The SFFaudio Podcast #034 – READALONG: The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #034 – Jesse and Scott have invited a roster of internet celebrities on for this podcast to talk about Richard K. Morgan‘s novel The Steel Remains. Listen in as…

Brian Murphy (of The Silver Key blog and The Cimmerian),

Gregg Margarite (LibriVox.org narrator and book coordinator),

and Luke Burrage (professional juggler and host of the Science Fiction Book Review Podcast) discuss…

The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan [AN UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK from TANTOR MEDIA]!

Talked about on today’s show:
The Cimmerian blog, Deathworld by Harry Harrison @ LibriVox.org, The Real Fantastic Stuff an essay by Richard K. Morgan, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord Of The Rings, noir, Sci-Fi Dimensions interview with Richard K. Morgan (not Dark Horizons), homosexuality, nihilism, anti-hero, the Takeshi Kovacs novels (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies), Morgan’s Thirteen (aka Black Man), Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, Adam Robert’s letter to Hugo fans (about the Hugo nominees), Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, the Hugo Awards, Morgan’s Market Forces, Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg, George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire, David Eddings, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, Terry Brooks, the Dragonlance series, magic, Tolkien’s use of magic, Morgan’s use of magic in The Steel Remains, characterization in The Steel Remains, recurring themes in Morgan’s novels, Robert E. Howard‘s Conan, what is Ringil Eskiath’s motivation?, what does everyone think of The Steel Remains?, what is the nature maps in Fantasy novels?, The Darkness That Comes Before by Scott Bakker. Next week we’ll talk about more audiobooks with these guys too.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 022

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxHere’s another almost all new-to-audio collection from LibriVox.org. Ten tales of Science Fiction from the tail-end of the “Golden Age Of Science Fiction.” These stories span the years 1947 to 1962. We’ve got LibriVox volunteers like
book coordinator Gregg Margarite, proof-Listener “julicarter” and meta-coordinator/cataloguer Lucy Burgoyne, to thank for ogranizing, proofing and cataloguing it. But we shouldn’t forget to thank the narrators either! Thanks for this fun collection of Public Domain audio goodness! We appreciate it.

LibriVox - Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 022Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 022
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-22.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Fantasy Book Vol. 1 No. 1 (1947)Flight Through Tomorrow
By Stanton A. Coblentz; Read by Derek Bever
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
Super warfare has destroyed the old race of man, but elsewhere a new civilization is dawning… From Fantasy Book Vol. 1 number 1 (1947).


Fantastic Universe September 1957Happy Ending
By Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 31 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
A world had collapsed around this man—a world that would never shout his praises again. The burned-out cities were still and dead, the twisted bodies and twisted souls giving him their last salute in death. And now he was alone, alone surrounded by memories, alone and waiting… From Fantastic Universe September 1957.

Fantastic Universe January 1954Lost In The Future
By John Victor Peterson; Read by Reynard T. Fox
1 |MP3| – Approx. 8 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
Did you ever wonder what might happen if mankind ever exceeded the speed of light? Here is a profound story based on that thought—a story which may well forecast one of the problems to be encountered in space travel. From Fantastic Universe January 1954.

LibriVox - Master Of None by Neil GobleMaster of None
By Neil Goble; Read by Dan Wylie-Sears
1 |MP3| – Approx. 33 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
The advantages of specialization are so obvious that, today, we don’t even know how to recognize a competent syncretist! From Analog Science Fact and Science Fiction February 1962.

Fantastic Universe August 1957No Pets Allowed
By M.A. Cummings; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 7 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
M. A. Cummings (Monette to her friends) returns with another hauntingly persuasive story of a Tomorrow that may not be as gleaming as we hope. Her recent story, The Weridies, apparently delighted some and startled others—and this in Los Angeles! What’s happening there? From Fantastic Universe August 1957.

Fantastic Universe August 1957Now We Are Three
By Joe L. Hensley; Read by Roger Melin
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
Where are we going? What will the world be like in the days—perhaps not too distant—when we have tested and tested the bombs to the finite degree? Joe L. Hensley, attorney in Madison, Indiana, and increasingly well known in SF, returns with this challenging story of that Tomorrow. From Fantastic Universe August 1957.

Fantastic Universe May 1954Rex Ex Machina
By Frederic Max; Read by Reynard T. Fox
1 |MP3| – Approx. 8 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
The domination of the minds of tractable Man is not new. Many men have dreamed of it. Certainly some of them have tried. This man succeeded. A science fictional letter from a father to a son. From Fantastic Universe May 1954.

LibriVox -  A Transmutation Of Muddles by Horace Brown FyfeA Transmutation of Muddles
By Horace Brown Fyfe; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 44 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
An experienced horse-trader, bargain-haggler, and general swapper has a very special talent for turning two headaches into one aspirin pill… From Astounding Science Fiction September 1960.

Fantastic Universe November 1956The Velvet Glove
By Harry Harrison; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 44 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
SF writer and editor Harry Harrison explores a not too distant future where robots—particularly specialist robots who don’t know their place—have quite a rough time of it. True, the Robot Equality Act had been passed—but so what? From Fantastic Universe November 1956.

Fantastic Universe September 1956When I Grow Up
By Richard E. Lowe; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
A good many science fiction writers seem determined to depict children as little monsters. Not all children perhaps, and not with completely merciless regularity. But often enough to make us shudder. Only Richard Lowe remains independent. The youngster of this story isn’t a child monster at all. He’s just—a “destructor.” And that in itself is somehow unimaginably terrifying! From Fantastic Universe September 1956.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Stories Vol. 19

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxIt seems LibriVox has started adding a few more credits to its collections starting with this volume. Besides the narrators, this collection was created by the following LibriVox volunteers:

Book Coordinator: Gregg Margarite
Dedicated Proof-Listener: julicarter
Meta-Coordinator/Cataloging: Lucy Burgoyne

Stories new to this collection include:

Stopover by William Gerken. This is a well written but annoying story. It is one of better parapsychology short stories, but that isn’t saying much. John W. Campbell was absolutely obsessed with paraspychological ESP bunk – it makes for very repetitive reading. This story’s setting, in a post-apocalyptic USA, is vivid – and the characters are emotionally realistic -too bad about the ESP crap. Bellona Times, the narrator, has a few missteps in this one – including the reading “psi talents” as “pee-ess-eye talents.”

Something Will Turn Up by David Mason. The beatnik/hippy repairman, and his dialogue, in this tale are a real hoot. It’s more a Fantasy tale than an SF one, but its got a beatnik TV repairman so I’m still happy. Read by Bellona Times again without any serious flaws but with a few little ones here and there. Times snaps his fingers and whistles – which to me is a narrator double no-no. There’s also a word or two improperly read, notably “reversed” read as “reverse.”

The Sargasso Of Space by Edmond Hamilton. This is a fast paced space opera (and mystery) about an interplanetary spacecraft that’s run out of gas. Gregg Margarite continues to kick ass as a narrator. He’s no vocal chameleon but he’s just a few tweaks away from being a pro sounding narrator. He seems to choose some of the better stories too. I think he’s super cool. Maybe he’ll be my friend? That’d be cool.

LibriVox - Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 019Short Science Fiction Stories Vol. 19
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 41 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-19.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Fantastic Universe August/September 1953All Cats are Gray
By Andre Norton; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
An odd story, made up of oddly assorted elements that include a man, a woman, a black cat, a treasure—and an invisible being that had to be seen to be believed. – Under normal conditions a whole person has a decided advantage over a handicapped one. But out in deep space the normal may be reversed—for humans at any rate. First published using Norton’s Andrew North pseudonym in Fantastic Universe Science Fiction, August–September 1953.

LibriVox - Beyond Lies The Wub by Philip K. DickBeyond Lies The Wub
By Phillip K. Dick; Read by Tom Hackett
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
The slovenly wub might well have said: Many men talk like philosophers and live like fools. From Planet Stories July 1952.

LibriVox - The Gallery by Rog PhillipsThe Gallery
By Rog Phillips; Read by Ted Ryan
– [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
Wherever he went Arthur felt the power behind the lens. – Aunt Matilda needed him desperately, but when he arrived she did not want him and neither did anyone else in his home town. From Amazing Stories January 1959.

LibriVox - The Happy Unfortunate by Robert SilverbergThe Happy Unfortunate
By Robert Silverberg; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 39 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
Dekker, back from space, found great physical changes in the people of Earth; changes that would have horrified him five years before. But now, he wanted to be like the rest—even if he had to lose an eye and both ears to do it. From Amazing Stories December 1957.

LibriVox - The Man Who Saw The Future by Edmond HamiltonThe Man Who Saw The Future
By Edmond Hamilton; Read by Xanderphilips
1 |MP3| – Approx. [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
“Jean de Marselait, Inquisitor Extraordinary of the King of France, raised his head from the parchments that littered the crude desk at which he sat. His glance shifted along the long stone-walled, torchlit room to the file of mail-clad soldiers who stood like steel statues by its door. A word from him and two of them sprang forward.” First published in Amazing Stories, October 1930. Later reprinted in the February 1961 issue of Amazing Stories.

LibriVox - A Matter Of Proportion by Anne WalkerA Matter Of Proportion
By Anne Walker; Read by Dale A. Bade
1 |MP3| – Approx. 37 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
In order to make a man stop, you must convince him that it’s impossible to go on. Some people, though, just can’t be convinced. From Astounding Science Fiction August 1959.

Astounding Stories September 1931Sargasso Of Space
By Edmond Hamilton; Read by Greg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
She was floating along the wreck-pack’s edge. Helpless, doomed, into the graveyard of space floats the wrecked freighter Pallas. From Astounding Stories September 1931.


LibriVox - Something Will Turn Up by David MasonSomething Will Turn Up
By David Mason; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 17 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
Err … maybe it had to do with this being a non-Parity universe, perhaps? Some things can’t be simply inverted, after all… From Analog February 1963.


Fantastic Universe September 1957Stopover
By William Gerken; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
What will the world be like, the day after Tomorrow, for the lonely ones who will have talents that others will half fear, half envy? William Gerken describes this strange world in which young and old will have to find new values and pursue new dreams, as they search for the answer… From Fantastic Universe September 1957.

LibriVox - Toy Shop by Harry HarrisonToy Shop
By Harry Harrison; Read by Xanderphillips
1 |MP3| – Approx. 10 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 23, 2009
The gadget was strictly, beyond any question, a toy. Not a real, workable device. Except for the way it could work under a man’s mental skin… From Analog April 1962.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 017

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVox - Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 017Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 017
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 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, first published between 1951 and 1962, that entered the US public domain when their copyright was not renewed.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-017.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

LibriVox - Belly Laugh by Randall GarrettBelly Laugh
By Randall Garrett; Read by Jozef Nagy
1 |MP3| – Approx. 5 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
You hear a lot of talk these days about secret weapons. If it’s not a new wrinkle in nuclear fission, it’s a gun to shoot around corners and down winding staircases. Or maybe a nice new strain of bacteria guaranteed to give you radio-active dandruff. Our own suggestion is to pipe a few of our television commercials into Russia and bore the enemy to death.

LibriVox - Citadel by Algis BudrysCitadel
By Algis Budrys; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 53 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
He was looking for a privacy his strange personality needed. And—never quite seemed to achieve it. All his efforts were, somehow—great triumphs of the race, and great failures for him! From the February 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. This story is told from only one side of the conversation.

LibriVox - Cully by Jack EganCully
By Jack Egan; Read by Jozef Nagy
1 |MP3| – Approx. 11 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
By all the laws of nature, he should have been dead. But if he were alive … then there was something he had to find. From Amazing Stories, January 1963.

LibriVox - The Defenders by Philip K. DickThe Defenders
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
No weapon has ever been frightful enough to put a stop to war—perhaps because we never before had any that thought for themselves! From Galaxy Science Fiction January 1953.

LibriVox - The Good Neighbors by Edgar PangbornThe Good Neighbors
By Edgar Pangborn; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 15 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
You can’t blame an alien for a little inconvenience—as long as he makes up for it! First published in Galaxy magazine, June 1960.
A first contact story.

LibriVox - In The Avu Observatory by H.G. WellsIn The Avu Observatory
By H.G. Wells; Read by Nacelle Droll
1 |MP3| – Approx. 19 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
“The observatory at Avu, in Borneo, stands on the spur of the mountain. To the north rises the old crater, black at night against the unfathomable blue of the sky. From the little circular building, with its mushroom dome, the slopes plunge steeply downward into the black mysteries of the tropical forest beneath.” Set in Borneo. First published in 1894.

LibriVox - Postmark Ganymede by Robert SilverbergPostmark Ganymede
By Robert Silverberg; Read by tabithat
1 |MP3| – Approx. 17 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
Consider the poor mailman of the future. To “sleet and snow and dead of night”—things that must not keep him from his appointed rounds—will be added, sub-zero void, meteors, and planets that won’t stay put. Maybe he’ll decide that for six cents an ounce it just ain’t worth it. From Amazing Stories, September 1957.

LibriVox - Toy Shop by Harry HarrisonToy Shop
By Harry Harrison; Read by Albatross
1 |MP3| – Approx. 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
The gadget was strictly, beyond any question, a toy. Not a real, workable device. Except for the way it could work under a man’s mental skin… From Analog April 1962.

LibriVox - Vital Ingredient by Gerald VanceVital Ingredient
By Gerald Vance*; Read by James Christopher
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
Frankie was ready for the big test—Ten-Time Winner of the world title. He was young and fit and able; also, he had Milt’s cunning brain to direct every feint and punch. This left only one thing in doubt, the— From Amazing Stories September 1956. *This story may have been written by Randall Garrett.

LibriVox Science Fiction - Vortex Blaster by E. E. Doc SmithThe Vortex Blaster
By E. E. “Doc” Smith; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 46 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 21, 2009
The Lensman and the observer helped Storm into his heavily padded armor. Their movements were automatic—the ointment, the devices— From the pages of the pulp magazine Comet, July 1941.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Deathworld by Harry Harrison

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxGregg Margarite is an up and coming narrator over on LibriVox.org. He recorded stories for five of the LibriVox “Short Science Fiction” collections as well as soloing on the Collected Public Domain Works Of Stanley G. Weinbaum! But it is his latest project that I suspect will be his most popular narration. Here’s how he describes it:

Deathworld is the first in a series of novels begun in 1960 and originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine. It’s the story of Jason dinAlt a professional gambler with psionic skills who finds himself on Pyrrus the deadliest planet to be colonized by humanity. Violent weather, active tectonics, heavy gravity, abundant predators, and a hostile splinter group of colonists is only the beginning of Jason’s quest to learn the truth about Pyrrus.”

LibriVox Science Fiction - Deathworld by Harry HarrisonDeathworld
By Harry Harrison; Read by Gregg Margarite
28 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 5 Hours 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: April 2009
Some planet in the galaxy must—by definition—be the toughest, meanest, nastiest of all. If Pyrrus wasn’t it … it was an awfully good approximation! First published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine’s January, February and March 1960 issues.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/deathworld-by-harry-harrison.xml

iTunes 1-click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis