With the release of Chapterhouse Dune this month, Macmillan Audio has completed the entire original Dune Chronicles, all recorded with full casts. Macmillan’s full list of audio Dune titles (including those by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson) can be found |HERE|, complete with audio samples!
 Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1) By Frank Herbert, Performed by Full Cast 18 CDs – 22 hours – [UNABRIDGED] |
 Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, Book 2) By Frank Herbert, Performed by Full Cast 7 CDs – 9 hours – [UNABRIDGED] |
 Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3) By Frank Herbert, Performed by Full Cast 14 CDs – 17 hours – [UNABRIDGED] |
 God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 4) By Frank Herbert, Performed by Full Cast 13 CDs – 16 hours – [UNABRIDGED] |
 Heretics of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 5) By Frank Herbert, Performed by Full Cast 15 CDs – 18.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED] |
 Chapterhouse Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 6) By Frank Herbert, Performed by Full Cast 13 CDs – 16.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED] |
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Hugos!
Lots of Hugo Award talk, as this year’s nominating deadline rapidly approaches (Feb 28 is the final day to submit nominations). We’ve got a page here at SFFaudio that contains a list of audio versions of Hugo Award winning fiction. We compiled it over four years ago. Things have changed so rapidly over the last two years that the page fell embarrassingly out of date, so Jesse and I are rebuilding it using nothing but twine and an old screwdriver. Oh yeah, and the internet. We’re including cover art when we can find it, so the process is slow – but here is the first part which contains a list of Hugo Awards from the 2000’s. Find it |HERE|. If you spot any errors or omissions, please contact the nearest authorities, and then zip me an e-mail. Our hopes and dreams include getting a new decade added to this list each week.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Recent Arrivals from Penguin Audio
Four Stephen King audio re-issues!
Desperation
By Stephen King; Read by Kathy Bates
8 CDs – 9 hours – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: 2009 (reissue from 1996)
ISBN: 9780143143895
One of King’s best novels!
There’s a place along Interstate 50 that some call the loneliest place on Earth. It’s known as Desperation, Nevada. It’s not a very nice place to live. It’s an even worse place to die. Let the battle against evil begin.
The Regulators
By Stephen King; Read by Kate Nelligan
8 CDs – 9 hours – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: 2009 (reissue from 1996)
ISBN: 9780143143918
This was released at the same time as Desperation, has the same cast as that novel, and appeared as written by Richard Bachman.
There’s a place in Wentworth, Ohio, where summer is in full swing. It’s called Poplar Street. Up until now it’s been a nice place to live. The idling red van around the corner is about to change all that. Let the battle against evil begin.
Thinner
By Stephen King; Read by Joe Mantegna
9 CDs – 10 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: 2009 (reissue from 1984)
ISBN: 9780143143901
The last Bachman book – after this novel was published, it was revealed that Bachman was Stephen King.
When an old Gypsy man curses Billy Halleck for sideswiping his daughter, six weeks later he’s 93 pounds lighter. Now Billy is terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble…that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away.
Rose Madder
By Stephen King; Read by Blair Brown
14 CDs – 18 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: 2009 (reissue from 1995)
ISBN: 9780143143949
Intense novel about an abused wife.
This is the story of Rose Daniels, “the most richly portrayed female King’s ever created.”* Escape from her macabre marriage is not as easy as fleeing to a new city, picking a new name, finding a new job, and lucking out with a new man. Not with a husband like Norman…
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
For those of you who use Twitter, we’ve got two Twitter feeds here at SFFaudio. The first is an automatic feed that provides a link to each post we do. Find that one here: http://twitter.com/sffaudio.
The second is my personal Twitter feed, which I promise to keep audio and book related, at least until the zombie uprising. Find that one here: http://twitter.com/sdanielson.
Enjoy!
Posted by Scott D. Danielson
Review of Voodoo Planet by Andre Norton
Voodoo Planet
By Andre Norton; Read by Chuck McKibben
3 CDs – 3 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781897304372
Themes: / Science Fiction / Adventure / Space Travel / Africa /
Voodoo Planet is the tale of three crew members from The Solar Queen spaceship who are invited to go on a hunting safari on a Khatka, a planet colonized by people from Africa. Dane, Medic Tau, and Captain Jellico soon run up against Lumbrilo, a local witch doctor, who has strong reasons for not wanting outsiders to explore the jungle. After their flitter crashes in the wild, the spacemen and their local hosts soon become the targets of bizarre attacks from wildlife as they try to make their way back to civilization. Tau has studied magic on many different worlds and a battle of wills emerges as he must counter the attacks and provide the edge to overcome their enemy.
This is a short and simple tale of adventure, it is best enjoyed at face value – a sampling of classic science fiction. It makes foe an exciting story as one waits to see what Lumbrilo will next launch against the heroes. Andre Norton is a legendary author in science fiction and fantasy, but this is one of her earlier and lesser works. That does not mean that one should ignore the book, but simply that one should not expect a master work.
The narration of the story is fine with slight shading added to various characters’ voices to provide both personality and help the listener differentiate when a conversation is occurring. However, the editing is not very careful. There were several occasions when a sentence or two was repeated as the narrator corrected a misstep. Failing to catch a duplication is common enough in free podcasts but when one is paying for an audiobook it is inexcusable. One hopes that the editors will more carefully proof the other books from this publisher.
Overall, well done and recommended.
Posted by Julie D.
Recent Arrivals from Blackstone Audio
Dreams Underfoot
By Charles de Lint; Read by Kate Reading
11 CDs – 13 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433260100
Welcome to Newford: to the music clubs, the waterfront, and the alleyways where ancient myths and magic spill into the modern world. Gemmins live in abandoned cars and skells traverse the tunnels below, while mermaids swim in the grey harbor waters and fill the cold night with their song. Come meet Jilly, painting wonders in the rough city streets; and Geordie, playing fiddle while he dreams of a ghost; and the Angel of Grasso Street gathering the fey and the wild and the poor and the lost. Dreams Underfoot is a must-read book not only for fans of urban fantasy but for all who seek magic in everyday life.
Od Magic
By Patricia A. McKillip; Read by Gabrielle de Cuir
10 CDs – 11.7 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9781433223983
Brenden Vetch has a gift. With an innate sense he cannot explain to himself or describe to others, he is able to connect to the agricultural world, nurturing gardens to flourish and instinctively knowing the healing properties each plant and herb has to offer. But Brenden’s gift isolates him from his community, until the day he receives a personal invitation from the wizard Od. She needs a gardener for her school in the great city of Kelior, where every potential wizard must be trained to serve the Kingdom of Numis.
For decades, the rulers of Numis have controlled the school, believing they can contain the power within it. They punish any wizard who dares defy the law. But unknown to the reigning monarchy is the power possessed by the school’s new gardener, a power even Brenden isn’t fully aware of and which is the true reason why Od recruited him.
Posted by Scott D. Danielson