New Arrivals – Dragonlance and other Brilliance titles

Science Fiction Audiobook Recent Arrivals

Brilliance Audio has sent us lots of goodies this week.

Fantasy Audiobook - Dragons of the Highlord Skies by  Weis and HickmanDragons Of The Highlord Skies: The Lost Chronicles Volume Two
By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman; Read by Sandra Burr
13 CD, 16 hrs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423316206

From the popular Dragonlance series. The first volume, Dragons of the Dwarven Depths, was reviewed by SFFaudio.

The Companions are back, and so are their enemies in the second volume of the Lost Chronicles.

Kitiara discovers that a former lover, Tanis Half-elven, and his friends were responsible for the death of Highlord Verminaard. This revelation puts Kit in danger, for Emperor Ariakas hears of the connection and suspects Kit of having arranged the assassination. He orders his witch, the exotic Iolanthe, to spy on Kit, who clinches her own doom by becoming obsessed with finding Tanis, convincing Ariakas that she is indeed a traitor. But Kit is not one to take a sentence of death easily.

Kit’s rival, Laurana, begins her own journey to destiny, as she travels to Icereach with Sturm, Flint, Tasslehoff, and three Solamnic knights led by Sir Derek Crownguard. The knights are on a quest for the fabled dragon orb that will be the salvation of Solamnia. What none of them know is that they are all being led into a deadly trap laid for them by the winternorn, the dark elf wizard Feal-Thas.

But it is Kitiara who faces the greatest challenge. To save herself, she vows to Takhisis that she will spend the night in Dargaard Keep, the dread castle of the death knight, Lord Soth. As she and Skie fly to challenge the death knight, Kit is well aware that in three hundred years, not one person who has ever faced Lord Soth has survived the ordeal.

Fantasy Audiobook - Seeker by William NicolasonSeeker: Book One of the Noble Warriors
By William Nicholson; Read by Michael Page
9 CD, 10 hrs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423318354

A young adult novel that sounds promising. We received Jango: Book Two a couple weeks ago, and Brilliance was kind enough to send us this one!

On the rocky island of Anacrea, in a garden within the great castle-monastery called the Nom, lives the All and Only, the god who made all things. He is protected by an elite band of fighter monks. These are the Nomana, the Noble Warriors.Seeker, who lives on the island, is now sixteen, at last old enough to follow his brother into the ranks of the Nomana.

Far away, Morning Star, also just sixteen, is leaving home to achieve her lifelong wish to join the Nomana.

And when a beautiful, violent river bandit known as the Wildman finds himself helpless before two Nomana, he, too, is determined to become a Noble Warrior.

But these are dangerous times. Secret enemies have sworn to destroy Anacrea, and in the imperial city of Radiance, where human sacrifices are thrown to their deaths every evening, elaborate plans to attack the Nom are in place. Soon, in a shocking turn of events, Seeker, Morning Star, and the Wildman are caught up in a bloody and harrowing race to save the god of the Nomana – and themselves – from destruction.

And a couple titles for the young converts. These next two say 7+ for recommended age. They’re part of the Strange Matter series.

Young Adult Audiobook - Toy Trouble by Engle and BarnesToy Trouble
By Engle and Barnes; Multicast recording
2 CD, 2 hrs – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423308386

Karen Sanders loves toys. An avid toy collector, she’s always looking for strange and unusual playthings. Her room is practically a toy museum, from treasured rarities in collector’s cases to shoeboxes full of battered pieces and parts.

Karen’s friends tell her about a new store that just opened in Fairfield! A new toy store. She can’t believe it! Wasting no time, she and her friends rush to the opening of . . . Kepler’s Toys and Collectibles.

The selection is wonderful but Karen and her friends wonder why they are the only customers there when it first opens. Maybe it’s the strangeness of the shopkeeper, Mr. Kepler, that frightens people away. To their amazement, they find most every toy they ever wanted, each buying armloads, so many they can barely carry them home.

Soon they discover their toy-friends have a life all their own.And the name of their game is . . . trouble.

Young Adult Audiobook - Plant People by Engle and BarnesPlant People
By Engle and Barnes; Multicast recording
2 CD, 2 hrs – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423308508

Something strange is moving into the house behind Rachel Pearson’s – and only she knows it.

