audiobook – Page 181

Review of Local Custom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Local Custom
By Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; Read by Michael Shanks
1 MP3-CD or 8 CDs – Approx. 10.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0979074916 (MP3-CD); 096572557X (CDs)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Romance / Space Opera / Galactic Civilization / Love /

“Each person shall provide his Clan of origin with a child of his blood, who will be raised by the Clan and belong to the Clan, despite whatever may later occur to place the parent beyond the Clan’s authority. And this shall be Law for every person of every Clan.”

So far there are seven novels set in the Liaden Universe, though this one isn’t the first published it is chronologically the first to happen. Local Custom is a simple story, a Romeo And Juliet, tale, except with a happy ending and a few more spaceships. Master trader Er Thom yos’Galan is from the planet Liaden, an honour based society of humans. His family, and especially his mother are demanding an heir from Er Thom, as is only right and proper. But Er Thom cannot think of the traditional contract-marriage to some Liaden clan daughter when his true love is back on Terra. Anne Davis, a professor of Liaden studies on Terra had a brief affair with Er Thom years ago. When Er Thom shows up on her doorstep her secret and his duty will embroil them in a galaxy spanning scandal which threatens the honour of clan Korval.

Much of the interest here is in the worldbuilding, Liaden culture is richly imagined and the idea of “melant’i” is fodder for lots of drama. Melant’i, is a conveyed honour, not dissimilar from that created by Jack Vance for The Moon Moth. While the resolution of complex culture clashes makes for good drama, the effect here also makes many long dialogue scenes.This was coupled with a general lack of description – I didn’t know what anybody or anything looked like. The plot, centering around Er Thom’s marital fate, is spread thinly – while the novel never actually bores I kept wondering when something meaty was going to happen – very little did, this is a personal family drama set in a science fiction setting. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have obviously built themselves an interesting universe here, and I think it’d be one worth visiting again, especially if there is a story in it with a wider-ranging plot. Fans of the series are vehement in their ardor for it.

Some of the exposition is placed at chapter or scene beginnings, mostly notes on Liaden history and cultural norms. This helped the general flow of the telling. Also helpful was Buzzy Multimedia’s engagement of screen actor Michael Shanks for the narration. Shanks appears as Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG1, but he’s a capable narrator, giving distinction to male and female character alike. There were a few times where I thought I heard Shanks stumble over a word, but generally these were in dialogue, and they may have been deliberate – they certainly didn’t detract from the production. The first three chapters are available for FREE MP3 download on the Buzzy website.

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases: Deuce Audio science fiction now on Audible and iTunes

SFFaudio New Releases

[editor’s note – Yep, more SFFaudio staff getting FREE publicity for their excellent audiobook endeavors]

Scott Danielson’s audiobook company Deuce Audio, has two releases through Audible.com (and therefore iTunes too). These are absolutely stunning productions by a professional narrators. Check these out…

Available now from Deuce Audio!

The Retrieval Artist by Kristine Kathryn Rusch The Retrieval Artist
By Kristine Kathryn Rusch; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Approx. 2 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: iTunes, Audible.com
Published: August 2007
Retrieval Artists find people who have Disappeared. But people Disappear for a reason–they don’t want to be found. When Anetka Sobol shows up at Miles Flint’s office on the Moon, he immediately knows that this case is going to be complicated.

Shed Skin by Robert J. Sawyer Shed Skin
By Robert J. Sawyer; Read by Stephen Hoye
Approx. 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Published: iTunes, Audible.com
Published: August 2007
To live forever, you can copy your mind and transfer it to an immortal robotic body…but what happens to your Shed Skin?

posted by Jesse Willis

FREE Fantasy Epic: The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison

SFFaudio Online Audio

Maureen O’Brien, of the Maria Lectrix podcast has been working on a fantasy epic which she describes thusly:

“This classic 1922 fantasy novel brings you to a strange and lovely world where a young lord wrestles King Gorice for his land’s freedom, where unscalable mountains can only be conquered by stubbornness and hippogriffs, where the great explorer Lord Gro finds himself continually driven to betrayal, where sweet young women occasionally fall for evil wizards, and where the heroes actually win their hearts’ desire.”

The Worm Ouroboros
By E.R. Eddison; Read by Maureen O’Brien
IN PROGRESS – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: May 2007 -> ????
The domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland vie for power in an imaginary medievalesque world that’s also reminiscent of the Norse sagas. Tolkien himself liked the book but its morality sharply contrasts with that found in The Lord Of The Rings, as the main protagonists are proud warriors who seek glory in battle.

You can listen to every chapter of the podcast via this feed:

http://marialectrix.wordpress.com/tag/fiction/feed/

posted by Jesse Willis

2nd audiobook version of Andre Norton’s Star Hunter available

SFFaudio Online Audio

This may be a first, at least for a relatively modern Science Fiction novel – there are now TWO unabridged single voiced narrations of Andre Norton’s public domain novel Star Hunter. Both are available for free download. The first one, which we told you about earlier this year was read and archived by Maureen O’Brien of the Maria Lectrix Podcast. That version is available through the Internet Archive. Now, LibriVox narrator Leonie Rose has completed a second version, available for download in a zipped bundle or by podcast feed. And here it is…

Star Hunter
By Andre Norton; Read by Leonie Rose
13 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – 3 Hours 33 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: Aug. 5th 2007
Somewhere on the jungle world of Jumala hid a man whose mind had been reconditioned with another’s brain pattern. There was a fabulous reward out for him. And so began another-worldly game of hide and seek. Between a man who did not know his own powers and an interstellar safari that sought something no man had a right to find.

You can subscribe to the podcast for this novel with this feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/star-hunter-by-andre-norton.xml

Now the big question – which version is the better narrated?

posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: The Lair Of The White Worm by Bram Stoker

SFFaudio Online Audio

A new LibriVox title from the author of Dracula! I first encountered this strange tale while watching British television in the early 1990s – it was a very odd movie aired one afternoon – the film both fascinated and repelled. I’ve seen it a few times since then, and have appreciated its curious oddness more and more. Its almost magical in that respect. I haven’t read the book, nor listened to the audiobook (yet) but am pretty much convinced that the film will be absolutely nothing like the book. Many thanks should go to Betsie Bush for narrating the whole novel all on her own. Thanks so much Betsie!

The Lair Of The White Worm
By Bram Stoker; Read by Betsie Bush
28 zipped MP3 Files or podcast – 5 Hours 48 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 30th 2007
Adam Salton is contacted by his great uncle in England, for the purpose of establishing a relationship between these last two members of the family. Adam travels to Richard Salton’s house in Mercia, and quickly finds himself in the center of some inexplicable occurrences. The new heir to the Caswall estate, Edgar Caswall appears to be making some sort of a mesmeric assault on a local girl. And, a local lady, Arabella March, seems to be running a game of her own, perhaps angling to become Mrs. Caswall. There is something strange about Lady March, something inexplicable and evil.

Get the entire novel in podcast form, via this handy url:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/lair_of_the_white_worm_by_bram_stoker.xml

Two illustrations of the Lambton worm:

Lambton Worm - illustrator unknown

Lambton Worm - Illustration from More English Fairy Tales

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases – Wonder Audiobooks’ Classic SF

New Releases

[editor’s note – Shameless plug time! My publishing venture, Wonder Audiobooks, has it’s first four releases through Audible. These titles are also available at iTunes. My goal–great unabridged vintage fiction read by great readers! I’m proud of these titles and encourage you to check them out.]

Beyond Lies the Wub & The Hanging Stranger
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Mac Kelly
48 min – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonder Audiobooks
Availiable at Audible and

A trading spaceship often has to carry unusual cargo. None as strange as the blubberous pig-like alien known as the wub. The captain of the ship decides that the wub may make an excellent meal for him and the crew. But the wub might have something to say about it.

Beyond Lies the Wub was Philip K. Dick’s first published story and appeared in the legendary Planet Stories pulp magazine.

Also included, The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick. When Ed Loyce, a respected citizen in a small town, finds a man hanging by a rope in his town square, he is very upset. But why doesn’t the rest of the town’s people care. Ed Loyce is going to find out.

Philip K Dick is now considered one of the most important authors of the 20th century. Numerous stories and novels have been adapted into movies, including Blade Runner, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly and Next.

Coming Attraction
By Fritz Leiber; Read by Paul S. Jenkins
29 min – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonder Audiobooks
Availiable at Audible and

A future New York City has changed since a nuclear bomb left areas of radiation that threaten the residents. Women wear coverings over their faces as the latest fashion trend.

An Englishman in New York saves a girl from a speeding coupe with fish hooks on its fender. He finds himself attracted and repelled by the girl in this classic story of future shock from a science-fiction grand master.

Anthropological Note
By Murray Leinster; Read by Tara Platt
54 min – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonder Audiobooks
Availiable at Audible and

Miss Cummings, a female anthropologist, is set down in the middle of a Venusian Krug village to study the alien culture. Ray Hale, a scoundrel and murderer, is on his way to the very same village. Miss Cummings and Ray Hale have a past, but what of their future?

This story not only examines an alien society, but takes a look at our own strange relationships between the sexes.

Author Murray Leinster is often called “The Dean of Science Fiction”. Actress Tara Platt has voiced numerous anime characters, for Naruto, Ravemaster, Digimon, and many others.

The Wind People
By Marion Zimmer Bradley; Read by Candace Platt
51 min – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonder Audiobooks
Availiable at Audible and

To save her newborn son, Dr. Helen Murray has to remain behind on an alien world. But is she alone? As her son, Robin, becomes older, he acts strangely and describes other people that Helen cannot see.

posted by The Time Traveler of the Time Traveler Show