Pulp Nocturne: Donovan Pike And The City Of The Gods

SFFaudio Online Audio

Pulp NocturneWhen Paul Bishop, of the Bish’s Beat takes the time to email me about something on his blog, I have to sit up and take notice. Bish directs my attention to THIS post. And when I follow the links there it leads me to a new adventure novel called Donovan Pike And The City Of The Gods that’s being delivered via blog text posts and in the MP3 format.

Its author, Mark Justice, sez:

I grew up with the pulp adventures of Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Avenger. I even published a Doc Savage fanzine with a high school friend, back in the 70s. In that one issue I began a Doc Savage pastiche novel which, thankfully, remains unfinished and forgotten.

I moved on to different forms of fiction, but I always came back to the pulps, having discovered G-8, Operator #5 and The Spider. I also enjoy modern pulp fiction, particularly the works of Clive Cussler and, more recently, James Rollins.

When I started writing for publication, it was initially in the horror field, with an occasional foray into science fiction. As in my reading, though, I came back to the pulps.

I plan to use this blog to serialize new pulp fiction. Some of the stories will have a contemporary setting, like our initial offering. A future project will be set in the blood and thunder 1930s pulp world.

Regardless of the era, my goal is to bring you tales of two-fisted adventure, venomous villains and larger-than-life heroes.

I hope you have fun with the stories. I know I will.

Here is Chapter 1 |MP3| of Donovan Pike And The City Of The Gods by Mark Justice.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Blackstone Audio’s $5 audiobook sale – STUNNING DEALS

SFFaudio News

Blackstone Audio Five Dollar Overstock SaleBlackstone AudiobooksCan anyone resist Blackstone Audio’s just announced $5.00 clearance sale?

This comes not a month after they announced their $9.99 overstock sale!

$5 for an audiobook.

That’s the deal of the year people!

Admittedly, not all of the available titles in this sale are unabridged, but they mostly are. There are a dozen SFF titles, plenty of crime, mystery and noir as well as a shelfload of history audiobooks. There are even a couple of audio dramas in there.

Here’s just a smattering of what excited me:

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; read by Ben Kingsley
THE AENEID by Virgil; read by Frederick Davidson
BABYLON BABIES by Maurice G. Dantec; read by Joe Barrett
THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London; read by Ethan Hawke
CASINO ROYALE by Ian Fleming; read by Simon Vance
CHRISTOPHER’S GHOSTS by Charles McCarry; read by Stefan Rudnicki
A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT by Mark Twain; read by Carl Reiner
CRIMINAL PARADISE by Steven M. Thomas; read by Patrick Lawlor
THE DEAL by Peter Lefcourt; read by William H. Macy
DEATH MATCH by Lincoln Child; read by Barrett Whitener |READ OUR REVIEW|
DON QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA by Miguel de Cervantes; read by Robert Whitfield
EVIL, INC. by Glenn Kaplan; read by Glenn Kaplan
THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX by Elleston Trevor; read by Grover Gardner
FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley; read by Julie Harris
FRANKENSTEIN, OR THE MODERN PROMETHEUS by Mary Shelley; read by Simon Templeman, Anthony Heald, and Stefan Rudnicki
HOW TO SURVIVE A ROBOT UPRISING by Daniel H. Wilson; read by Stefan Rudnicki |READ OUR REVIEW|
HUCK FINN AND TOM SAWYER AMONG THE INDIANS by Mark Twain and Lee Nelson; read by Grover Gardner
I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson; read by Robertson Dean |READ OUR REVIEW|
I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves; read by Frederick Davidson
THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS by Jack Finney; read by Kristoffer Tabori
IT’S SUPERMAN! by Tom De Haven; read by Scott Brick
JAMES BOND BOXED SET by Ian Fleming; read by Simon Vance
KING KONG by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper; novelization by Delos W. Lovelace; read by Stefan Rudnicki |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE by Richard Condon; read by Christopher Hurt
THE MARTIAN CHILD by David Gerrold; read by Scott Brick
MARTIAN TIME-SLIP AND THE GOLDEN MAN by Philip K. Dick; read by Grover Gardner
MILDRED PIERCE by James M. Cain; read by Christine Williams
MYSTIC WARRIOR by Tracy and Laura Hickman; read by Lloyd James
PETER PAN by J.M. Barrie; read by Roe Kendall
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY by Oscar Wilde; read by Simon Vance
THE PRESTIGE by Christopher Priest; read by Simon Vance
QUANTUM OF SOLACE by Ian Fleming; read by Simon Vance
RINGWORLD’S CHILDREN by Larry Niven; read by Barrett Whitener |READ OUR REVIEW|
ROCKET SHIP GALILEO by Robert A Heinlein; read by Spider Robinson |READ OUR REVIEW|
SUPERMAN RETURNS by Marv Wolfman; read by Scott Brick |READ OUR REVIEW|
SWEENEY TODD AND THE STRING OF PEARLS by Yuri Rasovsky; read by a full cast
TARZAN OF THE APES by Edgar Rice Burroughs; read by Ben Kingsley
THE TEN-CENT PLAGUE by David Hajdu; read by Stefan Rudnicki
THERMOPYLAE by Paul Cartledge; read by John Lee
THE THREE MUSKETEERS by Alexandre Dumas; read by Michael York
THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells; read by Ben Kingsley
THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka; read by Geoffrey Howard
UTOPIA by Sir Thomas More; read by James Adams
V FOR VENDETTA by Steve Moore; read by Simon Vance |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS by H.G. Wells; read by Christopher Hurt
WHERE’S MY JETPACK? by Daniel H. Wilson; read by Stefan Rudnicki |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE by Don Winslow; read by Dennis Boutsikaris
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO NARNIA by Jonathan Rogers; read by Brian Emerson

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox – The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxBack in October I was telling you folks about the two Howard Pyle audiobooks that had been released over on LibriVox.org. I had actually meant to tell you about THREE Pyle audiobooks – but I got distracted by something shiny and never finished the post. Well I’m finishing it now! The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle is a public domain book about the original highwayman of Nottinghamshire. First published in 1883 The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood served as the basis for many later adaptations of the story of Robin Hood and his merry band.

LibriVox - The Merry Adventures Of Robin Hood by Howard PyleThe Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
By Howard Pyle; Read by various
22 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 11 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 26, 2007
Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero; a courteous, pious and swashbuckling outlaw of the mediæval era who, in modern versions of the legend, is famous for robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. He operates with his “seven score” (140 strong) group of fellow outlawed yeomen – named the Merry Men. He and his band are usually associated with Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire. The Victorian era generated its own distinct versions of Robin Hood. The traditional tales were often adapted for children, most notably in Howard Pyle’s Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. These versions firmly stamp Robin as a staunch philanthropist, a man who takes from the rich to give to the poor.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-merry-adventures-of-robin-hood-by-howard-pyle.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Incidentally, if you’re not a fan of the multiple amateur narrators in this reading, you might want to shell out for the new Blackstone Audio version. It’s read by a single professional narrator. You can get that one |HERE|.

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 4: The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz RADIO DRAMA

SFFaudio Online Audio

Radio Times - The Saturday Play - The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz reviewed by Jane AndersonBBC Radio 4Do you like your roads yellow bricked?

Do you prefer your lions cowardly?

How about your scarecrows?

You like them brainless right?

I knew you did.

BBC Radio 4 - The Saturday Play - The Wonderful Wizard Of OzThe Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum; Adapted by Linda Marshall; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – Approx. 1 Hour [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4 / Saturday Play
Broadcast: December 19, 2009 @ 14:30-15:30
When a tornado strikes her farmhouse in Kansas, young Dorothy is lifted to the magical world of Oz, where she embarks upon a perilous journey to find her way back home.

Cast:
Dorothy …… Amelia Clarkson
Wizard of Oz/Kalidah/Uncle Henry …… Jonathan Keeble
Scarecrow …… Kevin Eldon
Tinman …… Burn Gorman
Lion …… Zubin Varla
Witch of the North/South/West/Aunt Em …….Emma Fielding
King Monkey/Miner …… Andrew Westfield
Munchkin/Gatekeeper …… Graeme Hawley

With Original Music by Olly Fox

Directed by Nadia Molinari

First published in the USA in 1900, and constantly in print since then, L. Frank Baum’s novel of Kansas and another world is the first in a series of 14 books that have entered the public domain in the USA. Though there have been many adaptations – most notably the 1939 film, radio dramatizations have been few and far between.

Incidentally, TellTaleWeekly.org, a website I shamefully haven’t mentioned in a few years, has an excellent DRM-free audiobook version of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz available for download (and it’s cheap @ just $6.00). |READ OUR REVIEW|

Audiobook fans who prefer the simplicity and immediacy of a LibriVox audiobook should also take note of the all public domain edition of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz available for FREE over on LibriVox.org!

[Thanks to the man behind the curtain, Roy!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Allan’s Wife by H. Rider Haggard

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxYou can make a good case for the sexism in old books. Just look at the Book of Genesis: Lot’s Wife. Noah’s Wife. These are the ladies so oppressed that they didn’t even deserve names. However, I think we can attribute what looks like the exact came same kind of sexism in titling Allan’s Wife more to marketing than anything else. This is, after all, the third novel in the Allan Quatermain series. And it’s not actually very much about his wife, at least at the start. It tells more tales of Quatermain’s time in South Africa, his observations about two dueling witchdoctors (they use their magic to control lighting), his father’s death, and eventually the fate of his wife. For the record Allan Quatermain’s wife (of the title) is named “Stella Carson.” Come to think of it, some clever writer could probably do a whole series of YA books called The Adventures Of Allanah Quatermain (perhaps a secret grandaughter?). Until then…

LibriVox - Allan's Wife by H. Rider HaggardAllan’s Wife
By H. Rider Haggard; Read by Elaine Tweddle
15 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: December 2009

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/3718

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[Thanks also to mim@can and James Christopher]

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 5 + RA.cc: Hergé’s The Adventures Of Tintin

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Adventures of Tintin RADIO DRAMAWhen I was a little boy my best friend was the son of my dad’s best friend. When I met him he had just immigrated to British Columbia from France with his mom and dad. I lived in a house by the government dock and they lived on their sailboat. The same sailboat that they’d emigrated in. He spoke only French. I spoke only English. But that didn’t matter. I taught him English over the summer. We had a long stretch of beach to play on. We’d make sand castles, sand dykes and dams. We’d build rafts out of random beach flotsam. We collect shells and seagull feathers (I figured if we gathered enough feathers we could make a floatplane. Then, in the evenings, while my dad and his dad talked adult talk, smoked pot and drank beer, Gaël and I would share our comics. I would show him my English Batmans and Supermans, he showed me his French Lucky Lukes, Asterices, and Tintins.

Sometime after my father died and I moved north, I learned that Gaël, who I’d eventually lost touch with, had changed his name to Jeff. I miss that kid.

I haven’t seen any audio versions of Asterix, and Lucky Luke is quite scarce these days, but Tintin is available in radio drama form:

The Adventures Of Tintin

In these productions Tintin doesn’t have a French (or Belgian) accent, and his dog, Snowy, is more talkative than I remember him being in the comics. Nevertheless, this is still a fun series – especially as something to listen to after reading the comics. The shows are all only 30 minutes long, except for the two part episodes, The Calculus Affair and The Red Sea Sharks. A half-hour is really far too short to include every panel of dialogue and hour is better.

The Adventures Of Tintin

You can get all 13 episode of both seasons (and the special) by torrent over at RadioArchive.cc.

The Adventures Of Tintin – The Black Island
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Secret Of The Unicorn
The Adventures Of Tintin – Red Rackham’s Treasure
The Adventures Of Tintin – Destination Moon
The Adventures Of Tintin – Explorers On The Moon
The Adventures Of Tintin – Tintin In Tibet
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Seven Crystal Balls
The Adventures Of Tintin – Prisoners Of The Sun
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Calculus Affair – Part 01
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Calculus Affair – Part 02
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Red Sea Sharks – Part 01
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Red Sea Sharks – Part 02
The Adventures Of Tintin – The Castafiore Emerald

For more information on this series visit Tintinologist.org.

Posted by Jesse Willis