The SFFaudio Podcast #043

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #043 – Jesse and Scott talk about all the Recent Arrivals and New Releases that have been piling up while Scott’s been away fiddling on a roof.

Talked about on today’s show:
Fiddler On The Roof, Salt Lake City, Pride And Prejudice, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, zombies, SuperFreakonomics, Freakonomics as psychohistory, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, altruism, Luke Burrage’s SFBRP #072.5, Isaac Asimov’s writing style, Hari Seldon is not much of a character, The Caves Of Steel by Isaac Asimov, |READ OUR REVIEW|, Black Destroyer by A.E. van Vogt, the “fix-up” novel, The Voyage Of The Space Beagle, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, Nightfall by Isaac Asimov, Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, Books On Tape, a movie version of Foundation, FlashForward, TV is cops and doctors so SF on TV is cops and doctors SF, I, Robot (the movie), New Releases, Audible Frontiers, Stanislaw Lem, Memoirs Found In A Bathtub by Stanislaw Lem, Foundation Ziggurat Productions, Solaris (2002), Solaris (1972), Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, Andrei Tarkovsky, His Masters Voice by Stanislaw Lem, Fiasco by Stanislaw Lem, Diving Into The Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Badge Of Infamy by Lester del Rey (audible.com version), Badge Of Infamy by Lester del Rey (podiobooks and LibriVox), Jimcin Recordings, Armor by John Steakley, Vampire$ by John Steakley, John Carpenter’s Vampires, The Blue Tower by Evelyn E. Smith (audible), The Blue Tower by Evelyn E. Smith (LibriVox), Recent Arrivals, Fall With Honor by E.E. Knight, Winter Duty by E.E. Knight, E.E. Knight, The Shadow Of Saganami by David Weber, the Honorverse, Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, Rendevous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Fallout 3, the onion spoofs Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, V (the remake), The Prisoner (the remake), Edgar Allan Poe audiobooks, PoeAudio / Acoustic Learning, the exploration of North America, daguerreotype, Poe as a non-fiction author, The Cask Of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, A Manuscript Found In A Copper Cylinder by James De Mille, the 4th Annual SFFaudio Challenge, Swoon by Nina Malkin, ghosts, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, The “Erec Rex” series by Nina Malkin, Simon Jones (actor narrator extraordinaire), Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, the beautiful illustrations in Leviathan, steampunk, airships!, my Zeppelins post, The Hindenburg (1975), movie director Robert Wise, Jesse professes his love of airships, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel |READ OUR REVIEW|, Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel, Science Fiction vs. alternate history vs. Fantasy, blue gas, the Alcatraz series by Brandon Sanderson, the Chronicles Of The Imaginarium Geographica series by James A. Owen, dragons, Charles Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, Simon & Schuster Audio, The House Of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, cloning, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Stephanie Meyer, Dark Adventure Radio Theatre, At The Mountains Of Madness, The Complete Ripley Radio Mysteries based on the novels of Patricia Highsmith, BBC Audio, Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin, Recorded Books, Under The Dome by Stephen King, The Simpsons Movie, Born Standing Up by Steve Martin (autobiography), Roxanne, Programmable Logic Control, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (a play), Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin, Shopgirl, The Pleasure Of My Company, Cult Holmes, The Further Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes RADIO DRAMA, John Joseph Adams, The Improbable Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, Mary Robinette Kowal, watches are only for affectation now.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Five Free Favourites #11

SFFaudio Online Audio

My name is Gregg Margarite and I make free audio books for LibriVox.org. As a member of LibriVox I have decided to pick my Five Free Favorites from the LibriVox Catalog, which as of this writing contains about 2,400 free audio books, including over 300 short SF recordings and dozens of novels and novellas.

To me everything is connected to everything else. That may make it easier to understand a quantum field, but it’s a hindrance to defining classifications. So when it comes time to identify Science Fiction and Fantasy I tend to have a wide view. That having been said here are…

Five Free Favourites

1.
LibriVox Science Fiction - Flatland: A Romance Of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. AbbottFlatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
By Edwin A. Abbott; Read by Ruth Golding
9 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: October 12th 2008
This story from 1884 is a wonderful satire and a great introduction to dimensional math. A sphere convinces a square of the existence of up. But will the hierarchy of the two dimensional society accept it? The 2D world is an analog of Victorian society but there are plenty of timeless parallels that continue to resonate today. Read by Ruth Golding who’s intimate, warm delivery is as comforting as a nice cup of tea… with a dash of brandy. Ruth has made over 500 recordings for LibriVox.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/flatland-a-romance-of-many-dimensions-by-edwin-abbott-abbott.xml

2.
Badge Of Infamy by Lester del ReyBadge Of Infamy
By Lester del Rey; Read by Steven H. Wilson
15 Zipped MP3 files or Podcast – Approx. 3 Hours 19 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 17, 2007
Political lobbyists band together and take over the world swelling the size of government (a ludicrous idea eh?). Our physician protagonist violates his duties by providing emergency services outside the system and escapes to Mars where he can practice medicine without a license. There he discovers something that threatens not only the lobbyists but all of humanity. Read by Steven H. Wilson with a crisp natural style.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/badge-of-infamy-by-lester-del-rey.xml

3.
LibriVox - Penguin Island by Anatole FrancePenguin Island
By Anatole France; Read by Michael Sirois
62 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 9 Hours 5 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 30, 2007
This satirical fantasy from 1908 involves an aged priest with poor eyesight who mistakes a flock of penguins for a congregation. His baptism gives them souls which naturally compel them to form a civilization. Will they handle their problems as we have? Read by Michael Sirois with a robust melodic tone that carries you along with the story.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/penguin-island-by-anatole-france.xml

4.
LibriVox - The Green Odyssey by Philip Jose FarmerThe Green Odyssey
By Philip Jose Farmer; Read by Mark Nelson
10 zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 6 Hours 7 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: December 17, 2006
A slave among barbarians longs to return to Earth. Presently he learns of two Earth astronauts held captive in a far off kingdom and sets off to rescue them so they can rescue him. But first he must reach them and therein hangs a tale. Read quite professionally by Mark Nelson who is responsible for a many of the best Science Fiction novels in the LibriVox catalog.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-green-odyssey-by-philip-jose-farmer.xml

5.
LibiVox - Candide by VoltaireCandide (LibriVox version #2)
By Voltaire; Read by Ted Delorme
31 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 5 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 31, 2007
While Voltaire’s “Micromegas” can rightly be referred to as Science Fiction, I believe this story qualifies as fantasy since it deals with the best of all possible worlds. Join Candide and his girlfriend Cunegonde as they learn how to interpret their adventures through the eyes of their sanguine teacher Dr. Pangloss. Read by Ted Delorme a LibriVox veteran who narrates with a smooth, friendly voice that makes modern listeners at ease with a text written 250 years ago.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/candide-by-voltaire.xml

Posted by Gregg Margarite

LibriVox: Victory by Lester del Rey

SFFaudio Online Audio

From LibriVox and the reader of This Crowded Earth (Robert Bloch) and the Deathworld (Harry Harrison) comes…

LibriVox Science Fiction - Victory by Lester del ReyVictory
By Lester del Rey; Read by Gregg Margarite
2 MP3 Files – Approx. 1 Hour 38 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: March 30, 2009
“It seemed Earth was a rich, and undefended planet in a warring, hating galaxy. Things can be deceptive though; children playing can be quite rough—but that ain’t war, friend!” – Victory is the story of an undefended Earth in a warring galaxy. First published in Astounding Science Fiction, August, 1955.
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3|

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/victory-by-lester-del-rey.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Third Annual SFFaudio Challenge – make an AUDIOBOOK, get an AUDIOBOOK!

SFFaudio Commentary

The Third Annual SFFaudio ChallengeNovember 11th, that means it’s the time for our Third Annual SFFaudio Challenge! Today is a day of celebration, a party united, throughout the People’s Republic of SFFaudio. Today, we celebrate the collective achievements of our selfless workers and artists, who are working united for the creative common good, or in the public domain. Today is the day we begin making you make new audiobooks.

To that end, we’re got a nice stack of OUT OF PRINT, EXTREMELY HARD TO FIND and UTTERLY AWESOME audiobooks we’d love to give you. But, just like in year one, and year two, we’re going to make you show your loyalty to the medium, by making an audiobook out of one, or more, of the following titles…

SFF Challenge titles:

Atlantida
By Pierre Benoît
From 1919, the classic novel of finding the Lost Atlantis, translated by Mary C. Tongue and Mary Ross. Also titled The Queen of Atlantis. (64,863 words)
|MANYBOOKS.NET|

The Outlaws of Mars
By Otis Adelbert Kline
From 1933! Burroughs inspired Mars fiction. (49,417 words)
This Dateline Jasoom podcast has discussion of the relationship between Burroughs and Kline |MP3|
|MANYBOOKS.net|

***CLAIMED BY Sonny on November 18th 2008***
Attrition
By Jim Wannamaker
“ONE OF OUR STAR SHIPS IS MISSING!” – told in narrator friendly first person! From Analog’s November 1961 issue. (9,679 Words)
|Project Gutenberg|

***CLAIMED BY Carol Newkirk on November 21st 2008***
A World Called Crimson
By Darius John Granger
|Project Gutenberg|
This was the cover story for the September 1956 issue of Amazing Stories! (14,299 words)
|PROJECT GUTENBERG|

***CLAIMED BY David Drage (of the DIAL P FOR PULP Podcast) on November 12th 2008***
Citadel
By Algis Budrys
Space colonies! From the February 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. (8,799 words)
|Project Gutenberg|

***CLAIMED BY Craig Napier on December 7th 2008***
A Question Of Courage
By J. F. Bone
Military SF. The cover story from Amazing Stories December 1960! (8,357 words)
|Project Gutenberg|

The Crowded Earth
By Robert Bloch
From Amazing Science Fiction Stories October 1958. (37,310 words)
|Project Gutenberg|
REMOVED FROM THE CHALLENGE: Because it’s now BEEN DONE

***CLAIMED BY Paul Campbell (of the Cossmass Podcast) on November 14th 2008***
Empire
By Clifford D. Simak
From 1951, “A Powerful Novel of Intrigue and Action in the Not-So-Distant Future.” (49,898 words)
|Project Gutenberg|

***CLAIMED BY Robert Kublawi on March 30th, 2009***
Gold in the Sky
By Alan E. Nourse
From 1958! YOU WILL MEET– Greg Hunter. Test pilot–happy only when his life hung in the balance. Tom Hunter. A pioneer–his frontier was hidden in test tubes. Johnny Coombs. A prospector–he returned from the asteroids too soon. Merrill Tawney. An industrialist–he sought plunder even beyond the stars. Major Briarton. A government man–his creed was law and order. (39,250 words)
|Project Gutenberg|

Operation: Outer Space
By Murray Leinster
From 1958.(Word count 59,589)
|Project Gutenberg|

***CLAIMED BY Diane Severson on November 13th 2008***Project Mastodon
By Clifford D. Simak
“An interesting variation on the standard time-machine theme. No loops encountered. The short story is tersely written and the end, when technicalities clear, abrupt. This makes it an early example of hard SF with a time machine.” From the March 1955 issue of Galaxy. (12,408 words)
|Project Gutenberg|

The Sound of His Horn
By Sarban (aka John William Wall)
From 1952! A young naval lieutenant, is captured by the Germans and wakes up in a hospital bed – more than 100 years later. The Germans have won the war, and the Third Reich stretches from the Urals to the Atlantic. Non Aryans are bred as slaves. Count Hans von Hackelnberg, master of the Reich’s forests, rules his domain with the iron fist of a feudal lord. His passion is hunting. At night the sound of his horn echoes eerily through the moonlit forest as the pack closes in on its prey. A pack of half naked cat girls, their hands sheathed in iron claws and their bellies starved of fresh meat. And their quarry, as Alan discovers too late, is … himself! (40,039 words)
|Project Gutenberg|

Wandl the Invader
By Raymond King Cummings
Originally published in 1932. Later, printed as half of an ace double! A New Planet Menaces the Solar System! (48,181 words)
|Manybooks.net|

Aural Noir Challenge titles:

