Tag: space travel

Review of Tears of the Tin God

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Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Science Fiction Audio Drama - Tears of the Tin God by T. Ray GordonTears Of The Tin God
By T. Ray Gordon; Narrated by Richard Sellers and a Full Cast
1 CD – 80 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Apex Audio Theatre
Published: 2007
UPC: 701376158028
Themes: / Science fiction / Alien Artifact / Space travel /

If I were allowed only two words to review this audio drama, I would choose these: Harmless junk. But if I had to shave my word count, I wouldn’t know where to cut. Tears Of The Tin God is not a terrible audio drama. The sound and sound effects are fine, but the script is plagued by over-explanation of the familiar (as in: “…she frowned, making a face…”), juxtaposed with under-explanation of the novel. A few of the science fictional ideas are unconvincing, and the ending feels rushed and emotionally unsatisfying. Still, the enthusiastic production and the short running time make it kinda likable.

The plot is provocative, if not stunningly original: Seven future astronauts have been sent across space to investigate some immense alien artifacts on a planet called Borne 7. Upon landing on the surface of the largest artifact, one of the astronauts is ingested by it, becoming an integral part of a being with god-like power and knowledge. But are its intentions good or evil, alien or human?

The same concept is explored by Michael Crichton, sans space suits, in his novel Sphere. That one isn’t great, either, but it is superior to this one in the quality of its prose, the depth of its explanations, and the delicious thrill of its sustained tension. Tears Of The Tin God won’t take years off your life, but it kills an hour you might miss later.

Posted by Kurt Dietz

New FREE AUDIOBOOK: Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Colors Of Space

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

A new LibriVox title has piqued our interest. It’s Marion Zimmer Bradley’s 1963 novel The Colors Of Space. Sadly, this is not the ideal audio version of it as it has multiple readers – who seem to have randomly chosen their chapters. I think the ethos of LibriVox is absolutely wonderful, but the output, especially in cases like this seems more geared towards project completion and narrator convenience rather than listener preference. That said, the audiobook is 100% free and very easily downloadable either by a Zipped Folder full of MP3s, singly in individual file of MP3 or OGG Vorbis formats and by the podcast feed (including a one click iTunes subscription).

LibriVox audiobook - The Colors Of Space by Marion Zimmer BradleyThe Colors Of Space
By Marion Zimmer Bradley; Read by various readers
15 zipped MP3 Files or podcast – 5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 29th 2007
Bart Steele, a Space Academy graduate, has the potential to gain the secret of an alien “warp drive”, a super-fast technology for interstellar travel. He’ll have to get some surgery, and spy upon an alien race to do it but he’s . lucky because by a bit of genetic quirk Bart can see a wider optical range than ordinary humans. Still, countless human spies have already failed to gain the secret.

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

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-colors-of-space-by-marion-zimmer-bradley.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

Decoder Ring Theatre reaches farther with Deck Gibson

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

Decoder Ring TheatreDecoder Ring Theatre SUMMER SHOWCASE continues with an all new two episode series about a manly space adventurer named Deck Gibson. I got an advance listen of this show, and it lives up to the stupendous quality Decoder Ring is becoming so well known for. The series is called:

“Deck Gibson – Far Reach Commander”

Both shows are written by Matt Wallace, the Parsec Award-winning writer and creator of The Failed Cities Monologues which first podcast through Variant Frequencies. The cast is, as always, made up of the talented actors and actresses from the Decoder Ring Theatre stable.

Deck Gibson Far Reach Commander

The first show is available now…

“Deck Gibson And The Star Dust Dancers” |MP3|

And in two week’s you’ll be able to hear the second adventure “Deck Gibson And The Last Squadron Fighter”!

Subscribe to the podcast feed to insure prompt delivery:

http://decoderring.libsyn.com/rss

posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7 celebrates Robert A. Heinlein Centenary with audio fiction

Jesse Willis

Online Audio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionIn honour of the 100th anniversary of Robert A. Heinlein’s birth, BBC7’s The Seventh Dimension is airing a special series of Heinlein stories. The first of which aired this last Saturday. First up was The Green Hills Of Earth, a Heinlein story he partially credited to a line from C. L. Moore and her story Shambleau (which also aired this year on BBC7). The Green Hills Of Earth is also one story with a distinction few others could possibly equal, it was quoted to listeners on the Moon – namely the crew of Apollo 15! Next Saturday the Heinlein Centenary celebration continues with Ordeal In Space. And, all this week, BBC7 is airing Methuselah’s Children. You can have a listen to The Green Hills Of Earth now, and for the next few days, via the Listen Again service. Same goes for the first episode of Methuselah’s Children. More details below..

The Cool Green Hills Of Earth by Robert A. HeinleinThe Green Hills Of Earth
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Adam Sims
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
BROADCASTER: BBC7’s The 7th Dimension
BROADCAST: Saturday July 7th 2007
This is the poignant story of Rhysling, the blind space-going songwriter whose poetic skills rival Rudyard Kipling’s. This yarn is about a radiation-blinded spaceship engineer crisscrossing the solar system writing and singing some of the best lyrics in science fiction. In a fine display of writing skill, the spaceship and crew feel as real to the reader as a contemporary tramp steamer.

Science Fiction Methuselah's Children by Robert A. HeinleinMethuselah’s Children
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Paul Birchard
6 Parts, Six 30-Minute Broadcasts – Approx. 3 Hours [ABRIDGED]
BROADCASTER: BBC7’s The 7th Dimension
BROADCAST: Weekdays July 2007 to July 16th 2007
Robert A Heinlein’s sci-fi novel about a group of families who can live for several hundred years.

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Super Pal and Jewels of the 11th Generation

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SFFaudio Review

Great Northern Audio - Super PalThe Saving of the World: Super Pal (Includes Jewels of the 11th Generation)
By Great Northern Audio Theatre; Performed by a FULL CAST
1 CD – Approx. 70 minutes [LIVE AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Great Northern Audio
Published: 2005/2006
Themes: / Fantasy / Comedy / Superheroes / Meteors / Jewels / Space Travel / Children / Squeak Toys / Computers

A comet is heading towards Big City, but is it a job for Super Pal?

Great Northern Audio brings you the tale of the blue-glowing superhero, as told from those closest to him. The nurse who helped birth him, the girlfriend who likes the cape (nudge-nudge), his best friend growing up, even the crooks he brought down.

Meanwhile, the comet comes closer, and Super Pal is nowhere to be found. The mayor begins to look at other superheroes, but no help is available. One kinked their back while lugging an oil rig across the desert, and another is expecting a baby and is on light duty. You know, bank robbers.

What to do? Well, Super Pal does have a weakness for cats in trees….

The CD also includes The Jewels of the 11th Generation, a story of two zany treasure-hunters looking for the ultimate treasure. They certainly find more than that! Children, pirates- and… squeak toys? But where are the jewels? This is also a lot of fun and well-written. Mix that with excellent acting, including the talents of David Ossman of Firesign Theatre, and you know exactly why I enjoyed it so much.

These performances were a lot of fun. I loved the documentary-style interviews in telling the tale of Super Pal, and the jokes in Jewels made me laugh out loud a couple of times! Very witty, and hearing the audience respond now and then in the background really made it all the more enjoyable. For a live performance, it has a better sound than a lot of in-studio performances. A very enjoyable hour!

Both SuperPal and Jewels of the 11th Generation were part of live Great Northern Audio performances in 2005 and 2006. Definitely worth going over to Great Northern’s website and getting a copy today!

posted by Dani Cutler

Blake’s 7 The Audio Adventures update

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SFFaudio Online Audio

Blake's 7 Audio AdventuresBlake’s 7 The Audio Adventures series, now streaming exclusively on the Sci-Fi Channel UK website, has been pumping out their short audio drama segments at a delightfully quick pace. Added to the cast, in the more recent episodes, has been Robin Of Sherwood alumnus, Michael Praed. The total run for this show is going to be 36 segments, with new parts released Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Rebel – Chapter 1: Hard Targets
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 7 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 2: Enemy Of The State
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 9 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 3: First Contact
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 7.5 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 4: The Derelict
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 7 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 5: No Surrender
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 6 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 6: Plan B
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 6 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 7: Space Fall
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 5 minutes 30 Seconds Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 8: Survivors
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 7 Minutes 30 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 9: Tertiary Stage
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 6 Minutes 30 Seconds [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 10: Hero
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 6 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 11: The Offer
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 7 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Rebel – Chapter 12: Exiles
By Ben Aaronovitch; Performed by a full cast
Streaming Audio – 6 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Sci-Fi Channel UK
Published: May 2007

Resonance FMAlso, Resonance FM, a community based radio station in London, U.K., has a lengthy “behind the scenes” style interview with the creators of the Blake’s 7 The Audio Adventures. It was recorded at this year’s Bristol international Comic Expo. U.S.A. audio drama creators will be extremely jealous of the obvious popularity of audio drama in the U.K.. Not mentioned in the interview, but also fascinating, is that the actors union in the U.K. has negotiated a precedent setting contract with the B7 Audio Adventures team. Have a listen |MP3|.

posted by Jesse Willis