science fiction – Page 143

Review of Star Wars: Outcast by Aaron Allston

Friday, July 24, 2009Thursday, July 23, 2009 Scott D.

Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi (Book 1): Outcast
By Aaron Allston; Read by Marc Thompson
10 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9780739376614 (CD)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Star Wars /

A quick word of warning: It’s impossible to review this book without spoilers for previous books in the series.

Star Wars: Outcast is the first book in a new series of novels, collectively called The Fate of the Jedi. The series is connected to the previous 40 or so (!) Star Wars books. Here’s a timeline from Random House’s Star Wars page; this series falls on there after the Legacy of the Force series. I appreciate that some attempt is being made at continuity between movies/TV/comics/novels, but I’m not the guy to tell you whether or not it’s working. I do know that the characters aren’t static – Han and Leia are not eternally in their 30’s. At the open of this series, in fact, they’ve got grandkids.

To bring you up to speed: Han and Leia’s son Jacen fell to the Dark Side. This happened in the Legacy of the Force series, I believe. If anyone out there can correct me, please do. Stuff happened, Jacen ended up dead, and in the aftermath the Galactic Alliance is wondering if Jedi cause more trouble than they prevent. That’s where we are at the beginning of this book.

Now in this volume, Luke Skywalker (that’s Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker, thank you very much) is arrested by the Alliance for his part in Jacen Solo’s fall. He negotiates a ten year exile, and decides to use the time to retrace Jacen’s steps in an attempt to understand why he fell. Luke has a young son named Ben who wants to come along, and does. Nothing could possibly go wrong there, I’m sure, since Luke is an expert with the whole father-son thing. And the Force thing. Meanwhile and elsewhere, a young padawan named Valin Horn decides that his mom is not really his mom, but a disguised agent. He thinks his Jedi dad is not his dad, either, so out pop the light sabers. Valin is incorrect, though – his parents are his parents. His padawan mind is being influenced by something outside, like what happens to a lot of teenagers.

And we’re off! I’m not sure how many books will be in this series, but this is the first Star Wars series of books that is being released unabridged, so I’ve decided that I’ll give it a go and try to keep up. I’ve got the next book (Omens by Christie Golden) ready and waiting.

I enjoy the Star Wars universe, and found this to be a good listen. It’s a return to a comfortable setting, with familiar characters Luke, Leia, and Han, yet with enough growth of those characters to make them interesting for additional reasons. There are also a bunch of new characters, but this book lets you know whatever you need to know about their pasts. It’s not difficult to follow. As an adult I find these books entertaining, but with occasional eye-rolling moments that I probably wouldn’t put up with in other books. Example: Valin Horn telling his dad (who Valin thinks is an impostor) that, because of readily available electronic prosthetics, Jedi “don’t feel too bad cutting the hand off a very bad person”. Narrator Marc Thompson, in true Star Wars fashion, recites those occasional awkward lines as naturally as possible.

Thompson is a superior narrator. Lots of sound effects surround his narration (a feature I often dislike, but in the Star Wars novels, I really like the effects) as he performs many voices, some of them enhanced with audio equipment. No need for me to vouch for his great skill – here’s a sample from the opening of the book:

If you enjoy Star Wars, this is more of the same kind of thing and you’ll probably like it, too. It’s entertaining, it sounds terrific, but it’s not groundbreaking.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

LibriVox: Triplanetary by E.E. “Doc” Smith

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Thanks go to LibriVox for Triplanetary. This is the first book length public domain audiobook by E.E. “Doc” Smith. Here’s the editorial from the first issue of its serialization in Amazing Stories:

“We are sure that our readers will be highly pleased to have us give the first installment of a story [Triplanetary] by Dr. Smith. It will continue for several numbers and is a worthy follower of the ‘Skylark’ stories which were so much appreciated by our readers. We think that they will find this story superior to the earlier ones. Dr. Smith certainly has the narrative power, and that, joined with his scientific position, makes him an ideal author for our columns.”

Triplanetary
By E.E. “Doc” Smith; Read by Mark F. Smith
13 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 6 Hours 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 21, 2009
E.E. “Doc” Smith virtually invented the space opera sub-genre singelhandedly. In Triplanetary physics, time, and politics never stand in the way of a plot that gallops ahead without letup. The heroes of Smith’s story are all scientists. In their hands the electromagnetic spectrum becomes a raw material to be molded into ever-more amazing and lethal forms, and the speed of light is no bar to their traveling through the interstellar void. Come enjoy this story of yesteryear, set in tomorrow, where real women ignite love at a glance, real men achieve in days what governments manage in decades, and aliens are an ever-present threat to Life-As-We-Know-It! First published in the January, February, March and April 1934 issues of Amazing Stories magazine.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/triplanetary-by-ee-doc-smith.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Additional credit for this audiobook goes to:

Dedicated Proof-Listener: Ans Wink
Meta-Coordinator/Cataloging: David Lawrence

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Tuesday, July 14, 2009Tuesday, July 14, 2009 Scott D.

SFFaudio Review

The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins; Read by Carolyn McCormick
Audible Download – 11 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Scholastic Audio
Published: 2009
Provider: Audible.com
Themes: / Science Fiction / Global Warming / Reality Television / Government / Oppression / Survival / YA /

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

The thing that impressed me the most about this book is how unpredictable it was. I have never listened to anything like it. Every time I expected a certain thing to happen it almost always happened the exact opposite.

The reader of The Hunger Games, Carolyn McCormick, was a very good reader, better than most I have listened to. Her ability to not only read the words, but put so much emotion into them was astounding.

The story is told from Katniss Everdeen’s point of view. Katniss lives in the twelfth district of a country which used to be North America, however due to multiple circumstances is now a country called Panem.

Long before Katniss was born, the districts rebelled against the capital, the capital eventually won. They subdued twelve of the districts and the thirteenth they completely obliterated. This is how the hunger games came about. The capital created the hunger games as a way to show the districts that they are still in control. To me this seems to be a kind of dictatorship.

When this story takes place Katniss is sixteen years old. She is fatherless and being the oldest, she provides food for her family. Since she and her family live on the very edge of District Twelve, which is called the Seam, she and her friend Gail regularly venture out into the wilderness to hunt for food. Katniss is excellent with a bow, and fairly handy with a knife.

To select the participants in each year’s Hunger Games, they have what is called The Reaping. The Reaping is when a representative from the capital comes to the district and calls two names, a boy and a girl. At this particular Reaping, Katniss’s little sister Prim, whom she loves above all else in the world, is called. Katniss volunteers to take Prim’s place, and is taken into the battle that is expected to cost her her life.

The author expertly wove action, tragedy, romance, and suspense all into one book. The book on many occasions had every one of my muscles tensing up because I was scared for Katniss, or it had me crying because of so many bad things happening. It called almost every emotion to come fourth while I listened.

The only thing that disappointed me about this book was the ending. It was a good ending, but it was a sort of cliffhanger. I wanted more, the spot that it left off was very unsatisfactory to me. However this does not damage my opinion of the book very much. I am hoping desperately for a sequel. Five stars all the way.

Posted by DanielsonKid (Age 14)

Review of Anne Manx and the Empress Blair Project

Monday, July 6, 2009Monday, July 6, 2009 Scott D.

SFFaudio Review

Anne Manx and the Empress Blair Project
Starring Claudia Christian, Ellen Muth, and Robin Atkin Downes
2 CDs – 2 Hours [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: RRCA (Radio Repertory Company of America)
Published: 2009
ISBN: 0977134210
Themes: / Science Fiction / Humor / Private Eye / Government / War /

Before she meets the Empress Blair, Anne Manx (Claudia Christian) wants nothing more than to spend her quiet vacation getting a tan. Empress Blair (Ellen Muth), though, has a compelling problem. Her father has been killed, and she fears she’s next. If Anne Manx can keep the Empress alive for a mere two months, she’ll reach her eighteenth birthday and take over for her father. Complicating things is Mr. Logan (Robin Atkin Downes), who shows up just in time – but whose side is he on? Nothing is ever easy for Anne Manx, and she’s rapidly running out of lives.
|MP3 SAMPLE|

This is the fifth installment of the Anne Manx audio drama series from Angelo Panetta and the good folks over at The Radio Repertory Company of America. Anne Manx is a superhero of sorts in this series, which can best be described as a comic book for audio. What’s special about Anne Manx? She doesn’t stay dead, but the number of her lives are limited. She’s got a job that requires those lives, too – she’s a planet-hopping private eye, and each episode presents new problems. In Anne Manx and the Empress Blair Project we find her on vacation at the Caraboo Islands, but the Empress Blair (of the planet Eranix), who’s sure she is a target for murder, interrupts Anne’s holiday. It takes a little convincing, but Manx agrees to help, and we’re caught up in another entertaining episode.

There are several things that set these RRCA productions apart from others. The quality of the actors is the most obvious. In this episode: Claudia Christian (Babylon 5), Ellen Muth (Dead Like Me), and Robin Atkin Downes, who is is a superior and popular voice actor that we’ve also seen on a B5 episode or two. I’ve enjoyed Claudia Christian as Anne Manx since the first episode (Anne Manx in Lives of the Cat). She’s tough, sexy, and I can’t imagine another actress in this role. Her co-stars in this one make the production an all-around joy to hear.

Another thing that I’ve mentioned in previous reviews is the script. This is a smart script that, though it doesn’t miss too many chances for sexual innuendo, is really funny at just the right places. Kudos to Larry Weiner for another job well done.