***CLAIMED BY Damaris Mannering on November 28th 2008***
The Fabulous Clipjoint
By Frederic Brown
“After almost a decade of publishing pulp sci-fi and mystery short stories, Fredric Brown had his first novel published in 1947. Entitled THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT, it was both a marvelous mystery as well as a superb ‘coming-of-age’ story. The novel was so well received that it won the prestigious Edgar award for the Best First Mystery Novel by an American the following year. Brown would go on to write 6 more novels and at least 2 short stories starring young Ed Hunter and his fraternal uncle Am as they solved mysteries in and around Chicago. All were excellent, but this first one is special.”
|Munseys/Black Mask*|
*One source says this novel is a Creative Commons release (and perhaps a version is). However, I STRONGLY suspect the novel itself is entirely public domain. Either way, this needs to be audiobooked!

***CLAIMED BY Dominic Slyfield on December 12th 2008***
Murder in the Gunroom
By H. Beam Piper
From 1953. The only mystery/crime novel by the famouse Science Fiction author H. Beam Piper! When a gun collector is found dead on the floor of his locked gunroom, the coroner’s verdict is “death by accident.” But the widow has her doubts. She employs a private detective and a pistol-collector himself, to catalogue, appraise, and negotiate the sale of her late husband’s collection – all the while trying to figure out “who-dun-it?” (67,503 words)
|PROJECT GUTENBERG|

Rules:

We’ll be using the same 11 rules from the 2nd SFFaudio Challenge.

Prizes:

DH Audio Mystery Audiobook - This Won’t Kill You by Rex StoutThis Won’t Kill You
By Rex Stout; Read by David Elias
1 Cassette – Approx. 60 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: DH Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0886468655
Nero Wolfe couldn’t care less about baseball, even the World Series final game–until four players are drugged. Now a team’s chances, and maybe their star players, are dead. Evidence is hard to find, so Archie Goodwin dodges fists and acid while the boss keeps one little secret from the police.

DH Audio Mystery Audiobook - Omit Flowers by Rex StoutOmit Flowers
By Rex Stout; Read by
1 Cassette – Approx. 82 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: DH Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0886469767
“In my opinion it was one of Nero Wolfe’s neatest jobs and he never got nicked for it.” Floyd Whitten was stabbed in the back – literally – at a family business meeting. Wolfe has too many relative to pick from. Trickery is called for and no one lies better than ace associate Archie Goodwin.

Durkin Hayes Mystery Audiobook - Invitation to Murder by Rex StoutInvitation to Murder
By Rex Stout; Read by Saul Rubinek
1 Cassette – Approx. 73 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Durkin Hayes Audio
Published: 1996
ISBN: 0886468833
Archie Goodwin gives up a weekend date to ask sharp questions about a poisoning. The case takes a deadly turn that forces the reluctant Nero Wolfe to leave his brownstone house in order to rescue Goodwin from a strange murder scene.

DH Audio Science Fiction Audiobook - Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 6Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 6
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois?
1 Cassette – Approx. 93 Minutes [UNABRIDGED*]
Publisher: DH Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0886469732
Includes:
The Ship Who Sang” by Anne McCaffery
A Spaceship with a woman’s brain is teamed up with a living male partner. His name is Jennan, the ship loves him and if he’s harmed, she could go crazy
Though Dreamers Die” by Lester del Rey
A mutant bacteria, vicious beyond imagination devastates earth. The desperate survivors flee to an unexplored planet where man can start over – if the plague doesn’t sneak along.
*This one says its abridged by I believe that is an error.

DH Audio Science Fiction Audiobook - Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 7Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 7
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois?
1 Cassette – Approx. 104 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: DH Audio
Published: 1998
ISBN: 088646983X
Includes:
Allamagoosa” by Eric Frank Russell
The Last Monster” by Poul Anderson
Why Johnny Can’t Speed” by Alan Dean Foster

DH Audio Audiobook - Isaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories Volume IIIsaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories Volume II
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 72 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Durkin Hayes
Published: 1997
ISBN: 0886469481
Includes:
World Of A Thousand Colors” by Robert Silverberg
Impostor” by Philip K. Dick

DH Audio Audiobook - Isaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories Volume IVIsaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories Volume IV
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 90 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Durkin Hayes
Published: 1997
ISBN: 0886469570
Includes:
The Victim From Space” by Robert Sheckley
Honorable Enemies” by Poul Anderson

The Reel Stuff
Edited by Brian Thomsen and Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Various
6 Cassettes – 9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: DH Audio
Published: 2000
ISBN: 0886465745
Includes:
Johnny Mnemonic” by William Gibson, read by Christopher Graybill
Amanda and the Alien” by Robert Silverberg, read by Colleen Delany
Mimic” by Donald A. Wollheim, read by Terence Aselford
The Forbidden” by Clive Barker, read by Vanessa Maroney
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick, read by Terence Aselford
Nightflyers” by George R.R. Martin, read by Christopher Graybill
Air Raid” John Varley, read by Nannette Savard
Sandkings” by George R.R. Martin, read by Richard Rohan
|READ OUR REVIEW|

COMPLETED TITLES:

LibriVox Science Fiction Audiobook - Cat And Mouse by Ralph WilliamsCat And Mouse
By Ralph Williams; Read by Betsie Bush
1 |MP3| – Approx. 1 Hour 3 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: December 5th 2008
This was the cover story for the Astounding Science Fiction issue for June 1959. Set in Alaska, and being a most unusual Science Fiction story – it’s about hunting!

LibirVox Science Fiction - The Creature From Beyond Infinity by Henry KuttnerThe Creature From Beyond Infinity
By Henry Kuttner; Read by Mark Douglas Nelson
7 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 5 Hours 31 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 19, 2009
A lone space traveler arrives on Earth seeking a new planet to colonize, his own world dead. At the same time a mysterious plague has infected Earth that will wipe out all life. Can a lone scientist stop the plague and save the world? Or will the alien find himself on another doomed planet?

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-creature-from-beyond-infinity.xml

LibriVox Science Fiction - Operation Terror by Murray LeinsterOperation Terror
By Murray Leinster; Read by Mark Douglas Nelson
10 Zipped MP3s or Podcast – 5 Hours 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: January 19, 2009
An unidentified space ship lands in a Colorado lake. Equipped with a paralyzing ray weapon, the creatures begin taking human prisoners. A loan land surveyor and a journalist are trapped inside the Army cordon, which is helpless against the mysterious enemy. Can they stop the aliens before it is too late?

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/operation-terror-by-murray-leinster.xml

Forgotten Classics presents… The Aliens by Murray LeinsterThe Aliens
By Murray Leinster; Read by Julie Davis
2 MP3s – 2 Hours 15 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Forgotten Classics
Podcast: January 2009
First published in Astounding SF’s August, 1959 issue.
The human race was expanding through the galaxy … and so, they knew, were the Aliens. When two expanding empires meet … war is inevitable. Or is it …?

Part 1 |MP3| and Part 2 |MP3|

LibriVox Science Fiction - The Hunters Out Of Space by Joseph E. KelleamHunters Out of Space
By Joseph E. Kelleam; Read by Elliot Miller
19 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 29 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Publlished: May 7, 2009
Jack Odin has returned to the world of Opal, the world inside our own world, only to find it in ruins. Many of his friends are gone, the world is flooded, and the woman he swore to protect has been taken by Grim Hagen to the stars. Jack must save her, but the difficulties are great and his allies are few.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/hunters-out-of-space-by-joseph-kelleam.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

LibriVox - The Pirates Of Ersatz by Murray LeinsterThe Pirates Of Ersatz
By Murray Leinster; Read by Elliott Miller
12 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 6 Hours 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: November 19, 2009
Bron is the offspring of infamous space pirates but instead of following in the family footsteps he decides to become an electronic engineer. Unfortunately, every time he tries to get out, something pulls him back in. This is a tongue-in-cheek space adventure along the lines of the Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. It was originally published in the FEB-APR issues of Astounding Science Fiction in 1959.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/rss/3120

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

Five Free Favourites #9

SFFaudio Online Audio

Jesse here, with another batch of Five Free Favourites, five listens that won’t cost you a penny, but that will pay hefty rewards.

Have you got your own list of free favourites that you can count on the fingers of one non-hyperdactyli’d hand?

