Aural Noir – Page 17

Aural Noir review of No Score by Lawrence Block

Aural Noir: Review

SFFaudio Essential No Score (book #1 in the Chip Harrison series)
By Lawrence Block; Read by Gregory Gorton
6 Cassettes – Approx. 5 Hours 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Chivers Audio
Published: 1999
ISBN: 0792722620
Themes: / Crime / Sex / Quest / Pornography / Chicago /

It is a mystery why a street-smart young man like Chip Harrison has to resort to elaborate plans to attract a young woman like Francine. But someone turns Chip’s dream into a nightmare of danger. Chip has to act fast and furiously in a sizzling and suspenseful adventure that only Edgar Award-winning Lawrence Block could have written. Chip Harrison rightfully takes his place beside Block’s best known characters.

Seventeen year old Chip Harrison is a virgin. Francine, the narcissistic sexpot sitting on his bed, is two years older than Chip. All that stands between Chip and Francine is a tight yellow sweater and a green plaid skirt. Chip’s been preparing for this situation for a while now. He’s read all the right books, practiced all his moves on other girls, and now it’s all actually going to happen! And then, just as the deed is about to be done, a man with a gun walks in and shoots poor Chip! That’s chapter one. In chapter two Chip fills in some details about what happened before that – he’s an orphan, the son of a pair of con-parents. With no funds in the bank and not enough game on the basketball court. Poor Chip was kicked out of his prep school just a couple of months shy of graduation! Now, with little more than the clothes on his back, Chip Harrison has to meet and lay the girl of his dreams – the question is, will he get to do it? Or will he die trying?

Yep, that’s it! The whole novel is basically one kid’s quest to make it with a beautiful girl, almost any beautiful girl will do. As such, No Score probably the slimmest connection to mystery and crime of any book I’ve ever reviewed for SFFaudio. Later novels in the Chip Harrison series actually are genuine mysteries (they are all parody/homages to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe mysteries in fact). Though later books in the series are more properly mystery novels, like No Score they all share Chip’s enthusiasm and all the juvenile charm he brings to the telling. Lawrence Block is probably my favourite writer of first person perspective fiction. His sentences are chock full of wry humor and quick wit. When you pair his terrific writing with a capable narrator the results are explosively good. This is just such a novel and just such a pairing. While there’s not more than one or two actual jokes in No Score the laughs are all out loud and come every few minutes. I sure wish narrator Gregory Gorton was still recording audiobooks. He is a terrific performer with a wide range. In No Score he performs as Chip, a chipper and horny young man, Gregor, a fortyish immigrant from an unnamed Balkan country, and several sexy women in a terrific falsetto.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

SFFaudio Online Audio

What’s the point of The Lottery? It’s a Rorschach test.

“A chilling tale of conformity gone mad.”
-Kent Brockman, Channel 6 News

There’s a special kind of pleasure that comes from a combination of persistence and serendipity. For years I’ve described the fruits of this activity as “obscure goodness.”

Let me tell you a story. Not that long ago I would frequent numerous Blockbuster and Rogers Video stores looking to buy used VHS movies. I’d dig through endless bins of tapes with a copy of a movie guide close to hand. I found hundreds of amazing movies that way. I found The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998), Sorcerer (1977) and The Wicker Man (1973), to name just a few.

Podcast discovery, by the way, can be similarly rewarding. Digging around the internet you can find some truly amazing old programs that nobody seems to be talking about. I’ve already pointed you towards the wonder that is A Bite Of Stars, A Slug Of Time And Thou, for instance. That series has a persistent excellence that should be far better known. This whole website is basically an exercise in the search for “obscure goodness.”

I told you this story only to explain why I’m not going to explain why you should listen to Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery.

The Lottery is by no means the best story I’ve read or heard, in fact it’s nowhere even close to that, but because I found it serendipitously I liked it a lot. Apparently a lot of people have read this story, its pretty famous actually, but it was new to me. Here are two versions, one narrated, one dramatized.

Fiction (from the New Yorker) Podcast The Lottery
By Shirley Jackson; Read by A.M. Homes
1 |MP3| – Approx. 32 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: New Yorker: Fiction
Podcast: November 12, 2008
A village of 300 assembles in a square to observe a time-honored ritual. The heads of each family draws a slip of paper to choose the winner. First published in the June 26, 1948, issue of The New Yorker.

NBC Presents: SHORT STORY – “The Lottery”
Based on the short story by Shirley Jackson; Adapted by Ernest Kinoy; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: March 14, 1951
Provider: Archive.org
“A story about a quaint old custom.”
Cast: Charles Seel; Gail Bonney; John McGovern; James Nusser; Jack Nessler; Louise Lorimer; Jeff Corey; Irene Tedrow; Margaret Bryaton; Jeffrey Silver; Steven Chase; Morris King (folk singer).

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7 & RA.CC: Trueman And Riley

Aural Noir: Online Audio

My good friend Julie, from the Forgotten Classics podcast, sent me an email pointing out Trueman And Riley a BBC Radio “Drama series about two bickering detectives, starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston.” Sez Julie:

“Just in case you hadn’t heard it, this [Trueman And Riley] is a good ‘un. Just finished listening to the first episode which was a good little mystery and showed great promise for future character development of the ‘tecs.[detectives]”

I hadn’t heard of it, but found both series 1 and series 2 of Trueman And Riley available via torrent over on RadioArchive.cc!

I’ve now heard the first series, and I must say I do kind of like it. The programme features unpredictable mysteries with a contemporary feel (one episode is set at a James Bond convention). Trueman And Riley might be the very epitome of BBC “light entertainment.” It isn’t as gritty as McLevy, nor as engrossing as the Falco series. But, there is a certain breezy charm to the very modern, middling problems that Trueman and Riley are forced to face.

Here’s the skinny on it from the Wikipedia entry:

Trueman And Riley is a British radio drama series written by Brian B. Thompson and starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston. Originally named Trueman it began life on BBC Radio 4 on 17 April 2002 with DI Trueman being called back to work after a nervous breakdown in order to solve a high profile murder case, backed up by DS Riley (Duncan Preston). Renamed Trueman And Riley for a relaunch on BBC7, and relocated from Hull to Leeds, the new series saw the pair attempt to solve slightly more everyday crimes, and frequently disagreeing about the best way to proceed.

Trueman And Riley
By Brian B. Thompson; Performed by a full cast
30 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: 2007, 2009

Cast:
DI Trueman, Robert Daws
D.S. Riley, Duncan Preston
Written by Brian B. Thompson.
Produced by Toby Swift.

Series One:

Episode 1: Vanished
Detectives Trueman and Riley investigate the mysterious disappearance of a man en route from London to a new life in Leeds.

Episode 2: Story
A journalist has fallen from a building while working on a story, but was she pushed? Trueman and Riley are on the case.

Episode 3: Bond
Intrigue and suspicion at a James Bond convention as Trueman and Riley go in search of a stolen ring.

Episode 4: Speed
An angry Riley’s been sent on a speed awareness workshop. But that puts him on the trail of an ex-con from the old days in Hull.

Series Two:

Episode 1: The Road to Nowhere
The Leeds detectives find themselves on assignment to the Student Crime Prevention Team.

Episode 2:The Three Degrees
A student reunion turns sour when a man ends up in the canal. Trueman & Riley investigate.

Episode 3: A Man’s World
Trueman and Riley return to CID to deal with a series of thefts from pregnant women.

Episode 4: The Other Chic
Trueman and Riley are called in when a lingerie shop is burned down in an arson attack.

Episode 5: Love Bytes
Trueman and Riley are sucked into the world of an online role play game.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Simply Audiobooks: The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie

Aural Noir: Online Audio

The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie is available FREE, for the month of May 2010, over on Simply Audiobooks. But, if you’re not absolutely riveted by the prospect of getting a copy for FREE, I suggest you stop reading this post NOW.

This FREE audiobook is not particularly awesome, in fact it’s pretty terrible. It has all the problems I complained about Simply Audiobook’s FREE audiobook two years ago and it has some sound quality issues too. To get the audiobook you’ll need to do the following:

First up, you’ll need to give your name and email address to Simply Audiobooks HERE.

Second, while the narrator seems fine, there are numerous headaches involved in making it a universally playable audiobook. Chief among these problems is that the download comes in the ridiculously lame WMD file format. WMD supposedly stands for Windows Media Download. The file is, of course, completely unplayable on any portable media player that I’ve ever owned. It will, however, play in a current version of Windows Media Player 11, on one of my PCs. That doesn’t mean it will play in whatever version with whatever codecs your WMP will have. Once it does get playing, you’ll be saddened to hear that Stan Winiarski’s narration is partially obscured by lots of hiss and click-pops – it almsot sounds like the audiobook was recorded on a wax cylinder. If you’re still with me, you’ll definitely want get this file more workable – in which case you will need to do the following:

1. Download and install a free piece of software called Free WMA to MP3 Converter 1.16

2. Download and install a free piece of software called 7-Zip 4.65 |

3. Create a new folder and put a copy of the WMD file in there.

4. Right clicking on that file should, if you’ve installed 7-Zip, allow you to “Extract files…”, do that.

5. After processing, your folder should be filled with 18 WMA files (that’s the audiobook) and some other junk which you can dispense with.

6. Run those 18 WMA files through Free WMA to MP3 Converter and you should now have 18 MP3 files – and you can delete the WMAs.

At this point you can pretty much takeover, I assume. Myself, I like to run most multi-MP3 audiobooks through iPod Audio Book Converter, that way I can make one big M4B file that is bookmarkable in iTunes.

Good luck!

SIMPLY AUDIOBOOKS - The Mysterious Affair At Styles by Agatha Christie The Mysterious Affair At Styles
By Agatha Christie; Read by Stan Winiarski
1 WMD File – Approx. 4 Hours 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simply Audiobooks Publishing
Published: 2008
Agatha Christie’s first novel introduces the legendary Hercule Poirot, his friend Captain Arthur Hastings, and the Chief Inspector Japp. Match wits with the master detective to unravel the complexity of clues and point a fateful finger at the real murderer, from among a stunning, cunning cast of candidates. *Only Available in the US and Canada

Posted by Jesse Willis

CBC Radio’s The Mystery Project: Midnight Cab by James W. Nichol

Aural Noir: Online Audio

Midnight Cab

The 1990s was full of mystery in Canada. Weekday broadcasts on CBC Radio featured more than a dozen detectives in fully dramatized mysteries. This was a result of The Mystery Project. Perhaps the most listened to series under this banner was Midnight Cab, a half-hour mystery show about a 19 year old Toronto cab driver named Walker Devereaux. Here’s what Thrilling Detective has to say about Midnight Cab:

One of the best series airing as part of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s The Mystery Project is Midnight Cab, which was aired in three runs of 13 episodes, 9 episodes, and 13 episodes (making a total of 35 episodes for the series).

…

The show starred David Ferry as WALKER DEVEREAUX, a young man, rather gullible and naive, from Bear River (north of Lake Superior) who comes to Toronto in order to become an author and winds up driving a cab on the midnight shift. From the start, he keeps running into problems (such as that body that someone left in the trunk of his cab), and he solves the mysteries with the help of his girlfriend, wheelchair-bound Krista Papadopoulos (who dispatches cabs), Alfonso Piatelli (his boss), and Metro Police Inspector Wilfred Kiss (a friendly homicide cop). Each episode is fairly self-contained, but the series builds on its past episodes as well, so we see Walker’s developing relationship with Krista, his coming to terms with the big city, etc.

Here’s the entire run…

Season 1:

Season 1 – Episode 01 – The Mystery Of The Blue-Eyed Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: November 14, 1992
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: March 1997
ISBN: 0886469295
Provider: Radio Mensa
On his way to pick up his first fare, Walker finds a body in the trunk of his car.

Season 1 – Episode 02 – The Mystery Of 22 Crier Drive
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: November 21, 1992
Provider: Radio Mensa
Walker Devereaux, a 19-year-old aspiring writer, takes a job driving a cab. Lovable and intelligent by naïve, he stumbles on a succession of mysteries while working the graveyard shift. Unfortunately he is an amateur detective who can’t stop stumbling into trouble on Toronto’s dark side.

Season 1 – Episode 03 – The Mystery Of The Horse-Faced Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: November 28, 1992
Provider: Radio Mensa
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: December 1999
ISBN: 0886469856
A street freak gives Devereaux a present that stirs up Alphonso’s past. Where is he hiding out?

Season 1 – Episode 04 – The Mystery Of The Motherless Child
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: December 5, 1992
Provider: Radio Mensa
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: December 1999
ISBN: 0886469856
Julie Swenson comes to Toronto in search of her birth mother, but feels strange about her when they meet. Walker wants to help Julie, but it always seems to be too late.

Season 1 – Episode 05 – The Mystery Of The Falling Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: December 12, 1992
Provider: Radio Mensa
Walker Devereaux, a 19-year-old aspiring writer, takes a job driving a cab. Lovable and intelligent but naïve, he stumbles on a succession of mysteries while working the graveyard shift. Unfortunately he is an amateur detective who can’t stop stumbling into trouble on Toronto’s dark side.

Season 1 – Episode 06 – The Mystery Of The Face In The Window
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: December 19, 1992
Provider: Radio Mensa
A strange note appears in the glass donation ball of a mall Santa Claus. Cabbie Walker Devereaux, caught up by more than the spirit of the season, searches for the child who wrote the message and uncovers a much larger mystery.

Season 1 – Episode 07 – The Mystery Of The Child Holding A Dove
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: December 26, 1992
Provider: Radio Mensa
A beaten woman stays over at Devereaux’s. She’s evasive because of an art theft and murder.

Season 1 – Episode 08 – The Mystery Of The Outdoorsman
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 2, 1993
Provider: Radio Mensa
Back in Big River, a chance meeting leads to the truth about Devereaux’s father’s death.

Season 1 – Episode 09 – The Mystery Of The Screaming Woman
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 9, 1993
Provider: Radio Mensa

Season 1 – Episode 10 – The Mystery Of The Drowning Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 16, 1993
Provider: Radio Mensa

Season 1 – Episode 11 – The Mystery Of The Friendless Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 23, 1993
Provider: Radio Mensa

Season 1 – Episode 12 – The Mystery Of The Vanishing Cab
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 30, 1993
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 1 – Episode 13 – The Mystery Of The Great Escape
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 6, 1993
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2:

Season 2 – Episode 01 – The Mystery Of The Silver Rings
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: December 8, 1993
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2 – Episode 02 – The Mystery Of The Great Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: December 15, 1993
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: January 2000
ISBN: 0886469945
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2 – Episode 03 – The Mystery Of The Locked Room
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 5, 1994
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: January 2000
ISBN: 0886469945
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2 – Episode 04 – The Mystery Of The Screaming Kettle
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 12, 1994
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2 – Episode 05 – The Mystery Of The Lost Child
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 19, 1994
Released: 2009
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com
This time a passenger takes Devereaux for a ride – into murder. A brutal kidnapping went wrong years ago, so two screwups try again on a bone-chilling night in Toronto.

Season 2 – Episode 06 – The Mystery Of The Family Portrait
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3|- Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 26, 1994
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2 – Episode 07 – The Mystery Of The Red-Headed Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 2, 1994
Released: 2009
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com
Devereaux’s best friend hooks up with a woman on the run. Can he uncover her dirty, deadly secrets fast enough to stop a killer?

Season 2 – Episode 08 – The Mystery Of The Perfect Daughter
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 12, 1994
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: December 1999
ISBN: 155204629X
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 2 – Episode 09 – The Mystery Of The Unsolicited Manuscript
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 19, 1994
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: December 1999
ISBN: 155204629X
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3:

Season 3 – Episode 01 – The Mystery Of The White-Eyed Cat
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 6, 1996
Publisher: DH Audio / Paperback Audio
Published: July 2000
ISBN: 1552046443
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 02 – The Mystery Of The Unfit Mother
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 13, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 03 – The Mystery Of The Secret Letters
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 20, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 04 – The Mystery Of The Long Lost Brother
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: January 27, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 05 – The Mystery Of The Back Door Key
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 3, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 06 – The Mystery Of The Hidden Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 10, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 07 – The Mystery Of The Olde Tyme Piano
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 17, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 08 – The Mystery Of The Angry Son
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: February 24, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 09 – The Mystery Of The Desperate Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: March 2, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 10 – The Mystery Of The Woman in Black
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: March 9, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 11 – The Mystery Of The Wounded Poem
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: March 16, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 12 – The Mystery Of The Laughing Clock
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: March 23, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Season 3 – Episode 13 – The Mystery Of The Soft-Hearted Man
By James W. Nichol; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBC Radio
Broadcast: March 30, 1996
Provider: EnteringTheMindsEye.com

Midnight Cab, the novel:

Midnight Cab
By James W. Nichol; Read by Scott Brick
9 CDs, 8 Cassettes or 1 MP3-CD – Approx. 11.7 hrs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: February 2005
ISBN: 9780786179923 (cd), 0786130121 (cassette), 0786182016 (mp3-cd)
In what serves as a sort of prequel to the series, Walker arrives in Toronto, intent on tracking down the parents who abandoned him. At the cab company where he works, Walker befriends the night dispatcher, Krista, a pretty, brave young woman. Wheelchair bound but resourceful, she helps him crack the code of his parents’ identity. But the quest to discover his mother’s whereabouts swiftly becomes perilous as Walker finds himself within the deadly grasp of Bobby, a young sociopath who has matured from early cruelty to murderous pleasure.

[via Radio Mensa and EnteringTheMindsEye.com]

Posted by Jesse Willis

P.S. CBC is still sitting on J. Michael Straczynski’s only radio drama series!

Aural Noir Review of Dimiter by William Peter Blatty

Aural Noir: Review

Dimiter
By William Peter Blatty; Read by William Peter Blatty
8 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: 2010
Themes: / Thriller / Religion / Christianity / Espionage /

In 1973 a nameless prisoner is being tortured in an Albanian prison, where “grace and hope had never touched.” Colonel Vlora, known as “The Interrogator,” is frustrated and mystified by a man they have come to call The Prisoner because they cannot even make him speak. Is he an American spy, Paul Dimiter, known as the “agent from hell?” The solution to this stalemate while expected on one level is a complete surprise on another. This turns out to be emblematic of William Blatty’s book. Part 1 is an appropriate foretaste of this complex, suspenseful, and fast paced thriller.

The scene shifts to Jerusalem where we meet Moses Mayo, a neurologist, who is investigating a series of seemingly natural deaths that are nevertheless linked. He also is plagued by a gruesome murder, reports of apparitions and mysterious miraculous healings. We also meet Mayo’s life-long friend, Peter Meral, an Arab Christian, who is a police detective. Among other things, Meral is investigating a strange car explosion and the mysterious disappearance of the men involved, a CIA cover-up, and a body found at the Tomb of Christ.

The body count climbs and complications arise from the interweaving of all the events. This sounds somewhat like a standard thriller, however, it is anything but. We know the deaths are real but what about the reported miracles? Is everything really connected and, if so, what could possibly be the logical link? The solution is not only surprising but also provides an extremely moving moment of redemption.

Dimiter‘s suspense keeps the listener fascinated while also raising it above the ordinary by not being afraid to have characters who care about spiritual searching, loss, redemption, and love. The spiritual element will make this work especially interesting to those who are drawn to themes that investigate good versus evil. This is not an element that should surprise those who remember that Blatty is the author of the justly famous horror novel The Exorcist. Although this novel is strictly in the thriller vein, I must admit that I did find the torture scenes rather horrific and did fast forward through a few of them.

The author narrates his work and does such an effective job that I often forgot I was not listening to a professional voice talent. The only downfall was that during fast-paced scenes with more than two male characters, such as CIA interrogations, there was not enough differentiation between all the voices to make it easy to tell when dialogue shifted from one person to another. This was not a huge problem but it did require me to back up a couple of times until I figured out the tempo. Otherwise, William Blatty’s reading was a sheer pleasure, especially in voicing his more eccentric characters who he brought to life in a most vivid fashion.

Highly recommended.

Posted by Julie D.