Reading, Short And Deep #194 – The Altar by Robert Sheckley

Podcast

Reading, Short And DeepReading, Short And Deep #194

Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss The Altar by Robert Sheckley

The Altar was first published in Fantastic, July-August 1953.

Here’s a link to the PDF of the story.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Reading, Short And Deep #191 – The Meanest Man That Ever Lived by Bruno Lessing

Podcast

Reading, Short And DeepReading, Short And Deep #191

Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss The Meanest Man That Ever Lived by Bruno Lessing

The Meanest Man That Ever Lived was first published in Cosmopolitan, May 1908.

Here’s a link to the PDF of the story.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

The SFFaudio Podcast #535 – READALONG: The Pirates Of Ersatz by Murray Leinster

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #535 – Jesse, Paul Weimer, Maissa Bessada, Julie Davis, and Terence Blake talk about The Pirates Of Ersatz by Murray Leinster

Talked about on today’s show:
The Pirates Of Zan, translation, there’s no planet named Ersatz, inferior substitute, pirate planet, a terrible pirate, a great pirate, a successful pirate, replacement pirates, Darth pirates, actors, so fun, The people of Walden are pirating themselves, Zan pirates, regular boring farming, he wanted adventure, cover with a slide rule in his teeth, he wanted to be an engineer, climbing into the boat, a stun pistol, Jesse read it 10 years ago, forgettable fun, comic novels, The Incomplete Enchanter by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp, Space Viking by H. Beam Piper, between the two poles, Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding, a road trip, a means of pointing out flaws in society, “audiobooks are books, Paul”, back when Jesse was angry about stuff on the internet, the same Kurt Vonnegut story: 2BOR02B, where the PDF Page came from, The Aliens by Murray Leinster read by Julie Davis, Forgotten Classics, you’re welcome for the audiobook, the Astounding book, a nominee for the Hugo, Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, Sirens Of Titan, definitely written for John W. Campbell, the competent man, a comedic novel, The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, Deathworld by Harry Harrison, there are better con-men novels, with less infodumping, his tricks, not cheating as much as we might guess, Jesse is not an electrical engineer, everything is wirelessly charged, this is all very plausible (in theory), everyone is getting cooked with microwaves, magnetic coils, how romantic, a Tesla thing, a wireless radio without a battery, the radio waves themselves are the power, Julie wants no more details, the central problem and its resolution, a “death ray”, being set-up, an unintended consequence, he wrapped it up nicely, virtually in suspense, the political/sociological heft, a little too pat, the ambassador and the grandfather are the Heinlein characters, the mental wisdom for Hodan, oh yeah, gotta bunch of wisdom to instill in this kid, Walden Pond, here’s what comes from too much peace, stasis, civilization, the most civilized planet, frontier mentality, tranquilizing society, taking Oxycontin in their main hobby, the Captain Kirk of their society, an agent of chaos, he facilitates, some more of the embassies, the kind of Earth empire (not even a confederation), a larger universe, central authority, feudal chaos, different polities, a space patrol, The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, green-skinned aliens, the Krishna novels, fauna and flora, legalistic arguments down to a fine art, culturally sophisticated, the lord of this and the king of that, the bride of our hero, “this is the woman for you, dude”, the angriest woman in the universe, Chekov’s gun, Netta, the glamour of being associated with a pirate, cowing the barbarians, she wants to make a nice girl out of me, speaking of gender, the Gendered Text Project, suddenly everything’s different, when Bree Hodan…, she was a delightful girl, the weirdest one, it changes the feel, a basic romance, non-binary, Bryn, hir room, zee went to bed, hir ambitions, zee’d be well to do, such prospects made for good sleeping, grandPARENT, what does this do to the original story, kind of like a Conan story, the fools all around them, a softer Conan story, a very weird concept (with that in mind), the male version of the book, Thor is female (or was), a female Wolverine, a novel of a capable man, a capable woman (a Mary Sue), unlikeable, fun and helpful, what happens to your perception, Derek was almost like a female character to begin with, backing into the piracy, originally funnier, who wants to go off an be a civil engineer?, messing around, a new company comes out, ebooks, the Adult version of Harry Potter, Harriet Potter, does that inform your writing, copyright laws, we need a new clause, Indian films, Ghajini (2008) is the Hindi version of Memento (2000), non-creative, zero-respect, the point of writing a book, nyah nyah nop eugh, Julian Assange being taken out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, shelter, citizenship, citizenship revoked, “crime”, the science fiction romp frothiness vs. realpolitik, could that fictional embassy possibly exist?, how striking, shimmying down a rope, heat guns, a very Cory Doctorow thing, flashmobs, an ad on Craigslist: white wig and blue shirt, 10,000 Julian Assanges, embassy intrigue, not that kind of science fiction (really serious about politics), an adventure story, razed in a day, England and embassies, not so much pirates, Pirates Of Darth, the Danegeld, some viking will take them up on it, semi-civilized, William the Bastard, invading a neighbouring island (England), the really fun part, the homeless people are his fleet, sense of empathy, he’d been cheated, so angry, with the insurance, the bonuses, it’s his character, a soft-hearted pirate, why’d you come to a poor place, the poor will give you everything, the underclass, high fleet admiral, against the elites, the Walden society is fucked up, Robert E. Howard’s theories about civilization and barbarism, built-up capital, addiction and getting servants in to pick your crops, a built-in establishment likes they way things work out for them, not everyone is equally powerful, cops vs. judges, a critique of 1959 USA, a lot of lines like this, a lot of frothiness, the background buildup in the philosophy of the world, in cahoots, in support of that system, from the fourth paragraph, good writing, quite pretty, the highest in the Nurmi cluster, a supply of tranquilizers, the tigers aren’t after us at this very moment, blackbears aren’t super-dangerous, a bear up stuck in a tree, wealthy humans getting excited about a bear, so few bear skeletons found in trees, would they notice with one hand clapping?, straight thinking is a delusion, real things aint simple, aint clear, make it as complicated as you can, isn’t that the way, we’ll just do this to do that, that bit of wisdom, how politicians get out of hot water, death ray vs. he literally fell out of a tree, tying everything back in, luring them into understanding how it works, using them as a means to his end, in dealing with other peoples problems you can solve your problems, a helluva lot better neighbour, its not your business, US public healthcare would force Canada to go left, Jagmeet Singh, the US government can’t administer Medicare very well, corruption, we have to up our game, Jesse is not wrong, Canada defines itself in opposition to the USA, Nice, France, from the outsiders outsiders point of view, how clear that question was, 42, Twitter as a medium of links and pictures, Gilles Deleuze, the grandfather’s idea, piracy is good for the economy, things only work because they break down, piracy is a good think, a timid introverted poor student from Australia who went to France, a powerful thinker, what old guys thought might make sense, that history of failure is fascinating, see where someone else made this mistake a long time ago, 1987, an English teacher in a technical high-school, terminal, a couple of hours of philosophy a week, six or seven hours a week, general culture, written in the 1950s, this depiction of piracy, stasis vs. disorder, a product of its time?, relative stability, would people go for it?, a precarious situation, does this novel work today, Frederik Pohl, P. Schuyler Miller, adventure yarning, of piece of lightweight for entertainment purposes only, sneaks up on you, something funny about the names, Hodan like Odin, Bran, brain vs. brawn, Darth is dearth, things with the names, order and chaos, no longer applicable, capitalism is based on producing as much disorder as possible, Crim is the ultimate capitalist, Walden is sublimation, full of crackpots, for spite, a subtle sort of hidden intellectual side to the story, spot on, John Clute, “a competent but unremarkable space opera”, a series of planetary romances, The Odyssey, picaresque, Penelope isn’t delightful so he goes back with Circe, coming to mind, stasis vs. richness, Jesus: feel sorry for the rich man, a cyclical need, Jesse wants to read more of these, other Leinsters, The Forgotten Planet, A Logic Named Joe, Journey To Barkut, William F. Jenkins, one of the earliest science fiction writers of the pulp era, making a living, Police Your Planet by Lester del Rey, Badge Of Infamy, The Green Odyssey by Philip Jose Farmer, humans are pretty funny, a smelly barbarian queen, he delicately disassembled, a very nice sweeping line, one could spend a lifetime, absolutely true, industriously reading pirated books, so important, torrent site, not available in his region, deathbed conversion, sin-eater, something real about the piracy thing, the title is already a parody (of The Pirates Of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan), making fun of the romantic idea of piracy, the pirate nation known as the United States, Fred Himebaugh’s pirate novel (with Blackbeard as president), USA maintains a shit list, yo ho ho and a bagful of books, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings by Tom Shippey, viking is a verb, you get a song out of it, heroic lifestyle, the Wild West, threats vs. warnings, we need an audiobook of this book, the last John W. Campbell story, angels, Alec Nevala-Lee, philosophy as a sort of science fiction, people are complex numbers existing on an imaginary axis, a last joke, Campbell’s definition of science fiction, non-philosophy, he’s gone beyond everyone, September 1971, On The Nature Of Angels, a pun, the really sad part, adhering the copyright law is hurting people, playing a little bit fast and loose, makes sense, a “sample”, pirates are nice folks, generally helpful, helping the insurance industry, Walden to the nth level, sad story for them, romance adventure and derring-do, The Runaway Skyscraper by Murray Leinster, stf = scientificition, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, H.G. Wells, 40 years later, 1919 – 1959, LibriVox, on the lam, The Creatures Of The Abyss, good basic pulp-type story, Sidewise In Time, passenger pigeons are back, pulpy goodness, alternate histories, Star Trek, First Contact, here’s an idea, poor Tom Godwin couldn’t write his way out of a wet paper bag, thick accent that infests every sentence, getting more Leinster up.

