Scott D. – Page 58

Recent Arrivals – H.P. Lovecraft from Audio Realms

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Here are six glorious volumes of H.P. Lovecraft from the good folks at Audio Realms:

The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 1
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 3.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304006

Contains: “The Dunwich Horror” and “The Call of Cthulhu”

The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 2
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 3.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304013

Contains: “The Shadow over Innsmouth” and “Dagon”

The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 3
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 3 hours, 17 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304044

Contains: “The Horror at Red Hook”, “Herbert West: Re-animator”, “The Outsider”, and “The Statement of Randolph Carter”

The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 4
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 2 hours, 41 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304242

Contains: “The Rats in the Walls”, “The Music of Eric Zann”, and “The Shunned House”

The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 5
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
3 CDs – 3 hours, 20 minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304259

Contains: “The Lurking Fear“, “Haunter of the Dark“, and “The Thing on the Doorstep”

The Dark Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Volume 6
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Wayne June
4 CDs – 4 Hours 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
ISBN: 9781897304266

Contains: “At the Mountains of Madness”

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Infected by Scott Sigler

SFFaudio Review

Infected
By Scott Sigler; Read by Scott Sigler
9 CDs – 12 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9780739328859
Themes: / Horror / Science Fiction / Mystery / Bio Chemical / Self Mutilation / Scott Sigler / Podcast

Maybe you’ve been away on vacation. Maybe you’re new here. Maybe you fell asleep 100 years ago and you’re just waking up. Maybe you’ve been locked inside your house with a pair of chicken scissors. Who knows? But, if you are a fan of audiobooks and audio fiction and DON’T know about Scott Sigler, you’ve been missing out.

So, for those of you who don’t know who Scott Sigler is, he started out as a rogue novelist that decided to record his own novels and distribute them for free, over the internet, as podcasts, to build an audience for his writing. And my, oh my how it has worked! Who would have ever thought that you could make money, or at least get yourself a big time publishing deal with a major company just by giving your stuff away for free? For those of you who, like me, have been following his rise, you’ll be happy to hear that our little Scott Sigler is all grown up now. He’s out of diapers and he’s using his “big boy” voice.

The basic premise of Infected is this: Some strange virus, disease, or biological weapon is turning normal people in to stark raving lunatics. This mysterious disease, whatever it is, causes its victim to become paranoid, psychotic, and just a little more than grumpy. There’s suspense, gore, disturbing self mutilation and of course, lots and lots of violence. But, as you may well know, adult themes and disturbing images only work if they are used to serve as a backdrop to great writing. Infected is most certainly well written and that’s why it is a good listening experience from beginning to end.

CIA operative Dew Phillips is burdened with the task of figuring out what this thing is and why it causes such behavior from its victims. Even with the help of CDC Epidemiologist Margaret Montoya, he does not know much about the disease. Because of its nature, all infected victims have been found dead. The investigation takes them from city to city, hoping to catch a live host.

Then there’s our “host” Perry Dawsey. He’s a gigantic former college football player, with a slight twinge towards problems of an anger management nature. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s about to take you on a wonderful ride of beautifully written “gross”. Perry is a man who has struggled for years to control his anger and you begin to feel for him as you witness his downward spiral in to violence. You may find yourself fighting for Perry the perfectly crafted underdog. Normally you wouldn’t consider such a hugely athletic man as an “underdog”. But, in Infected, his strength is literally his weakness.

I first heard Infected in its original form as a free audio podcast. When I sat down to listen to this professionally produced and released unabridged recording, I thought I was about to take a trip in to a wonderfully relaxing nostalgia. But, I was wrong. From the first page, the book has been completely re-worked, tightened, tweaked, improved upon, and added to. Infected is as fit as a boxer getting ready to fight for the title belt and every page, chapter, and verse has a polished feel that resonates with the listener. There is also new material, previously unreleased, including twenty-two pages that you won’t even find in hardcover book.

For fans of Sigler’s podcast, you will be happy to hear that he narrated the entire book himself. It comes complete with elements that you don’t normally find in a big budget release, such as voices and a mild amount of sound effects that help the recording spring to life. Yet the entire thing feels like his podcast. I kept expecting him to come in and say, “That’s all the story I’ve got for you this week…” but he never did. Not until the end, almost twelve gruesome hours later.

The sound quality is very good. There are no flubs, exterior sounds, or flaws. It not only sounds good, but Scott Sigler has actually never sounded better. That’s a lot to be said for someone who jokingly claims to have been doing this perfectly for over eighteen years now.

I realized when I first pressed “play” on this audiobook that I had never actually listened to anything written by Scott Sigler in one extended sitting. I had been consuming his fiction, just like every other person out there, one week at a time, for just a few minutes at a time. I am happy to report that he is not like one of those annoying friends that you enjoy only in small doses. I started listening to Infected, and even though I already had a good idea of what the story and characters were going to be, I just kept listening all the way through to the end. The writing is solid and the plot twists and character arcs are all perfectly juxtaposed. You can never relax or let your guard down because there is something even worse coming to get you from just around the corner.

So, if you’re in to a little romantic comedy where all is well at the end and everyone loves each other, Infected is not for you. But, if you are looking for something that is page burningly well written with great characters, violence gore, a dash of self mutilation and some chicken scissors thrown in for good measure, definitely give Infected a shot. I’m sure Scott Sigler would thank you personally, but he’s locked in his closet right now recording his next great hit, which he is still giving away for free, every week. Well, almost every week. It isn’t exactly clockwork.

Posted by Michael Bekemeyer of the Scatterpod podcast.

Review of Halo: Contact Harvest by Joseph Staten

SFFaudio Review

Halo: Contact Harvest
By Joseph Staten; Read by Holter Graham and Jen Taylor
10 CDs – 11 hrs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781427202499
Themes: / Science Fiction / Military / Tactics / Gaming / Aliens /

This is how it began… It is the year 2524. Harvest is a peaceful, prosperous farming colony on the very edge of human-controlled space. But we have trespassed on holy ground–strayed into the path of an aggressive alien empire known as the Covenant. What begins as a chance encounter between an alien privateer and a human freighter catapults mankind into a struggle for its very existence. But humanity is also locked in a bitter civil war known as the Insurrection. So the survival of Harvest’s citizens falls to a squad of battle-weary UNSC Marines and their inexperienced colonial militia trainees.In this unlikely group of heroes, one stands above the rest…a young Marine staff sergeant named Avery Johnson.

Before I move into this review, I need to say a couple of things. One, I am not a fan of the Military SF sub-genre. I don’t hate it, but a few weapon descriptions go a long way for me. Two, I am not a gamer, though the first time I saw Halo 3 on the Xbox 360, it made me want to sell my Wii.

Now that you know that I can say that Halo: Contact Harvest was almost exactly what I expected it to be. There is a whole lot of automatic weapons fire by a whole lot of soldiers who say things like “look sharp!”, “give me some cover!”, and “lock and load!”. There is plenty of futuristic weaponry discussed and model numbers of vehicles tossed about. If that’s the kind of thing you enjoy, here it is!

My impression now, having played a bit of Halo 3 at a friend’s house and having heard this book, is that story plays a large role in the game. Like good writers, the game makers (the author, Joseph Staten, is one of that team) imagined and wrote a great deal, then spawned the game from that, leaving most of the story untold, because, let’s face it, the gamers want to blow things up, not watch a movie. Yet the story does make the game much more interesting and gives it a surprising (to me) depth. This novel is a way to tell some of the backstory to those interested, and since the hardcover spent a few weeks on the bestseller list, there is obviously plenty of interest.

In the first Halo game, humans are already at war with aliens that are called “The Covenant”. This novel is a prequel to that game, and it describes the start of the conflict between The Covenant and humans. The story is told from two points of view – the humans (led by Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson), and the aliens. The humans have claimed a world called Harvest as their own, but the aliens object because the surface is covered with artifacts made by the “Forerunners”, an extinct race that the aliens worship. Bullets fly. But to stop there is to not give the story credit, because there are some good things in there, including a revelation that the aliens want to suppress because their very beliefs are threatened.

Overall, this is a good audiobook, because the main narrator (Holter Graham) is excellent, and the writing isn’t bad either. The emphasis on military jargon is something that turns me off, but that’s just me. I suspect that military SF fans will like this audiobook a great deal, and I’m pleased to have heard it myself, if only to learn of story’s significant place in the gaming market.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold

SFFaudio Review

Diplomatic Immunity
By Lois McMaster Bujold; Read by Grover Gardner
9 CDs – 11 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9781433213144
Themes: / Science fiction / Space Opera / Military / Diplomacy / Romance / Genetic Engineering / Intrigue /

Blackstone Audio has been publishing the entire Vorkosigan series read by Grover Gardner. There are several volumes out, and we’ve reviewed a couple of them (The Vor Game and Mirror Dance) before this one. I have little to add to the positive assessment of Gardner’s talent that the other reviews of this series have pointed out; I’ll just say that I enjoy his narration of these books very much. He’s got a dry tone that fits Miles Vorkosigan perfectly. A very pleasant listen.

In this particular volume, Miles is called into diplomatic action against the Quaddies, a genetically engineered race that we were introduced to in the novel Falling Free. In that novel, we learn that quaddies are genetically altered humans that have four arms and no legs which is an advantage if you live and work in zero gravity. The only problem? They were treated as slaves by the company that made them, and the novel is largely about their rebellion.

Diplomatic Immunity takes place 300 years after that one, and much has changed, though distrust for “downsiders” remains. Vorkosigan is called in when some citizens are captured and held by the Quaddies at their Graf Station. He meets with the representatives of the Quaddie government, hears their side of the story, then proceeds to uncover the truth while preventing a war.

Miles Vorkosigan is a fine character. He’s got flaws (and plenty of them) yet always manages to succeed despite them. His personality is entertaining, and the plot of this novel, in which Miles is called upon as both diplomat and detective, is just plain fun. Whenever I listen to one of these, I imagine how good a television series this would make. These novels are not meant to be masterpieces of hard science fiction – they are meant to be enjoyed, and enjoy them I do. I can’t wait to hear the next one, though I feel that listening to them in the original print publication order would add even more to the experience, the main reason being that the Miles I hear in this novel is not the same Miles I heard in The Vor Game, I expect due to events in the novels in-between.

Lois McMaster’s Vorkosigan novels have an interesting history on audio. A company named The Reader’s Chair originally came out with enjoyable unabridged versions read in tag team fashion by Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan. Unfortunately, the company didn’t survive. One of the first reviews I wrote when I got into reviewing audio was the Reader’s Chair audio version Falling Free, the Nebula Award winning novel that I spoke of earlier in the review. Click here to see it.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

SFFaudio Review

Fool Moon: Book Two of the Dresden Files
By Jim Butcher; Read by James Marsters
1 MP3 Disc or 8 CDs – Approx. 10.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia
Published: 2003
ISBN: 9780965725583
Themes: / Fantasy / Mystery / Magic / Private Detective / Wizard / Noir /

The fantastically grey world of Wizard Harry Dresden is back in this, the second book of the series. Harry Dresden is still a private investigator who has special supernatural powers that people who believe in him would call being a Wizard. Those who do not believe in such things might call him a fake. This coupled with the fact that Dresden still has the ability to get himself in to the deepest and darkest of trouble makes for a equally fun and entertaining read.

Fool Moon takes place less than a year after the climax of Storm Front (Dresden, Book 1). As the title suggests, Fool Moon spends much of its time dealing with supernatural creatures of the night known to us as Werewolves. And as it turns out there is a lot I did not know about werewolves. There are many different ways to become one and there are many different versions of them as well. So, even if you are not an expert in werewolves, don’t worry, because neither is our hero, Mr. Dresden.

For two months, when the moon is full, certain people have been dying horribly gruesome deaths and Dresden finally gets a call from his friend and main source of income, Detective Murphy. She’s the head of the city’s special investigations and leans on Harry whenever the mystery has a twinge of the unexplainable. When Dresden gets the call from her, he jumps at the chance to pay the bills and put some food on the table. The moon is full for four nights and that’s all the time they have to solve the murders. As they start to connect the pieces to the puzzle, they both begin to realize that they are not prepared for what is about to happen.

The details and story are dark and horrifying. Dresden is the consummate intuitive detective, acting on things that he isn’t quite sure about, but just has a solid hunch or gut feeling. His sage-like wisdom often leads him in the right direction, but also leaves him asking the question, “Now what?” These intuitions are what I like best about Harry. His wizardry is more than just using magic. It’s more like an innate ability to look at any given situation from a different perspective.

It always gets him in to trouble, not because he is wrong, but because he is right about so many things. You might find yourself pitying the poor wizard as he follows his nose and heart in to trouble. He gets beaten to a pulp more than once and I was wondering how much more could he take? Trust me, Harry Dresden gets pushed to the physical and mental limits in this story and the depths he visits, both magically and psychologically, are sure to get your heart pumping. The thought “don’t go there” crept in to my mind more than once. The Harry Dresden “hat tricks” will put a smile on your face and keep you asking for more.

I like the way Dresden is written, always telling the tale in a first person. It sucks you in to Dresden’s brain. It’s from his perspective, which isn’t always correct. But, you’re in it with him. Dresden often makes decisions based on his point of view or the facts that he has at the time, like we all do and some times. It’s just not every day that we are all making life or death decisions on how to best defeat a violent, man eating beast, like Harry does in this book.

The first person narrative is perfect for the audio book outlet. In fact, it’s almost as if these words were meant to be spoken out loud. The text is not too proper and not too relaxed either. Just right. The book is narrated stunningly well, once again by James Marsters, AKA Spike of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He’s able to capture the essence of the character, moment by moment. He immortalizes the wit, sarcasm, and underdogedness of Dresden in a single paragraph, all while sounding incredibly relaxed. It’s just another telling of a story straight from the guy it happened to.

Fool Moon is not unlike the previous production of Storm Front. In some places the audio production is flawed. There are periodical flubs by the reader, things that could be easily edited out of the soundtrack to bring the quality of the production in to the same level as the writing and performing. You can also hear the faint sounds of page turns and other pesky undesirables that only pull you out of the story that Jim Butcher and James Marsters are working so hard to keep you sucked in to. I have spoken about this before and will resist the urge to go on another tirade about the virtues of audible storytelling and the need for quality to assure the listener’s total absorption in to the world that they are listening to. So, I will only say that it is a little upsetting, because these are simple problems that even podcasters, such as J.C Hutchins and Scott Sigler, with their homegrown recordings have figured out how to avoid. Why not the professionals at Buzzy?

But, all criticism aside, if you are a fan of audio books and a fan of Harry Dresden, the flaws and inconsistencies in this production of Jim Butcher’s wonderful concoction Fool Moon are few and far between. The world he has created grows richer and deeper with every word. The story starts strong on page one and continues on full force until the end. That’s said of Harry Dresden, as well. He is growing as a person and a wizard and I am looking forward to listening to the next installment of the Dresden books. And with eight more of them published, including the newly released Small Favor, I am sure to have many, many more hours of Dresden to spark my imagination and to keep me wishing I had some of those tricks up my sleeve.

Posted by Michael Bekemeyer of the Scatterpod podcast.

New Arrival – Bolinda Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

This just in from Australia!

Darkside
By Tom Becker; Read by Colin Moody
6 CDs – 6 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Bolinda Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 978921415340

Your home’s been attacked.

Your dad’s in an asylum.

You’re running for your life.

And there’s nowhere to hide.

You’ve stumbled on the city’s greatest secret: Darkside. Incredibly dangerous and unimaginably exciting. Darkside is ruled by Jack the Ripper’s children – a place where nightmares walk the streets. You think you’re in trouble now, but your problems have just begun…

Posted by Scott D. Danielson