And lastly, the quality of the sound. Effects, music, and words combine in a way that I never wonder what the setting is, never wonder who is speaking, and I never lose the story. It’s easy to become completely immersed as a listener. My mind fills in the pictures, and I thoroughly enjoy listening.

So much so that I may just go find the first one and start over… back soon.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Recent Arrivals: Blake’s 7, Alan E. Nourse, John W. Campbell

Saturday, July 4, 2009Wednesday, July 8, 2009 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Recent arrivals in the Canadian offices of SFFaudio include a two-in-one MP3-CD from the USA…

Star Surgeon / The Black Star Passes
By Alan E. Nourse and John W. Campbell; Read by Scott D. Farquhar
1 MP3-CD – Approx. 12 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: ScottVox
Published: 2009
Two original SFFaudio Challenge titles, The Black Star Passes and Star Surgeon, are now available on a single mp3 data disc. Both audiobooks are slightly remastered versions of the audio files which are still available for free download at Podiobooks.com and LibriVox. So this data disc version is for folks that want to save some download time. It comes in DVD style packaging and also includes a little 8 page booklet with information about both books, biographies of the authors, and a chapter/filename index. Asking price is $10.

And from the U.K. the first three episodes of the prequel audio dramas set in the Blake’s 7 universe…

Blake’s 7 – When Vila Met Gan (Vol. 1.1)
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
1 CD – Approx. 50 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: B7 Media
Published: October 2008
ISBN: 9781906577056
Michael Keating reprises his most popular role as the cowardly thief, Vila Restal, the only character to appear in all 52 episodes of the original Blake’s 7 TV series. The new audio incarnation of Olag Gan played by Owen Aaronovitch also stars. (BLAKE’S 7 – THE EARLY YEARS Vol 1.1) is a prequel exploring the origins of key B7 characters prior to them meeting rebel leader, Roj Blake. This, the first of these prequel stories When Vila met Gan was written by lead writer, Ben Aaronovitch. It explores the history and enduring friendship between Gan and Vila, two of the most unlikely rebels to take up arms against the Federation.

Blake’s 7 – Point Of No Return and Eye Of The Machine (Vol. 1.2 & 1.3)
By Ben Aaronovitch and James Swallow; Performed by a full cast
2 CDs – Approx. 70 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: B7 Media
Published: November 2008
ISBN: 9781906577063
Second of the first season of prequel stories on 2 CDs, starring Colin Salmon, Keeley Hawkes, Craig Kelly, Peter Guinness, Jake Maskall, and featuring Geoffrey Palmer.

Point Of No Return (Episode 2) – The right hand of Supreme Commander Servalan, Travis (Craig Kelly) is the relentless security officer dedicated to hunting down the dissident Roj Blake… but what choices made him the man he became? London, 2230. On the eve of a tense election that will send shockwaves throughout the Federation, Major Stefan Travis finds his liberty unexpectedly cancelled and a new assignment thrust upon him. A key political opponent of the government, Carl Varon (Peter Guinness), has been arrested, accused of hate crimes and incitement to violence, but a trail of murder and conspiracy leads Travis to doubt the truth presented to him. When the deadly threat of a terrorist atrocity looms, how far will he go to prevent the deaths of millions of people? Written by James Swallow, directed by Andrew Mark Sewell.

Eye Of The Machine (Episode 3) – The University of Oxford in the year 2230, and the campus is a hotbed of student protest as Roj Blake’s Freedom Party seeks to sweep away a century of corrupt rule. Kerr Avon (Colin Salmon), a young man from the frontier, brilliant, ambitious and naïve, has arrived to make his mark on the future. Working with Professor Ensor (Geoffrey Palmer), the Federation’s eminent cyberneticist, Avon has no intention of getting involved in politics – – he may be naïve, but he isn’t stupid. But, when he meets activist Anna Grant (Keeley Hawes), all bets are off…. Written by Ben Aaronovitch, directed by Andrew Mark Sewell.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Escape Pod: All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein

Thursday, July 2, 2009Sunday, December 14, 2014 Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Escape Pod’s Episode 200 is finally out! It’s one of my favourite time travel stories. In fact, All You Zombies is one of the most popular time travel stories of all time (according to a quick poll conducted at The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe). Listening to it now reminds me that gender reassignment surgery was a recurring theme in Heinlein’s writing (think I Will Fear No Evil). Thanks Escape Pod!

All You Zombies
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Steve Eley
1 |MP3| – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Escape Pod
Podcast: July 2, 2009
“I was polishing a brandy snifter when the Unmarried Mother came in. I noted the time—10:17 P. M. zone five, or eastern time, November 7th, 1970. Temporal agents always notice time and date; we must.”

Podcast feed:

http://escapepod.org/podcast.xml

All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein - The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1959

Posted by Jesse Willis