Tag: H.G Wells

The SFFaudio Podcast #032

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #032 – Jesse and Scott are ramifying and missling things as they talk about recently arrived and newly released audiobooks. We’ve got fists the size of baked hams in this episode so we say crazy things like:

“Soccer is cool!” – “The great thing about Laserdiscs…”

“Tele-Vision. It’s a Science Fiction-sounding word” – “…stupid Morlocks!”

We’re also asking the deep questions like: “Is there anybody more exciting than Robert Silverberg?” Indeed, it’s our most Reganesque show.

Talked about on today’s show:
Blackstone Audio, Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer, The Quitaglio Ascension, End Of An Era, Golden Fleece, CERN, Flash Forward (TV series), The 4400, WWW: Wake, Nightmare At 20,000 Feet by Richard Matheson, Infinivox, The Year’s Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction edited by Alan Kaster, The Twilight Zone, William Shatner, John Lithgow, Where There’s A Will by Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson, The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Codex, B>Wahammer: Slayer Of The Storm God by , Warhammer: 40,000: Heart Of Rage by James Swallow, Danielson Kid (age 14), Major League Soccer, soccer, Audible Frontiers, The Mote In God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Lucifer’s Hammer, Footfall, The Stand by Stephen King, post-apocalypse, Timothy Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler, Fledgling, BBC Audiobooks America, 2000X: Bloodchild, Brilliance Audio, Moonrise by Ben Bova, the Grand Tour novels, Omni magazine, Analog, The Precipice, The Rock Rats, The Silent War The Aftermath, the Asteroid Wars sub-series, releasing digitally on Audible before hardcopy, the MP3-CD format is the best, VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, BluRay, digital copies, Gun With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem, Raymond Chandler and Philip K. Dick, The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the Retrieval Artist series, what is noir?, detective fiction, Young Adult fiction, The Cambridge Companion Science Fiction, Brian Stableford, Gary K. Wolfe, Kathryn Cramer, Andy Duncan, Ken MacLeod, The Oxford Dictionary Of Science Fiction, neural (adj), visi-screen (noun), visi-plate (noun), ansible (noun), Kerguelen (proper noun), mind-meld (verb), mind-meld (noun), Recorded Books, Bimbo’s Of The Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb |READ OUR REVIEW|!

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 015

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxH.G. Wells has two tales in this collection. The New Accelerator features a fascinating depiction of the invention of what sounds a lot like an amphetamine (though technically they had already been invented a dozen years earlier). It will also remind Star Trek fans of the episode called Wink of an Eye.

The other story by Wells here is The Crystal Egg which is set in a pawn shop in London. It’s likely one of the first tales featuring a kind of CCTV television technology.

The Philip K. Dick story called Beyond Lies The Wub is one of the best Dick short stories printed. It makes for excellent repeated listening. Gregg Margarite does a great job with it too.

As Long As You Wish is not new to this collection but I mention it because it is a bit tricky – remember to pay close attention to the beginning so as to help you understand the ending.

LibriVox - Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 015Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 015
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx 3 Hours 40 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
Science fiction (abbreviated SF or sci-fi with varying punctuation and case) is a broad genre of fiction that often involves sociological and technical speculations based on current or future science or technology. This is a reader-selected collection of short stories that entered the US public domain when their copyright was not renewed.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-015.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

LibriVox Science Fiction - As Long As You Wish by John O'KeefeAs Long As You Wish
By John O’Keefe; Read by Wally Reed
1 |MP3| – Approx. 11 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
If, somehow, you get trapped in a circular time system . . . how long is the circumference of an infinitely retraced circle? From Astounding Science Fiction, June, 1955.

LibriVox - Beyond Lies The Wub by Philip K. DickBeyond Lies The Wub
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools. From Planet Stories July 1952.


LibriVox - The Crystal Egg by H.G. WellsThe Crystal Egg
By H.G. Wells; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 40 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
The story tells of a shop owner, named Mr. Cave, who finds a strange crystal egg that serves as a window into the planet Mars. Written in the same year in which The War of the Worlds was being serialized. This story is often considered a prequel to The War of the Worlds, though there is no clear foreshadowing of the events that transpire in the novel.

LibriVox - Hard Guy by H.B. CarletonHard Guy
By H.B. Carelton; Read by Bookman
1 |MP3| – Approx. 7 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
There will be fine, glittering, streamlined automobiles in 2000 A.D. Possibly they will run themselves while the driver sits back with an old-fashioned in his hands. Perhaps they will carry folks down the highways at ninety miles an hour in perfect safety. But picking up a hitch-hiker will still be as dangerous as it is today. First published in Amazing Stories November 1942, later reprinted in Amazing Stories April 1956.

Amazing Stories December 1960I’m A Stranger Here Myself
By Mack Reynolds; Read by William Haseltine
1 |MP3| – Approx. 11 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
One can’t be too cautious about the people one meets in Tangier. They’re all weirdies of one kind or another. Me? Oh, From Amazing Stories, December 1960.

LibriVox - The New Accelerator by H.G. WellsThe New Accelerator
By H.G. Wells; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
A friend of H.G. Wells is on the verge of making a scientific breakthrough which promises to revolutionise human life – so the two friends decide to road-test the new drug – with exciting but dangerous consequences.

LibriVox - The Radiant Shell by Paul ErnstThe Radiant Shell
By Paul Ernst; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 52 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
The man on the metal plate was vanishing. From Astounding Stories January 1932.


Astounding Stories November 1932A Scientist Rises
By D.W. Hall; Read by Epistomolus
1 |MP3| – Approx. 18 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
All gazed, transfixed, at the vast form that towered above them. From the November 1932 issue of Astounding Stories.


LibriVox - Vanishing Point by C.C. BeckVanishing Point
By C.C. Beck; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
In perspective, theoretically the vanishing point is at infinity, and therefore unattainable. But reality is different; vanishment occurs a lot sooner than theory suggests .. From Astounding Science Fiction July 1959.

LibriVox - Viewpoint by Randall GarrettViewpoint
By Randall Garrett; Read by Ray Smith
1 |MP3| – Approx. 22 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 4th, 2009
A fearsome thing is a thing you’re afraid of—and it has nothing whatever to do with whether others are afraid, nor with whether it is in fact dangerous. It’s your view of the matter that counts! From Astounding Science Fiction January 1960.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #013

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #013 – We’ve got an absolutely unique interview with the incredibly cool Mister Ron from the Mister Ron’s Basement podcast! Mister Ron has a podcast devoted to humorous fiction from the 19th and early 20th century.

In the interview we talked about Mister Ron’s podcast, H.G. Wells, Sherlock Holmes spoofs, August Derleth, Solar Pons, O. Henry, Stephen Leacock, Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court, Edgar Allan Poe, Benjamin Franklin, Bud Grace, Piranha Club, Stanley Huntley, A Journey To The Sun, Pfaff’s Beer Cellar, Mortimer Thomson, podcasting, archive.org.

Also talked about on today’s show:
Audiobooks, The Little Book, Selden Edwards, The Accidental Time Machine, Joe Haldeman, time travel, James P. Hogan, Thrice Upon A Time, movies, what’s right with Frequency, what’s right and wrong with the Star Wars: Clone Wars movie, and what’s worrisome about the new Star Trek movie trailer and finally what’s playing this week on BBC7.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Sound Affects does a War Of The Worlds month

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Sound Affects: A Radio PlaygroundThis October marks the 70th Anniversary of the Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre’s War of the Worlds program, now known as “the panic broadcast” of 1938. It’s also the 110th Anniversary of the publication of the original novel by H. G. Wells. In celebration each Sunday this month Jerry Stearns, host of Sound Affects: A Radio Playground, will present excerpts from some of the many different radio versions of the War of the Worlds, plus parodies and take-offs, and background on the original Orson Welles production and at least a dozen other versions since then.

Sound Affects: A Radio Playground airs every Sunday in October at 9:30 PM on
KFAI, 90.3 FM and 106.7 FM, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Online streaming is available at KFAI.org. Here’s the October schedule:

October 5th 2998 – The story surrounding the 1938 Orson Welles “War of the Worlds”, the most famous radio broadcast of all time. And a parody, “They Came For The Candy” by Wisconsin’s Radio Pirates (featuring Scott Dikkers, of ‘The Onion’).

October 12th 2998 – Excerpts of War of the Worlds productions by the *Lux Radio Theater*, and the *L.A. TheatreWorks* (with an all Star Trek cast), plus three different parodies.

October 19th 2998 – Excerpts of *Jeff Wayne’s musical* version of War of the Worlds, from *WKBW* in Buffalo, NY, and from the *BBC*, plus more take-offs, including the *Simpsons* parody.

October 26th 2998 – The complete *50th Anniversary Production of War of the Worlds*, starring *Jason Robards*, Steve Allen, Hector Elizondo and recognizable voices from NPR, all recorded on location at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch by Oscar winning sound artist Randy Thom, and directed by David Ossman.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

H.G. Wells, new, Science Fiction, free, podcast, novel, get…

LibriVox Science Fiction - The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. WellsThe Sleeper Awakes
By H.G. Wells; Read by various
25 Zipped MP3 Files or podcast – Approx. 8 Hours 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 2008
The Sleeper Awakes is a dystopian novel about a man who sleeps for two hundred years, waking up in a completely transformed London, where, because of compound interest, he has become the richest man in the world. He has been the famous Sleeper for centuries. A fanatic socialist, the main character awakes to see his nightmares realized, and the future revealed to him in all its horrors and malformities. The people adore him, and their masters – the supervisors of his legacy who rule in his name – do not want him breathing.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-sleeper-awakes-by-hg-wells.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Radio 3 talks Utopias

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 3The latest issue of the Radio Times offers a peek at next week – On BBC Radio 3 in The Essay timeslot will be a “3 part examination of utopian visions of the future……” entitled The Future’s Not What It Used To Be… quite a number of SF classics are quoted in the Radio Times article, so this should be a worthy listen. Here’s the official description:

“As a child of the 1950s, Richard Foster thought that by now he would be wearing a silver jumpsuit and spending endless hours of leisure zooming around on a personal jet-propelled backpack – all in a world where poverty, sickness and religion had been banished by technology. So what went wrong?”

Part 1 – Broken Dreams
Broadcast: Mon. 4th August 23:00-23:15
Richard investigates two contrasting utopian worlds in novels from the 1880s: caring capitalism in Looking Backward by American author Edward Bellamy and communitarian socialism in William Morris’ News from Nowhere.

Part 2 – Trust Me, I’m A Scientist
Broadcast: Wed. 6th August 23:00-23:15
Richard looks at how, in the 1930s, when capitalism and communism appeared unable to deliver utopia, H.G. Wells in The Shape of Things to Come and Aldous Huxley in Brave New World asked the next big question: can science mend our broken dreams, or will they just become nightmares?

Part 3 – Be Afraid, be very Afraid
Broadcast: Thu. 7th August 23:00-23:15
Richard investigates the threat of nuclear and environmental holocaust, explored in novels such as Neville Shute’s On the Beach and John Christopher’s The Death of Grass. Is the appetite for apocalypse – religious or scientific – now fed by ecological concern and terrorism? Must we always live in fear, or is it a potent political tool?

[Thanks Roy!]

Posted by Jesse Willis