Five Free Favourites

1.
Despoilers Of The Golden Empire by Randall GarrettDespoilers Of The Golden Empire
By Randall Garrett; Read by Maureen O’Brien
5 Zipped MP3s – Approx. 2 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: April 1st 2008
A seasoned military commander travels to another world to find the metal that brings power, and ends up bringing down a barbaric empire.
Maureen O’Brien’s Maria Lectrix podcast, has lots of content I care nothing about (theological audiobooks) – but, it also has several digital tons of content I care dearly about. On April 1st, 2008 released Despoilers Of The Golden Empire. She called it “…a very good story by Randall Garrett, and it makes a very good comment on sf as a genre….it was originally published in Astounding Science Fiction, for April Fools’ Day.” This story is probably better enjoyed by fans of history, than by fans of science fiction. But if you’re like me, a fan of both, you’ll absolutely love it.

2.
Escape PodEP073: Barnaby in Exile
By Mike Resnick; Read by Paul Fischer
1 |MP3| File – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Escape Pod
Podcast: September 28th 2006
Few authors have as many of their stories podcast as Mike Resnick, (although James Patrick Kelly’s definitely got to be in first place). Back in September 2006 Escape Pod podcast this tearful tale. At the time I was comparing to Pat Murphy’s classic Rachel In Love. Which is about as high a compliment you can give to an SF story. Powerful listening, bring a hanky.

3.
The Silver Tounged DevilThe Silver Tongued Devil
By Roger Gregg; Performed by a full cast
2 MP3s – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: The Sonic Society (via Crazy Dog Audio Theatre)
Podcast: October 2006
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3|
The Sonic Society has podcast much of the finest audio drama of the modern era. Their October 2006 podcast included a program that was originally broadcast on RTÉ (Ireland National Radio). Described as A documentary of poetry, pretension, and possession. and our review of it explained it thus: “This entire piece is done like a radio documentary, NPR-style, complete with interviews of average people about the ‘Silver Tongued Devil’. The actors who did these segments were perfect! If I had listened to this on the radio without knowing that Crazy Dog had done it, I’d have thought it was news. Who is the ‘Silver Tongued Devil’? He’s an incredibly famous poet from Cork who has the god-like ability to make people swoon with his words. Again, the piece is multi-layered, achieving both hilarity and poignancy.”

4.
Badge Of Infamy by Lester del Rey
Badge Of Infamy
By Lester del Rey; Read by Steven H. Wilson
15 MP3s – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Published: January 2006
Daniel Feldman was a doctor once. He made the mistake of saving a friend’s life in violation of Medical Lobby rules. Now, he’s a pariah, shunned by all, forbidden to touch another patient. But things are more loose on Mars. There, Doc Feldman is welcomed by the colonists, even as he’s hunted by the authorities. But, when he discovers a Martian plague may soon wipe out humanity on two planets, the authorities begin hunting him for a different reason altogether.Here’s a novel I dearly regret not having talked more about. I never reviewed it, as I was just listening for sheer enjoyment. It was released in January 2006 as part of the First SFFaudio Challenge. It was narrated by Steven H. Wilson of Prometheus Radio Theatre, and he did an outstanding job on this terrific little novel about a disgraced doctor. Lester del Rey was a major player in his day and his novels don’t show their years as many of their contemporaries do. I love novels set on a colonized Mars, if you do too, this is a sure bet.

5.
LibriVox Audiobook - To Build A Fire by Jack LondonTo Build A Fire
By Jack London; Read by Betsie Bush
1 |MP3| – 40 Minutes 03 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher:
LibriVox.org
Published: 2006
A man and his husky, travel through the Klondike in seventy-five below zero weather (Fahrenheit). I’d heard of this story for a long time, and I’d always liked Jack London’s novels. I’ve compared it to Tom Godwin’s The Cold Equations, saying that ‘the two tales are, essentially, the same ruthless story.’ This is also a I regret that this is not a better reading. Betsie Bush’s version is not recorded very well, her voice is fine, but the mic she’s using is weak, there’s a hum and even some noise. There is a very cheap semi-pro version available HERE and a version by a professional narrator HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis