Scott D. – Page 23

Review of “Pop Art” by Joe Hill

SFFaudio Review

Take THAT, Reviewapalooza!

“Pop Art”
Contained in 20th Century Ghosts
By Joe Hill; Read by David Ledoux
12 Hours, 14 Mins – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: 2007
Themes: / Fantasy / School / Mortality /

My best friend when I was twelve was inflatable.

This is a wonderful story. If I describe it you, it sounds absurd, and I guess it is. But through the absurdity, Joe Hill tells a poignant story. Arthur Roth is inflatable. Being inflatable means almost dying a dozen times by age 12. It means staying away from sharp things, including pens and pencils. Best to stick with crayons. Being inflatable also means that you are going to be picked on at school, because the bullies enjoy tossing you in the air like a balloon. None of this keeps Art from thinking big thoughts.

But then Art meets a friend who shares his bizarre life, and he lives fairly normally, except that death is always one puncture away.

Often science fiction uses aliens as a way to shine a spotlight on some aspect of humanity that the author wants to examine. This is fantasy, certainly, but the inflatable boy does the same sort of thing. He’s more vulnerable than the rest of us, but lives in the same cruel world. That the way he’s treated rings true lets us look at humanity from a slightly different angle than we would if the characters were all human. His finding a good friend rings just as true, and is perhaps the best thing the story gives us.

“Pop Art” stands out in a very good collection called 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. It’s read by David Ledoux. You can buy the whole collection at Audible, or you can buy just this story.

This was made into a short film. I found it |HERE| but I’m getting the old “not available in your area” block. Anyone know where I could watch that?

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast by Eugie Foster

SFFaudio Review

Another entry in the 7th Anniversary Reviewathon!

“Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast”
By Eugie Foster; Read by Lawrence Santoro
57 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Escape Pod (Ep. 214)
Published: Sep. 2009
Themes: / Science Fiction / Masks / Sex / Passions / Society /

Each morning is a decision. Should I put on the brown mask or the blue? Should I be a tradesman or an assassin today?

Whatever the queen demands, of course, I am. But so often she ignores me, and I am left to figure out for myself who to be.

We all wear masks every day, presenting different faces to the different groups of people we interact with. But what if those masks were literal objects? Eugie Foster presents us with such a society in this intense Nebula-nominated novelette. Each morning, citizens select a mask to wear before moving about among other people – the mask they select determines who they will be that day.

Wearing the masks arouses passions in the wearer, and each section of the story is a heightened emotional experience. The intensity of this story was spectacularly captured by Lawrence Santoro, who narrated in a dramatic manner that reminds me of Harlan Ellison. Bravo to author and narrator – a perfect match. A great story, truly worthy of a Nebula.

This story can be found over at Escape Pod – it’s |Episode 214|.
You can find more Eugie Foster audio |HERE|.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of “The Eternal Wall” by Raymond Z. Gallun

SFFaudio Review

SFFaudio’s 7th Anniversary World Tour continues – we’ll have you know that no hotel rooms have been trashed to date. But there’s still time…

“The Eternal Wall”
By Raymond Z. Gallun; Read by Gregg Margarite
26 Minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Librivox
Published: 2009
Themes: / Science Fiction / Time Travel / Evolution / Time /

This story was published in November, 1942 in Amazing Stories magazine. It’s the first story by Raymond Z. Gallun that I’ve read. I was happy to come across it, since I recently ordered the Del Rey The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun paperback. Love those books.

“The Eternal Wall” is not included in that collection, which raises my expectations of the stories that were included, because this is a very good story. It starts with a guy driving a car quickly down the road. He’s late for a date with his girlfriend, so he pushes it too far and ends up flying off a cliff into deep alkali-rich water. Now pick up the story a few million years later. Humans have long since left the Earth, and the next phase of evolution has resulted in a race of prairie dog-like intelligent creatures that find a mummified body at an archaeological dig. Their technology is great, so they figure out how to re-animate the well-preserved body.

The end of the story didn’t ring true to me, but it contained the point of the story, or at least the reason the story was titled “The Eternal Wall”. The wall is time – the main character can’t go back in time, and the new intelligent life on Earth, despite their advanced technology, can’t do it either. It can easily be seen as a response to the time travel stories that permeated science fiction in the 40’s – a dose of scientific realism, perhaps?

But it’s not the view of time presented in the story that doesn’t ring true – it’s the reaction of the man after being re-animated. Oh, the drama! I wanted to slap him.

Gregg Margarite performs the story, hysterical re-animated man and all, and I’ll be looking for more from him. Thanks to Gregg, and thanks to Librivox for making it available!

A reminder – Librivox is looking for your help!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Melancholy Elephants by Spider Robinson

SFFaudio Review

Yet another story in SFFaudio’s 7th Anniversary Carnival of Characters!

Melancholy Elephants
By Spider Robinson; Read by Spider Robinson
1 |MP3| – Approx. 34 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Spider on the Web
Published: 2007
Themes: / Science Fiction / Art / Copyright / Human Mind / Mathematics /

The moment I realized that copyright was at the center of the story, I thought: Jesse would love this. I’m fairly certain he’s read it, though. There can’t be a lot of fiction where copyright plays a part, and besides; Spider Robinson is one of his favorites.

