Africa – Page 3

LibriVox: Allan’s Wife by H. Rider Haggard

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVox You can make a good case for the sexism in old books. Just look at the Book of Genesis: Lot’s Wife. Noah’s Wife. These are the ladies so oppressed that they didn’t even deserve names. However, I think we can attribute what looks like the exact came same kind of sexism in titling Allan’s Wife more to marketing than anything else. This is, after all, the third novel in the Allan Quatermain series. And it’s not actually very much about his wife, at least at the start. It tells more tales of Quatermain’s time in South Africa, his observations about two dueling witchdoctors (they use their magic to control lighting), his father’s death, and eventually the fate of his wife. For the record Allan Quatermain’s wife (of the title) is named “Stella Carson.” Come to think of it, some clever writer could probably do a whole series of YA books called The Adventures Of Allanah Quatermain (perhaps a secret grandaughter?). Until then…

Allan’s Wife
By H. Rider Haggard; Read by Elaine Tweddle
15 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: December 2009

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/rss/3718

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[Thanks also to mim@can and James Christopher]

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

SFFaudio Online Audio

Listening For The League's Gentlemen At LibriVox This is the first in a series of posts in which I will examine LibriVox’s back catalogue looking for the characters and references that Alan Moore has put into his comic The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This, the first post, features Allan Quatermain, adventurer and man of action, in his first novel. This is prior to his descent into a despicable opium addiction. It’s a single voiced narration, and I’ve made some cool cover art for it too.

Read now Haggard’s introduction from the 1898 edition:

“The author ventures to take this opportunity to thank his readers for the kind reception they have accorded to the successive editions of this tale during the last twelve years. He hopes that in its present form it will fall into the hands of an even wider public, and that in years to come it may continue to afford amusement to those who are still young enough at heart to love a story of treasure, war, and wild adventure.”

King Solomon’s Mines
By H. Rider Haggard; Read by John Nicholson
20 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 9 Hours 50 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: 2006
King Solomon’s Mines, first published in 1885, was a best-selling novel by the Victorian adventure writer H. Rider Haggard. It relates a journey into the heart of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain in search of the legendary wealth said to be concealed in the mines of the novel’s title. It is significant as the first fictional adventure novel set in Africa, and is considered the genesis of the Lost World literary genre. – Haggard wrote over 50 books, among which were 14 novels starring Allan Quatermain.

Podcast feed:
http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/king-solomons-mines-by-haggard.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Here’s the cool map from the back of the Dell Books “mapback” edition:

King Solomon's Mines - Dell Mapback map

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Voodoo Planet by Andre Norton

SFFaudio Review

Voodoo Planet
By Andre Norton; Read by Chuck McKibben
3 CDs – 3 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Realms
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781897304372
Themes: / Science Fiction / Adventure / Space Travel / Africa /

Voodoo Planet is the tale of three crew members from The Solar Queen spaceship who are invited to go on a hunting safari on a Khatka, a planet colonized by people from Africa. Dane, Medic Tau, and Captain Jellico soon run up against Lumbrilo, a local witch doctor, who has strong reasons for not wanting outsiders to explore the jungle. After their flitter crashes in the wild, the spacemen and their local hosts soon become the targets of bizarre attacks from wildlife as they try to make their way back to civilization. Tau has studied magic on many different worlds and a battle of wills emerges as he must counter the attacks and provide the edge to overcome their enemy.

This is a short and simple tale of adventure, it is best enjoyed at face value – a sampling of classic science fiction. It makes foe an exciting story as one waits to see what Lumbrilo will next launch against the heroes. Andre Norton is a legendary author in science fiction and fantasy, but this is one of her earlier and lesser works. That does not mean that one should ignore the book, but simply that one should not expect a master work.

The narration of the story is fine with slight shading added to various characters’ voices to provide both personality and help the listener differentiate when a conversation is occurring. However, the editing is not very careful. There were several occasions when a sentence or two was repeated as the narrator corrected a misstep. Failing to catch a duplication is common enough in free podcasts but when one is paying for an audiobook it is inexcusable. One hopes that the editors will more carefully proof the other books from this publisher.

Overall, well done and recommended.

Posted by Julie D.

Surviving a sudden time travel to 1000 AD

SFFaudio Online Audio

SFSignal.com today posted a link to a story on the Marginal Revolution blog which answers a question about what would happen if you suddenly time-traveled back to 1000 AD Europe. Read that article HERE.

I think this is far too softball a question. What if you got suddenly transported to somewhere else on Earth? Why do those pesky time travel machines always send you to Europe? Don’t we already have like a thousand answers to that question already?

I mean, just read Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court for one!

Why not go for something or somewhere we are less familiar with here?

Well, it just so happens Bob Packett of the History According To Bob podcast has just completed a 7 part tour of the year 1000 AD. In it he tours all around the world in the year 1000 AD. This was done in celebration of History According to Bob‘s 1000th podcast! Have a listen…

1000 AD Part 1 |MP3| Africa, South America, Meso-America, North America
1000 AD Part 2 |MP3| Oceania and Australia, East Asia, South East Asia
1000 AD Part 3 |MP3| South Asia (India and Himalaya)
1000 AD Part 4 |MP3| West Asia (Middle East, Anatolia, Arabia, Iraq, Iran), Central and North Asia (the ‘stans)
1000 AD Part 5 |MP3| Europe (Balkans)
1000 AD Part 6 |MP3| Europe (Eastern Europe and Scandinavia)
1000 AD Part 7 |MP3| Europe (Italy, Iberia, France, and the British Isles)

Or subscribe to the podcast feed:

http://www.summahistorica.com/podcast/rss.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis