Review of Star Sugeon by Alan E. Nourse

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - Star Surgeon by Alan E. NourseStar Surgeon
By Alan E. Nourse; Read by Scott D. Farquhar
14 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – 5 Hours 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org / Podiobooks.com
Published: June 2007 / October 2007
Themes: / Science Fiction / Medicine / First Contact / Galactic Civilization / Symbiosis / Space Travel / Juvenile /

Dal Tigmar is an alien, he’s also a red braid, that’s a “Red Doctor” in the “Red Service of Surgery.” As a recent graduate of the Galaxy’s most prestigious medical school he’s the only non-human doctor to ever train on “Hospital Earth.” Earth became “Hospital Earth” shortly after humans discovered a faster than light technology. It seems that Earth’s doctors are the best in the entire galaxy, and that fact may soon gain humanity a permanent membership in the Galactic Federation. Earth is currently only a trial member – and some of medical brass of Hospital Earth think that Dal’s graduation may threaten permanent membership. So Dal’s been isolated by his alienness, and was pushed around during his training. But little more stands in his way, as his final test is about to begin. For it, Dal must join two other doctors in a series of planetary housecalls, providing service for Earth’s medical contracts, proving his skills to Hospital Earth. During the voyage Dal is accompanied by his symbiotic pet “fuzzy” a pink blob of protein that is more than it appears, his one pal from Medical School “Tiger” Martin, and a hostile young blue braid named Jack Alvarez, from the diagnostic services. Their ship is “The Lancet” a small patrol ship packed to the rafters with medical supplies. They’ll command the ship jointly.

Alan E. Nourse sure knew how to write! This is a peppy little novel, that though first published nearly 50 years ago, still crackles with energy. It plays out like a typical Heinleinian juvenile, minus the lectures. Especially interesting is the Pre-Star Trek galactic federation angle, with all those colour coded uniforms. Red Service of Surgery, Blue Service of Diagnosis, Green Service of Medicine. Black Service of Pathology, White Service of Radiology. It makes for a very visual audiobook. There aren’t that many characters, and curiously enough, not one female is even mentioned – someone forgot about the Pink Service of Gynecology I guess. And while were at it, what of the Brown Service of Proctology? But seriously, this is one of those rare novels that tells its story from the perspective of an alien. It deals with solid juvenile SF material, prejudices, core values and science, all to good effect. I’m pleased to be able to recommend it as a listen to just about anyone.

Scott Farquhar reads the novel with a clinical precision, he enunciates each word loud and clear. This is important as there is usual slathering of SF technospeak atop the real and futurized medical jargon. Amateur narrators looking for a role model, should look towards Farquhar!

You can subscribe to the LibriVox podcast feed via this URL:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/star-surgeon-by-alan-edward-nourse.xml

Alternatively, there is a slightly enhanced Podiobooks.com version available now too. This version has the addition of musical cues at the start each chapter, there’s a brief biographical note about Dr. Alan Nourse in the final chapter as well as some outtakes from the recording. A portion of all proceeds donated through Podiobooks.com goes to AIDS Research or Safe Sex Education programs (two subjects important to Nourse).

Posted by Jesse Willis

Librivox Audiobook: The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit

SFFaudio OnlineAudio

Edith Nesbit’s classic fantasy novel The Enchanted Castle is a delightful children’s story, but one that is likely to have limited appeal for older listeners. Fantasy scholars, however, will find much of interest in it. Here is an author that C. S. Lewis listed as an influence and this is the story of a magic ring that, at first, seems merely an invisibility ring but turns out to be much more. Peter Eastman, the reader of this public domain audiobook, does a better than average job of handling the near impossible task of doing several different children’s voices.

LibriVox Fantasy Audiobook - The Enchanted Castle by E. NesbitThe Enchanted Castle
By E. Nesbit; Read by Peter Eastman
12 zipped MP3s or podcast – 7 Hours 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Librivox.org
Published: September 27, 2007
“Three children, forced to remain at school during the holidays, go in search of adventure. What they find is a magic castle straight out of a fairy tale, complete with an enchanted princess at the center of a maze. Or is it? The castle turns out to be just a country estate, and the princess is only the housekeeper’s niece, playing at dressing up. But the magic ring she shows them proves — to her surprise and horror — to really be magic. Soon they are caught in an adventure where statues come alive, lost lovers are reunited, and wishes can be granted — but always for a price. (Summary by Peter Eastman)”

You can get the entire novel in podcast form, via this handy url:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-enchanted-castle-by-e-nesbit.xml

Public domain audiobook from LibriVox: Tarzan Of The Apes

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVox, that massive library of public domain audiobooks, has just catalogued its first public domain reading of the first Tarzan novel, Tarzan Of The Apes. Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan is arguably the most enduring pulp fiction character in history. Its on its digital shelves now, go get it in a zipped download, by individual file or even easier for portable listening via the podcast feed. This audiobook/podiobook, completely narrated by the savagely swashbuckling reader, Mark F. Smith, who previously performed Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island. Details follow…

LibriVox audiobook - Tarzan Of The Apes by Edgar Rice BurroughsTarzan Of The Apes
By Edgar Rice Burroughs; Read by Mark F. Smith
28 zipped MP3s or podcast – 9 Hours 21 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: Sept. 7th 2007
The exciting, if improbable, story of an English lord, left by the death of his stranded parents in the hands of a motherly African ape who raises him as her own. Although he is aware that he is different from the apes of his tribe, who are neither white nor hairless, he nevertheless regards them as his “people.” When older, larger, stronger apes decide that he an undesirable to be killed or expelled from the tribe, it is fortunate that Tarzan has learned the use of primitive weapons.

You can get the entire novel in podcast form, via this handy url:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/tarzan-of-the-apes.xml

Parsec Awards winners and finalists

News

The second annual Parsec Awards have just been handed out. This award started last year at Dragon*Con 2006. So it makes sense that the winners for this year were announced at Dragon*Con 2007 (which wrapped up yesterday). The idea behind the Parsec is to honor podcasting excellence in a number of categories relating to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Here is the complete short-list of eligible PARSEC AWARD nominees and finalists in the SFFaudio related categories:

Best Audio Drama (Long Form)

Best Audio Drama (Short Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novel Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form)

Quite a collection of audio goodness!

New Releases for August

SFFaudio New Releases

Star Wars - Legacy Of The Force: InfernoStar Wars – Legacy Of The Force: Inferno
By Troy Denning; Read by Marc Thompson
5 CDs – 6 Hours 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: August 2007
ISBN: 9780739323991
“Luke Skywalker wanted to unify the Jedi order and bring peace to the universe. Instead his wife Mara lies dead at the hands of an unknown assassin, his wayward nephew Jacen has seized control of the Galactic Alliance, and the galaxy has exploded in all-out civil war. With Luke consumed by grief, Jacen Solo works quickly to consolidate his power and jumpstart his plan to take over the Jedi.”

The Wheel Of DarknessThe Wheel of Darkness
By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child; Read by Rene Auberjonois
12 CDs – 13 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Published: August 2007
ISBN:1594839417
“At a remote monastery, they learn that a rare and dangerous artifact the monks have been guarding for generations has been mysteriously stolen.”


The Bright Child by Tommy WallachThe Bright Child
By Tommy Wallach; Read by Tommy Wallach
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
STATUS: In Progress
“The Bright Child is a fantasy novel in the mold of Philip Pullman or C.S. Lewis. Parker Sante, a chubby eighth-grader whose best friend is the view out his attic window, has recently been kicked out of his high school for almost killing another boy. His mother doesn’t know what to do with him, and is ecstatic when he is accepted to a new private school that promises to be one of the best in the country, Bright Child Academy. The family moves to Yreka, a small suburban town in the Pacific Northwest, so Parker can attend. Finally, he’ll be able to start fresh.”

The Bright Child by Tommy WallachTerra Incognita
By Gary Hicks; Read by Gary Hicks
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
STATUS: In Progress
“Drawn together apparently by the hand of fate, Trent and Cole escape the oppressive totalitarian domed city that has nurtured them all their lives. Outside they discover a world they could never have imagined. They are pursued by the city Militia, intent on returning them to the secretive entity that oversees every facet of the city.”

FREE Fantasy Epic: The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison

SFFaudio Online Audio

Maureen O’Brien, of the Maria Lectrix podcast has been working on a fantasy epic which she describes thusly:

“This classic 1922 fantasy novel brings you to a strange and lovely world where a young lord wrestles King Gorice for his land’s freedom, where unscalable mountains can only be conquered by stubbornness and hippogriffs, where the great explorer Lord Gro finds himself continually driven to betrayal, where sweet young women occasionally fall for evil wizards, and where the heroes actually win their hearts’ desire.”

The Worm OuroborosThe Worm Ouroboros
By E.R. Eddison; Read by Maureen O’Brien
IN PROGRESS – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: May 2007 -> ????
The domineering King Gorice of Witchland and the Lords of Demonland vie for power in an imaginary medievalesque world that’s also reminiscent of the Norse sagas. Tolkien himself liked the book but its morality sharply contrasts with that found in The Lord Of The Rings, as the main protagonists are proud warriors who seek glory in battle.

You can listen to every chapter of the podcast via this feed:

http://marialectrix.wordpress.com/tag/fiction/feed/