Scott D. – Page 44

Recent Arrivals from Brick by Brick

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

We’ve received some titles from Scott Brick Presents!, where Scott Brick himself is producing and publishing some of his favorite titles.

Sword of the Lamb
By M.K. Wren; Read by Scott Brick
[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Scott Brick Presents
Published: 2008

Brick calls The Phoenix Legacy “the best series you’ve never heard of”. Sword of the Lamb is the first volume, and also ready for you are Shadow of the Swan and House of the Wolf. You can read (or listen to) Scott Brick’s blog entry about the series, or here’s a less eloquent description:

In the 33rd century, a dazzling empire is poised on the brink of annihilation… Born into the House of DeKoven Woolf, Lord Alexand is heir to a mighty industrial empire. But deep at the heart of the Concord brews dangerous unrest that threatens civilization with the specter of a third dark age.

The only hope for the future is the Society of the Phoenix—a powerful revolutionary group that has sworn to overthrow the Concord. By committing to the ultimate treason and joining forces with his own brother, martyred leader of the Phoenix, Alexand will forfeit more than just his birthright of power.

Lord Foul’s Bane
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, BOOK ONE
By Stephen R. Donaldson; Read by Scott Brick
[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Scott Brick Presents
Published: 2008

This is the first novel published by Scott Brick Presents, and Scott tells you why the series means much to him on his blog. Also for sale are Book 2 (The Illearth War) and Book 8 (Fatal Revenant), with Book 3 (The Power That Preserves) in the wings, awaiting its cue.

Frankenstein
By Mary Shelley, Read by Scott Brick
[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Scott Brick Presents
Published: 2009

Scott reads this version of Frankenstein, from the original 1818 text. Why? He talks about it in his blog.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Steve, The First by Matt Watts

SFFaudio Review

Steve, The First
By Matt Watts; Performed by a Full Cast
2 CDs – 2 hours – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: CBC Radio
Published: 2007
Themes: / Science Fiction / Comedy / Post Apocalypse /

It was a thousand years ago. The Earth: in ruins, a nuclear wasteland. Humanity had written its final chapter. It took only a matter of minutes to destroy what took centuries to build. Greed, materialism… an overall sense of things being off… they would all spell society’s downfall. What few survivors remained were in a state of complete mental chaos. But all was not lost. One man, one hero, one legend, would bring civilization to the uncivilized.

This man… was Steve.

Steve, the First begins with the miraculous birth of Steve, the savior of all mankind, from a pile of rocks. Steve is not impressed with the post-apocalyptic world he sees, nor is he happy with the exploding dogs. The first people he meets are two kids who spend their time collecting dead people, and the hilarious conversation they have sets the tone for the rest of this dark comic radio drama, which was originally broadcast on CBC Radio One in 2005.

Matt Watts, who is Canadian, not that there’s anything wrong with that, wrote the series and also stars as the uninspired Steve. I’ve written about Matt Watts before, but this drama and the one that follows (aptly titled Steve, the Second) were written and broadcast before Canadia: 2056 seasons 1 and 2. That series and this one share some of the same actors, which is a great thing because this crew is wonderful.

The Colleen (Holly Lewis) is perfectly neurotic. My first clue? Her parents. Tim the Melty (Don McKellar) is positively unforgettable – a post apocalyptic Yes Man. And then there’s Steve’s nemesis, Phil Green (Mark McKinney) who still, despite the lack of a good number of people, yearns for political power.

I urge you to give this a listen – you’ll nestle it in your mind somewhere between Red Dwarf and Galaxy Quest in your pantheon of science fiction comedy. Funny, FUNNY, stuff!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Recent Arrivals from The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

H.P.Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror	H.P.Lovecraft’s The Shadow Out of Time
H.P.Lovecraft’s Shadow Over Innsmouth

These three recent arrivals, along with At the Mountains of Madness |SFFaudio Review|, have great packaging. All kinds of stuff are included with these CD’s, like maps scribbled on the back of a scrap of paper, news clippings, a matchbook with a single match from Arkham’s finest hotel.

Click here to visit and explore the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, who published these excellent editions.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Recent Arrivals from Blackstone Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

The Green Hills of Earth
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Tom Weiner
6 CDs – 6.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9780786167838

We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the fleecy skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.

The Green Hills of Earth is a collection of short stories from one of the masters of science fiction who has held readers spellbound for over thirty years. This collection includes “Delilah and the Space-Rigger,” “Space-Jockey,” “The Long Watch,” “Gentlemen Be Seated,” “The Black Pits of Luna,” “It’s Great to Be Back,” “‘—We Also Walk Dogs,’” “Ordeal in Space,” “The Green Hills of Earth,” and “Logic of Empire.”

Brotherhood of the Wolf
By David Farland; Read by Ray Porter
18 CDs – 22.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433227028

Book Two in the Runelords Series

David Farland delivers the second in his high fantasy Runelords series, featuring a complex system of magic and a wondrous, expertly realized world. Raj Ahten, ruler of Indhopal, has used enough forcibles to transform himself into the ultimate warrior: The Sum of All Men. Ahten seeks to bring all of humanity under his rule, destroying anyone in his path. But young Prince Gaborn has fulfilled a two-thousand-year-old prophecy and become the Earth King, a mythic figure who can unleash the forces of the Earth itself. He has managed to drive off Raj Ahten, but Ahten is far from defeated. Striking at far-flung cities and fortresses, Ahten seeks to draw out the Earth King from his seat of power and to crush him. But as they weaken each other’s forces in battle, the armies of an ancient and implacable inhuman enemy issue forth from the very bowels of the Earth.

Bellwether
By Connie Willis; Read by Kate Reading
5 CDs – 6.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 978143324624

Pop culture, chaos theory, and matters of the heart collide in this unique novella from the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Doomsday Book.

Sandra Foster studies fads and their meanings for the HiTek corporation. Bennett O’Reilly works with monkey-group behavior and chaos theory for the same company. When the two are thrust together due to a misdelivered package and a run of seemingly bad luck, they find a joint project in a flock of sheep. But a series of setbacks and disappointments arise before they are able to find answers to their questions—with the unintended help of the errant, forgetful, and careless office assistant Flip.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Rocket Science 1960 – 1962

SFFaudio News

Posted on March 1 at The Fix: Short Fiction Review is the latest Rocket Science column, which covers 1960 – 1961.

Audio versions of Hugo winners from those years:

1960:
Short Fiction: “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
I couldn’t find an audio version of the novelette version, but the novel version (which later won a Nebula Award) is available from Recorded Books.

Novel: Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
There are two versions of this – one from Blackstone Audio and one from Recorded Books. See Jesse’s review of both of them for the full scoop.

1961:
Short Fiction: “The Longest Voyage” by Poul Anderson
This one was included in a Dercum Press collection called No Truce with Kings. |SFFaudio Review|.

Novel: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Amazon lists an out-of-print version from Books on Tape, and Wisconsin Public Radio produced a 13 part audio drama for NPR, which you may be able to find.

1962:
Short Fiction: The “Hothouse” series by Brian W. Aldiss
I couldn’t find this one on audio.

Novel: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Blackstone Audio has an unabridged production, read by Christopher Hurt.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

New Release – Eugie Foster

New Releases

Eugie Foster has a new collection out called Returning My Sister’s Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice. It’s available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon, but if only I had read further before ordering my copy!

If you order directly from her, not only will she autograph your copy, but she’ll also throw in an MP3-CD containing five stories from the collection, and a bonus:

• “The Tiger Fortune Princess” read by Norm Sherman, produced and podcast by Drabblecast (Mar. 2008).
• “The Snow Woman’s Daughter” read by cunning minx, produced and podcast by Escape Pod (Aug. 2007).
• “The Tanuki-Kettle” read by Tina Connolly with an introduction by M. K. Hobson, produced and podcast by Podcastle (Oct. 2008).
• “The Archer of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon” read by Eugie Foster, an original audio production.
• “Returning My Sister’s Face” read by Stephen Eley, produced and podcast by Pseudopod (Sept. 2006).
• Bonus Story: “Souls of Living Wood” read by Eugie Foster, an original audio production.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson