Stephen King – Page 26

New Releases

Tuesday, January 29, 2008Saturday, February 9, 2008 Jesse Willis

New Releases

O’ audiobook, you of your flowing tears, you make me covetous…

Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Scott Brick
7 Cassettes, 7 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: January 2008
ISBN: 1433211232 (cassettes), 1433211249 (cds), 1433211256 (mp3-cd)
Pop star Jason Taverner is the product of a top-secret government experiment that produced a selection of genetically enhanced people forty years ago. Unusually bright and beautiful, he’s a television idol beloved by millions—until one day, all records of his identity inexplicably disappear. Overnight, he has gone from being a celebrity to a being a man whom no one seems to recognize. And in a police state, having no proof of his existence is enough to put his life in danger.

This Asaro novel isn’t in the Skolian Empire series, but its tech will be familiar to those who’ve read them…

Sunrise Alley
By Catherine Asaro; Read by Hillary Huber
11 Cassettes, 12 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published:December 2007
ISBN: 1433212994 (cassettes), 1433213007 (cds), 1433213014 (mp3-cd)
When a shipwrecked stranger washed up on the beach near research scientist Samantha Bryton’s home, she was unaware that he was something more than human. He said his name was Turner Pascal—but Pascal was dead, killed in a car wreck. This man only held the remainder of Pascal’s consciousness in a technologically-enhanced humanoid body. He was, in fact, an experiment by the notorious criminal Charon, a practitioner of illegal robotics and android research. Charon has been secretly copying human minds into android brains, with plans to make his own army of slaves. On the run from this most ruthless criminal, Samatha and Turner seek help from Sunrise Alley, an underground organization of AIs and androids that have gone rogue. But these cybernetic outlaws are rumored to have their own hidden agenda.

Below is the third audiobook version of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, the first being a very abridged reading by Robert Vaughn, the second, released through Recorded Books in 1999, was read by George Wilson.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Tom Weiner
9 Cassettes, 10 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: December 2007
ISBN: 1433212901 (cassettes), 1433212918 (cds), 1433212925 (mp3-cd)
When a stranger attempting to deliver a cryptic message is shot dead at his dinner table, Ames is thrown headfirst into danger, intrigue, and other dimensions where Lazarus Long still thrives, where Jubal Harshaw lives surrounded by beautiful women, and where a daring plot to rescue the sentient computer called Mike can change the direction of all human history.

“Swashbuckling adventure, science fiction, betrayal and a bit of romance… no leprechauns and no fairies, and absolutely no apprentice wizards.” – Check out the trailer for this novel on Eoin Colfer’s website

Airman
By Eoin Colfer; Read by John Keating
CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: December 26, 2007
ISBN: 0739359746
In the 1890s Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king’s daughter, Princess Isabella. But the boy’s idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a deadly conspiracy against the king. When Conor tries to intervene, he is branded a traitor and thrown into jail on the prison island of Little Saltee. There, he has to fight for his life, as he and the other prisoners are forced to mine for diamonds in inhumane conditions. There is only one way to escape Little Saltee, and that is to fly. So Conor passes the solitary months by scratching drawings of flying machines on the prison walls. The months turn into years; but eventually the day comes when Conor must find the courage to trust his revolutionary designs and take to the skies.

This 1983 Koontz novel has elements from John Carpenter’s version of The Thing, and the “shoggoths” envisioned in the works of H.P. Lovecraft…

Phantoms by Dean Koontz Phantoms
By Dean Koontz; Read by Buck Schirner
12 CDs – 15 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: January 2008
ISBN: 9781423339267
They found the town silent, apparently abandoned. Then they found the first body strangely swollen and still warm. One hundred fifty were dead, 350 missing. But the terror had only begun in the tiny mountain town of Snowfield, California. At first they thought it was the work of a maniac. Or terrorists. Or toxic contamination. Or a bizarre new disease. But then they found the truth. And they saw it in the flesh. And it was worse than anything any of them had ever imagined…

The King of modern horror, Stephen King, writes again…

Duma Key
By Stephen King; Read by John Slattery
18 CDs – 23 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publisher: January 2008
A terrible accident takes Edgar Freemantle’s right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. When his marriage suddenly ends, Edgar begins to wish he hadn’t survived his injuries. He wants out. His psychologist suggests a new life distant from the Twin Cities, along with something else…

Somehow we missed this classic in the fall releases…

Cat’s Cradle
By Kurt Vonnegut; Read by Tony Roberts
6 CDs – 7 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: HarperAudio
Published: November 2007
ISBN: 9780061135200
Cat’s Cradle is Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny.

Here’s a podiobook that sound promising…

Beautiful Red
By M. Darusha Wehm; Read by M. Darusha Wehm
23 MP3 Files (Podcast) – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Published: 2007 – 2008
The future is boring. Technology has solved the world’s most pressing problems, leaving people with tedious work and mundane play. Jack is a Security Officer Class 5, which sounds important, but isn’t. However, her banal life as a cubicle worker by day and tinkerer by night is interrupted when she discovers that her employer’s computer system has been invaded.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Stephen King visits BBC Radio 4 this Sunday

Wednesday, November 15, 2006Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Jesse Willis

Online Audio

SFFaudio’s U.K. contributor Roy notes: “Further to the previous mention of Stephen King, I see that he is the guest on Desert Island Discs (BBC Radio 4 11:15 Sunday 19th November). This 30 min programme is repeated the following Friday at 09:00 ~~but should be available on ‘listen again’ for a week.~~ [sadly it turns our this is one of the few shows not available via the listen again service – ed.] For those unfamiliar with this extremely long running programme, the week’s guest has to choose eight records that they would take with them should they be cast away on a desert island. However it is much more than a music show (the selected records are only ever played in short excerpts) and it should be an interesting conversation about King’s life and works.”

That sounds pretty keen, thanks Roy!

posted by Jesse Willis

Stephen King Interview with Reading from Lisey’s Story

Monday, November 13, 2006Friday, March 26, 2010 admin

SFFaudio Online Audio

A Stephen King Special is the currently featured book podcast from The Times Online. The 3-part podcast includes a 30-minute interview with King about his latest book, Lisey’s Story, a 17-minute reading by King from the book, and a 20-minute Q&A session in which King responds to questions submitted by Times readers. The podcasts are also available by subscription through iTunes. Links to excerpts from the first two chapters of Lisey’s Story are given from the Stephen King Special web page. For more about King and Lisey’s Story, see the November 12th Sunday NY Times Book Review where this is the featured book review (free but requires registration).

Posted by Moriond

Stephen King on Audiobooks

Friday, November 3, 2006Friday, March 26, 2010 Scott D.

Stephen King has a column over at EW.com where he talks audiobooks. He offers his top ten list, which includes a couple of items in the science fiction and fantasy genre – at #3 are the Jim Dale narrated Harry Potter novels, and at #10 is American Gods by Neil Gaiman, read by George Guidall, which was recently enshrined as our latest SFFaudio Essential.

posted by Scott D. Danielson

An Evening with Harry, Carrie, and Garp

Friday, August 4, 2006Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Scott D.

SFFaudio News

John Joseph Adams (aka The Slush God) reports on An Evening with Harry, Carrie, and Garp, during which J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and John Irving did some live reading at the Radio City Music Hall.

And, the multi-talented Mary Robinette Kowal, prompted by John Joseph Adams’ post, offers a primer on “Reading Aloud” on her blog, with more to come.

posted by Scott

Review of Cell by Stephen King

Tuesday, May 23, 2006Saturday, February 2, 2008 admin

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Editor’s note: Our newest reviewer, a mysterious gent from the future known only as The Time Traveler, debuts on SFFaudio with this review of Stephen King’s latest. Be sure to sit down and read it before you pick up your cell phone.

Cell
By Stephen King; Read by Campbell Scott
8 Cassettes or 12 CDs – 12.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio / Recorded Books
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0743554329 (Cassette), 0743554337 (CD)
Themes: / Horror / Science Fiction / Apocalypse / Zombies/ Journey /
Survivors / Terrorism

There’s a reason why cell rhymes with hell.

Stephen King’s latest book is a return to form for this master of horror. In it, everyone with a cell phone goes stark raving mad after they receive some kind of pulse through their cell. The pulse, likely sent by terrorists, wipes the victims’ minds clean. This story takes no time to get started. Within the first few minutes, you are drawn into this nightmare scenario, steeped in gore and horror.

The main character, Clayton Riddell, finds himself in Boston when the pulse drives the majority of people biting, scratching, and murderously mad. He is joined by a band of likable characters as they set off to get out of Boston. Meanwhile the victims of the pulse start behaving more like Zombies and start flocking together and evolving with even more unexpected behavior.

Much of this material is familiar ground for King. But the narrative drive is strong, and it doesn’t drag with shear verbosity as King’s writing sometimes does. Campbell Scott reads the audiobook. Scott is a very competent narrator who’s also a film actor and has appeared in movies like The Exorcism of Emily Rose. His narration is restrained and subdued which works well with the apocalyptic horror being described. His Boston accents are excellent without being overdone. He’s also the son of the late George C. Scott.

I’ve got two qualms with the audiobook. If it’s unabridged, shouldn’t it contain the dedication? I picked up the hardcover edition at the store and found it was dedicated to George Romero and Richard Matheson. George Romero was the director and writer of the Night of the Living Dead and it’s sequels. Richard Matheson wrote the seminal post-apocalyptic vampire novel, I am Legend, in 1954. There is no dedication on the audiobook. Doesn’t unabridged mean word for word? The dedication definitely foreshadows what kind of novel Cell is to be.

Also there are places in the second half of the book where the narrative voice totally changes. It sounds as if they needed some pick-ups done, to fix small mistakes, and Mr. Scott was not available so they plugged someone else in. Overall these are small distractions, and the audiobook is a hard to turn-off listen.

posted by The Time Traveler