Ace Books, 66525, The Pirates Of Zan

The Pirates Of Zan, 1974

Kelly Freas' The Pirates Of Ersatz

Piratefleet Over Darth

ACE Books D-403, The Pirates Of Zan

The Pirates Of Zan, 1989

Posted by Jesse Willis

Reading, Short And Deep #180 – Keep Your Shape by Robert Sheckley

Podcast

Reading, Short And DeepReading, Short And Deep #180

Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss Keep Your Shape by Robert Sheckley

Here’s a link to a PDF of the story.

Keep Your Shape was first published in Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1953.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Reading, Short And Deep #179 – Cannibalism In The Cars by Mark Twain

Podcast

Reading, Short And DeepReading, Short And Deep #179

Eric S. Rabkin and Jesse Willis discuss Cannibalism In The Cars by Mark Twain

Here’s a link to a PDF of the story.

Cannibalism In The Cars was first published in the Broadway Journal, November 1868.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

The SFFaudio Podcast #518 – AUDIO DRAMA: The Destiny Of Special Agent Ace Galaksi

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe Destiny Of Special Agent Ace GalaksiThe SFFaudio Podcast #518 – First podcast in 2013, in six separate installments, The Destiny Of Special Agent Ace Galaksi is an audio drama series that weaves its way through the annals of time and the wormholes of space. This new podcast edition strings them all together into one vast adventure.

Over the six episodes CSIS Special Agent Ace Galaksi’s investigations will conclude that Earth has been playing host to shape changing alien visitors since the planet was so young it was still getting the hang of spinning – and that some of those visitors left artifacts behind.

Certain peculiarities about the artifacts lead Ace to some startling discoveries about the very nature of existence. Unfortunately Ace Galaksi’s destiny is unclear as to whether or not he’ll be able to stay ahead of a co-ordinated plan by world governments to ensure he keeps his findings to himself – permanently.

Series written by: Maissa Bessada
Produced by: Leslie Bertin & Maissa Bessada
Directed by: Martin Buote
Audio Production by: Simon Bowers, Skylight Studios Toronto

Ace Galaksi: Gord Mayer
Editor Giant Book of Destiny: Michelle Cote
Copy Aid: Erik Blohm-Gagné
Fran: Elise Blohm-Gagné
Yasmeen Stanislavski: Maissa Bessada
Chief: JC Paquet

Episode 1
Episode 1 Hoaxes And Crackpot Allegations
Akhenaten Jones: Erik Blohm-Gagné
Stan: William Patton
Mrs. Jones: Cindy Hirschberg-Schon
Waiter: JC Paquet

Episode 2
Episode 2 Startling Discoveries
Stefan/Lightning/Caller 2: Martin Buote
Steven/Tony/Caller 1: William Patton
Sue: Liisa Kallasmaa-Davis
The Marching band on Traa Laa Laa were The Scarlet Brigade Marching and Concert Band, playing The Screamer by Frederick Alton Jewell

Episode 3
Episode 3 Tempest In A Tennis Ball
Karen Footglome: Madeleine Patton
Captain: William Patton
Ensign: Erik Blohm-Gagné
Fred/Cabby: JC Pacquet
Hospital V.O./Ship V.O.: Liisa Kallasmaa-Davis
Music in Yasmeen’s apartment I Knew A Guy, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Groovy tune in Karen’s headphones: Stuck In the Middle, Courtesy of The Elwins
Cracked horn played by Katie Toksoy

Episode 4
Episode 4 Answering One Of Life’s Great Questions
Willy Hornsloff/Guide: Martin Buote
Pharaoh: William Patton
Alex Van Djik: Erik Blohm-Gagné
Bashir/Grey Alien: Elise Blohm-Gagné
Jenny/Square Dance Caller: Liisa Kallasmaa-Davis
Palace music, Mighty & Meek Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Episode 5
Episode 5 Hidden Treasure
Bashir: Elise Blohm-Gagné
Jacob Splee/FBI Chief/Cust 2: Martin Buote
Alex/Old Man/Cop: Erik Blohm-Gagné
Stella Schwarz: Liisa Kallasmaa-Davis
KGB Agent: Cindy Hirschberg-Schon
Cashier: Michelle Cote
Music inside tomb Arcadia and action background music Clenched by Kevin MacLeod (incomptech.com)

Episode 6
Episode 6 Cairo The (Sometimes) Floating Dog
Frank Figgledeedee: Martin Buote
Maddy: Madeleine Patton
Al/Rajinder: Erik Blohm-Gagné
Mary A/ Maddy’s Mother Cindy Hirschberg-Schon
Stella/Mary H/Eduardo/Phoenix: Liisa Kallasmaa-Davis
Kid: Elise Blohm-Gagné
Sandy: Michelle Cote

Posted by Jesse Willis