I credit the speed to which the Broken Sea folks are getting their audiobooks produced to the years of experience in recording audio drama. One among the BSAP crew is a virtual celebrity of the amateur audio drama community. Mark Kalita is a writer, producer and actor in audio drama scene. You’ll find his work, writing and voice over at both Darker Projects and Broken Sea, he’s played roles in the production of at least a good dozen productions including both Doctor Who and Star Trek as well as numerous original series.
His latest venture is the audiobook version of Robert E. Howard’s Red Nails. This is a Conan adventure also featuring a wily she-pirate named Valeria and is one of the titles from the Second Annual SFFaudio Challenge. Mark has already released 4 of the 7 chapters of this novella. Red Nails first appeared in 1936 as a three part serial in three issues of WEIRD TALES magazine. In it Conan encounters a lost city in which the degenerate inhabitants are pro-actively resigned to their own destruction. Also, of note, there’s a cool-looking animated movie version headed for a DVD-only release in 2008.
Red Nails is the last Conan story Howard wrote and the last major fantasy he completed. On the verge of abandoning fantasy for more commercial concerns, Howard devoted considerable thought and effort to his final allegorical statement. In a letter to Clark Ashton Smith, Howard had this to say about Red Nails:
“Sent a three-part serial to Wright yesterday: “Red Nails,” which I devoutly hope he’ll like. A Conan yarn, and the grimmest, bloodiest and most merciless story of the series so far. Too much raw meat, maybe, but I merely portrayed what I honestly believe would be the reactions of certain types of people in the situations on which the plot of the story hung…”
Intrigued? Have a listen, and judge for yourself…
Red Nails – A Tale Of Conan
By Robert E. Howard; Read by Mark Kalita
MP3s – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Broken Sea Audio Productions / Hooligan Audiobooks
Published: December 2007 – ???
“Red Nails, a tale featuring the legendary Conan the Barbarian, was written by Robert E. Howard and began its written serialization in the July 1936 issue of Weird Tales. This thrilling audio novella begins with pirate-adventuress Valeria of the Red Brotherhood on the run after slaying a notable brigand. She is followed by Conan and the two soon fight their way to a great, walled city inhabited by two warring peoples. The adventure seekers soon find themselves embroiled in the feud and mayhem ensues as the city’s rulers make unholy plans for the mighty Cimmerian and his feisty female companion. Listen now as an ancient evil returns from oblivion and a wicked sorceress seeks to gain immortality at the cost of our Hyborian heroes!”
|Chapter 1 MP3|Chapter 2 MP3|Chapter 3 MP3|Chapter 4 MP3|
|Chapter 5 MP3|Chapter 6 MP3|Chapter 7 MP3|
Posted by Jesse Willis