Jesse Willis – Page 444

Spoken Alexandria Project Podcasts A Tobias S. Buckell Short Story

Online Audio

Alex Wilson’s excellent Spoken Alexandria Project Podcast covers a multitude of genres and themes, this week though we were lucky enough to enjoy another Science Fiction short story release, a tale originally published in Jackhammer by the up and comer Tobias Buckell. It is narrated by SFFaudio’s own Mary Robinette Kowal…

Waiting For The Zephyr
By Tobias S Buckell; Read by Mary Robinette Kowal
1 MP3 Podcast – 13 Minutes 19 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: The Spoken Alexandria Project Podcast
Podcast: May 2006
“When the fuel went, Mara’s town turned to windpower. They struggled on as the lights left, as the cities fell fallow, and plastic became a memory. Their only link to the outside world is the Zephyr, and now it too has not shown up.”

You can download the file directly HERE, or subscribe to the podcast by plugging this XML feed into your podcatcher:

http://www.spokenalex.org/index.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

Podcast 411 interviews Ronald D. Moore Head Writer of Battlestar Galactica

Online Audio

Rob Walsch, host of Podcast411, the premier podcast about podcasting, has just interviewed Ronald D. Moore, creator and head writer of the new Battlestar Galactica and host of The Official Sci-Fi Channel Battlestar Galactica Podcast. Quite a coup!

HERE‘s a direct link to the MP3.

The Sci-Fi Channel: The Battlestar Galactica Podcast

If you havent already subscribed to the Battlestar Galactica Podcast itself here’s the XML feed:

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/podcast.xml

iPod users can also now subscribe to the “enhanced” feed, which provides the same audio content with a few visual extras:

http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/downloads/podcast/podcast_enhanced.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: King Kong’s Special Features

Blackstone Audiobooks‘ release of King Kong, from way back in 2005 (read our review of it HERE) is something I’ve just now finally got my grubby mits on. I was especially excited to get a hold of it because of last disc in the 5 CD set – it contains the “special features” – and they are, quite possibly, the most special of features ever to have been added to an unabridged audiobook. The narrator/producer, Stefan Rudnicki, has tracked down some of the biggest names in Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction and asked them to give their opinions of the original King Kong. The resultant disc is some of the most interesting and insightful film commentary I’ve ever heard. The creators of the Peter Jackson King Kong DVD were utter fools not to have hired Rudnicki to produce just this sort of material for the bonus features. Not only does “disc 5” give fond memories of an absolutely iconic fantasy film, it also dispenses deeply insightful criticism and sharp commentary from those who were influenced by the film. There are even some funny related real-life stories. Harlan Ellison, for example, talks about his overwhelming need to watch the original film whenever it airs on TV – as well as his hatred for remakes of ‘perfect movies’ in general. Stop-motion animation god Ray Harryhausen steps in to talk of how the original character of Kong became the tipping point for his amazing life’s work. And Orson Scott Card boldy dismisses the original film as irrelevant to his life and work. Indeed this is perhaps the finest collection of commentary on Kong ever collected – and that it could be recorded in the commentators’ own words, and in their own voices (except for Williamson) makes this a true treasure for the ages. Kudos to Blackstone Audiobooks, they could have just cashed in on the Kong-kraze but instead they kicked it up a notch, creating something worthy of its own page in the first printing of The Encycolpedia Galactica (publication date 2362).

Well played Blackstone, truly well played.

posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7 Serializing John Wyndham’s The Day Of The Triffids

Online Audio

Airing exclusively on BBC Radio 7 starting Monday June 5th The 7th Dimension will begin rebroadcasting their serialization of The Day Of The Triffids the classic novel by John Wyndham. This is the whopping seventeen part unabridged reading issued in half-hour installments.

The Day Of The Triffids
By John Wyndham; Read by Roger May
17 Half-hour RADIO BROADCASTS – Approx. 8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Weekdays from June 5th to July 2nd at 6:30pm and 12:30am UK TIME.
Over-sized “killer daffodils” create an “unsettlingly vivid” tale of ecological apocalypse.

NOTE: Those outside the UK can snag each installment using the BBC7 Listen Again for up to 6 days following the broadcasts.

posted by Jesse Willis

Harlan Ellison MP3 Interview

SFFaudio Author of the Month

Harlan Ellison (Photo by Christer Akerberg) To cap our first Author Of The Month month SFFaudio is proud to offer our first ever audio (MP3) interview with an SFWA Grandmaster. In this FREE downloadable interview, Harlan Ellison discusses his career in both audiobooks and audio drama with SFFaudio editor Scott Danielson. The interview was recorded on May 23, 2006.

Download the |MP3|

Posted by Jesse Willis

BMW Audiobooks Releases A Twilight Zone-ish Product Placement Podcast

SFFaudio Online Audio

Put on your seat-belt and prepare for highs, lows and plenty of twists and turns. BMW, in conjunction with Random House, brings you BMW Audio Books, a unique series of specially-commissioned short stories showcasing the work of some of the finest contemporary writing talent. Each gripping audio book is yours to download for free. Listen to them on your MP3 player, your laptop or ideally, in the car. So sit back, hit play and enjoy the ride.

BMW does Audiobooks! That’s right, Bavarian Motor Works, the German guys who make cars, have released a batch of excellent podcast short stories (in English). This is a promotion like their BMW Films promotion from a few years back. Solid name authors have been hired to create short stories with a specific model of BMW automobile at the center of the action. I’ve listened to all four of the released stories and I’ve liked each, only one is speculative fiction related, it’s a story in the tradition of The Twilight Zone – well written and well read. The BMW product placement is blatant and oddly pornographic, it makes you feel dirty, but kind of in a good way.

The only Speculative Fiction story runs about an hour and was written exclusively for BMW Audiobooks. It can only be found in audio format, and hasn’t been released as a hard copy anywhere else. This is download only folks. Here’s the complete skinny…

Master Of The Storm
By James Flint; Read by Forbes Masson
1 MP3 File – Approx. 60 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: BMW Audiobooks
Podcast: 02/28/2006
“You”? are the central character in James Flint’s Master Of The Storm, a gripping tale of new business success followed by familiar encounters – all too familiar. And just when you think you are out of the storm, you find yourself pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery which seemingly has no exit.”

If you find yourself enthralled by this tale, there are three others, I classify as “crime fiction” – details for which can be found on SFFaudio’s sister site AuralNoir.com. AuralNoir.com, by the way, does for Mystery, Crime and Noir Audio what SFFaudio does for Science Fiction and Fantasy Audio.

Now how to get it, you can download Master Of The Storm directly from the BMW-Audiobooks website (but a free registration is required) or you can just do a search on iTunes using the search term “BMW.”

posted by Jesse Willis