While exploring the vacant house, Rachel comes across some weird looking plants. They are large, green shells that have blossomed. . . letting whatever was inside them out.

Then, two months later, the Smith family moves into the empty house. They’re very odd people. Not only do Mr. and Mrs. Smith and their two weird children, Jane and Richard, look unsettling, they act strange as well. Jane seems to have a taste for bugs, while Richard disappears late at night with a shovel in hand, only to return early the next morning. It’s made Rachel very suspicious.

But soon that suspicion turns to fear when strange things happen to those who come into contact with the Smiths. Kids get sick. Parents disappear. And plants come to life.

Now no one’s left to believe Rachel, except for the Smiths. . .


New Releases April/May

SFFaudio New Releases

Lots of new release out right now. First up is a FREE one. A podiobook that took nearly a year to finish. Tracy Hickman’s near future dystopia The Immortals is now COMPLETE! Point your web-browser towards Podiobooks.com, sign-up and subscribe.

Podiobook - Immortals by Tracy HickmanThe Immortals
By Tracy Hickman; Read by Tracy and Laura Hickman
40 MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED?]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Started: April 2007
It’s 2020, and an attempted cure for AIDS has mutated into a deadlier disease, V-CIDS. The U.S., under martial law, has set up “quarantine centers” in the Southwest. Searching for his gay son, Jon, media mogul Michael Barris smuggles himself into one of centers only to discover that it and the other centers are actually extermination camps. With a strange assortment of allies, including the leader of the camp’s gay barracks, an army officer and a local cowboy, Barris precipitates an inmates’ rebellion that promises the unraveling of the death-camp system and the overthrow of the government that established it.

Let’s not forget the venerable and always reliable TellTaleWeekly, selling short stories for great prices!

H.G. WellsThe Star
By H.G. Wells; Read by Alex Wilson
1 MP3 , Ogg Vorbis or AAC File – Apprx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: TellTaleWeekly.org
Published: April 2007
Just $1.00 payable via PayPal. One hundred and one years before the films Armegeddon and Deep Impact entered U.S. theaters, the father of modern Science Fiction scared the crap out of Victorian London with this, the first of such death-from-above SF tales.

Hurray for Tantor Media! They’ve got lots of waycool stuff in the works including lots of Asimov…

Audiobook - No Humans Involved by Kelly ArmstrongNo Humans Involved
By Kelley Armstrong; Read by Laural Merlington
10 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – Approx. 12 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: May 2007
ISBN: 1400104416 (CDs), 1400154413 (MP3-CD)
Jaime knows a thing or two about showbiz, as a woman whose special talent is raising the dead, her threshold for weirdness is pretty high: she’s used to not only seeing dead people but hearing them speak to her in very emphatic terms. But for the first time in her life—as invisible hands brush her skin, unintelligible fragments of words are whispered into her ears, and beings move just at the corner of her eye—she knows what humans mean when they talk about being haunted.

The Caves Of Steel by Isaac AsimovThe Caves of Steel
By Isaac Asimov; Read by William Dufris
6 CDs or 1 MP3-CD – 7 Hours 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: May 2007
ISBN:1400104211 (CDs), 1400154219 (MP3-CD)
A millennium into the future, two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions. But when a prominent Spacer is murdered under mysterious circumstances, Baley is ordered to the Outer Worlds to help track down the killer. The relationship between Baley and his Spacer superiors, who mistrusted all Earthmen, was strained from the start. Then he learned that they had assigned him a partner: R. Daneel Olivaw. Worst of all was that the “R” stood for robot—and his positronic partner was made in the image and likeness of the murder victim!

Simon & Schuster Audio even has a new title!

City Of Bones by Cassandra ClareCity Of Bones
By Cassandra Clare; Read by Ari Graynor
12 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: March 2007
ISBN: 0743566572
When 15-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

And of course, nobody is publishing more Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror audio than the wonderous Blackstone audio…

Science Fiction AudiobookWhere’s My Jetpack?
By Daniel H. Wilson; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
3 Cassettes, 1 MP3-CD or 4 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: April 2007
ISBN: 9780786148707 (Cassettes), 9780786171606(MP3-CD), 9780786160822 (CDs)
It’s the twenty-first century and let’s be honest—things are a little disappointing. Despite every World’s Fair prediction and the advertisements in comic books, we are not living the future we were promised. By now, life was supposed to be a fully automated, atomic-powered, germ-free Utopia, a place where a grown man could wear a velvet spandex unitard and not be laughed at. Where are the ray guns, the flying cars, and the hoverboards that we expected? What happened to our moon colonies and servant robots?

Science Fiction Audiobook - Variable Star by Robert A Heinlein and Spider RobinsonVariable Star
By Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson; Read by Spider Robinson
8 Cassettes, 1-MP3-CD or 10 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: May 2007
ISBN: 9780786149384(Cassettes), 9780786170159 (MP3-CD), 9780786158843 (Cds)
At his death in 1988, Robert A. Heinlein left a legacy of novels and short stories that almost single-handedly defined modern science fiction. But one of Heinlein’s masterpieces was never finished. In 1955, he began work on Variable Star, a powerful and passionate tale of two young lovers driven apart by pride, power, and the vastness of interstellar time and space. Then he set it aside to focus on other novellas. The detailed outline and notes he created for this project lay forgotten for decades, only to be rediscovered almost a half century later. Now the Heinlein estate has authorized award-winning author Spider Robinson to expand that outline into a full-length novel. The result is vintage Heinlein, faithful in style and spirit to the Grand Master’s original vision.

Komarr by Lois McMaster BujoldKomarr
By Lois McMaster Bujold; Read by Grover Gardner
8 Cassettes, 1 MP3-CD or 9 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: May 2007
ISBN: 9781433202575 (Cassettes), 9781433202599 (MP3-CD), (CDs)
Komarr could be a garden with a thousand more years’ work, or an uninhabitable wasteland if the terraforming fails. Now, the solar mirror vital to the terraforming of the conquered planet has been shattered by a ship hurtling off course. The Emperor of Barrayar sends his newest imperial auditor, Lord Miles Vorkosigan, to find out why.

Review of Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Fantasy Audiobook - Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy HickmanDragons of the Dwarven Depths: The Lost Chronicles, Volume I
By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, read by Sandra Burr
13 CDs, 1 MP3 disc – 15 hrs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9781423316107 (CDs), 9781423316121 (MP3 disc)
Themes: / Fantasy / Epic Fantasy / Heroic / Sword and Sorcery / Magic / Adventure /

In an untold story from the War of the Lance, the companions have saved the refugees of Pax Tharkas and led them to a hidden valley. For a time they are safe, but the forces of the Dragon Army are in pursuit.

This novel takes place after the first Dragonlance novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The story starts with a large ensemble of characters already in place. Along with the refugees that these characters have saved, they must choose a path for escape. The Draconian army is still strong and hungry for vengeance against the rebels. The best path for the group is to send a small group to the underground dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, where they hope to find shelter for the winter for their party, and also find the legendary Hammer of Kharas.

As a reviewer it’s important to tell you that this is my absolute first exposure to the Dragonlance universe. This book is very much a sequel of sorts. Although it’s the first book of a trilogy, it’s filling in the untold tales of Dragonlance’s first trilogy.

This book is not a good jumping-on point to the series. It took effort to pay attention through the early parts of the book, because characters are introduced in quick succession. After you get to know the characters (and they separate into smaller groups) the listening becomes much easier.

Looking at the cover, it would be foolish to expect more than a Tolkienesque fantasy. And that’s exactly what you get. An adventure with a pantheon of familiar fantasy creatures as well as humans. The characters all had distinct traits and their own motivation. The evil characters are just that – evil – yet interesting. But more interesting was that many of the characters on the side of good came in various shades of gray.

My favorite element of the audiobook was listening to the excellent performance of Sandra Burr. She has a pleasant narrative voice. She creates many unique voices for the menagerie of characters. Not only does she have to do the dialog of mostly males, but many are not even human. Her voice characterizations helps the listener sort out all the different inhabitants of the novel.

The writing of this book had to present some difficulties for the authors. The characters all have a past and future in other books, so there are many restrictions that would have to be adhered to for the sake of consistency and continuity. As a new reader to the series I did not get a sense that the characters were being “shoe horned” into a contrived story. In the end, the story kept me engaged, and for fans of the Dragonlance books, I’m sure it’s a welcome addition.

Recent Arrivals from Brilliance Audio

Check out what’s arrived at SFFaudio from Brilliance Audio in the past few weeks!

Science Fiction Audiobook - Bad Circuits by Johnny Ray Barnes, Jr.Bad Circuits (Strange Matter)
By Johnny Ray Barnes, Jr.; Read by a full cast
2 CD’s – 2 hours – [Audio Drama]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1423308263
A full cast, multivoice production intended for Ages 7+

Science Fiction Audiobook - Dragon's Fire by Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffreyDragon’s Fire: A New Novel of Pern
By Anne McCaffrey and Todd McCaffrey; Read by Dick Hill
10 CD’s – 12 hours – [Unabridged]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1423314565
Click here for audio sample.
The latest Pern novel!

Fantasy Audiobook - Dragons of the Dwarven Depths by Margaret Weis and Tracy HickmanDragons of the Dwarven Depths
By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman; Read by Sandra Burr
13 CD’s – 15 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 142331610X
Click here for audio sample.
The first novel in a new fantasy trilogy by Weis and Hickman.

Science Fiction Audiobook - Driven to Death by Marty M. EngleDriven to Death (Strange Matter)
By Marty M. Engle; Read by a full cast
2 CD’s – 2 hours – [Audio Drama]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1423308824
A full cast, multivoice production intended for Ages 7+

Horror Audiobook - In the Dark of the Night by John SaulIn the Dark of the Night
By John Saul; Read by Mel Foster
9 CD’s – 11 hours – [Unabridged]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1423304357
Click here for audio sample.
A new novel from master of horror John Saul.

Science Fiction Audiobook - Of Fire and Night by Kevin J. AndersonOf Fire and Night: Saga of the Seven Suns, Book 5
By Kevin J. Anderson; Read by David Colacci
16 CD’s – 19 hours – [Unabridged]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 159737217X
Click here for audio sample.
Book 5 of Anderson’s epic science fiction series!

Fantasy Audiobook - Phantom by Terry GoodkindPhantom
By Terry Goodkind; Read by Sam Tsoutsouvas
20 CD’s – 23 hours – [Unabridged]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1590863151
Click here for audio sample.
A fat fantasy from Terry Goodkind.

To send SFFaudio your titles, please contact us for more information. We’d love to hear them.

New Releases for May and June

New Releases

Dontcha just love new releases? I know we sure do, here’s a tasty batch for May and June. Also, I hope you all know that many of these titles are available in multiple formats (CD, Cassette, MP3, etc.) just follow the links to the publisher websites to see who has what.

Leading the charge this time is Random House Audiobooks with… wait for it… wait for it…

Science Fiction Audiobook - A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. DickA Scanner Darkly
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Paul Giamatti
8 Compact Discs – 9 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: May 2006
ISBN: 073932392X
Our most requested title (by readers and reviewers alike) . I’m dying to hear how Paul Giamatti will perform it. Expect a review shortly.

Tell Tale Weekly has released a never before adapted audiobook of…

Valley Of The Spiders by H.G. WellsThe Valley Of The Spiders
By H. G. Wells; Read by Alexander Wilson
MP3 Download – 29 minutes, 11 seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: TellTaleWeekly.org
Published: May 2006
A SF/Fantasy Pulp Adventure Story from 1903. “Three adventurers face danger, death, and giant spiders, all for the capture love of a woman, in this classic pulp adventure story.” Just $1.00! And be sure to read the nice intro Alex Wilson wrote for it on the TellTaleWeekly site too.

And of course there is no stopping the indefatigable Podiobooks.com, they’ve got a sweet batch of new podcast novels in the offing:

Podiobook - Immortals by Tracy HickmanThe Immortals
By Tracy Hickman; Read by Tracy and Laura Hickman
MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED?]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Started: May 2006
It’s 2020, and an attempted cure for AIDS has mutated into a deadlier disease, V-CIDS. The U.S., under martial law, has set up “quarantine centers” in the Southwest. Searching for his gay son, Jon, media mogul Michael Barris smuggles himself into one of centers only to discover that it and the other centers are actually extermination camps. With a strange assortment of allies, including the leader of the camp’s gay barracks, an army officer and a local cowboy, Barris precipitates an inmates’ rebellion that promises the unraveling of the death-camp system and the overthrow of the government that established it.

Discovered Country
By Nora Fleischer
MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED?]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Started: May 2006
Rosemary Halpern, a mild-mannered librarian from Boston, found herself trapped hundreds of years in the future. A future that faced a new Ice Age. A future where ghouls walked the Earth, ravenous for human flesh.

Sonic Fiction
Edited by Jeffrey Kafer; Read by Jeffrey Kafer
MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Started: May 2006
An eclectic mix of authors from a range of ages and backgrounds. Featuring works of Science fiction, gritty war tales, murder and intrigue, comedy and farce, this is a book for any fan of short fiction. Let us tell you a story…

Prophecy Of Swords
By M.H. Bonham
MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Started: May 2006
Nearly a thousand years ago a great warrior named Lachlan sought to unify his people, using the power of the Three Swords of Destiny. Before his victory, Lachlan was killed by his trusted friend, Allarun. Now, Allarun is still in power but haunted by dreams of Lachlan’s death curse: that Lachlan would return to avenge his death. Allarun’s decision is to destroy the very people Lachlan tried to unite.

Brilliance Audio has a lock on lengthy Fantasy titles this quarter – check these out…

Science Fiction Audiobook - A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. DickDragon’s Fire
By Todd McCaffrey and Anne McCaffrey; Read by Dick Hill
10 CDs – 12 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9781423314561

More lore from the planet called Pern!

Science Fiction Audiobook - A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. DickPhantom
By Terry Goodkind; Read by Sam Tsoutsouvas
2 MP3-CDs – 23 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9781593356873
I don’t know much about Goodkind, anybody heard one of his?

Science Fiction Audiobook - A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. DickDragons of the Dwarven Depths: The Lost Chronicles, Vol. I
by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman; Read by Sandra Burr
13 Compact Discs – 15 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9781423316107
Listen to an audio sample
A new Dragonlance book with the old beloved characters! I loved the classic first trilogy as a kid. I wonder if this one will be as good.

Also Blackstone Audiobooks has “returns” to re-releases, remakes and all look promising…

Ceteganda
By Lois McMaster Bujold; Read by Grover Gardner
1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: May 2006
ISBN: 9780786175116
This was previously recorded by the now defunct The Readers Chair – Grover Gardner makes this a remake.

Superman Returns
By Marv Wolfman; Read by Scott Brick
1 MP3-CD -[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: June 2006
ISBN: 0786175729
Looks like a Movie-Tie In.

Animal Farm & 1984
By George Orwell; Read by Richard Brown and Ralph Cosham
1 MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
PUBLISHER: Blackstone Audiobooks
PUBLISHED: June 2006
ISBN: 0786177144
Released seperately many times and by with many readers before, you can now grab them together. Orwell at his best.

Not much new Spec Fic over at the venerable Recorded Books, but this one caught our eye…

VampiratesVampirates: Demons of the Ocean
By Justin Somper; Read by John Curless
CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC
Published: May 2006
ISBN: 1428110836


New Releases: Brad Lansky and the Alien Engineer, a Protophonic …

SFFaudio New Releases

Brad Lansky and the Alien Engineer, a Protophonic audio adventure, Audio Drama
Visit Protophonic.net for audio samples of this retro SF audio drama.

How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
This one looks like a lot of fun…

Mystic Quest by Tracy and Laura Hickman, read by Lloyd James, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
The second book in the Hickmans’ Bronze Canticle epic fantasy trilogy.

Star Wars: Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn, read by Jonathan Davis, Random House, Abridged
Another Star Wars title from the guy who started it all back in the early 1990’s with Heir to the Empire.

Titan by Ben Bova, read by various, Audio Renaissance, Unabridged
A novel from Bova’s Hard SF Grand Tour is always welcome!