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.
I loved the paperbook, and the audiobook |READ OUR REVIEW|, now somebody has jammed them together into an ebook. Finally, a reason to get into ebooks!
Letters From Father Christmas (aka The Father Christmas Letters) is a set of actual letters written to J.R.R. Tolkien’s children under the pseudonym of Father Christmas (aka Santa Claus). Fully illustrated, they make you think Tolkien was simply the coolest dad ever.
Posted by Jesse Willis
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Runelords, Book 2)
By David Farland; Read by Ray Porter
18 CDs – 22.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
Themes: / Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / Attributes / Magic / War /
In Hollywood there’s an old saying: The sequel is never as good as the original. Sadly, the same can be said for book 2 in “The Runelords” series.
It’s a dark book about war and destruction. Characters make choices, for good or ill, that change them. In my opinion, the changes are not always for the better.
I frequently found myself putting the iPod down because I didn’t like where the story was going, only to pick it up again later, hoping the ending would be satisfactory. It wasn’t. It left me feeling dissatisfied, depressed and in need of something that would get rid of the distasteful feeling.
The book reminded me a lot of “The Empire Strikes Back” where the movie ends with Han in Carbonite, Luke with an artificial hand and Vader on the loose. It’s a dark ending with some hope, but a lot of trouble for all the main characters. Or the second Back to the Future movie where I didn’t like the story went and I didn’t like what the characters did.
That’s how I feel about Brotherhood of the Wolf.
However, because I loved book 1 so much, and I know what a brilliant writer David Farland is, I’m going to give Book 3 a chance. And hope that, like many a third movie, it will be much better than the second.
This book is not without its virtues. It’s well written. The plot draws the listener from point to point as the story progresses. It is entertaining, in a dark, brooding sort of way. I just don’t happen to like dark stories. I also don’t like books and movies that make me cry. At many points I was afraid this was going to be one of those books. I was grateful it was not.
Posted by Charlene Harmon
Molle Mystery Theatre – The Beckoning Fair One
Adapted from the novella by Oliver Onions; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 31 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: June 5, 1945
Source: Vintage Horror Radio
Posted by Jesse Willis
Polaris offers many of the features you’ll find in other H.P. Lovecraft short stories. There’s the repeated language – something that turns up at the beginning of the story will echo at the end, like in The Statement Of Randolph Carter. There’s the atavism, and atavistic guilt you see in stories like The Rats In The Walls. There’s the background of racism, as in The Temple or Cool Air. But what sets this story apart is Lovecraft’s love of astronomy. Many stellar bodies get distinctive shout outs in Polaris. And the fact that the main character spends all his free time staring out at the night sky is reflective, or perhaps refractive, of Lovecraft’s own desire to become an astronomer.
And also like many of his other stories, Polaris had its origins in a dream. Here’s a snippet from the Wikipedia entry for Polaris, quoting a Lovecraft letter:
“Several nights ago I had a strange dream of a strange city–a city of many palaces and gilded domes, lying in a hollow betwixt ranges of grey, horrible hills…. I was, as I said, aware of this city visually. I was in it and around it. But certainly I had no corporeal existence.”
Polaris
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by jpontoli
1 |MP3| – Approx. 10 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: October 19, 2008
First published in The Philosopher, December 1920.
Polaris
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Clay Beauchamp
1 |MP3| – Approx. 10.5 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 6, 2012
First published in The Philosopher, December 1920.
And here’s a |PDF| made from the publication in Weird Tales.
Posted by Jesse Willis
We’re planning a podcast discussion of this solid Philip K. Dick fantasy short story. Julie Davis agreed to read it for us and here it is. Thanks Julie!
Of Withered Apples
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Julie Davis
1 |MP3| – Approx. 21 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Provider: Julie Davis
Provided: August 27, 2012
A young farm wife goes off scrumping, but her husband and father-in-law stay home. First published in Cosmos Science Fiction And Fantasy, July 1954.
And here’s the |PDF| version.
Posted by Jesse Willis
Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN.
First published in Cosmos Science Fiction And Fantasy. This short story was not previously known to be public domain due to a falsification on a copyright renewal. Observe the relevant page from the renewal:
As you can see it shows that Of Withered Apples was supposed to have been first published in volume 1, issue 33, of Uncanny Tales (July 1955).
So, I tracked down a copy of that comic book and am providing photographic evidence that it was not published in that issue.
Normally in these cases I would simply show the copyright page and/or the table of contents page. But as comics of that era often didn’t credit writers, and most also didn’t offer a table of contents page, this is impossible.
Instead, I have had the entire issue photographed, cover to cover, to show that Of Withered Apples was:
A. Not published in that issue.
B. Was not published in that issue uncredited.
Here is the proof |PDF|.
And please note, that while the issue does contain a textual story, it is not, most certainly not, Of Withered Apples.
Of Withered Apples was published a year earlier, in Cosmos Science Fiction And Fantasy, July 1954. Here is the table of contents show that:
And finally, here is a |PDF| made from that publication.
[Thanks Julie!]
Posted by Jesse Willis