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Review of Singularity by Bill DeSmedt

Podibook Review

Podcast - The SingularitySingularity
By Bill DeSmedt; Read by Bill DeSmedt
47 MP3 Files – 20 Hours 24 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Published: 2006
Themes: / Science Fiction / Hard SF / Tunguska Event / Black Holes / Time Travel / Near Future/ Cloak & Dagger / Quantum Physics / Soviet Union /

June 30th, 1908 – In the remote Tunguska region of Siberia, the most violent cosmic collision in recorded history flattened ancient forests over an area half the size of Rhode Island. Yet after a hundred years of international scientific research the cause of this impact remains a mystery.

Several people told me Singularity was worth listening to. But of course I figured they we’re probably wrong, I’m not easy to please. But because it was FREE I told myself to give it a chance. I have to say I was astounded! After a longish introduction, more of a history lesson, the real story takes off. And boy, does it! Like a Nelson DeMille novel with Saturn V booster strapped to it! This is incisive Hard SF set in a near future with plenty of action, some very cool ideas and even a bit of romance. The plot orbits around the mystery of the 1908 Tunguska Event. The action intertwines cloak and dagger with quantum physics in a tidal dance. I’m no physics major, but the scientific explanations were clear and compelling. You know a story’s good when you end up looking up some of the ideas. The tale is fleshed out through a large cast of central characters: Jonathan Knox, a consultant to elite government agencies, is the engaging lead protagonist. Knox has a knack with finding patterns in giant fields of data – a trait attributable to a voyage his mind went on once. Marianna Bonaventure, his soon to be lover, is a federal government agent on the trail of a missing materials scientist. Physicist Jack Adler is on the same trail as Knox and Marianna, but he doesn’t know it yet. Together, and apart they are in a race that may have been predetermined as unwinnable before it started, only the laws of causality know. Opposing them is a set of rationally motivated villains – with the weight of an multi-billion dollar corporate empire behind them. Leading them is, Arkady Grigoriyevich, who spends most of his time aboard a converted mega-yacht, that is now a floating laboratory. DeSmedt packs about a dozen terrific SF ideas into his tale. Also included in the podcast feed is an informative question and answer bonus MP3 file with the author himself. I am eagerly awaiting the follow-up novel, cleverly titled, Duality.

I tend to enjoy audiobooks narrated by authors, as they know exactly when and where to pause, what words to accentuate and how to pronounce the character names. But DeSmedt was not a perfect narrator, in fact at the start he sounded nervous. I was worried, but gradually as the chapters flowed the anxiety faded, and by the end I he was reading like a professional. Maybe his female voices need a bit more practice, but I swear, all those Russian accents were perfect.

I downloaded Singularity from Podiobooks.com for free, but when I did I could only get the first half of the novel. It was being released piecemeal, chapter by chapter, as podcasts. I have heard many people enjoy this delivery style; and it probably works for serial adventures or short story collections but I don’t like it for novels. I quickly listened to the first 20 chapters of the book in quick succession only to then have to wait for a whole month to finish it. Next time I visit podiobooks.com I’ll be making sure the serialization is completed before starting another novel. Another issue, selecting the next podcast once a chapter was finished was a real bitch. I drive a standard transmission automobile and my iPod is stuck into a faraway cigarette lighter. Every time a chapter of Singularity ended I would be made to reach over to rip my iPod out of the transmitter/charger and then hold on to it and the steering wheel while trying to navigate the menu to figure out which chapter was next. The podcasts delivery system would have been far better if I could have started and the ended the story in the same file, in other words what I needed was one big podcast, the novel in one file.

posted by Steen Hansen

The Time Traveler Show gets recursive with a MetaPodcast

SFFaudio Online Audio

Podcast - The Time Traveler Show - Pseudo Meta Beta Cast 1.0The Time Traveler has effected a Pseudo Meta Beta podcast. If you’re not sure what that might be you are not alone. The reason he did it? Just cause. Irregardless of the whens and whatfors, you’ll be pleased to hear that the special episode includes an interview with Anne Murphy, president of the Science Fiction Oral History Association a group dedicated to aurally preserving the history of Science Fiction – especially that history found at conventions. You’ll also hear a little bit about how The Time Traveler’s show is constructed.

Download the show direct (|MP3|), or insert this in your podcatcher to subscribe:

http://www.timetravelershow.com/shows/feed.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Taken Liberty by Steven H. Wilson

SFFaudio Review

Taken LibertyTaken Liberty – A Tale From The Artiber Chronicles
By Steven H. Wilson; Read by Steven H. Wilson
Podcast Novel – Approx. 8 Hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Published: September 2006
Themes: / Science Fiction / Drama / Action / Slavery /

“I don’t believe you’ve convinced me of her crime.”
“She posed as a human!”
Atal raised an eyebrow. “Is that a crime?”

So begins the intriguing, sad, yet hopeful and inspiring story of a girl who only wanted her freedom. This is the story of Aer’La, a Varthan Feral raised strictly to be a sexual slave. She escapes, and, dying her blue skin and posing as a human, becomes a high-ranking officer on board one of the most esteemed ships in the Confederate Navy- the Arbiter. Only after a routine medical check-up is the truth of what she is discovered. It is ultimately reported to authorities, and then to the media. Aer’La then has no choice but to tell her story to her Captain, Jan Atal. It then becomes a clash of doing what is right, vs. doing what the law states. Aer’La also learns who her allies and her enemies are, as well as a few life lessons about trust and friendship.

Taken Liberty is a tale of truth, friendship, comradery, love, loss, and above all the right to be free. It covers so many genres, you tend to forget that you’re listening to Science Fiction. This is a very key thing for me to say here, because I am not the biggest Science Fiction fan. I know, I know, yet here I am writing reviews for SFFaudio. Let’s just say I’m… picky.

Steven Wilson also does an excellent job with the reading. He gives each character a unique voice, and thanks to his voice acting background, it pays off. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Wilson. The well-driven plot causes you to feel yourself being sucked into the tension of the situation, and really questioning how this poor girl will remain free, instead of being returned to a life of slavery.

If you are a fan of Prometheus Radio Theatre and their Arbiter Chronicles, you will enjoy this book because it goes more in-depth into the characters you know all ready. If you have never heard of the Arbiter Chronicles before, you will still enjoy this book. The story remains separate enough that you are still able to connect and follow the characters and the story without feeling lost. As a matter of fact, my bet will be if you listen to this podiobook, you will want to move on to hear more about the Arbiter and its crew- which can be found via podcast at http://prometheus.libsyn.com/

If a “semi” Science Fiction fan is impressed and enjoyed this podiobook, imagine what a huge science-fiction fan will think!

posted by Dani Cutler

Stephen King Interview with Reading from Lisey’s Story

SFFaudio Online Audio

Times Online Book PodcastsA 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

Review of Maps In A Mirror: The Short Fiction Of Orson Scott Card

SFFaudio Review

Maps In A Mirror: The Short Fiction Of Orson Scott CardMaps In A Mirror: The Short Fiction Of Orson Scott Card
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Various
4 Cassettes – Approx. 6 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Dove Audio
Published: 1999
ISBN: 0787121770
Themes: / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Crime / Elephants / Music / Art Theory / Utopia / Dystopia / War / Death /

Four cassettes, six hours, eight stories of Orson Scott Card’s polished prose. Included in this collection are some truly crackerjack stories and a couple that aren’t so hot:

The Elephants Of Posnan appeared in English for the first time in this collection. Originally published in Poland for a Polish Science Fiction magazine it is the tale of a human global die-off caused by an infertility crisis. This is something we’ve seen before in Science Fiction to be sure, but the addition of an elephantine theme and a Polish setting makes this one totally unpredictable. Card reads this himself and gives it an interesting introduction too.

Unaccompanied Sonata is perhaps the most fantastic story here. Set in a bizzare dystopia in which the purity of music can only be assured by the ignorance of its makers. This is a world that could have been inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s theory of art – a world in which imitation ensures art to be a failure. I have no idea if OSC had that in mind when he wrote it but it certainly fits. Read with passion by Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

Freeway Games is the least SFFaudio related story in this set. It was first published in Novemeber 1979 in the Gallery magazine which at the time was competing with Playboy for quality short fiction. The original published title was “Hard Driver.” This is basically the story of perverted serial killer who while keeping his hands clean is actually as guilty as sin. It ranks in well alongside Lawrence Block’s late 1970s early 1980s slick magazine tales of demented psychos. Read to perfection by the incomparable Robert Forster.

Lost Boys is interesting in that the main character is someone named Orson Scott Card. My research indicates it is “semi-autobiographical” story, hopefully the fantastic elements are the “semi” part! Stefan Rudnicki, the producer of this audiobook read this tale with a heartfelt flush of sadness. This short story was later expanded into a full length novel which went on to great acclaim.

Quietus, was virtually opaque to me. The plot was something to do with our need to reconcile with death. I am given to understand it incorporates several Mormon themes. The style is surrealistic but even knowing this I couldn’t easily follow it let alone understand its thesis. First published in Omni’s August 1979 issue.

The Best Day was written under the pseudonym Dinah Kirkham. Card’s rumination of the elusive search for happiness. This story fled my brain as soon as it was finished. Read by William Windom.

Fat Farm is perhaps my favorite OSC short story. It isn’t the characters, I hate them. Instead it is the riveting plot that is the star here – this story deals with the philosophy of personal identity in the context of two science fictional technologies: 1. Cloning. 2. Memory uploading. If you can replace your imperfect body with a perfect one and keep on living what would give you pause? OSC’s Fat Farm will do the job. It also compares nicely to Robert J. Sawyer’s Shed Skin. Roddy McDowell’s reading is grumbly, growling and totalitarian. You’ll beleive he is all the characters in this one.

Ender’s Game. The original short story from 1977 shows the sparkling promise that would lead to the unquestionably great novel of the same name. This tale isn’t just an shorter version of the novel, there are a number of differences between the two texts. Reader Michael Gross does a fine job with it.

Posted by Jesse Willis