mills’ reading is a perfect foil for that. He treads a careful path between chanting the regular meter and disregarding it entirely, cleverly emphasizing the story the words tell while still respecting their poetry. What he presents is a tale of a man just tumbling off the edge of hope into a free fall of depression, a man who speaks the name of his lost love into the darkness outside his soul only to have the darkness reply with morbid hopelessness.
The one thing marring this production is the background track. Behind the serious lead vocals vamps a cartoon ghoul-band of horror excess: Howling wind, howling wolves, crackling thunder, soaring choirs, and crashing orchestras. It isn’t destructive, but it is ridiculous. That said, this is still an excellent recording. I highly recommend following Mr. Mills down this twilit path, no matter how many times you think you’ve seen it before.
Posted by Kurt Dietz