Author: Jesse Willis

$5 off at ScottBrick.com

SFFaudio News

Scott Brick PresentsScott Brick is offering a limited time $5-off coupon good for any Brick By Brick Audiobooks product! Here’s the skinny:

I’m offering anyone who wants it a coupon for $5 off the purchase price of each volume in the Thomas Covenant saga thus far from my website, said coupon code valid for a week after the close of the event. When you click through to the purchase page from scottbrickpresents.com, plug in the code “dragoncon2008,” all one word and lowercase, and you’ll see your purchase price discounted. Just my way of saying thank you for the constant support I’ve received from my brethren in science fiction/fantasy fandom. Hope you all enjoy it.

The coupon should be live now!

And what are you going to use it on? Well, the first two audiobooks from Scott’s own audiobook company are available now: LORD FOUL’S BANE and FATAL REVENANT, are the first and latest books in Stephen R. Donaldson’s acclaimed fantasy series Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. Get them HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases: Clarke and Pohl

New Releases

Science Fiction Audiobook - The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clarke and Frederick PohlThe Last Theorem
By Arthur C. Clarke and Frederick Pohl; Read by Mark Bramhall
10 CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books On Tape / Random House Audio
Published: August 5, 2008
ISBN: 9780739376959

In 1637, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat scrawled a note in the margin of a book about an enigmatic theorem: “I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain.” He also neglected to record his proof elsewhere. Thus began a search for the Holy Grail of mathematics–a search that didn’t end until 1994, when Andrew Wiles published a 150-page proof. But the proof was burdensome, overlong, and utilized mathematical techniques undreamed of in Fermat’s time, and so it left many critics unsatisfied–including young Ranjit Subramanian, a Sri Lankan with a special gift for mathematics and a passion for the famous “Last Theorem.” When Ranjit writes a three-page proof of the theorem that relies exclusively on knowledge available to Fermat, his achievement is hailed as a work of genius, bringing him fame and fortune. But it also brings him to the attention of the National Security Agency and a shadowy United Nations outfit called Pax per Fidem, or Peace Through Transparency, whose secretive workings belie its name. Suddenly Ranjit–together with his wife, Myra de Soyza, an expert in artificial intelligence, and their burgeoning family–finds himself swept up in world-shaking events, his genius for abstract mathematical thought put to uses that are both concrete and potentially deadly. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone on Earth, an alien fleet is approaching the planet at a significant percentage of the speed of light. Their mission: to exterminate the dangerous species of primates known as homo sapiens.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Just Added to our AUTHOR PAGES: Robert E. Howard

SFFaudio News

SFFaudio MetaSpeaking of CONAN, and his creator Robert E. Howard. I’ve just now added an entry on our We’ve been adding to our AUTHOR PAGES for the inventor of Sword & Sorcery. It lists all the commercial releases that we know about, too few (and none by Conan Properties International so far), all of the public domain audiobooks released through LibriVox, a few other podcast releases (woo hoo) and a couple of old audio dramas released on LP. There are a few holes in the listing – but we’re gonna be filling them. In the meantime, go visit our nearly complete ROBERT E. HOWARD author page, which will list everything audio related to the man’s writings.

Posted by Jesse Willis

BSAP’s CONAN audio dramas and audiobooks threatened by a big corporate monster

SFFaudio News

The Queen Of The Black Coast by Robert E. HowardOn the 22nd August 2008 Broken Sea Audio Productions, and its chief bottle-washer Paul Mannering, received a cease and desist letter from a law firm representing Conan Properties International LLC (aka Paradox Entertainment).

Sez Paul:

The letter claims that BSAP is selling audio books of Robert E. Howard’s work. BrokenSea have responded by confirming that we do not sell any material, and no income is received by us for making these audio files available to the public. Our production of both audio books and audio drama’s of Robert E. Howard’s work is based entirely on work that is in the public domain (www.gutenberg.org.au)

Out of respect for tangible brands, such as the “Conan” title we are changing the title and logo of our Conan audio drama to “Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Sagas.” We expect this change to be in place by Thursday 28th August.

Here is the |PDF| of Conan Properties International’s CEASE AND DESIST letter sent to Broken Sea.

Here are my $0.02…

For a man who killed himself 72 years ago, with no children and no spouse to inherit his estate (nearly all of which is in the public domain) it’s amazing how spurious vigorous Robert E. Howard’s defense of his lapsed copyright is.

I chalk it up to either the nefarious forces of Stygian evil, or the Black Seers of Yimsha. Either way, R.E.H. has been zombified, and forced to say things – or rather has had his lawyers say things that aren’t true. Time for some barbarians to overthrow the forces of civilization (by ignoring the intended effects of cease and desist chill).

SFFaudio will still be calling spades shovels and Conan stories Conan stories. Long live Broken Sea Audio Productions, long live BSAP’s CONAN!

UPDATE: The ever vigilant Quasar Dragon has a posted a post on this issue check it out HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Maria Lectrix podcast: Pandemic by J.F. Bone

SFFaudio Online Audio

Maureen O’Brien of the Maria Lectrix podcast has recording a new/old short story. Pandemic by J.F. Bone was first published in Analog Science Fact and Science Fiction magazine’s February 1962 issue. It’s the tale of a young pathologist, and his indispensable nurse, working to stop a terrible new pandemic. Among its charms is a bit of Andromeda Strain style storytelling, some very politically incorrect science (facts are often politically incorrect) and even a bit of hospital romance. But don’t worry, this is still more of a House episode than a Grey’s Anatomy episode.

Science Fiction Short Story - Pandemic by J.F. BonePandemic
By J.F. Bone; Read by Maureen O’Brien
2 MP3s – Approx. 52 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: August 2008
Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3|

Personally the only thing I don’t like about Maureen’s reading are her inserted “coughs” which I’ll admit are story appropriate, but which are not strictly in the text itself – and therefore verboten. I know, I’m a stickler.

Posted by Jesse Willis