A law to extend copyright is proposed, and Dorothy, an artist, visits a Senator in future Washington to persuade him to vote against. The story is not dry exposition about law. It’s about art, the human mind, mathematics, and the universe. A lot to pack into 34 minutes, for certain, and it did leave me feeling melancholy, like the elephants.

It’s important to note that this story won a Hugo Award in 1983, long before copyright ran headlong into the digital age. “Melancholy Elephants” stands beside other great science fiction stories that so clearly saw the future coming.

The story was read by Spider Robinson as part of his Spider on the Web podcast.

Here’s the podcast feed: http://www.spiderrobinson.com/iTunes_feed.xml

And |HERE| is a direct link to the episode with “Melanchoy Elephants”.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip

SFFaudio Review

Od Magic
By Patricia A. McKillip; Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
10 CDs – 11.7 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433223983
Themes: / Fantasy / Wizard School / Monarchy / Herbalism /

I had a hard time, at first, getting into this book. I didn’t relate to Brenden Vetch, who lost his parents, then his brother and girlfriend left him because he spent hours and days in the wilderness listening to and talking to plants.

Then he encounters Od, a giantess, who invites him to go to Kelior the capital city where the King lives, and become the gardener at the school of magic.

Brenden goes to Kelior, and for me, this is where the story starts to get interesting. He meets the teachers and students and keeps to himself a lot. Brenden, I’m afraid, is boring.

Fortunately, it is also here that we are introduced to the secondary characters. Valoren, the King’s wizard and a nobleman, Yar, one of the wizard teachers, Lady Thiel, cousin to Valoren and amour of Yar. Sulis, the King’s daughter, Arnath, Quarter Warden over the Twilight Quarter and Mistral, daughter of Tiriman, a magician who is visiting the Twilight Quarter.

King Galin keeps a very tight control over how and when magic is used in his kingdom. You have to be trained in the school of magic and you can only use magic the way you are taught. Everything else is forbidden. You can see the problem and where the story is going.

Tiriman, a traveling magician, enters the Twilight Quarter and everyone begins to wonder if he is using real magic, or if he’s simply using tricks. Arnath is sent in to determine if Tiriman is a threat to the King or not. The King’s daughter slips into the Quarter to see Tiriman as she has been told of him by her great grandmother, Ditany.

The story gets more complex as Brenden is found to have magic (no surprise).

By the time the story gets to chapter 5, I can hardly wait to hear what happens next. And how everything gets resolved. The King’s daughter is betrothed and Arnath falls for Mistral, Tiriman’s daughter, as he tries to meet the illusive magician.

The story builds, the characters get themselves in trouble and I’m looking forward to a great resolution… and then it’s over. But things are not all neatly wrapped up. Some things are clearly resolved. There’s a moral, but I don’t mind it. To me, the ending feels too abrupt. Too sudden. I would like a little more… resolution.

Do I recommend the story? Yes, with reservations. I love the secondary characters and their stories. I really didn’t care about Od or Brenden. I still don’t. I think part of the ending is a bit too contrived. There were NO hints to look back on and say, “Oh! Now I get it.” I felt blindsided. That being said, if there were a sequel, I’d buy it just to see what happens next. There really needs to be a next.

If this had been the first part of a series, I’d be happier with the ending. As a stand-alone, I give it a 6 out of 10. Good, but not great. No RIddlemaster of Hed here. Alas. Her latest book is a sequel to “Tam Lin.” I’m going to go out and buy it.

*Disclaimer: I listened to the audiobook. I never read the book. So, if I misspelled any of the character names, I apologize.

Posted by Charlene C. Harmon

Review of Heart of Rage by James Swallow

SFFaudio Review

Yet another entry in the 7th Anniversary SFFaudio Story Review Marathon! (For the cure!)

Warhammer 40,000: Heart of Rage
By James Swallow; Performed by Toby Longsworth
1 CD – 75 minutes – [AUDIO ORIGINAL]
Publisher: The Black Library
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781844167968
Themes: / Science Fiction / War / Aliens / Cyborgs /

My not-so-vast knowledge of the Warhammer universe stems from two bits of information only; first, it started as a game I’ve seen played at cons with small figures on tabletop landscapes, and second, that it’s about war.

Add this third fact: The Black Library’s Warhammer productions bring mayhem to your ears like nothing else I’ve heard. It all starts with the superior dramatic reading of the narrator, who in this case is Toby Longworth. He performs all of the characters as distinct roles, bringing each one to life as if this were an audio drama. Next, sound is added that pays particular attention to what is being narrated. The sound is also not front and center – the story doesn’t pause so that an effect can be heard. It’s all mixed together in a perfect integration of narrator and sound into one organic production.

This technique does NOT work for everything – in fact, I normally dislike audio drama/audiobook hybrids, but this is done just right. I enjoyed the technique in Star Trek and Star Wars audiobooks, and this is even more skillful.

“Heart of Rage” is a Warhammer 40,000 story that last a bit over an hour. Big battle-ready fellows Nord and Kale come across a tyrannid (satisfactorily nasty baddies) hive ship, and fighting ensues. Fans of this universe should enjoy this production.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson