C.S. Lewis – Page 6

The Complete Chronicles Of Narnia set to Air on BBC Radio 7

Online Audio

Christmas comes early this year! If you’re in the UK during December you’ll want to tune your DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) radios to BBC 7. This because, The 7th Dimension slot has been virtually cleared for broadcasting The Complete Radio Dramatizations of The Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. The event begins Monday (December 4th), with Lewis’ first book in the series The Magician’s Nephew. But that’s just the start, The 7th Dimension will be broadcasting all seven books, over 28 dramatized episodes, from Monday to Friday in The 7th Dimension/Fantasy Zone slot throughout December and into January. The final episode of the final book in the series, The Last Battle, ends this epic on Wednesday January 10th 2007. It is a Narnia marathon!

For those poor folks outside the UK, like me, we’ll have to suffer by either trying to listen to the streaming broadcast on the BBC 7 site or more profitably, use the ‘Listen Again‘ feature which allows us to listen for up to 7 days after the broadcast in a web browser.

posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 7 and The 7th Dimension

Online Audio

More BBC Radio 7 audio of interest starts this weekend…

Thanasphere
By Kurt Vonnegut; Read by Kerry Shale
Approx 30 Minutes
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday April 10th at 6pm and 12am UK TIME.
An astronaut encounters dead souls in space.

Also ahead on BBC 7, starting Monday the four dramatizations of The Chronicles of Narnia broadcast at Christmas will be rebroadcast over Easter holidays. Actors include David Suchet and Paul Scofield.

The Magician’s Nephew
By C.S. Lewis; Performed by a FULL CAST
3 Part Dramatization – Approx 2 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Monday April 10th to Wednesday April 12th at 10am, 9pm and 2am UK TIME.
Young Digory and his friend Polly are persuaded to help a sinister magician with an experiment, that goes awry when they are sent to a mystical world inhabited by an evil Queen.

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
By C.S. Lewis; Performed by a FULL CAST
3 Part Dramatization – Approx 2 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Thursday 13th, Friday 14th and Monday the 17th at 10am, 9pm and 2am UK TIME.
Four children are transported to Narnia where they meet talking animals and an evil white witch.

Presumably the subsequent two adaptations in the series will start airing on Tuesday the 18th.

NOTE: Those outside the UK can use the BBC7 Listen Again service to catch it for 6 days following the broadcasts.

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases

Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan, read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, Unabridged, Audio Renaissance
Volume 11 in the Wheel of Time fantasy series.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, read by Michael York, Unabridged, Harper Audio
This one’s a movie tie-in – Narnia comes out in December.

Mazer in Prison by Orson Scott Card, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show
A new Enderverse story! See the SFFAudio Review here.

Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs, Unabridged, Harper Audio
Also released by Harper Audio, a biography of the author of the Narnia books.

Redwall by Brian Jacques, read by a Full Cast, Unabridged, Random House Audio
A re-issue of a very highly regarded YA audio production. A few of the productions in the Redwall series have won Audies for one thing or another.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Blackstone Audio
Also includes Bradbury’s dinosaur/time-travel short story “A Sound Of Thunder“, which was made into a film that will be released later this year, I believe.

To be included in our monthly New Releases post, contact Scott or Jesse and we’d be happy to include your audio, as long as it is genre-related.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

The finalists for this year’s Audie Awards were an…

The finalists for this year’s Audie Awards were announced on Feb. 23rd. Here are some genre-related nominees:

The finalists for the SCIENCE FICTION award are:

The Callahan Chronicles

Written by: Spider Robinson

Read by: Barrett Whitener

Blackstone Audiobooks

Darwin’s Children

Written by: Greg Bear

Read by: Scott Brick

Books on Tape, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Dune: The Machine Crusade

Written by: Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Read by: Scott Brick

Audio Renaissance, A Division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC, and Books on Tape, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Monstrous Regiment

Written by: Terry Pratchett

Read by: Stephen Briggs

Harper Audio

Still Life With Crows

Written by: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Read by: Rene Auberjonois

Time Warner AudioBooks

Among the nominees for CHILDREN’S TITLES FOR AGES 8+ is:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Written by: J.K. Rowling

Read by: Jim Dale

Listening Library

Phoenix also shows up in the PACKAGE DESIGN category, and as a nomination for Jim Dale for SOLO NARRATION – MALE. George Guidall is up for the same award for Don Quixote from Recorded Books, and Campbell Scott for Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake.

And in the AUDIO DRAMA category:

The Chronicles of Narnia

Written by: C. S. Lewis

Performed by a Full Cast

Focus on the Family

which also appears in the PACKAGE DESIGN and ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION categories.

See all the nominees at the Audio Publisher’s Association website. The winners will be selected on June 4 at the Audie Awards, a black-tie event at the Harold Washington Public Library Center in Chicago.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

And the winners are…. The 8th Annual Audie Aw…

SFFaudio News

And the winners are….

The 8th Annual Audie Awards were given this weekend. Here are the science fiction related winners:

Science Fiction

Dune: Butlerian Jihad

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, read by Scott Brick, Books on Tape, Inc.

Fiction or Non-Fiction, Licensed or Distributed

Two Plays For Voices by Neil Gaiman, read by Brian Dennehy, Bebe Neuwirth and a full cast, HarperCollins Publishers.

Achievement in Production

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, read by a full cast, Focus on the Family

Find the winners and nominees in all the categories here.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Here are the 2003 Audie Award nominees, for excel…

SFFaudio News

Here are the 2003 Audie Award nominees, for excellence in audiobooks. Find the whole list at the Audio Publisher’s Association.

Science Fiction
Catch the Lightning by Catherine Asaro, read by Anna Fields Blackstone AudioBooks
Dune: Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, read by Scott Brick Books on Tape, Inc.
The Fifth Sorceress by Robert Newcomb, read by John Lee Books on Tape, Inc.
The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind, read by Jim Bond Brilliance Audio
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs Ulverscroft Large Print

I’m a little surprised with this list, largely because there is nothing there from Audio Literature whose Fantastic Audio imprint is consistently excellent. I’m certain that their unabridged Ender’s Game audio was released in March 2002, which would qualify it for this award. Also, Ursula K. LeGuin’s Tales from Earthsea was excellent and from around the same time. How is something nominated? Who does the judging?

Some other interesting nominees:

Children’s Titles For Ages 8+ includes Coraline by Neil Gaiman, read by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins Publishers).

In the Audio Drama category, The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, read by a full cast (Focus on the Family).

Fiction or Non-Fiction, Licensed or Distributed: Two Plays for Voices by Neil Gaiman, read by Brian Dennehy, Bebe Neuwirth and a full cast (HarperCollins Publishers)

Package Design: The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, fully dramatized (HighBridge)

And this last category…
Achievement in Production
The Joy of Pi by David Blatner, read by Oliver Wyman, Hank Jacobs & Laura Dean (Random House Audible)
The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis, read by a full cast (Focus on the Family)
Seek by Paul Fleischman, read by a full cast (Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio)
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, read by a full cast (Focus on the Family)
Two Plays for Voices by Neil Gaiman, read by Brian Dennehy, BeBe Neuwirth and a full cast (HarperCollins Publishers)

Posted by Scott D. Danielson