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.
Barely Literate is a new podcast book club discussing novels and books in and outside of the SFF genre. So far it seems like a cross between the Science Fiction Book Review Podcast and The Kick Ass Mystic Ninjas podcast.
Already discussed are:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman |MP3|
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams |MP3|
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson |MP3|
Here’s the podcast feed:
http://barelyliterare.libsyn.com/rss
Posted by Jesse Willis
Our agent in London has the pulse of what’s going to air on BBC Radio 4 over the month of December 2008. Sez Roy:
“I’ve completed a quick scan of what’s on offer from BBC Radio over the coming festive season. Looks far from a vintage season, but I’ve spotted a few genre items…
Saturday 13th Dec R4 14:30-16:00 Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
Monday 15th Dec R4 22:45-23:00 Book At Bedtime A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; read by David Jason. This 10 part reading continues each weekday night until Boxing Day (Dec. 26th).
Tuesday 16th Dec R4 11:30-12:00 I Was Douglas Adams’s Flatmate. Ok, not drama, but the personal recollections of someone who shared an flat with the creator of so much humorous SF might be interesting.
Sunday 21st Dec R2 00:00-00:18 The Devil’s Christmas read by Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) reads four ‘dark tales for Christmas‘. Continues nightly to Christmas Eve. Claims to be a repeat, but I don’t know when original transmission was.Monday 22nd Dec R4 14:15-15:00 The Borrowers part 1 by Mary Norton
Well I think this can be considered ‘Fantasy’ and I for one will be listening. Part 2 is at the same time next day (Tuesday 23rd).Wednesday 31st Dec R4 14:15-15:00 Mr. Luby’s Fear Of Heaven by John Mortimer
Frankly I’m not sure quite how genre relevant this will be. It was originally aired as a joint NPR/BBC production under the ‘Earplay’ banner, but I believe this is a new production.”
Thanks Roy, there are a few in there I’ll be coveting for a special spot under my digital Xmas tree!
Posted by Jesse Willis
As many of you may know we like our audiobooks UNABRIDGED and read by professionals. Which is why I think you’ll be pleased to hear there is a new UNABRIDGED audiobook version of Douglas Adam’s incomparable The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy available for your listening pleasure. Even better, it’s one hundred percent free!
And… just by giving out your bank account details and password there’s even the prospect of earning FIFTEEN Million US Dollars!!!
Seriously!
No, SERIOUSLY!*
“My apologies. I made an honest mistake. My glasses are not working well today (I forgot to change the batteries) and I was reading the number incorrectly”
Well, that’s almost the story – the nearly unbelievable story of the latest UNABRIDGED production of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy documented on 419Eater.com.
419Eater.com is a website that turns those pesky Spanish Prisoner (AKA Nigerian Prince) scams on their heads – reverse-grifting the criminals. The website chronicles various “baits,” with e-mail exchanges, MP3s of recorded phone calls, photos and more between the baiters and the scammers. The scam that attracted me was one in which a non-existent audiobook company gets a scammer to read and record the entire The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. The entire reverse-scam is documented HERE. And here is the fruit of that bizarre labour….
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy
By Douglas Adams; Read by Chinweoke Trevor Nwauzor
36 Zipped MP3 Files – Approx. 8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: 419Eater.com
Published: July 2007
When contractors arrive at Earthling Arthur Dent’s house in order to demolish it to make way for a bypass. Arthur’s friend Ford Prefect arrives as Arthur is attempting to talk the demolition crew into leaving his house standing, and talks Arthur into coming to a local pub with him, at which point Ford explains that he (Ford) is actually from a planet somewhere near Betelgeuse and that they have to get off the planet before it’s demolished. An alien race of bureaucrats called Vogons intend to destroy Earth to make way for a “hyperspace bypass.”
So ya, this is a pretty awful reading, perhaps the worst reading of an audiobook ever. Amazing that it was achieved, but it is not really listenable. The only part of it I thought that works is when we hear the Vogon poetry (Chapter 7). It’s really, really, really bad.
And for you paperbook aficionado’s there’s a handwritten version of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book available over on 419Eater.com, all 249 pages of it.
Posted by Jesse Willis
*not seriously
Here’s a tasty item culled from next week‘s Radio Times…
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul
Based on the novel by Douglas Adams; Dramatized by Dirk Maggs; Performed by a full cast
Part 1 of 6 – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 4
Broadcast: Thursday 2nd October @ 23:00-23:30
In Episode 1 Dirk Gently loses a secretary and Odin sells his soul.
Have a listen to the trailer |REALAUDIO|.
[Thanks Roy!]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Here’s another episode of Prisoners Of Gravity uploaded to YouTube (and audio’d by SFFaudio). The three videos below make up the bulk of one episode from the 2nd season of PoG. The episode is titled “Robots & Artificial Intelligence“. In the show, Commander Rick and guests talk to and about, Douglas Adams, Gregory Benford, Karel Čapek, Isaac Asimov, Nancy Kress, George Zabrowski, Stanislaw Lem, Robocop, Frank Miller, Robert J. Sawyer, Donald Kingsbury, Brian Fawcett, Pamela Sargent, Lewis Shiner, Roger Penrose, Judith Reeves-Stevens, Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Star Trek and Judith Merril and William Gibson, John Varley. This is a terrifc survey of the cross’d subjects of robots and AI. Check it out…
Prisoners Of Gravity – “Robots & Artificial Intelligence”
1 |MP3| – 25 Minutes [AUDIO FROM VIDEO]
Broadcaster: TV Ontario
Broadcast: Thursday, January 24th, 1991
“This week’s topic is Robots… unfortunately, NanCy, Commander Rick’s computer, changes the topic on him to Artificial Intelligence; Commander Rick manages to discuss a little of both with his guests. Including clips from Hardware and Robocop 2.”
Part 1 of 3:
Part 2 of 3:
Part 3 of 3:
Posted by Jesse Willis
Today at 7:30 pm, a 30th anniversary live performance of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will be performed by the surviving members of the original cast. The original program first aired on BBC Radio 4 on March 8th 1978. The new performance takes place at the Royal Geographical Society, South Kensington, London. The performance will follow the “Sixth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture” which is being given by Steven Pinker. His lecture is titled “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature”.
Those in the audience for a new edition to the cast, Roger Gregg, from Crazy Dog Audio Theatre!
Royal Geographical Society
South Kensington, London.
Wednesday 12 March 2008
7:30 pm
[via Lit Between The Ears]
Posted by Jesse Willis