LibriVox – Page 75

LibriVox goes to sea for Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe

SFFaudio Online Audio

Avast me hearties! LibriVox, that isle of audio sanity in an ocean of in, has been all at sea of late, but not in a bad way, not at all. The vast crew of LibriVox has been making sea Science Fiction stories – specifically with two speculative fiction classics from the 19th century. The completion of one of them was the subject of a March 25th commentary on the history of SF sea stories. That really warms my cockles, and may even warm yours. Have a listen to one or both of the titles listed below, I’m guessing they’ll shiver your timbers. And be sure to note the COOL NEW PODCAST FEED FEATURE found on completed LibriVox titles…

The Mysterious Island
By Jules Verne; Read by Mark F. Smith
Zipped MP3s or MP3 Podcast – Approx. 22 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: May 2007
A story of castaways, similar to Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson, this book details the escape from Civil War-era Richmond, Virginia, of five Northern men who dared to go aloft in a balloon in the midst of a hurricane. Deposited on a lonely island in the Pacific, they make do with Yankee ingenuity where Chance has left them nothing. Only later do they find they have a hidden benefactor: Captain Nemo, of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, who resides, alone, secretly on the island. In time, the tiny colony becomes so prosperous that it is able to rescue another castaway from an island a hundred miles away. But all their work will come to naught – their island’s volcano is about to awake!

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-mysterious-island-by-jules-verne.xml

The Narrative Of Arthur Gordon Pym
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by various authors
Zipped MP3s or MP3 Podcast – Approx. 6.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: April 2007
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Edgar Allan Poe’s only complete novel, published in 1838. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym who stows away aboard a whaling ship called Grampus. Various adventures and mis-adventures befall Pym including shipwreck, mutiny and cannibalism. The story starts out as a fairly conventional adventure at sea, but it becomes increasingly strange and hard to classify in later chapters, involving religious symbolism and the Hollow Earth.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/narrative-of-arthur-gordon-pym.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Anthem by Ayn Rand

SFFaudio Online Audio

First published in 1938, Anthem by philosopher/SF author Ayn Rand is one of the world’s most famous novellas! Anthem depicts a dystopian world that will be familiar to those who’ve read George Orwell’s similiarly-themed 1984 (published a full decade later). Both tales are set far in a future in which “equality” is strictly enforced, and individual thought are banned. In the society of Anthem, even individual names are banned with the protagonist known only as “Equality 7-2521.” His story is written as though it was his forbidden diary. You’ll find the full, fascinating, novella available through LibriVox.org…

And here are Virgil Finlay’s illustrations from the June 1953 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries:

Anthem by Ayn Rand - Illustrated by Virgil Finlay

Anthem
By Ayn Rand; Read by Chere Theriot
1 Zipped Folder of MP3 Files – 2 Hours 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox
Completed: May 2nd 2007
“A dystopic SF story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur, if at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the word “I” has disappeared from the language). As is common in her work, Rand draws a clear distinction between the “socialist/communal” values of equality and brotherhood and the “productive/capitalist” values of achievement and individuality. The story also parallels Stalinist Russia, which was currently going on at the time as the story was published.”

posted by Jesse Willis

Mark Nelson reads Tom Swift and starts a podcast

SFFaudio Online Audio

Amateur narrator extraordinaire Mark Nelson informs us that his latest auditory effort is already a smash hit, with downloads “off the charts.” Who knew that Tom Swift book would have such audiobook appeal? This 1961 novel comes from the 2nd series, following the adventures of Tom Swift’s son, Tom Swift Jr.. Tom Sr. engages in various kinds of research and still does a bit of inventing, which into science-fiction territory. The adventures from this series extend from the center of the Earth to the bottom of the ocean to the moon and, eventually, the outer solar system; with stops along the way at African antimatter volcanoes, lost New Guinea cities, and various wandering asteroids. You can visit this audibook through LibriVox.org or through Mark Nelson’s new podcast! Details follow…

Tom Swift and The Visitor From Planet X
By Victor Appleton II; Read by Mark Nelson
1 Zipped Folder of MP3 Files – 4 Hours 17 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox
Completed: April 2007
“Tom Swift Jr. and his associates at Swift Enterprises wait breathlessly for what may well be the most important scientific event in history—the arrival of the visitor from Planet X—a visitor in the form of energy. But there are factions at work determined to snatch the energy, which Tom has named Exman, from the young scientist-inventor’s grasp. First, a series of unexplainable, devastating earthquakes threaten to destroy a good portion of the earth, and Tom suspects the Brungarian rebels who obviously would like to capture Exman and use the space visitor to further their own evil purposes. With the security of Enterprises and Exman at stake, Tom creates two of his greatest inventions—a Quakelizor to counteract the simulated earth tremors, and a container or ‘body’ to house the energy from outer space. If the earthquakes cannot be stopped, the entire world will be threatened by destruction, and the Brungarian forces will conquer the earth. How Tom utilizes all his scientific knowledge to produce swift-action results and outwit the Brungarians makes one of the most exciting Tom Swift adventures to date.”

The SciPodBooks podcast, is the new podcasting arm of amateur audiobook narrating legend Mark Nelson. Each week a new chapter from one of Mark’s audiobooks will be in the feed. You’ll find readings of tales by such SF legends as H. Beam Piper, Andre Norton, Lafcadio Hearne, and William F. Harvey.

Subscriptions to the feed through this URL:

http://rss.mac.com/marknelson2/iWeb/SciPodBooks/SciPodCast/rss.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox has classic Fantasy: The Princess And The Goblin by George MacDonald

SFFaudio Online Audio

Standing tall and proud in the history Fantasy fiction is George MacDonald’s much loved The Princess And The Goblin. First published in 1872, the story of Princess Irene, her myserious grandmother, her unbelieving nurse, and her loyal friend Curdie weaves magic and monsters together into a delightfull Victorian children’s novel. The influence of The Princess And The Goblin upon subsequent fantasy fiction can be felt in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. All thanks for this, the first known unabridged FREE reading of this classic, go to narrator Lizzie Driver. Thanks Lizzie!

The Princess And The Goblin
By George MacDonald; Read by Lizzie Driver
18 Zipped MP3 Files – Approx. 5 Hours 32 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: April 2007
The Princess and the Goblin is an enthralling fantasy tale written by George MacDonald. Her nurse Lootie raises the princess Irene in a house on a mountain, it is here that she meets her mysterious great-great-grandmother, and her friend the minor boy Curdie. Things are peaceful for Irene until the hideous race of goblins that live beneath the mountain start planning something big.

posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox’s latest: Voodoo Planet by Andre Norton

SFFaudio Online Audio

Mark Nelson, that fevered SF fan from San Jose, California has just committed another narration! This time it is Voodoo Planet by Andre Norton, that’s the sequel to his already narrated Plague Ship! This guy’s amazing. Three Cheers for Mark Nelson…

Hip Hip Huzzah! Hip Hip Huzzah! Hip Hip Huzzah!

Voodoo Planet
By Andre Norton; Read by Mark Nelson
8 Zipped MP3s – 2 Hours 46 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: April 2007
The sequel to Plague Ship, Voodoo Planet finds the Solar Queen banned from trade and starting her supposed quiet two-year stint as an interstellar mail carrier. But instead her crew accepts a visit to the safari planet of Khatka, where they find themselves caught in a battle between the forces of reason and the powers of Khatka’s mind-controlling wizard.

posted by Jesse Willis

FREE Robert E. Howard Novellete Red Shadows

SFFaudio Online Audio

The latest FREE Fantasy audiobook on LibriVox.org is “Red Shadows” a fantasy novelette first published in Weird Tales’ August 1928 issue. This story, also known as “Solomon Kane,” was the first Solomon Kane story ever published. I’m a big fan of Solomon Kane and was pleased to hear that the narrator, Paul Siegel, is going to continue voicing more Kane stories.

Red Shadows (AKA “Solomon Kane”)
By Robert E. Howard; Read by Paul Siegel
5 Zipped MP3s – Approx. 63 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox
Published: April 2007
Red Shadows is the first of a series of stories featuring Howard’s puritan avenger, Solomon Kane. Kane tracks his prey over land and sea, enters the jungles of Africa, and even faces dark Gods and evil magic — all to avenge a woman he’d never met before.

posted by Jesse Willis