Reviews – Page 140

Review of Hunting For Robin Hood by Seth Feldman

Hunting For Robin Hood
By Seth Feldman; with readings by Penelope Reed Doob
and Barry MacGregor
1 CD – Approx 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: CBC AUDIO Published: 2003
ISBN: 0660189143
Themes: / Non-Fiction / History / Mythology / Fantasy / Magic / England /

“Ballads, plays and movies tell of Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But did he really exist? Seth Feldman cavorts with a merry band of scholars searching for the still elusive outlaw.”

Hunting For Robin Hood was first produced for broadcast on CBC Radio’s long running Ideas program. Ideas has been the standard-bearer for the intellectual and scholarly radio programming for decades. One would be hard pressed in Canada, or anywhere else in the English speaking world to find a consistently more enlightening program presenting scholarly lectures and documentaries in the fields of sociology, culture, arts, geopolitics, history, biography, science, technology or the humanities in a more accessible or entertaining way. If Ideas hasn’t covered it at some point, it probably doesn’t matter. With the wide commercial release of this and other CBC Audio CDs and cassettes the ephemeral radio broadcasts are preserved, marking the beginning of some of the very best audio non-fiction programs previously available only through costly direct order from the CBC. I’ve been an avid listener to Ideas since the 1980s. The program runs weeknights between 9PM and 10PM throughout most of Canada.

Hunting For Robin Hood interviews several Robin Hood scholars who trace the origins of the popular English hero. They touch on his roots in the “Green Man” mythology, something which ties Robin Hood to the fantasy realm, why he’s such a popular hero, his outlaw mystique, and even his ties to Morris dancing! Other surprising revelations include Maid Marian’s roots as a fertility goddess and the scattered origins of the rogues’ gallery of Robin Hood villains. Production values and sound quality are of course absolutely top notch, and the CD comes in an attractive DVD style Amaray case. Highly recommended to Robin Hood fans.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold

Fantasy Audiobooks - Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold Paladin of Souls
By Lois McMaster Bujold; Read by Kate Reading
13 CDs – Approx. 15 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0786181397
Themes: / Fantasy / Religion / Magic / Demons /

Paladin of Souls is the second book in Bujold’s series involving the country of Chalion. A minor, troubled character in the first book, The Curse of Chalion, is the heroine, or the champion of souls, in this remarkable tale. Lady Ista is an intriguing forty-something lead character and is best described by her own words: “I have always been a drab sort of thing; the only thing that has improved is my wits.” She is intelligent and witty and uses these talents to deal with devastating events from her past.

The setting for this story is a medieval-style world with a polytheistic religion in which men and women choose one of five Gods, each with unique callings and characteristics, to worship. In addition to this, there are demons and demon magic creating opposition for the plot. The story centers around Ista and her relationship with the Gods. She is disillusioned with them as a result of her past involvement that had deadly and heartbreaking consequences, but is dragged kicking and screaming back into their service. She is given the tasks of rescuing souls being destroyed by demons and sorting out a deadly triangle of demon magic and deception.

As the story unfolds Ista not only finds a calling that gives her life meaning, she finds devoted friends, forgiveness, and love. Within the story are several very moving interactions between her and the Gods wherein she comes to have a deeper understanding of their plans and their love for the men and women who serve them. Bujold has composed a beautiful novel that is at once compelling, humorous, and touching. Her characters are not only heroic, but fantastically multidimensional. They are by turns noble, compassionate, selfish, stubborn… human.

The audio version of Paladin of Souls is a wonderful example of the perfect pairing of story and voice. Kate Reading sounds like royalty in every book she narrates. Some may recognize her performances with Michael Kramer in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. She also has been the primary voice of Dr. Kay Scarpetta in Patricia Cornwell’s murder mysteries. Ms. Reading’s ability to enunciate without sounding like she is working at it lends itself beautifully to Lady Ista, whom we can assume would behave and sound like a person of the ruling class. With all this said, Paladin of Souls is a step above the ordinary in fantasy literature and audiobooks. It is a delight to experience.

posted by Tricia

Review of The Worthing Saga By Orson Scott Card

The Worthing Saga
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Scott Brick
Additional Readers: Emily Card, Harlan Ellison, Aaron Johnston, Eric Luke, Corinne Melançon, Stefan Rudnicki, and Orson Scott Card.
15 CD’s – 18 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
ISBN: 0786181869
Themes: Science Fiction / Pain / Organization and Destruction / Telepathy / Space Travel

“If you try to eliminate the pain from your life, you destroy all hope of pleasure too.” This is from the character Stipock, and summarizes the main theme of the story. Like C.S. Lewis’ The Problem of Pain, Card’s work makes an interesting argument for the function of pain in our lives. Mr. Card effectively tears us from the safe, innocent comfort of Eden into an existence filled with overwhelming pain and genuine joy.

Like the author’s tales of Alvin Maker, this story explores tensions between forces that create and forces that destroy. It unfolds as a world previously spared suffering is allowed to experience pain and loss. Jason and Justice come to Flat Harbor for Lared, a boy who would write for them the story of how people had come to be spared suffering, and why that protection ended on the Day of Pain. It highlights the importance of human attachments and the destruction that comes from a society in which human relationships are sacrificed for more self-serving interests.

It had been a few years since I read the book in print, and I’d forgotten how good it is. The book is an interesting mix of stories, and like Hoom’s boats, Mr. Card fits them together “tight as a barrel”. It’s a gripping story, and after following the climax and denouement you realize, “wait, I’m only two-thirds of the way through the book!” The story of Jason and Lared ends there, but the book includes a number of stories of people living their lives in the worlds presented in The Worthing Saga. Even though the book is decades old, it could pass for being written this year. Technology advances but relationships and moral dilemmas are timeless, and both are Mr. Card’s stock in trade.

Scott Brick does a great job on the audio. I enjoyed his voice without being unduly distracted by it. Others read the later stories. None of them are unpleasant, and one of them added a great deal of personality to the story by sounding more like Jeff Foxworthy than Leonard Nimoy. Orson Scott Card himself read the introduction.

posted by Mike

Review of Timescape By Gregory Benford

Timescape
By Gregory Benford; Read by Simon Prebble and Peter Bradbury
11 Cassettes – 15.75 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Recorded Books LLC
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0788763180
Themes: / Science Fiction / Hard SF / Time Travel / Alternate History / Quantum Physics / Science / Ecology / Philosophy / Astronomy / Britain / USA /

Winner of both the Nebula Award and the John W. Campbell Awards for best science fiction novel, Timescape is an enduring classic that examines the ways that science interacts with everyday life to create the many strange worlds in which we live. In a future wracked by environmental catastrophe and social instability, physicist John Renfrew devises a longshot plan to use tachyons–strange, time-traveling particles–to send a warning to the past. In 1962, Gordon Bernstein, a California researcher, gets Renfrew’s message as a strange pattern of interference in an experiment he’s conducting. As the two men struggle to overcome both the limitations of scientific knowledge and the politics of scientific research, a larger question looms: can a new future arise from the paradox of a forewarned past? With multiple plot lines and diverse characters, Timescape offers something for all lovers of fascinating science and great fiction. Simon Prebble and Peter Bradbury combine for a narration that skillfully uncovers the mysteries beneath our understanding of the universe.

Timescape is a deep novel that explores characters, causal paradoxes, politics, history and physics over time all with equal skill. And despite the serious nature of the narrative there are even a few laughs in there! This isn’t just science fiction it is scientist fiction, that is it is fiction that shows how scientific experimentation in the modern university setting works. Benford, is himself a scientist and he doesnt dumb down the book for us amateurs. I was very surprised that I hadn’t heard how good this novel was previously. I count myself as a fairly knowledgeable fan of science fiction and yet somehow the certain fame of this novel slipped under my radar. I was pleased and surprised as Timescape approaches greatness in it’s chosen domain.

Appropriately Simon Prebble, with his English accent, reads the 1990s chapters of the novel, which are primarily set in England, while Peter Bradbury with his American accent reads the 1960s chapters, set mostly in California. This is the kind of book that was a natural for dual narration. Bradbury and Prebble are both excellent, pronouncing nearly every technical term correctly, in this hard science heavy novel that is no small feat! Recorded Books’ original cover art for this audiobook is even more evocative than the paperback and hardcover editions. Nice work RB! But it’s not all praise. First is an attribution mistake on the front cover of the audiobook, the copy reads “narrated by Simon Prebble and Peter Bradley” (it should read “Bradbury” not “Bradley”). There was also a problem plaguing my copy of Recorded Books cassette audiobooks – the sound level. It may have been only a problem with my copy, but in order to hear this audiobook I had to crank up the stereo to its maximum output level. Recorded Books does however offer to replace defective cassettes, and if the recording level were any lower I’d have to seriously consider taking them up on it. Likely this wouldnt be a factor at all with the CD version but there isn’t a CD version available at this time.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Spock vs. Q: The Sequel by Cecelia Fannon

Science Fiction Audiobooks

Spock vs. Q: The Sequel
By Cecelia Fannon; Performed by Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie
1 Cassette – Approximately 1 Hour [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Simon And Schuster Audio
Published: 2000
ISBN: 0743507029
Themes: / Star Trek / Humor /

Following their debate over the fate of mankind, Spock and Q have continued their discussions over a meal. After dining, the two return to the stage to recount their repast, which included encounters with several of Spock’s former shipmates. However, at the moment the two verbal sparring partners shake hands, a power surge places them in total darkness. Suddenly, Spock and Q are no longer on stage, but somewhere in deep space. As they struggle to determine what has happened, a curious personality change takes hold. Spock is overcome with giddy delight. Q is much more serious, even…logical.

Originally recorded in Kansas City, MO, in front of a live audience, Spock vs. Q: The Sequel was performed by Nimoy and de Lancie who have a great time sending up their Star Trek characters. It’s a sequel to, you guessed it, Spock Vs. Q. As with the original, this is a very lightweight listen and it is all about the two quirky characters. The plot may be paper thin but the laughs are real. But non-trekkies should shy away, far far away.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Unicorn Variation By Roger Zelazny

Unicorn Variation
By Roger Zelazny; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – 83 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Durkin Hayes
Published: 1995
ISBN: 0886467365
Themes: / Fantasy / Unicorns / Mythical Creatures / Chess / Angels /

Roger Zelazny wrote some of my favorite fantasies. I view him now as one of Neil Gaiman’s primary influences, as they both cover the same mythical territory in their fiction. (In fact, Neil Gaiman would be a perfect choice to pen scripts for Zelazny’s Amber novels – hint hint nudge nudge).

“Unicorn Variations” is a story from later in Zelazny’s career. In it, a man finds himself playing a chess game with a unicorn, the result of which could determine the fate of the human race. The unicorn talks quite a bit and has a sharp tongue with a dry sense of humor. The man in the story meets several mythical beasts, and they all know how to play chess, including Sasquatches, who are particularly good at it. A thoroughly enjoyable story.

“Angel, Dark Angel” is also included. It is much shorter than the cover story, and begins with a man who receives a phone call giving him the identity of a person he’s got to go meet. No more on this one – let Zelazny unfold it for you.

Rene Auberjonois is absolutely first-rate. I really enjoy his cadence and his personable tone. In the first story, he has the opportunity to use several different voices, which he does with wonderful skill, bringing the story to life as a great narrator can.

This one’s out of print – check eBay!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson