Final Rune: Three Skeleton Key MODERN AUDIO DRAMA

SFFaudio Online Audio

Final Rune ProductionsFred Greenhalgh, the host of Radio Drama Revival and the force behind FinalRune Productions has sent out a thank you email with a bonus! Included in it is a new production of Three Skeleton Key. Which is among the most famous of old time radio tales!

Sez Fred:

“Thank You, Thank You

2009 has been a huge year for FinalRune. Initially we didn’t think we would produce much work, but instead we have released three spectacular re-creations of old time radio plays and produced our first live radio show on Halloween – all of which blew away our expectations.

None of this could have happened without huge contributions of time and talent from numerous individuals, most notably those at The Mad Horse Theater Company. A big THANK YOU to our new friends, and we hope to have many more great productions together.

Of course, we also have a huge thank you for you, our listener, for caring about this kind of work and encouraging us to make more. 2010 promises many exciting projects, which we’ll fill you in about as soon as we possibly can.

For now, we’re proud to announce the release of the terrifying final installment of our three-part OTR project with Mad Horse, the classic Three Skeleton Key, re-energized with a fine set of performances on location at a lighthouse in Maine.”

Final Rune Productions and the Mad Horse Theatre Company: Three Skeleton KeyThree Skeleton Key
Based on the story by George G. Toudouze; Adapted by James Poe; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 24 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Final Rune Productions
Published: December 23, 2009
Three men who tend the light at a reclusive island off the coast of French Guiana see a rogue ship adrift in the Atlantic. The reason for the derelict ship soon becomes obvious – it has been overrun by hundreds of thousands of ferocious ship’s rats. The rats land on the isle and soon we are in for a claustrophobic tale of terror as the three men struggle to keep their minds from cracking under the pressure of thousands and thousands of squeaking, scratching, hungry rats. First published as a short story in Esquire magazine’s January 1937 issue. Later adapted for radio by Suspense and Escape.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Blackstone Audiobooks Overtstock Sale

SFFaudio News

Blackstone Audiobooks Overstock SaleBlackstone AudiobooksSFFaudio receives FREE audio media in the mail on a regular basis. They generally arrive unsolicited (though sometimes not) and we take it that their arrival equates with a tacit understanding that we’ll either mention the receipt on the website and/or review the audiobook or audio drama. That’s the extent of our formal relationship with any publisher or retailer. We do not use affiliate links to Amazon, or any other audiobook retailer. This lack of affiliation means that we can never feel pressured into reviewing an audiobook or audio drama more positively (or negatively) than we might otherwise.

Now, with all that said, I think I can speak for most of the folks who work at SFFaudio and say that we are all especially fond of Blackstone Audiobooks.

There are a few reasons for this BA love. Blackstone picks great books to turn into audiobooks, pairing them with terrific narrators, and then releases them in DRM free version. That’s really all what you want from a publisher. But that isn’t the end of it. Every so often they blow-out audiobooks that are cramming their wharehouse space. And that’s why right now they’re offering 237 different audiobooks for just $9.99 each.

That’s a STUNNING DEAL my friends!

And, if you buy two audiobooks (or more) you’ll even get FREE SHIPPING (within the USA). Here are just a few of the many titles they’ve got for sale right now:

THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; read by Ben Kingsley
THE AENEID by Virgil; read by Frederick Davidson
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll; read by Michael York
THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London; read by Ethan Hawke
A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT by Mark Twain; read by Carl Reiner
FRANKENSTEIN, OR THE MODERN PROMETHEUS by Mary Shelley; read by Simon Templeman, Anthony Heald, and Stefan Rudnicki
I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson; read by Robertson Dean |READ OUR REVIEW|
IT’S SUPERMAN! by Tom De Haven; read by Scott Brick
KING KONG by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper; novelization by Delos W. Lovelace; read by Stefan Rudnicki |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE MARTIAN CHILD by David Gerrold; read by Scott Brick
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY by Oscar Wilde; read by Simon Vance
THE PRESTIGE by Christopher Priest; read by Simon Vance
THE PRINCE by Niccoló Machiavelli; read by Patrick Cullen
ROCKET SHIP GALILEO by Robert A Heinlein; read by Spider Robinson |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE SPARTANS by Paul Cartledge; read by John Lee
SWEENEY TODD AND THE STRING OF PEARLS by Yuri Rasovsky; Performed by a full cast
TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER by Beatrix Potter; read by Nadia May
TARZAN OF THE APES by Edgar Rice Burroughs; read by Ben Kingsley
THE TEN-CENT PLAGUE by David Hajdu; read by Stefan Rudnicki
THERMOPYLAE by Paul Cartledge; read by John Lee
THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells; read by Ben Kingsley
THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka; read by Geoffrey Howard
UTOPIA by Sir Thomas More; read by James Adams
V FOR VENDETTA by Steve Moore; read by Simon Vance |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS by H. G. Wells; read by Christopher Hurt
WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES by Philip Gourevitch; read by Jeff Cummings
WHERE’S MY JETPACK? by Daniel H. Wilson; read by Stefan Rudnicki |READ OUR REVIEW|
THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE by Don Winslow; read by Dennis Boutsikaris
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO NARNIA by Jonathan Rogers; read by Brian Emerson

Posted by Jesse Willis

We’re Alive: A Story Of Survival – a zombie audio drama serial

SFFaudio Online Audio

We're Alive: A Story Of SurvivalWe’re Alive: A Story Of Survival is a new horror serial podcast that makes use of one the world’s most currently popular tropes, ZOMBIES!

One of the more difficult storytelling problems, in creating a zombie story, is addressing the word itself. “Zombie,” as we use it, is a relatively new word and it conjures up some highly specific images. But, since it refers to something of the modern world, but not actually in the modern world it can’t be simply taken for granted – at least not quite yet.

George Romero, the inventor of the modern zombie story, didn’t have this problem. He had his protagonists call their foes “the dead.” And the story was played straight. Now that this meme is free floating, fully realized and yet still insubstantial the writer of We’re Alive: A Story Of Survival, Kc Wayland, felt the need to address the problem. This is what he did:

Michael: They were like animals and they sure as hell weren’t like us anymore. Not with those eyes.

Angel: Then what were they?

Saul: Zombies.

Michael: Come on Saul, this isn’t the time.

Saul: No joke sarge! What if they are?

Michael: Think about it just for a second.

Exactly. This writerly technique is called “Lampshade Hanging.” It’s needed when some aspect of the story threatens the audience’s willing suspension of disbelief. The idea is simple: call attention to the problem and then having called that attention, move on. It sounds counterinutive, but it works. The audience is perversely mollified, satisfied that the writer knows what we know. Okay, enough of meta-zombies. Here’s this zombie show’s zombie premise:

A small riot in LA has spread past its containment. Three reserve soldiers are called to their deserted duty station. Believed to be the last remaining armed servicemen in the area, Michael, Angel, and Saul witness the true cause of the riot; people are starting to change and attack each other. Armed with only what they can carry, they set out to secure an apartment building and rescue survivors scattered amongst the shattered remains of civilization. In a world turned upside down, every day is a struggle, as those who have taken refuge in the tower find out that their safe haven is under constant threat. In this place, however, the strengths of those who stand together, might just be enough to live long enough to see things start to change.

There are 13 episodes out so far. It’s an interesting story, being a full blown zombie apocalypse set in Los Angeles.

Podcast feed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/itpc/wwwwaylandws/Wayland_Productions/Were_Alive_-_Podcast/rssxml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[via Radio Drama Revival]

Posted by Jesse Willis

In The Gloaming Podcast: Creepy Tales of Now

SFFaudio Online Audio

In The GloamingNathaniel Tapley, of the In The Gloaming podcast, subtitled “Creepy Tales of Now” sez:

We’ve just started making a new monthly horror-comedy podcast that might be of interest to you and your readers. Called In The Gloaming it features some of Britain’s most exciting young comics in creepy tales of now…

The first episode, Dead Skinny, is out now. Have a listen |MP3| or get it via the podcast feed:

http://inthegloaming.podbean.com/feed/

So I listened to the first episode, it features some very silly (but very funny) jokes in the intro and lots of laugh-out-loud ridiculousness in the story proper. It’s very dark humour, dark and very funny. It’s actually quite creepy how much laughing I did. Body dysmorphic disorder probably shouldn’t be this funny. I’m going to subscribe.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Diabolic Plots: The Best Of Pseudopod

SFFaudio Online Audio

Diabolical PlotsThe Diabolical Plots blog has a post called “The Best of Pseudopod” here’s a snippet:

“Since July I’ve been plumbing the depths of Pseudopod’s backlog and now I’m sad to say I’ve listened to everything they’ve offered to date. Now I only get one new Pseudopod a week like the rest of the world (released every Friday). But now that I’ve listened to all of Pseudopod’s offerings, I feel qualified to make a list of the Best of Pseudopod, my top ten favorite stories that have been posted to the site (and a few that ALMOST made the list).”

And here are the top 10 picks:

1.
PseudopodDeep Red
By Floris M. Kleijne; Read by Ben Phillips
1 |MP3| – Approx. 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: November 21st, 2008


2.
PseudopodSuicide Notes By An Alien Mind
By Ferrett Steinmetz; Read by Phil Rossi
1 |MP3| – Approx. 34 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: October 2nd, 2009


3.
PseudopodStockholm Syndrome
By David Tallerman; Read by Cheyenne Wright
1 |MP3| – Approx. 21 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: June 29th, 2007


4.
PseudopodCome To My Arms, My Beamish Boy
By Douglas F. Warrick; Read by Phil Rossi
1 |MP3| – Approx. 32 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: April 17th, 2009


5.
PseudopodThe Button Bin
By Mike Allen; Read by Wilson Fowlie
1 |MP3| – Approx. 42 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: June 12th, 2009


6.
PseudopodLast Respects
By Dave Thompson; Read by Scott Sigler
1 |MP3| – Approx. 27 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: March 30th, 2007


7.
PseudopodHometown Horrible
By Matthew Bey; Read by Elie Hirschman
1 |MP3| – Approx. 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: July 24th, 2009


8.
PseudopodStepfathers
By Grady Hendrix; Read by Nerraux
1 |MP3| – Approx. 8 Minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: June 20th, 2009


9.
PseudopodThe Music of Erich Zann
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by B.J. Harrison
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: July 25th, 2008


10.
PseudopodGarbage Day
By Russell L. Burt; Read by Elie Hirschman
1 |MP3| – Approx. 3 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Pseudopod
Podcast: January 1st, 2008

[via SFSignal]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Icebox Radio: Halloween (audio drama) lasts 24 hours

SFFaudio Online Audio

Icebox Radio TheatreIcebox Radio, is featuring “24 Hours of Terror”, a solid day of horror lasting the 24 hours that is Halloween 2009.

Here’s the schedule:

Midnight – Oct 31, 2009
Atlanta Radio Theater Company: Brides Of Dracula 1
Atlanta Radio Theater Company: Brides of Dracula 2

1:00am
Atlanta Radio Theater Company: Brides of Dracula 3
Union Signal: Dead Man’s Hole

2:00am
Darker Projects: Man in the Chair
The Grist Mill: The Homecoming
Imagination-X: Background

3:00am
Chatterbox Audio: The Dead Girl

4:00am
Chatterbox Audio: The Dead Girl

5:00am
19 Nocturne Blvd.: Dracula Dot Com
Imagination-X: Up on the Rooftops

6:00am
Sound Effects: Haunted Sounds
Disney: Thrilling Chilling Haunted House

7:00am
Disney: The Haunted Mansion
19 Nocturne Blvd.: For Art’s Sake

8:00am
Darker Projects: Byron Chronicles: The Taint
Darker Projects: The Man in the Chair
Imagination-X: Mandible Hill

9:00am
BrokenSea Audio Productions: Kolchak

10:00am
BrokenSea Audio Productions: Kolchak
Ice Box Radio Theatre: 3 Skeleton Key
Disney: Thrilling Chilling Haunted House 01

11:00am
Willamette Radio: Murder of Crows
Darker Projects: Zombie Pumpkinheads From Outerspace
Haunted Sounds: House Labratory 05

Noon
Atlanta Radio Theater Company: Shadow Over Innsmouth

1:00pm
Atlanta Radio Theater Company: Shadow Over Innsmouth
19 Nocturne Blvd: Thrice Tolled Bell

2:00pm
Bells In The Batfry: The Spectre Bride
Ice Box Radio Theatre: Revolt of the Worms
Haunted Sounds: Entering the Haunted House 01

3:00pm
19 Nocturne Blvd.: The Temple
OTR: The Thing On The Fourbleboard

4:00pm
Ice Box Radio Theatre: Pickaxe Hill
Ice Box Radio Theatre: The Bats
Haunted Sounds: Gathering Storm 03

5:00pm
The Grist Mill: If You Take My Hand My Son |READ OUR REVIEW|
Ice Box Radio Theatre: The Thing On The Ice

6:00pm
Final Rune‘s Halloween Show: LIVE

7:00pm
Final Rune’s Halloween Show: LIVE

8:00pm
OTR: War Of The Worlds (WKBW-Buffalo)

9:00pm
OTR: War Of The Worlds (WKBW-Buffalo)
19 Nocturne Blvd.: Force Majeure (Premiere!)
Imagination-X: The House In The Woods

10:00pm
The Grist Mill: God Of The Razor |READ OUR REVIEW|
Ice Box Radio Theatre: The Thing On the Ice

11:00pm
Imagination-X: Family Radio
Darker Projects: And God Looked

[Thanks Bill!]

Posted by Jesse Willis