Online Audio – Page 212

SFFaudio Challenge title: Space Viking by H. Beam Piper

SFFaudio Online Audio

SFFaudio’s Make An Audiobook Win An Audiobook Challenge #2 With almost no warning comes the latest title to be completed in the Second Annual SFFaudio Challenge…

The federation has collapsed, and now a savage barbarian commands the mighty starship Enterprise. He and his crew have looted a thousand worlds! Can anyone stop the SPACE VIKING?

No, it isn’t the latest mirror universe Star Trek adventure, this is a terrifically titled H. Beam Piper novel called SPACE VIKING, a brand new FREE AUDIOBOOK of unsurpassed quality. It is available for direct download or podcast listening.

We owe this edition to a man who more than anyone else in the audiobook field is becoming the voice of vintage Science Fiction. There are many others expanding the free library of Science Fiction audiobooks, but none so much, and dare I say it, none so well, as MARK DOUGLAS NELSON.

Nelson records in an absolutely silent and echoless environment. His pronunciation is nearly always dead-on. He comes from the ‘straight reading’ school of audiobook narration. Character voices aren’t radically different from the narrative voice – which preserves the neutral interpretive value of the original text. On the other hand, Nelson’s characters voices are tinged with whatever distinguishment the text attributes them (gender, age, accent), which makes it easy to tell who’s talking. Check it out, FREE listening, for everone from old berserkers to young maidens…

Space Viking
By H. Beam Piper; Read by Mark Douglas Nelson
10 Zipped MP3s or Podcast – Approx. 7.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 6th 2008
A galactic war has left the Terran Federation in ruins. Formerly civilized planets have decivilized into barbarism. Space Vikings roam the wreckage, plundering and killing for gain. Lord Lucas Trask of Traskon was no admirer of the Space Vikings, but when murder takes his wife on his wedding day, Trask trades everything he has for his own Space Viking ship and sets out on a galaxy-wide quest for revenge.

Here’s the podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/space-viking-by-h-beam-piper.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

Orson Scott Card Selects #5 – Protector by Larry Niven

SFFaudio Online Audio

Orson Scott Card’s September essay is available over on Audible.com. His subject this month is Larry Niven’s Protector!

“Larry Niven spews out incredible ideas the way other writers spew out commas and periods”

You can check it out on the site itself, or simply listen direct |MP3|. Protector isn’t just one of Larry Niven’s finest novels, it is one of the finest novels in all of SF. Check out our review of the audiobook version HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs

SFFaudio Online Audio

Hot on the heels of the first book in the series, and read by the same narrator, comes The People That Time Forgot. This is another of the short Edgar Rice Burroughs novels that are more and more frequently being added to the LibriVox catalogue of public domain audiobooks.

I’m thinking that it’s about time that LibriVox’s founder, Hugh McGuire, was appointed to the senate. If there is no immediate opening in the senate, we should at least get the nomination papers in for his well deserved appointment to the Order of Canada. Who’s with me on this?

The People That Time Forgot
By Edgar Rice Burroughs; Read by Ralph Snelson
7 Zipped MP3s or Podcast – 3 Hours 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: September 2008
The People that Time Forgot is a science fiction novel, the second of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Caspak” trilogy. The first novel ended with the hero writing a manuscript of his adventures and casting it out to sea in his thermos bottle. The second novel begins with the finding of the manuscript and the organization of a rescue expedition. (summary adapted from Wikipedia)

Get this free audiobook with this feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-people-that-time-forgot-by-edgar-rice-burroughs.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7: The Scarifyers – The Nazad Conspiracy

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Scarifyers: The Nazad Conspiracy (2006)
3 episodes beginning on Sunday, September 7 at 1800GMT
Starring Nicholas Courtney and Terry Molloy
Written and directed by Simon Barnard
Produced by Cosmic Hobo Productions

Detective Inspector Lionheart, veteran (don’t say old!) crime-fighter based at Whitechapel police station, and Edward Dunning, professor of Ancient History at London University (and prolific writer of ghost stories), become, somewhat unwittingly, paranormal investigators for the “very new” MI-13.

Dunning & Lionheart Aided by, among others, Aleister Crowley, “the wickedest man in the world,” Lionheart and Dunning must follow enigmatic and often ghastly clues, infiltrate mysterious secret cults and foil the darkest of diabolical plots against England and humanity.

But not without a grand sense of British humor. The Scarifyers, set in the late 1930’s, combines deadpan wit and Lovecraftian themes with the result being nothing short of hilarious. The writing is charming, delicious, surprising and never cornball, and the character performances are superb. Indeed, it’s my favorite audio play series in years.

The Nazad Conspiracy is the first Scarifyers adventure.

Christmas 1936.

Professor Dunning (Terry Molloy) doesn’t believe in the supernatural. So he’s more than surprised when an invisible winged demon appears in his drawing room.

The Metropolitan Police’s longest-serving officer, Inspector Lionheart (Nicholas Courtney), doesn’t believe in the supernatural either, wings or no wings. So he’s less than impressed when Russian emigres begin dying impossible deaths all over London.

Together, Lionheart and Dunning must face quarrelsome Generals, sinister clowns and Russian demons as they unravel THE NAZAD CONSPIRACY.

The first episode of The Nazad Conspiracy will air on Sunday, September 7 at 1800GMT in the 7th Dimension time slots. Episodes 2 and 3 will follow on consecutive Sundays. Listen to the trailer for the show here.

The Scarifyers is produced by Cosmic Hobo Productions and stars Nicholas Courtney as Lionheart and Terry Molloy as Dunning. Many will remember Courtney as Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (The Brigadier), and Molloy as Davros (creator of the evil Daleks), both from the Doctor Who TV series (and the occasional Big Finish production). Also, David Benson, “man of a thousand voices,” appears as the reoccurring character, Aleister Crowley, always giving a memorable and “spirited” performance.

For more information about The Scarifyers, including actor bios, character and story info, announcements, downloadable content, and series ordering info –3 adventures so far: The Nazad Conspiracy, The Devil of Denge Marsh (2007) & For King and Country (2008)– be sure to stop by the Cosmic Hobo Productions website.

And if you want to hear the best radio show theme song since Dick Barton: Special Agent, check out The Scarifyers theme by Edwin Sykes here!

Posted by RC of RTSF

Five Free Favourites #8

SFFaudio Online Audio

I’m Scott Danielson, and I’m currently not under investigation for a single impropriety. I’m one of the original members of the team here, and am the Reviews Editor. I love a great novel read by a great narrator – can’t get enough – and I also love great audio drama. Most of my listening time is spent with commercial audiobooks, and below are some of my favourites amongst the high-quality stuff I’ve found on the web for free.

Five Free Favourites

1.
Krulwich on Science (NPR)
In a highly entertaining and wonderfully sounding manner, Robert Krulwich covers the world of science at the rate of one story per month. As a sample, I picked a story called “Lucy’s Laugh Enlivens the Solar System”, which is about what really happens to the radio noise we humans pump out into space. Find it here and enjoy!

2.
The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate by Ted Chaing (StarShipSofa)
Jesse picked this one in his first Five Free Favourites, but I simply can’t help picking it again. Ted Chiang is easily my favorite active short fiction writer. Highest on my audio wishlist is a well-narrated version of Stories of Your Life and Others. This story is well-narrated, with James Campanella performing. Go get it here.

3.
The 43 Antarean Dynasties by Mike Resnick (Escape Pod Episode 101)
I haven’t subscribed to Escape Pod for a while, because I simply don’t have the time to keep up with all the audio fiction being published nowadays, but I always keep my eye on them and grab stories that interest me. “The 43 Antarean Dynasties” by Mike Resnick is an absolute gem about some self-centered humans taking a tour of an alien site. Steven Burley and Gregg Taylor of the Decoder Ring Theatre turn in a fine narration. Find this one here.

4.
A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman (Audible.com)
Neil Gaiman is an example of an author who does an excellent job reading his own material. This story won a Hugo Award and is available at no cost through Audible. Sherlock Holmes, Cthulhu, Neil Gaiman… what are you waiting for? Find it here.

5.
Earshot! by Audiofile Magazine (podcast)
Earshot is a great way to keep up with what’s hot in the audiobook world as a whole (not just science fiction and fantasy). The daily short excerpts, provided by Audiofile Magazine help me discover new narrators and new audiobooks. Find the podcast here.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson