Review of Nightmares on Congress Street Part IV

SFFaudio Review

Horror Audiobook - Nightmares on Congress Street 4Nightmares on Congress Street Part IV
by Various, performed by the Rocky Coast Radio Theatre
1 MP3-CD – 2 Hours 35 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Paperback Digital
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1584390069
Themes: / Horror / Poetry / Zombies / Poe / Cremation /

“Nightmares on Congress Street” is a radio show that has been broadcast each Halloween Eve since 2001. This is “Part IV” because it’s a recording of the 4th annual broadcast. It’s not “Part IV” in the sense that you need to run out and find parts I-III before listening to this one. As far as I know, they aren’t available. The shows are recorded by a group of theatrical professionals from the Portland, ME area, and are broadcast on Maine Public Radio.

It’s rare that I hear something modern that captures the spirit of Halloween. Sure, there’s some scary stuff out there, and some funny scary stuff out there, but “Nightmares on Congress Street” really catches the fun spirit of Halloween. There are scares and laughs in good measure throughout, and you’d be hard-pressed to find better production quality anywhere.

Included here are six productions:

The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
A mummified monkey’s paw seems to grant wishes, but, as always, a person should be careful what he wishes for.

The Cremation Of Sam McGee by Robert W. Service
The cover doesn’t list who does which part, but the actor who performed this horror poem was just fabulous. The poem tell the story of Sam McGee, who stumbles into the camp of a cowboy, and who asks that cowboy to make sure to cremate him if he dies.

The Cabin in the Woods by Clay T. Graybeal
A bunch of folks go to a cabin to spend some time, but doesn’t that plant outside look like someone we know? Ridiculous.

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
One of the finest renditions of this Poe classic that I’ve ever heard.
The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled –but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity.
And punish he does. Bravo to the actors on this one.

The Librarian by Rhonda Carlson
This piece is done by Rhonda Carlson, Rocky Coast Radio Theatre’s composer. Delightful mayhem, this one.

The Horror of Walker Point by Anthony S. Marino
This one is an excellent tale right out of George Romero’s playbook. It is performed in a kind of “War of the Worlds” style – regular programming is interrupted for important news about a chemical spill. As more and more people are affected by these chemicals, the newscasters bravely stay on the air.

I thoroughly enjoyed this production, and am eager to hear this year’s show!

You can get this title at Paperback Digital, Audible, and at Tantor.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

A brand new podcast has willed itself into exist…

A brand new podcast has willed itself into existence. It has an eminently logical premise and this makes me think it’s argument will be quite sound. If you’re skeptical you can validate this for yourself by checking it out…

The Sci Phi Show is a podcast dedicated to philosophy in Science Fiction. In my experience it wasn’t until very recently that most professional philosophers realized that philosophical content was actually to be found in science fiction literature. It has only the spate of recent films based on Philip K. Dick novels and The Matrix that have changed this.

You can visit The Sci Phi Show‘s website HERE. It doesn’t turn up on an iTunes search yet but hopefully that will change very soon.

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases

New Releases

Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan, read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer, Unabridged, Audio Renaissance
Volume 11 in the Wheel of Time fantasy series.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, read by Michael York, Unabridged, Harper Audio
This one’s a movie tie-in – Narnia comes out in December.

Mazer in Prison by Orson Scott Card, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show
A new Enderverse story! See the SFFAudio Review here.

Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs, Unabridged, Harper Audio
Also released by Harper Audio, a biography of the author of the Narnia books.

Redwall by Brian Jacques, read by a Full Cast, Unabridged, Random House Audio
A re-issue of a very highly regarded YA audio production. A few of the productions in the Redwall series have won Audies for one thing or another.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Blackstone Audio
Also includes Bradbury’s dinosaur/time-travel short story “A Sound Of Thunder“, which was made into a film that will be released later this year, I believe.

To be included in our monthly New Releases post, contact Scott or Jesse and we’d be happy to include your audio, as long as it is genre-related.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of Mazer in Prison by Orson Scott Card

Science Fiction Audiobook - Mazer in Prison by Orson Scott CardMazer In Prison
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
1 MP3 FILE – 1 Hour 2 Minutes 10 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show
Published: Oct. 15th 2005
Themes: / Science Fiction / Spaceships / War /

Prolific science fiction author Orson Scott Card has launched a new online fiction magazine entitled Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, the first issue of which includes an audio edition of Mazer In Prison, a terrific short story set in the “Enderverse” (stories that have sprung from the novel Ender’s Game). But before I tell you how much I liked this story… I’ll have to tell you my biggest concern about it – you shouldn’t read this story before you’ve read either Ender’s Game or Ender’s Shadow if you do you are in for spoilers. Now on to the spoilers….

IGMS LogoTrapped aboard a tiny starship traveling near lightspeed on a parabolic course designed to preserve him for a future battle Admiral Mazer Rackam, hero of the Bugger war, uses all the weapons he has to fight the most insidious enemy of them all – Earth’s bureaucracy. This is a neat little branch off of the Ender’s Game tree. Card knows how to write canny characters who even when they guess wrong guess smartly. The events of this tale happen before both Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow (two novels which mirror each other) what is particularly neat about this tale is that it “fills in the corners” as the Hobbits say, giving us just that much more of a delicious dish we so enjoyed. Hopefully this will be the first of many audio delectables coming from Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show.

And hopefully will we see reader Stefan Rudnicki reading them. Rudnicki, who is ably helming the Audio Renaissance’s series of audiobooks set in the “Enderverse” also reads Mazer In Prison in the convivial way he reads every audiobook. He’s scary in the scary bits and cute in the cute bits. Mazer In Prison is a cool story well told.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Wild Magic (The Immortals, Book 1) by Tamora Pierce

Fantasy Audiobooks - Wild Magic by Tamora PierceWild Magic (The Immortals, Book 1)
by Tamora Pierce, read by Full Cast Audio
8 CDs – 8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1932076832
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / Wizardry / Youth / Magical Creatures / Horses /

In Wild Magic’s Book One: The Immortals, Tamora Pierce has created a cast of strong women and made a world in which they fit naturally. The whole book takes place from the point of view of Diane (Carmen Viviano-Crafts), a young girl escaping from a dark secret in the highlands. Daine hires on with a horsetrader, Ouna (Raquel Starace) How delightful to meet a female horsetrader in a fantasy novel. Too often, such strong female characters overplay their roles but each of the characters in Wild Magic seems balanced and very real. So it troubles me that I felt like Ms. Pierce was playing games by withholding information that Daine surely knew, especially because she does such a delightful job at inviting me into Daine’s thoughts.

I do not mind the tension she tried to create by keeping Daine’s “dark secret” from me at the beginning, but after a time, it began to wear on me. I spent chapters hearing Daine’s thoughts about how she had to escape her past, without ever knowing what that past was. I finally discovered that she had gone mad and was afraid that it would happen again. Once I knew that, I was able to really worry with Daine. But poor Daine wouldn’t tell her friends what was bothering her. While I can understand her reluctance, as the book continued she was given no reason to continue hiding her secret and plenty of reasons to ask for help. When she finally does reveal her past in all its gory detail, Numair the Mage, basically says, “Oh, well I can fix that.” And does, in two sentences.

So, after all of that build up, Daine’s problem is solved with, almost literally, the wave of a magic wand.

In a similar vein, I listened to paragraphs of buildup as something was attacking the band of travellers over the water without having a clue about what it was. I knew everyone was preparing for an attack. I knew people were frightened, but I had no idea why. It turned out to be a gryphon that Daine was able to befriend.

With that said, the world of Wild Magic is fascinating. I am curious about which of the threads in this volume will carry over to the next books. Many of the scenes were resonant with emotion, I just wish I hadn’t had to guess what was happening in so many of the others.

Full Cast Audio does a fantastic job of bringing Ms. Pierce’s book to audio life. In particular, I need to note Daniel Bostick who played Numair the Mage. His voice built pictures in my head every time his character spoke.

Posted by Mary Robinette Kowal