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Blackstone Audiobooks LogoOur recently reviewed Special Collector’s Edition of King Kong isn’t the only 800 ton gorilla making waves over at Blackstone Audiobooks… they’ve got plenty more new titles:

The Door Into Summer
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Patrick Lawlor
5 cassettes, 6 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786136782, 078617692X, 0786179546
Dan Davis, an electronics engineer, had finally made the invention of a lifetime: a household robot that could do almost anything. Wild success was within reach—and Dan’s life was ruined. In a plot to steal his business, his greedy partner and greedier fiancée tricked him into taking the “long sleep”—suspended animation for thirty years. But when he awoke in the far different world of A.D. 2000, he made an amazing discovery. And suddenly Dan had the means to travel back in time—and get his revenge.

The Incredible Shrinking Man
By Richard Matheson; Read by Yuri Rasovsky
6 Cassettes, 7 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786137924, 0786175761, 0786178515
Inch by inch, day by day, Scott Carey is getting smaller. Once an unremarkable husband and father, Scott finds himself shrinking with no end in sight. His wife and family turn into unreachable giants, the family cat becomes a predatory menace, and Scott must struggle to survive in a world that seems to be growing ever larger and more perilous—until he faces the ultimate limits of fear and existence.

The Worthing Saga
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Scott Brick
13 Cassettes, 15 CDs or 2 MP3-CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786129360, 0786181869, 0786183012
It was a miracle of science that permitted human beings to live, if not forever then for a long, long time. Some people, anyway. The rich, the powerful, they lived their lives at the rate of one year every ten. Somec created two societies: that of people who lived out their normal span and died and those who slept away the decades, skipping over the intervening years and events. It allowed great plans to be put into motion. It allowed interstellar empires to be built. It came near to destroying humanity. After a long, long time of decadence and stagnation, a few seed ships were sent out to save our species. They carried human embryos and supplies and teaching robots and one man. The Worthing Saga is the story of one of these men, Jason Worthing, and the world he found for the seed he carried.

Tales of Terror
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by a FULL CAST with music by David Thorn
5 Cassettes, 5 CDs or 1 MP3-CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786144327, 0786173785, 0786177535
This special audio collection features some of Poe’s best known classic stories, including “The Tell Tale Heart,” “Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” “Hop Frog,” “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “Masque of the Red Death,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Cask of Amontillado.”

How to Survive a Robot Uprising
By Daniel H. Wilson; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
3 Cassettes, 4 CDs or 1 MP3-CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Published: January 2006
ISBN: 0786144629, 0786172908, 0786177128
This is an inspired and hilarious look at how humans can defeat the inevitable robot rebellion, as revealed by a robotics expert. The robots are coming. Are you ready? How do you spot a robot mimicking a human? How do you recognize and deactivate a rebel servant robot? How do you escape a murderous “smart” house, or evade a swarm of marauding robotic flies? In this dryly hilarious survival guide, roboticist Daniel H. Wilson teaches worried humans the secrets to quashing a robot mutiny. From treating laser wounds to fooling face and speech recognition, outwitting robot logic to engaging in hand-to-pincer combat, How to Survive a Robot Uprising covers every possible doomsday scenario facing the newest endangered species: humans.

And Coming in April, no foolin’:

The Martian Child
By David Gerrold; Read by Scott Brick
5 Cassettes, 6 CDs, 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Published: April 2006
ISBN: 0786144092, 0786174277, 0786177640
Winner of the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Winner of the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. Gerrold, a science fiction writer from California, adopts a son who has a slight behavioral problem. He believes himself to be a Martian. Gerrold begins the long, involving work of trying to earn the acceptance of Dennis, a hyperactive eight-year-old who desperately wants a father’s love, but is so insecure he feels he must be an alien. Gerrold’s memoir of the first two years with Dennis ends with the climax of Dennis running away and waiting in a city park at night for the flying saucers to come and reclaim him. Funny, endearing, and at times, heartbreaking, this is a beautifully written testament to fatherhood. This book is semi-autobiographical. Gerrold did adopt a son, but he heard about a boy who thought he was a Martian from another adoptive father.

Review of Nightmares on Congress Street Part IV

SFFaudio Review

Horror Audiobook - Nightmares on Congress Street 4Nightmares on Congress Street Part IV
by Various, performed by the Rocky Coast Radio Theatre
1 MP3-CD – 2 Hours 35 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Paperback Digital
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1584390069
Themes: / Horror / Poetry / Zombies / Poe / Cremation /

“Nightmares on Congress Street” is a radio show that has been broadcast each Halloween Eve since 2001. This is “Part IV” because it’s a recording of the 4th annual broadcast. It’s not “Part IV” in the sense that you need to run out and find parts I-III before listening to this one. As far as I know, they aren’t available. The shows are recorded by a group of theatrical professionals from the Portland, ME area, and are broadcast on Maine Public Radio.

It’s rare that I hear something modern that captures the spirit of Halloween. Sure, there’s some scary stuff out there, and some funny scary stuff out there, but “Nightmares on Congress Street” really catches the fun spirit of Halloween. There are scares and laughs in good measure throughout, and you’d be hard-pressed to find better production quality anywhere.

Included here are six productions:

The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
A mummified monkey’s paw seems to grant wishes, but, as always, a person should be careful what he wishes for.

The Cremation Of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service
The cover doesn’t list who does which part, but the actor who performed this horror poem was just fabulous. The poem tell the story of Sam McGee, who stumbles into the camp of a cowboy, and who asks that cowboy to make sure to cremate him if he dies.

The Cabin in the Woods by Clay T. Graybeal
A bunch of folks go to a cabin to spend some time, but doesn’t that plant outside look like someone we know? Ridiculous.

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
One of the finest renditions of this Poe classic that I’ve ever heard.
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled –but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity.
And punish he does. Bravo to the actors on this one.

The Librarian by Rhonda Carlson
This piece is done by Rhonda Carlson, Rocky Coast Radio Theatre’s composer. Delightful mayhem, this one.

The Horror of Walker Point by Anthony S. Marino
This one is an excellent tale right out of George Romero’s playbook. It is performed in a kind of “War of the Worlds” style – regular programming is interrupted for important news about a chemical spill. As more and more people are affected by these chemicals, the newscasters bravely stay on the air.

I thoroughly enjoyed this production, and am eager to hear this year’s show!

You can get this title at Paperback Digital, Audible, and at Tantor.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Scary Stories with Alan Maitland by Various

Horror Audiobook - Scary Stories by Alan MaitlandScary Stories with Alan Maitland
By various; Performed By Alan Maitland
1 Cassette – 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: CBC Radio
Published: 2002
ISBN: 0660187825
Themes: / Horror / Classics / Family / Short Stories /

Alan Maitland is a veteran Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster, who reads seven classic horror stories and poems here. The cassette makes for quality family listening, and Maitland reads with energy and enjoyment.

My favorite of the group is The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. It’s true that I’ve read it several times and have heard it performed a couple of other times, but still – I enjoy it every time, and did again here. The heart beats below the floorboards, and Maitland helps us feel it.

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes is a classic poem. I know it best from Loreena McKennitt’s musical version, and it was interesting to hear the poem read aloud.

Other stories and poems included on the 1 hour cassette: Goblins Who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens, The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service, The Witches’ Convention and Reunion of the Night Creatures by Rose Robert, and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce.

The whole recording had a sort of Ray Bradbury feel to it, but that could be because I identify Bradbury so strongly with Halloween. This audio would be a worthwhile and appropriate purchase for family listening.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Airing on BBC7’s wonderful program The 7th Dim…

SFFaudio Online Audio

Airing on BBC7‘s wonderful program The 7th Dimension:

The Fall Of The House Of Usher

[Episode 1 of 2, rptd at midnight]

By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by Sean Barratt

STREAMING AUDIO – Approx. 30 Minutes – Stereo – [UNABRIDGED]

Airs: Thu 25 Sep, 18:00 – 18:30 GMT, (Repeats Friday, 26 Sep, 00:00 – 00:30 GMT)

Poe’s chilling short story about a family’s descent into madness.

The Fall Of The House Of Usher

[Episode 2 of 2, rptd at midnight]

By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by Sean Barratt

STREAMING AUDIO – Approx. 30 Minutes – Stereo – [UNABRIDGED]

Airs: Fri 26 Sep, 18:00 – 18:30 GMT, (Repeats Sat 27 Sep 00:00 – 00:30GMT)

Poe’s chilling short story about a family’s descent into madness.

Posted by Jesse Willis