LibriVox – Page 58

Assorted new LibriVox Science Fiction short stories

Friday, September 11, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here are three short Science Fiction stories with a humorous bent. They’re taken from a new LibriVox audiobook called Coffee Break Collection 001. Book coordinator Bellona Times sez:

“This is a collection of short (15 minute or less readings) stories suitable for a coffee break at work or a short commuter ride. Emphasis for this collection is Humor in various genres — fiction and non-fiction.”

Beyond Pandora has been recorded previously (for the Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 014) – it’s an SF story that tries hard to make a scary medical problem funny. I’m not sure that it succeeds with the humour, but it might be a fruitful line of medical inquiry anyway.

Graeme Dunlop brings his Australian accent to the reading of Hard Guy. This story too has been previously recorded (in Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 015). It’s a hitchhiker and road gangs story set on an atomic highway.

The all new (to audio) story in this collection is Poppa Needs Shorts. It’s a silly little story that trades on a peculiarity of the English language. But it also makes a very interesting point, namely that toddlers are actually practicing scientists! Sure, baby-proofing your house might make it safer for your baby, but it defeats many of the experiments that your tiny scientist can perform. It’s a very clever tale. Narrator Patti Cunningham does a nice job reading it too.

Beyond Pandora
By Robert J. Martin; Read by msjodi777
1 |MP3| – Approx. 5 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 11, 2009
The ideal way to deal with a pest—any menace—is, of course, to make it useful to you… From Analog September 1962.

Hard Guy
By H.B. Carelton; Read by Graeme Dunlop
1 |MP3| – Approx. 7 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 11, 2009
There will be fine, glittering, streamlined automobiles in 2000 A.D. Possibly they will run themselves while the driver sits back with an old-fashioned in his hands. Perhaps they will carry folks down the highways at ninety miles an hour in perfect safety. But picking up a hitch-hiker will still be as dangerous as it is today. From Amazing Stories April 1956.

Poppa Needs Shorts
By Walt Richmond and Leigh Richmond; Read by Patti Cunningham
1 |MP3| – Approx. 13 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 11, 2009
Given valid data, you can reach completely wrong conclusions. But given a wrong conclusion, you can still get a right answer! From Analog Science Fact & Fiction January 1964.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Mark F. Smith, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, is the sole narrator of the latest LibriVox gothic novel. It’s author, Thomas Love Peacock, was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s and an employee of the East India Company. Writes Mark F. Smith:

“Peacock wrote Nightmare Abbey as a satire, and he has folded in allusions to or quotations from literally dozens of other works [the details of which are HERE]. He makes use of many long, impressive-sounding words (some of which he very possibly made up!). Ignore these and his occasional Latin phrase, treat the rest as a farce, and you’re on track for a fun listen!”

Nightmare Abbey
By Thomas Love Peacock; Read by Mark F. Smith
15 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 3 Hours 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: August 26, 2009
Deep in the fens of the British coast sits the gloomy mansion that goes by the name Nightmare Abbey. It is inhabited by persons of very low opinion of the human race, and in fact they pride themselves in the depths of their detestation. Others of its denizens believe the ultimate exercise and product of the human mind ought to be chaos. Now let the young master of the house get snared by the wiles of a beautiful young lady. And for good measure, toss in another beautiful young lady. Now Scythrop (named in honor of an ancestor who became bored with life and hanged himself) is about to find that two such make too much of a good thing!

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/nightmare-abbey-by-thomas-love-peacock.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

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

Podcast

The 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

Audiobooker: Interview with LibriVox.org founder Hugh McGuire

Thursday, August 13, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio News

In celebration of LibriVox‘s 4th anniversary Mary Burkey’s Audiobooker blog has a short text interview with LibriVox.org’s founder Hugh McGuire. McGuire reports that the site now boasts “2,557 audiobooks” in its catalogue – and that they produce “60-100 books a month” making LibriVox “the most prolific audiobook publisher in the world.” Happy Birthday LibriVox! And thanks for all the audiobooks!

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 022

Saturday, August 8, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here’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.

Short 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|

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).

Happy 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.

Lost 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.

Master 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.

No 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.

Now 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.

Rex 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.

A 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.

The 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.

When 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 Collection Vol. 021

Saturday, August 8, 2009Sunday, September 6, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here’s another double handful of Science Fiction short stories from LibriVox. It’s made up of nine all-new to audio stories and one previously recorded by another reader (My Friend Bobby). In addition to the kind work of its generous narrators, this audiobook was made possible by the “Dedicated Proof-Listener” designated “julicarter” and by the meta-coordinating and cataloging skills of Lucy Burgoyne. Finally, extra credit should probably go to Gregg Margarite, a seemingly powerful force in getting stuff done over at LibriVox.org. Thanks people – you be cool!

Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 021
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 48 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 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.

Cogito Ergo Sum
By John Foster West; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 19 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
Are the Spirit and the Flesh one and the same thing? Or are they separate entities, dependent and at the same time independent of each other? Perhaps some great Cosmic Law holds this secret. But the one Universal Element that we can depend upon, apparently, is The Lucky Accident. From Fantastic Universe March 1954.

Dead World
By Jack Douglas; Read by Troy Bond
1 |MP3| – Approx. [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
Out on the ice-buried planet, Commander Red Stone led his Free Companions to almost certain death. They died for a dangerous dream that had only one chance in a thousand trillion to come true. Is there a better reason for dying? First published in Amazing Stories May 1961.

Divinity
By William Morrison; Read by aun
1 |MP3| – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
Bradley had one fear in his life. He had to escape regeneration. To do that, he was willing to take any chance, coward though he was—even if it meant that he had to become a god! From Space Science Fiction 1953.

The Gift Bearer
By Charles L. Fontenay; Read by Troy Bond
1 |MP3| – Approx. 11 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
This could well have been Montcalm’s greatest opportunity; a chance to bring mankind priceless gifts from worlds beyond. But Montcalm was a solid family man—and what about that nude statue in the park? From Amazing Science Fiction Stories September 1958.

The Helpful Robots
By Robert Shea; Read by Donald Finch
1 |MP3| – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
“Robert J. Shea, of Rutgers University, makes an interesting contribution to robotics with this story of Rankin, who prided himself on knowing how to handle robots, but did not realize that the robots of the Clearchan Confederacy were subject to a higher law than implicit obedience to man.” From Fantastic Universe September 1957.

The Love Of Frank Nineteen
By David C Knight; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 51 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
What will happen to love in that far off Day after Tomorrow? David C. Knight, editor with a New York trade publisher, agrees with the many impressed by “the range of possible subjects and situations” in science fiction. The result is a unique love story from that same Tomorrow. From Fantastic Universe December 1957.

My Friend Bobby
By Alan E. Nourse; Read by Bellona Times
1 |MP3| – Approx. 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
From the collection The Counterfeit Man and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse published in 1963.

The Pygmy Planet
By Jack Williamson; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 54 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
Down into the infinitely small goes Larry on his mission to the Pygmy Planet. From Astounding Stories February 1932.

Resurrection
By Robert Shea; Read by Daniele
1 |MP3| – Approx. 4 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
Robert J. Shea returns with this intriguing short-short predicting a not too distant future where medicine, not content with stimulating life and new growth in people who had already died, goes on to further experiments which Baron von Frankenstein would have found interesting. From Fantastic Universe December 1957.

Salvage In Space
By Jack Williamson; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 24, 2009
To Thad Allen, meteor miner, comes the dangerous bonanza of a derelict rocket-flier manned by death invisible. From Astounding Stories March 1933.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-21.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis