iTunes podcast interview with George R.R. Martin

OnlineAudio

Meet The AuthoriTunes, the directory distributing podcasts, has finally got one of its own. It’s called Meet The Author. They’ve got interviews with Steven Colbert and Alan Alda but here’s the one that attracted my ear…

“George R.R. Martin, the best-selling author of the epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, is also an award-winning writer of short fiction in a variety of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In this exclusive interview, Martin discusses Dreamsongs, the author’s collection of short stories from the past 30-plus years. He also discusses favorite characters, the influence of Hollywood, the meaning of ‘the heart in conflict,’ and more.”

Here’s the podcast feed:

http://www.apple.com/podcasts/meettheauthor/mta_07.xml

Or, just download the |M4A| for the Martin interview alone.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Orange Box: Portal, features Jonathon Coulton’s “Still Alive”

OnlineAudio

The Orange Box: PortalThe Orange Box is a bundle of Half-Life 2 games featuring an innovative new first person Science Fiction puzzle adventure game called Portal. I’ve just finished playing it. It’s absolutely wonderful, but just as wonderful is the closing theme song, written by the skullcrushingly genius Jonathan Coulton. Have a listen to “Still Alive” after completing the game, and then download the |MP3| of it.

Posted by Jesse Willis

FREE Neil Gaiman short story A Study In Emerald

SFFaudio Online Audio

A wonderful gift from Harper Audio! A FREE Hugo Award winning (2004) Neil Gaiman short story, A Study In Emerald, it comes from Neil Gaiman’s collection entitled Fragile Things

Fantasy audiobook - short story - A Study In Scarlet by Neil GaimanA Study in Emerald
By Neil Gaiman; Read by Neil Gaiman
1 |MP3| – Approx. 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: November 2007
Alluding to both the Sherlock Holmes canon and the Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, this Hugo Award winning short story will delight fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman. A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn’t reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves.

Posted by Jesse Willis

A plethora of pleasures from BBC7

OnlineAudio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionThe next will be one of the busiest weeks ever heard on BBC7, with dramatizations and readings galore! Thankfully, all will be available through the BBC7 ‘listen again’ service. There are two novels by John Wyndham, a vintage Sherlock Holmes vs. vampire story (there have been severals by many hands over the years) as well as a rebroadcast of a popular new original drama (fans of which will be pleased to hear that a second series is set to air in early 2008)…

Undone
By Ben Moor; Performed by a full cast
5 Broadcast (5 Episodes) – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sundays at 6pm and midnight (for 5 weeks)
Edna Turner has just moved to London to work on a listings magazine and is naturally excited. Her boss is the friendly Carlo and while her bedsit isn’t exactly a palace, she gets down to work. An encounter at a music club with the strange Tankerton Slopes leads her to travel to the bizarre parallel city of “Undone” and a mission to send radical TV developer Marlboro Fagpacket back home. Read more about Undone on Ben Moor’s site.

A “gripping dramatisation by John Constable”, first broadcast in 1998 airs this Saturday…

Radio Drama - BBC7 - ChockyChocky
Based on the novel by John Wyndham; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Saturday @ 12pm (rerun @ 1am) UK Time
Many children have imaginary friends but one father becomes rather concerned that his son, Matthew, is a bit old to have one. His concerns deepen as his son becomes increasingly distressed and blames it on arguments with this unseen companion. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the friend is far from imaginary, but is an alien consciousness residing inside Matthew’s mind—a fact that is of intense interest to shadowy government forces.

First broadcast on Saturday Night Theatre back in 1981…

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula (AKA The Case of the Sanguinary Count)
Based on a novel by Loren D. Estleman; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Sunday at 10am and 8pm
Doctor Watson’s account of how the great detective Sherlock Holmes battled the evil forces of Count Dracula.

A “chilling” 1982 production that first aired on BBC Radio World Service…

Radio Drama - BBC7 - The Midwich CuckoosThe Midwich Cuckoos
Based on the novel by John Wyndham; Performed by a full cast
3 Parts – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Wednesday – Friday at 6pm and midnight
Another alien impregnation theme – but this is where it all started – a sleepy English village may be the birthplace for the end of the world.

A season of four tales from around the world exploring the weird and the wonderful, first broadcast as a special commission on BBC 7 earlier this year…

Fantastic Tales – Hell Screen
By Ryunosuke Akutagawa; Read by Togo Igawa
2 Parts – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday – Tuesday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
A horror story set in medieval Japan in which a powerful Lord clashes with an arrogant painter, leading to tragedy.

Fantastic Tales – Alarm Clock On The Night Table
By Zoran Zivkovic; Read by Anna Massey
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Wednesday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
An unusual occurrence forces an elderly woman to confront a tragedy from her past.

Fantastic Tales – The White People
By Arthur Machen; Read by Ioan Meredith and Louise Collins
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Thursday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
An intriguing tale which explores the nature of good and evil and the origins of sin.

Fantastic Tales – Delhi
By Vandana Singh; Read by Shiv Grewal
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Friday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
A man living in present-day Delhi is haunted by visions of the city as it was in the past and how it will be in the future.

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases from Random House Audio for late November

New Releases

Here are a few reasons to buy stock in Random House Audio this winter!

audiobook - Dreamsongs Volume 2 by George R. R. MartinSelections From Dreamsongs: Volume II
By George R.R. Martin; Read by various
14 CDs -17 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 11/27/2007 |AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW @ audible.com|
ISBN: 9780739357149
Included in VOLUME II are acclaimed stories such as Sandkings, which won both the Nebula® and Hugo awards, and the Bram Stoker Award–winning The Pear-Shaped Man. Featuring extensive author commentary, DREAMSONGS, VOLUME II, is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity—and an unforgettable listening experience for fans old and new.

audiobook - Dreamsongs Volume 3 by George R. R. MartinSelections From Dreamsongs: Volume III
By George R.R. Martin; Read by various
17 CDs – 20 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 11/27/2007 |AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW @ audible.com|
ISBN: 9780739357163
Included in Volume III are acclaimed stories such as the World Fantasy Award winner “The Skin Trade” as well as the first novella in the Ice and Fire universe, “The Hedge Knight,” plus two never-before-published screenplays. Featuring extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume III, is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity–and an unforgettable listening experience for fans old and new.

audiobook - The Darkest Evening Of The Year by Dean KoontzThe Darkest Evening Of The Year
By Dean Koontz; Read by Kirsten Kairos
8 CDs – 9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 11/27/2007
ISBN: 9780739332962
Amy Redwing’s risk-taking on behalf of desperate dogs is legendary. With money she inherited from a source she will never discuss, she founded and runs a group that rescues abandoned or abused golden retrievers. She has a treasury of astonishing rescue stories — and she’ll be broke by the time she’s forty if she carries on funding the work. Is it this reckless devotion to her work that prevents her making a commitment to the love of her life, Brian McCarthy? It seems so when a particularly thrilling and bizarre rescue brings Nickie into her care. Nickie is instantly recognized as pack leader by Amy’s own two dogs, and her bond with Amy is like no other dog’s.

Science Fiction Audiobook - Blade Runner by Philip K. DickBlade Runner (AKA Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?)
By Philip K. Dick; Read by Scott Brick
8 CDs – 9 Hours 30 Mins. [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 11/27/2007
ISBN: 9780739342756
The future. The people who remain on Earth live in cluttered cities where radiation poisoning causes illness and gene damage. All animals are endangered. Rick Deckard owned a sheep once, it died, now an electric replica allows him to maintain the illusion of animal ownership – something important in his religion.

Star Wars Audiobook - Star Wars - Legacy Of The Force - Fury by Aaron AllstonStar Wars: Legacy Of The Force – Fury
By Aaron Allston; Read by Marc Thompson
5 CDs – 6 Hours 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 11/27/2007
ISBN: 9780739324004
The seventh book in the “Legacy of the Force” series.

Posted by Jesse Willis