Audio Drama – Page 38

SSOC #022 featured Voice Of The Bloodstained God by Fred Blosser

SFFaudio News

Dark Horse comics has been releasing affordable phone book sized collections of the old Savage Sword Of Conan stories for a few years now. I’ve got a couple of them. That got me flipping through my old back issues, and in so doing noticing just how much content isn’t in the reprints. What is mostly missing is the bonus material: the pinups, maps, photo-essays, letters columns and of course all the ads. But just today I noticed that SSOC #22 has something I’d never seen in it, at least not with SFFaudio eyes, before. Check out this review, by Fred Blosser, of this vintage 1976 LP entitled Conan: The Bloodstained God/The Curse of the Monolith:

Voice Of The Bloodstained God by Fred Blosser

Here’s an excerpt:

The Renaissance Man of fantasy fiction.

So one might describe L. Sprague de Camp.

Novelist, essayist, world traveller, engineer, poet, collegiate fencer, popularizer of science and history. You name it, and de Camp has probably done it. To Conan fans, de Camp perhaps is most familiar as the writer who continued and expanded the saga of the mighty Cimmerian after the death of Robert E. Howard. Whatever one thinks of this work – and opinions differ – it still is difficult to deny the importance of de Camp in the genre. Recently, in association with II Vermont-based studio called Moondance Productions. Inc” de Camp took microphone in hand to essay a new role – that of oral storyteller.

The result? A new record album titled. simply. Robert E. Howard’s Conan. Featuring L. Sprague de Camp. In his liner notes, Moondance producer Alan B. Goldstein calls the LP “an historic event … the first recorded Conan story by a living author of the Conan literature.” Actually, the record contains dramatic readings of not one, but two stories. But Goldstein may well be correct about the “historic” part. At least where Conanophiles are concerned.

Side one of the LP features “The Bloodstained God,” a riproaring talc in which Conan tangles with human and demonic foes while searching for a long- lost idol of gemencrusted gold. “The Curse of the Monolith,” on side two, brings the Cimmerian up against a Hyborian Age version of the Blob while on another treasure hunt. Both yams were co-authored by deCamp- “Monolith” in collaboration with Lin Carter, “God” as a rewrite of a non-fantasy Howard swashbuckler collected in The Swords of Shahrazar (FAX, 1976) as “The Curse of the Crimson God.”

How does de Camp fare on vinyl? Very well. I think. He gives the stories a careful, unhurried reading that most listeners should find appealing. His interpretation of the various voices is also fine. I liked the surly growl that he gives Conan , and the singsong inflections for the Oriental characters.

The sound effects and music blend in nicely with the narration, indicating that a lot of technical work went into the album. “The Bloodstained God” in particular provides a field day for the special effects crew. Swords c lash, hoofbeats clop on Slone, men yell in horror as they are pitched into bottomless chasms. There’s even the creaking of a living statue climbing down from its pedestal in search of prey! These effects provide a keen sense of realism without interfering a bit with de Camp’s storytelling.

In short, if you liked Moondance’s first Conan LP (a dramatization of “The Frost Giant’s Daughter” and “The Tower of the Elephant.” reviewed in SSOC #11), you’ll find more of the same here. With of course, the added novelty of de Camp’s performance.

The LP was a limited edition printing (1500 copies made) and contained two abridged short stories with music/quasi-sound effects. I’ve never reviewed it, not being a huge fan of dramatized readings, but it is certainly interesting.

Conan: The Bloodstained God/The Curse of the Monolith
By Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter; Read by L. Sprague de Camp
1 33 1/3 RPM LP – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Moondance Productions
Published: 1976

On the other hand I do heartily recommend the two Conan audio dramas produced by Moondance that were, apparently, reviewed in SSOC #11 (I’ll try to find my copy of that issue).

Robert E. Howard’s Conan – The Tower Of The Elephant & The Frost Giant’s Daughter
Adapted by Roy Thomas & Alan B. Goldstein; Performed by a FULL CAST
33 1/3 RPM LP – Approx. 46 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMATIZATION]
Publisher: Moondance Productions
Published: 1975
|READ OUR REVIEW|

Posted by Jesse Willis

X-Minus One: The Lifeboat Mutiny by Robert Sheckley

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Lifeboat Mutiny is a part of Robert Sheckley’s “AAA Ace Series.” The series has eight stories, each involving two partners in the far future encountering various unusual problems. One fan on LibraryThing described the series as being about “two of the unluckiest fellas who ever set out to make a fortune” – I’m still exploring the series, but I note that some non-AAA Ace Sheckley stories also seem to fit into that category – stories like Warrior Race and Untouched By Human Hands!

I find X-Minus One’s shows to be very hit or miss, but this Robert Sheckley story completely works. In fact, I’ve used the script for The Lifeboat Mutiny in school. Kids love it, adults love it. My only nit-pick with this adaptation is that the actor playing the lifeboat is not nearly emotional enough – he totally underplays the scripted dialogue – when I do this part, I always play the lifeboat as highly emotional.

X-Minus One – The Lifeboat Mutiny
Based on the story by Robert Sheckley; Adapted by Ernest Kinoy; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 28 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: NBC Radio
Broadcast: September 11, 1956
Provider: Archive.org
Two planetary surveyors purchase a second-hand lifeboat to survey a water planet not knowing that the ship contains an artificial intelligence created for a war five hundred years in the past.

First published in Galaxy Science Fiction’s 1955 issue with an illustration by Kossin:

Galaxy Magazine - April 1955 - The Lifeboat Mutiny by Robert Sheckley

Galaxy April 1955 - The Lifeboat Mutiny - Illustration by Kossin

Here’s The Middlebury Radio Theater‘s recording of the script too:

The Lifeboat Mutiny
Based on the story by Robert Sheckley; Adapted by Ernest Kinoy; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: The Middlebury Radio Theater Of Thrills And Suspense
Podcast: February 5, 2011

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #107

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #107 – Scott, and Jesse talk about new audiobooks, recent arrivals, new releases, the theatre and and comics too!

Talked about on today’s show:
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Pride And Prejudice, Charlie’s Aunt, 1776, John Hancock, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, David McCullough, Penguin Audio, Across The Universe by Beth Revis, generation ship, murder, “earth is nowhere new the final frontier”?, Hamlet, A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness, “he loves yoga and he’s a vampire?”, history, wine, the multiple meanings of discovery, Christopher Columbus DID (in a sense) discover North America, uncover vs. discovery, WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer |READ OUR REVIEW|, “mining the same ideas” in a trilogy, Seth Wilson, Spirit Blade a christian audio drama, Pilgrim’s Progress |READ OUR REVIEW|, comicbookjesus.com’s review, An Accidental Adventure: We Are Not Eaten By Yaks by C. Alexander London, Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz, GoodReads.com, Ranger’s Apprentice: Book 10 – The Emperor Of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan, the Ranger’s Apprentice Wiki, The Lord Of The Rings, Blackstone Audio, Sweep: The Coven by Cate Tiernan, Dreamhouse Kings: Book 6 – Frenzy by Robert Liparulo, Aural Noir, Silent Mercy by Linda Fairstein, the Alex Cooper series, series Crime/Mystery vs. series Fantasy/Science Fiction, Sue Grafton, Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, SFSignal.com’s Which SciFi Series Should You Watch on NetFlix? This Handy Flowchart Will Help You Decide!, Night Vision by Randy Wayne White, the extremely negative reviews on Amazon.com, When The Thrill Is Gone by Walter Mosley, Blue Light, Futureland, John DeNardo’s review of Blue Light, Bell Air Dead by Stuart Woods, Strategic Moves by Stuart Woods, “Stuart Woods is a writing machine”, Richard Ferrone, Tamahome got bogged down in the Martian sand (of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars), Buried Prey by John Sanford, kidnapping, “this dude has other dudes as well”, the Virgil Flowers series, Bad Blood, the next readalong is 361 by Donald E. Westlake, Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell, the Kay Scarpetta series, forensic detection, Kathy Reichs, Bones, new releases, Hachette Audio, Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks, space opera, Coruscant, extremely detailed strange stuff, Audible.com, Recorded Books, Glasshouse by Charles Stross, Hard Magic: Book I of the Grimnoir Chronicles by Larry Correia, Audible Frontiers, Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia, Second Variety and Other Stories by Philip K. Dick, William Coon, The Most Dangerous Game, The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick, Buffalito Destiny, David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers series, military SF, The Collected Stories Of Arthur C. Clarke Vol. 5, Bronson Pinchot, The Alchemy of Desire by Crista McHugh, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (translated into Danish), The Stress Of Her Regard by Tim Powers, The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson, Orion And The King by Ben Bova, The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez, robot detective vs. femme fatale, “satisfying conclusion, clever, twisty, fast” = good, Monster: A Novel, Divine Misfortune, The Stainless Steel Rat Book 8, Too Many Curses, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, Criminal: Bad Night by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 2 by Alan Moore, Listening For The League’s Gentlemen, Mars, aliens, H.G.Wells, The War Of The Worlds, Allan Quatermain, Bongo Comics, The Simpsons, Baltimore, Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Fafhrd And The Gray Mouser, Civil War Adventure, Locke & Key, Blair Butler, Joe Hill, TV version of Locke & Key, DMZ, Brian Wood, Fables, Y: The Last Man, The Boys: Highland Laddie, Garth Ennis, 361 by Donald E. Westlake, Hard Case Crime, Charles Ardai, Memory by Donald E. Westlake, The Comedy Is Finished by Donald E. Westlake, The King Of Comedy, Getting Off by Lawrence Block, James M. Cain, David Morrell, Stephen King, John D. MacDonald.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Radio Drama Revival: Moon Graffiti

SFFaudio Online Audio

Radio Drama Revival‘s Episode #221 features a short, but very moving, audio dramatization called Moon Graffiti. It depicts what might have happened one clear summer night in July, 1969. It is followed by an interview with Jonathan Mitchell, its producer.

|MP3|

“That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.” We all know the quote, the triumphant story. It seems written in stone. But Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong came within inches of tragedy when they landed Apollo 11. Moon Graffiti imagines what it might have sounded like if things had gone a little differently. Based on a contingency speech written by William Safire for Richard Nixon titled “In the Event of Moon Disaster.”

Produced by Jonathan Mitchell
Edited by Hillary Frank

Cast:
Matt Evans as Neil Armstrong
Ed Herbstman as Buzz Aldrin
John Ottavino as Richard Nixon

Posted by Jesse Willis

Gregg Taylor – the underappreciated genius of Decoder Ring Theatre

SFFaudio Commentary

Gregg Taylor, the creator and writer of Decoder Ring Theatre, is a creative genius, the quality and scope for which we have seen very few before. He is writer of genuine superbness, on the level of J. Michael Straczynski and Rod Serling. But unlike Straczynski, who wrote 92 of the 110 episodes of Babylon 5, and unlike Serling, who wrote 92 of 156 episodes of The Twilight Zone, Taylor has written 42 out of 42 episodes of Black Jack Justice and 70 out of 70 episodes of Red Panda Adventures. I don’t think there is any kind of precedent for this in the history of scripted drama, not on work of this quality or superfluity.

Battlestar Galactica, the recent TV series, ran 73 episodes. Writing credits for that show go to more that a dozen different writers. People think that Joss Whedon wrote Firefly. He did, but he didn’t do it alone. He wrote or co-wrote maybe only half the episodes of that short series. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nobody is doing anything like what Gregg Taylor is doing with scripted series, and I’m not sure anybody ever has, not on radio or TV. Taylor has, unbelievably, released a full cast production episode of both of his full cast series every two weeks, fall through to the spring, every year since 2005. That’s a stunning, stunning achievement.

I could go on and on and on. But if you just go and listen to the shows yourself I’m sure you’ll get as caught-up in them as so many fans of these independently produced shows have. Maybe start with the fairly standalone-ish episode #70 of the Red Panda Adventures |MP3|. Here’s the episode description:

There are some situations that you just can’t prepare for. You can be the cleverest mystery man on the block, there will still be days that you just never saw coming. Those are the moments that cry out for a fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty… well, you know…

The talented Thomas Perkins, who does the covers for the Red Panda novels*, created this awesome “lobby card” art for the episode:

[via Bish’s Beat]

Posted by Jesse Willis

*Yes, Gregg Taylor is writing novels set in the Red Panda world too. And no, they are not mere reworkings of the scripts – theses are true canon series novels that fit into the chronology like so many Star Trek novels written for hire never did, and like the Babylon 5 novels claimed they would.

Blackstone Audio: Grover Gardner interviews Stacy Keach

Aural Noir: Online Audio

Jeremy Brett was Sherlock Holmes and Stacy Keach is Mike Hammer. I’ll brook no arguments to dispute either claim. See, I’ve been a Stacy Keach fan since I was a kid. Sure Ralph Meeker was an absolutely terrific Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly, no question there, but that was not the defining portrayal. That started with Keach in the Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer 1984/1985 TV series. Two more Mike Hammer TV series followed, and then it propagated into several of the 1980s audiobooks (I’ve still got Keach’s reading of I, The Jury somewhere around here). So now you know why I was so excited to see that Grover Gardner, himself recently a guest on SFFaudio Podcast #093, had posted a truly engaging new interview with Stacy Keach on the Blackstone Audio blog.

They talked about Blackstone’s Kiss Her Goodbye, a new Max Allan Collins/Mickey Spillane novel, the ongoing The New Adventures Of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer (Volumes 1, 2, 3) audio drama series (which I shamefully still haven’t heard) and they even touch on Keach’s new boxing/crime/family drama TV show Lights Out in which he plays the cagey patriarch to a pair of boxer sons.

Have a listen |MP3|

Posted by Jesse Willis