Sam Moskowitz, in this video, is talking about Murray Leinster’s short story A Logic Named Joe. It was first published in Astounding, March 1946.
[via the Sweet Freedom blog]
Posted by Jesse Willis
Tag: science fiction
Review of Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick
Eye in the Sky
By Philip K. Dick; Performed by Dan John Miller
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
8 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Themes: / theology / altered reality / science fiction / particle accelerator / dystopia /
Publisher summary:
When a routine tour of a particle accelerator goes awry, Jack Hamilton and the rest of his tour group find themselves in a world ruled by Old Testament morality, where the smallest infraction can bring about a plague of locusts. Escape from that world is not the end, though, as they plunge into a Communist dystopia and a world where everything is an enemy. Philip K. Dick was aggressively individualistic, and no worldview is safe from his acerbic and hilarious takedowns. Eye in the Sky blends the thrills and the jokes to craft a startling morality lesson hidden inside a comedy.
Eye in the Sky is Philip K. Dick’s 5th published novel, and although his earlier work touched on many themes that would continue throughout his career, this book is one of the first to develop these themes in full. The focus is on a technological mishap that sends Jack Hamilton and 7 other individuals into what amounts to a shared consensual hallucination. The characters quickly find their mutual realities at odds with one another. During the first of these alternate worlds, Philip K. Dick has fun with another of his favorite topics – theology, and it is from this segment that the title Eye in the Sky originates.
Dick’s humor is also more present in this novel than in his previous works. Narrator Dan John Miller is very successful in capturing the sarcasm found in character Jack Hamilton’s dialogue. In addition to humor, horror elements can also be found during another segment late in the story involving a haunted house of sorts. With all of the mind-bending excitement throughout most of the book, the ending may seem anti-climactic; however, I felt the ending was consistent with the author’s own philosophy and would recommend Eye in the Sky as a great place to start for someone interested in the earlier work of Philip K. Dick.
Posted by Dan VK
Review of Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster
Operation: Outer Space
By Murray Leinster; Read by Mark Douglas Nelson
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 6 Hours 48 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 25, 2011
|ETEXT|
Jed Cochrane is about to take off on man’s first interstellar voyage. His mission: Make sure it’s good television!
Prompted by my enjoyment of the Murray Leinster Collection, I went searching for another likely Leinster book to try. I vaguely recalled Mark Douglas Nelson running Operation: Outer Space at SciPodCast before it went to live at LibriVox.
“A fast-paced, sardonic job that is primarily a satire on the future of mass communications… a jolly tale indeed.” – Groff Conklin
I agree with P. Schuyler Miller who said, “It’s no classic, but it’s good reading.”
As someone who works in advertising I found much to enjoy in Murray Leinster’s tale of an unlikely space expedition financed by television show sponsors. I also appreciated the fact that Jed Cochrane has a loftier ambition fueled by his own unhappiness at the overcrowding on Earth and lack of hope among the population. He is pursuing a solution the only way that he has been trained to do, through business opportunity. In this way the book is also a left-handed compliment to capitalism, albeit tongue-in-cheek.
Mark Douglas Nelson’s narration, as always, is spot on. I always enjoy his reading and he lets the story shine through.
Posted by Julie D.
Review of Space Casey by Christiana Ellis
Space Casey
By Christiana Ellis; Performed by a full cast
10 Episode Podcast Series – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: SpaceCasey.com
Podcast: 2007
Themes: / Science Fiction / Humor /
Some heroines will steal your heart… This one will steal your wallet.”
Space Casey is a 10-part audiodrama miniseries which won the Gold Mark Time Award for Best Science Fiction Audio Production by the American Society for Science Fiction Audio and the 2008 Parsec Award for Best Science Fiction Audio Drama.
Pure nostalgia took me back to this really fun little audio drama. Listening to Mur Lafferty read The Shambling Guide to New York City made me recall the other Podiobooks I discovered with such pleasure.
The story follows con artist Casey as she boosts a spaceship from a greenhorn. Problem is, the spaceship was programmed to take off for uncharted territories. Uncharted to humans that is. I won’t say more about the plot other than we see Casey rise to new heights as she struggles to return to human space with all the odds against her. Never was her ability to con people (and aliens and robots and spaceships) more necessary for her survival.
This is a lot of fun and I found myself laughing aloud several times. I absolutely love Christiana Ellis’s sense of humor and narration. She also got a lot of voice talent assistance from other well-known Podiobooks and podcasting talent. I had fun seeing if I could identify them before the credits at the end.
Perfect summer fun, or actually fun for whenever you’re listening.
Podiobooks link
http://podiobooks.com/title/space-casey/
Christiana Ellis’ link
http://christianaellis.com/?page_id=559
Posted by Julie D.
The Flying Cuspidors by V.R. Francis
My friend Julie Hoverson described this story as “Runyonesque” (I had to look it up). Having now heard it I can see why she read it. Julie is an absolute ham for certain quirky American accents and she nails this one beautifully. Of the story itself she said it featured a jazz style band, made up of some suitably jazzy types. The plot, such as it is, is kind of beside the point. It’s a kind of a fish out of water story in which the band, though seemingly born in the future, still finds themselves sounding very much like a set of 1950s characters. Indeed, they find themselves stuck in a Science Fiction future but with 1950s problems.
At the time of publication of The Flying Cuspidors, August 1958, the author, one V.R. Francis, was said to have been a 21 year old Californian, who had “previously appeared in men’s magazines.” But whether that was as a model, or an author, is unfortunately lost to history.
This is the only known story by V.R. Francis
The Flying Cuspidors
By V.R. Francis; Read by Julie Hoverson
1 |MP3| – Approx. 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Provider: Julie Hoverson
Provided: May 2013
This was love, and what could be done about it? It’s been happening to guys for a long time, now. First published in Fantastic Universe August 1958.
Here’s a |PDF|, and Gutenberg has |ETEXT| versions.
Posted by Jesse Willis
Sci-Fi Radio Theater: Hyper Nocturnal: A Horror Sci-Fi Radio Play
Sci-Fi Radio Theater has a new show. Part fine popsicle, part bad yogurt it’s called Hyper Nocturnal and it’s “an 8 part hybrid sci-fi/horror radio play.”
I’d describe it as horror meets humor in a Science Fiction setting.
Here’s the first episode in its entirety:
In deep space the crew of a cargo vessel known as the Macedonia must confront an unspeakable evil birthed from the frayed fabric of reality.
And here’s the trailer:
Posted by Jesse Willis