The Year’s Top Short SF Novels, ed. by Allan Kaster

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Science Fiction Audiobook - The Year's Top Short SF Novels edited by Allan Kaster

Life is good! Infinivox just released their latest: The Year’s Top Short SF Novels, edited by Allan Kaster.

CONTENTS:
“Return to Titan” by Stephen Baxter
“Jackie’s-Boy” by Steven Popkes
“The Sultan of the Clouds” by Geoffrey A. Landis
“Seven Cities of Gold” by David Moles
“A History of Terraforming” by Robert Reed
“Several Items of Interest” by Rick Wilber
“Troika” by Alastair Reynolds

All seven stories are unabridged and run approx 2 hours each.

Infinivox says:

Short novels may well be the perfect length for science fiction. They are movie length tales that resonate with moxie while exploring characters, new worlds, and ideas. The stories in this unabridged audio collection are the best-of-the best short science fiction novels published in 2010 by current and emerging masters of this form.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

The SFFaudio Podcast #120

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #120 – Scott, Jesse and Tamahome talk to Allan Kaster, the editor of the new audiobook collection The Year’s Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction 3.

Talked about on today’s show:
Infinivox, post-singularity, Mars, talking animals, emperors, will the post-singularity fiction subgenre be over by 2040?, Charles Stross, Gardner Dozois, post singularity is the magic of Science Fiction, Robert Reed, Under The Moons Of Venus by Damien Broderick, talking dogs, “I didn’t like it in a Science Fiction way”, detective fiction, insanity and crazy people, The Emperor Of Mars by Allen M. Steele, a tribute to martian fiction, the Asimov’s reader’s Award, Emperor Norton of the United States, Asimov’s, Analog and F&SF are now available in the Kindle store, ebooks (and emags) with ads, Harlan Ellison, Gene Wolfe, Stephen King, Flowers For Algernon, Subterranean Online, Lightspeed magazine, Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain by Yoon Ha Lee, Clarkesworld, The Things by Peter Watts, Elegy For A Young Elk by Hannu Rajaniemi, the Science Fiction boom is here, Fantasy, a blossoming of novellas, PS Publishing, Subterranean Press, novellas make for an excellent idea delivery mechanism, Prime Books, The Year’s Best Science Fiction And Fantasy 2011, Ted Chiang’s The Lifecycle Of Software Objects, Stories Of Your Life and Other Stories by Ted Chiang, Infinivox will have a new collection of Science Fiction novellas in the fall: The Year’s Top Short SF Novels, The Things by Peter Watts (read by Kate Baker), The Emperor Of Mars was on Tony Smith’s StarShip Sofa (read by Quartershare author Nathan Lowell), John Carpenter’s The Thing movie vs. John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There?, Howard Hawks, re-working Science Fiction’s legacy fiction in new stories, the stinger comes from sympathizing with a horrible monster, communion, the Shirley Jackson award, Re-Crossing The Styx by Ian R. MacLeod, Scott likes Noir, Double Indemnity, zombies, “even though they’re dead they need entertainment”, The Love Boat, Tom Dheere, he always gets the Science Fiction vocab pronunciation right, Eight Miles by Sean McMullen, Australia, the best story in Analog last year (was Eight Miles), steampunk, is steampunk SF?, steampunk-ish, an Asian cover, Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain by Yoon Ha Lee is ornate and literary SF (and kind of Ted Chiang-like), there’s a logic going on, The Shipmaker by Alliette de Bodard, Nicola Barber, Larry Niven’s Star Trek episode (The Slaver Weapon), Kzinti are in the Star Trek universe, we need another good Science Fiction (TV) series, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Bloch, Fredric Brown, Neil Gaiman, Doctor Who, Babylon 5 was our last best hope for SF on TV, A Letter From The Emperor by Steve Rasnic Tem, fun with mind-wiping, emotional stingers, Adrift by Scott D. Danielson, emotional vs. intellectual SF, bureaucracy doesn’t end, there are lots of lost packets between planets, it derives its power from the characters rather than from the intellectual points, intellectual stimulation vs. emotional stimulation, Elegy For A Young Elk by Hannu Rajaniemi, consciousness-uploading, it’s comic book like, a bit like Dan Simmons, Alone by Robert Reed, the prolific Robert Reed, God-Like Machines edited by Jonathan Strahan, Alastair Reynolds’s Troika is in there too, A History Of Terraforming by Robert Reed, Dead Man’s Run by Robert Reed, Marrow by Robert Reed, an old-fashioned Science Fiction story writer, SFBRP #008 Luke’s review of Marrow, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Starship Vectors edited by Allan Kaster, SFSignal’s review of Starship Vectors, The Shipmaker by Alliette de Bodard, The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey, mutant children are shipped off into the universe to fall in love with their crews, giving birth to a cyborg, Shipmaker reminded Tam of Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler, was dramatized on 2000X, how do you read/listen to anthologies?, is there any chance of doing a year’s top ten 1961? 1965?, how about the top ten of the 1960s?, Charles Stross, A Colder War by Charles Stross |READ OUR REVIEW|, Lobsters by Charles Stross |READ OUR REVIEW|, Accelerando by Charles Stross, “Please Alan, fulfill my hopes and dreams.”

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrvials: William Browning Spencer, Harry Dolan, PLUS 10 MORE

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Mentioned on the last SFFaudio Podcast…

ELOQUENT VOICE - Downloading Midnight And Other Stories by William Browning SpencerDownloading Midnight And Other Stories
By William Browning Spencer; Read by William Coon
Download – Approx. 2 Hours 31 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Eloquent Voice
Published: June 30, 2011
ISBN: 9780983089858
Fifteen years ago, when an interviewer for The Austin American-Statesman asked what it takes to be a writer, William Browning Spencer said, ‘You have to be willing to ruin the rest of your life.’ Mr. Spencer notes that the willingness is more important than the actual result, and that his life is not in ruins. But he does believe that risk-taking is part of the process, not only for the author but for his characters. This is certainly the case for the characters in this collection of stories. There are people in peril here (a therapist, a wife and daughter, a friend) and there are those who would save them by venturing into the unknown. In ‘The Halfway House At The Heart Of Darkness’ a virtual reality addictions counselor is on the run with his zoned-out client, pursued by the relentless architects of a seductive virtual game called Apes and Angels. In ‘The Oddskeeper’s Daughter’ a marriage made in a heaven of parallel worlds is tested by impossible luck, both good and bad. In ‘Downloading Midnight’ a computer technician must make a dangerous journey into virtual reality in an attempt to save his colleague and prevent the entire web from collapsing. Join us for a mind-bending tour through the imagination of William Browning Spencer.

PENGUIN AUDIO - Very Bad Men by Harry DolanVery Bad Men
By Harry Dolan; Read Erik Davies
12 CDs – Approx. 15.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: July 7, 2011
ISBN: 9780142429372
David Loogan returns! Loogan is living in Ann Arbor with Detective Elizabeth Waishkey and her daughter, Sarah. He’s settled into a quiet routine as editor of the mystery magazine Gray Streets-until one day he finds a manuscript outside his door. It begins: “I killed Henry Kormoran.” Anthony Lark has a list of names-Terry Dawtrey, Sutton Bell, Henry Kormoran. To his eyes, the names glow red on the page. They move. They breathe. The people on the list have little in common except that seventeen years ago they were involved in a notorious robbery. And now Anthony Lark is hunting them down, and he won’t stop until every one of them is dead.

INFINIVOX - The Year's Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction - Volume 3 edited by Allan Kaster The Year’s Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction – Volume 3
Edited by Allan Kaster; Read by Tom Dheere, Nichola Barber, Kate Baker and Nathan Lowell
8 CDs – Approx. 8.25 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Infinivox
Published: July 29, 2011
ISBN: 97818846129

Table of Contents:
Under The Moon Of Venus by Damien Broderick
The Shipmaker by Alliette de Bodard
Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain by Yoon Ha Lee
Re-Crossing The Styx by Ian R. MacLeod
Eight Miles by Sean McMullen
Elegy For A Young Elk by Hannu Rajaniemi
Alone by Robert Reed
The Emperor Of Mars by Allen M. Steele
A letter from the Emperor by Steve Rasnic Tem
The Things by Peter Watts

Here’s the back cover:

INFINIVOX - The Year's Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction - Volume 3 - BACK COVER

Posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: SFSignal Mind Meld on favourite audiobooks (and audio drama) of all time

SFFaudio Commentary

SFSignal.comJohn DeNardo, of the magnificent SFSignal blog, recently asked me to participate in another “Mind Meld.”

Here’s the topic:

“What are your favorite SF/F/H audiobooks and/or audio fiction stories of all time?”

Here’s what I wrote:

As one of the people behind SFFaudio, a website devoted to SFF in the audio format, this is about the hardest question you could possibly ask me. I can’t even begin to start ranking all the gloriously wonderful audio I’ve had the honor of listening to over the last 20 years (unless you count SFFaudio as exactly that). But, I can throw out some titles that are absolutely terrific!

Since I began listening in earnest (around 1991), and to make it manageable, I’ll limit myself to just one audiobook (or audio drama) per year (sorted by publication date). To make it even easier, I’ll list only commercial productions – we have plenty of love for podcasts and other amateur audio on SFFaudio.com. For starters check out our series called Five Free Favourites.

1991: The Best Fantasy Stories Of The Year 1989 (Dercum Audio – ISBN: 1556561431)
1992: The Wind From A Burning Woman by Greg Bear (Recorded Books) |READ OUR REVIEW|
1993: The Children Of Men by P.D. James (Recorded Books) |READ OUR REVIEW|
1994: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (Time Warner – ISBN: 9781570420528)
1995: Mind Slash Matter by Edward Wellen (Durkin Hayes) |READ OUR REVIEW|
1996: Friday by Robert A. Heinlein (Blackstone Audio – ISBN: 0786110546)
1997: Sci-Fi Private Eye ed. Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg (Dercum Audio) |READ OUR REVIEW|
1998: Martian Time Slip by Philip K. Dick (Blackstone Audio) |READ OUR REVIEW|
1999: Ringworld by Larry Niven |READ OUR REVIEW|
2000: The Reel Stuff edited by Brian Thomsen and Martin H. Greenberg |READ OUR REVIEW|
2001: Minority Report And Other Stories by Philip K. Dick |READ OUR REVIEW|
2002: Two Plays For Voices by Neil Gaiman (Seeing Ear Theatre / Harper Audio) |READ OUR REVIEW|
2003: The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer |READ OUR REVIEW|
2004: Ender’s Game (25th Anniversary Edition) by Orson Scott Card |READ OUR REVIEW|
2005: The Dark Worlds Of H.P. Lovecraft Volume 1 by H.P. Lovecraft (Audio Realms) |READ OUR REVIEW|
2006: The Chief Designer by Andy Duncan (Infinivox) |READ OUR REVIEW|
2007: Blake’s 7 – Audio Adventures (Trilogy Box Set) (B7 Media) |READ OUR REVIEW|
2008: The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman (Recorded Books) |READ OUR REVIEW|
2009: Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (Audible Frontiers/Brilliance Audio ) |SFFaudio Podcast #073|
2010: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison |READ OUR REVIEW|

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #069 – TALK TO: Allan Kaster

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #069 – Jesse and Scott are joined Allan Kaster, the editor of Infinivox’s new audiobook anthology: The Year’s Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction 2.

Talked about on today’s show:
Infinivox, Summer, the first time we had Allan Kaster on the podcast, The Year’s Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction, Great Science Fiction Stories, Audible.com, Cibola by Connie Willis is going out of print, modern audiobook contracts, Kindle eBooks, The Year’s Top Ten Tales Of Science Fiction 2, the influence of Audible.com’s credit system, the influence of podcasts, the FREE On The Human Plan by Jay Lake MP3, Ted Chiang, transformation, The Island Of Doctor Moreau, Clarkesworld, Subterranean Online, Lightspeed Magazine, Jim Baen’s Universe, Tor.com, what makes Infinivox a different audiobook company, Aliens Rule edited by Allan Kaster, We Robots edited by Allan Kaster, Microcosmic God by Theodore Sturgeon, Thunder And Roses by Theodore Sturgeon, The Fluted Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi, Pump Six by Paulo Bacigalupi, investing in authors, A Colder War by Charles Stross, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, the “inspired by Lovecraft” sub-genre, A Walk In The Sun by Geoffrey Landis, Rammer by Larry Niven, the possibility of a Ted Chiang short story collection, BoingBoing’s interview with Ted Chiang, Infinivox is all Science Fiction all the time, Fantasy, A Song Of Ice And Fire, George R.R. Martin, Scattered Suns by Kevin J. Anderson, Saga Of The Seven Suns, the pronunciation of saga, Vanessa Hart, a cross between Homicide: Life On The Street and Frederick Pohl’s Heechee, the proper pronunciation of “Lagrange“, ZZ-Top, “feral”, Erosion by Ian Creasey, Ian Creasey, Mongoose by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Boojum Universe, upcoming from Infinivox: Starship Vectors edited by Allan Kaster, Boojum, Nancy Kress, Charles Coleman Finlay, Stephen Baxter, what “Boojum” means (it comes from Lewis Carroll), H.P. Lovecraft, plush Cthulhu, remixing Lovecraft, A Story With Beans by Steven Gould, As Women Fight by Sara Genge, feminist Science Fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin, post-singularity stories, body switching stories, Mindswap by Robert Sheckley, Passengers by Robert Silverberg, Peter Watts, “the Earth is dying”, dying earth, Shine: An Anthology Of Optimistic Science Fiction edited by Jetse de Vries, dystopia, the Jackaroo sequence, The City Of The Dead, the return of the fix-up novel, Jack Vance, Ian McDonald, River Of Gods by Ian McDonald, Cyberabad Days, ebooks, “I like Audible much more than I want to”, Amazon’s announcement about Kindle sales exceeding hardcover sales, Fictionwise.com, getting used to the digital universe, from scrolls to books, clay tablets to scrolls, “download it to your brainstem.”

Posted by Jesse Willis

Infinivox Free Story: On the Human Plan by Jay Lake

SFFaudio Online Audio

From Infinivox, a free story from their Year’s Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 2!

“On the Human Plan” by Jay Lake
I am called Dog the Digger. I am not mighty, neither am I fearsome. Should you require bravos, there are muscle-boys aplenty among the rat-bars of any lowtown on this raddled world. If it is a wizard you want, follow the powder-trails of crushed silicon and wolf’s blood to their dark and winking lairs. Scholars can be found in their libraries, taikonauts in their launch bunkers and ship foundries, priests amid the tallow-gleaming depths of their bone-ribbed cathedrals.

Here’s a direct link to the |MP3|

Posted by Scott D. Danielson