Alan E. Nourse – Page 4

SFFaudio Challenge title: Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse COMPLETED

SFFaudio Online Audio

Scott D. Farquhar from Prometheus Radio Theatre has written in with some exciting news. He tells me that his unabridged reading of Alan E. Nourse’s novel Star Surgeon has been completed! This is one of the titles from in our SFFaudio Challenge! Scott took slightly longer than he’d expected to, but it was well worth the wait, the extra and attention Scott put into it has really paid off. The 1959 novel is now a 2007 audiobook!

This is one of those rare novels that tells its story from the point of view of an alien. One of those novels that make you dig deeper. It is the kind of Science Fiction that makes you think harder about human attitudes and prejudices, to really look beyond the surficial.

Star Surgeon is the story of Dal Timgar, a medical student, the first alien to attend a universally prestigious earth medical school. If Dal is to become the first fully-fledged star surgeon, he must fight the prejudices of his superiors, and then the rigors of an interstellar emergency.

This novel is widely respected by readers who’ve read it, and many think it represents Alan Nourse at his very best. In writing it, Nourse is expressing a subject dear to his heart as he himself was a doctor.

Star Surgeon
By Alan E. Nourse; Read by Scott Farquhar
14 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – 5 Hours 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 2007
When Dal Timgar, of all in his medical class, was denied assignment to a general practice patrol ship going out from Hospital Earth to serve the medical needs of the Galactic Confederation, it seemed to him that his eight years of study in the great medical center of the galaxy had ended in failure. He had worked hard and stood at the head of his class, but Dal was different from his medical colleagues in one important way. Born on a planet of a distant star, he was the first son of an alien race to attempt to become a qualified physician of Hospital Earth. Dr. Thorvold Arnquist, a power in Earth’s medical council, is determined that Dal Timgar shall have an equal chance with his Earth-born classmates to prove his skill as a physician and to earn his rank as Star Surgeon. He succeeds in getting Dal assigned, under protest, to the patrol ship Lancet, where Dal is faced with the full responsibilities of a patrol physician as well as the hostility of some of his crewmates. As the Lancet responds to calls of all kinds on planets of distant and unknown star systems, Dal’s skill and judgment as a surgeon are tested to the utmost. But it is not until he is confronted with a dreadful decision, which he alone must make, that Dal faces the final test–a test that will determine once and for all whether he is ever to become a Star Surgeon.

Subscribe to the podcast feed via this URL:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/star-surgeon-by-alan-edward-nourse.xml

Scott also sez:

“FYI… I’m doing another edit of the recording to submit to Podiobooks.com. It will be mostly the same, but I’ve cleaned up some minor issues and I’m adding only a bit of effects in some places like filters for loudspeaker and radio dialogue and such. Nothing really fancy, but just a bit cleaner and slicker. If I get a little batch of donations through podiobooks I may just have to pick another one to read….!”

Way to go Scott! Your hear that everybody? As soon as Podiobooks gets a copy of the revised edition of Star Surgeon hit that donation button!

posted by Jesse Willis

Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse – coming soon… just listen

SFFaudio Online Audio

The sounds of things to come…

|MP3|

The MP3 above was recorded as a special promo by Scott D. Farquhar of Prometheus Radio Theatre. It looks like the plan is to use it on an upcoming LibriVox community podcast. The novel it is promoting is Alan E. Nourse’s Star Surgeon, one of our SFFaudio Challenge titles. Likely, Star Surgeon is just a few hours (or days) away from being officially catalogued, but I couldn’t wait to tell you after I heard this 5 minute promo. And BTW, we’ve already got a peek at the all new cover art for the official release, so we’re recycling our old art for this post, one last time. It’s sounding great, and looking great, thanks ComposerScott!

Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse - COMING SOON

posted by Jesse Willis

Alan E Nourse’s Star Surgeon claimed in our CHALLENGE!

SFFaudio News

Scott D. Farquhar from Prometheus Radio Theatre has written in to claim Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse, one of the titles from our first SFFaudio Make An Audiobook Challenge! Scott is aiming to finish it by the end of February, he says it should be completed by March at the very latest!

Here’s the original 1959 bookjacket copy to get you intrigued:

When Dal Timgar, of all in his medical class, was denied assignment to a general practice patrol ship going out from Hospital Earth to serve the medical needs of the Galactic Confederation, it seemed to him that his eight years of study in the great medical center of the galaxy had ended in failure. He had worked hard and stood at the head of his class, but Dal was different from his medical colleagues in one important way. Born on a planet of a distant star, he was the first son of an alien race to attempt to become a qualified physician of Hospital Earth. Dr. Thorvold Arnquist, a power in Earth’s medical council, is determined that Dal Timgar shall have an equal chance with his Earth-born classmates to prove his skill as a physician and to earn his rank as Star Surgeon. He succeeds in getting Dal assigned, under protest, to the patrol ship Lancet, where Dal is faced with the full responsibilities of a patrol physician as well as the hostility of some of his crewmates. As the Lancet responds to calls of all kinds on planets of distant and unknown star systems, Dal’s skill and judgment as a surgeon are tested to the utmost. But it is not until he is confronted with a dreadful decision, which he alone must make, that Dal faces the final test–a test that will determine once and for all whether he is ever to become a Star Surgeon.

And here is our, now traditional, inspirational art: Audiobook - Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse

I’m really looking forward to hearing this one Scott!

posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: Make your own Public Domain Audiobook or Podcast Novel: Win A Prize

SFFaudio Commentary

The SFFaudio Challenge – # 1

What do you do if you have a good voice and want to record something Speculative Fiction related but don’t have any ideas on what to record?

I have a suggestion!

At SFFaudio our first and best love is UNABRIDGED Science Fiction audiobooks. The good news is there are a large number of public domain Science Fiction or Fantasy novels that have yet to be read aloud. You needn’t bother with fancy sound effects. There’s no need for incidental music. In fact most audiobook listeners prefer their listening to be without these frills. All you’ll need is a microphone and a nice quiet room. This is the way traditional audiobooks have been recorded for nearly thirty years. But even with all those years of recording there are still DOZENS and DOZENS of name-author novels and stories available for your narration. These will be exclusive recordings!

With all the hype about Creative Commons of late you may have forgotten or maybe you never realized that there is so much in the public domain still to be recorded. In researching the complete fiction audiography of Cory Doctorow I came across no fewer than three versions of Cory’s Down And Out In the Magic Kingdom audiobook. That is probably two times to many – especially when you consider that so many public domain titles are still languishing unrecorded!

Now it isn’t like everyone has forgotten about the public domain. Admittedly, there are a few people recording public domain SF & F – like our very own Time Traveler for instance. His Time Traveler Show has a classic Science Fiction short story in nearly every podcast. There’s also Maureen O’Brien, of Maria Lectrix, who has recorded novels like Little Fuzzy and Dawn Of Flame. We’re also fond of the folks at Voices In The Dark who have recorded a number of Lovecraft’s tales. And no discussion of public domain could forget LibriVox. LibriVox is doing good work, but they aren’t, for my tastes, doing enough that is close enough to the modern era. They do stuff like Burroughs, Shelley, Twain, London and Wells, in other words, a lot of stuff that traditional audiobook publishers have already done at one time or another. There are already versions of The Time Machine and Dracula and many, many other relatively familiar novels from dozens of different professional vendors. I think it is about time more people to start doing some SF or Fantasy that isn’t from the early 20th century or prior, or if it is, make sure at least that hasn’t been recorded commercially previously. To that end I’ve compiled a short list of potentially do-able novels. Check these puppies out:

COMPLETED TITLES:

The Green Odyssey by Philip Jose Farmer |Manybooks.net|
THIS TITLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RELEASED (Completed December 17th 2006 by Mark Nelson – 1st title to complete) |RELEASE DETAILS|

~~Badge Of Infamy~~ ~~by Lester Del Rey |Gutenberg Project|~~
THIS TITLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RELEASED (Completed January 14th 2007 by Steven H. Wilson – 2nd title to complete) |RELEASE DETAILS|

~~The Cosmic Computer (AKA Junkyard Planet)~~ ~~by H. Beam Piper |Manybooks.net|~~
THIS TITLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RELEASED (Completed January 15th 2006 by Mark Nelson – 3rd title to complete) |RELEASE DETAILS|

~~The Answer~~ ~~by H. Beam Piper |Manybooks.net|~~
THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED AND WILL SOON BE RELEASED (Completed January 22nd 2007 by Mark Nelson – 4th title to complete) |RELEASE DETAILS|

~~Plague Ship~~ ~~by Andre Norton |Manybooks.net|~~
THIS TITLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RELEASED (Completed March 2007 by Mark Nelson – 5th title to complete) |RELEASE DETAILS|

~~Star Surgeon~~ ~~by Alan Nourse |Manybooks.net|~~THIS TITLE HAS BEEN COMPLETED AND RELEASED (Completed June 15th 2007 by Scott Farquhar – 6th title to complete) |RELEASE DETAILS|

REMOVED FROM THE CHALLENGE:

~~Triplanetary~~ ~~by E.E. Doc Smith |Manybooks.net|~~
This title has been COMMERCIALLY RELEASED by Books In Motion.

The Black Star Passes by John W. Campbell |Manybooks.net|

|THIS TITLE IS COMPLETE (Completed by Scott D. Farquhar)|RELEASE DETAILS|

CLAIMED TITLES:

~~The Sky Is Falling~~ ~~by Lester Del Rey |Gutenberg Project|~~
THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED (Claimed by Jeffery Tillotson)

~~Operation: Outer Space~~ ~~by Murray Leinster |Manybooks.net|~~
THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED AND MAY BE IN PRODUCTION (Claimed by Daniel)

~~City At World’s End~~ ~~by Edmond Hamilton |Manybooks.net|~~THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED (Claimed by James Kocher)

~~The Defiant Agents~~ ~~by Andre Norton |Manybooks.net|~~THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF SUMMER 2007 (Claimed by Cindy Woods)

~~The Door Through Space~~ ~~by Marion Zimmer Bradley |Manybooks.net|~~ THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY AUGUST 2007 (Claimed by Christie Nowak)

~~A Strange Manuscript Found In A Copper Cylindner~~ ~~by James De Mille |Manybooks.net|~~ This 19th century title hasn’t been audiobooked even by a commercial audiobook company.THIS TITLE IS IN PROGRESS (Claimed by Robert A. Graff)

The Skylark Of Space by E.E. Doc Smith |Manybooks.net|
THIS TITLE IS IN PROGRESS (Claimed by Mark P. Steele)

~~The Defiant Agents~~ ~~by Andre Norton |Manybooks.net|~~THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF SUMMER 2007 (Claimed by Cindy Woods)

The Secret Of The Ninth Planet by Donald A. Wollheim |Manybooks.net|
THIS TITLE IS CLAIMED (Claimed by Cliff Charles)

AVAILABLE TITLES:

This World Is Taboo by Murray Leinster |Manybooks.net| (Manybooks.net has a computer generated audiobook, but of course such a reading sucks compared to a human being)

Warlord Of Kor by Terry Gene Carr |Manybooks.net| *There is now a multiple-reader version available from LibriVox, but someone wanting to do a single voice reading is still invited to do so).

The Galaxy Primes by E.E. Doc Smith |Manybooks.net|

This is just a smattering of what exists in the public domain. You could turn any one of these into a complete podcast novel or an amateur unabridged audiobook. You could even turn them into copyrighted audiobooks should you so desire – and even try selling them. Your voicing of a public domain book is eminently copyrightable. Podiobooks.com has started hosting Librivox titles, if you do a good job with your reading I think you’d have a good chance of getting your files hosted with Podiobooks – and maybe even get some donations too! If that still doesn’t quite do it for you read on…

As an incentive, I will offer a BRAND NEW unabridged audiobook to the first person to complete and release an unabridged reading (in a single human voice) of one of the novels on this list above. As the first person to complete this challenge you’ll need to notify me by email and verify to me the existence and availability of these files. As a winner you’ll receive your choice of one of the following Blackstone Audio audiobooks:

~~Galactic Pot Healer~~ ~~by Philip K. Dick~~
This audiobook has been won by Mark Nelson for his completion of The Green Odyssey by Philip Jose Farmer

~~Stranger In A Strange Land~~ ~~by Robert A. Heinlein~~
This audiobook has been won by Steven H. Wilson for his completion of Badge Of Infamy by Lester del Rey

Animal Farm by George Orwell
This audiobook has been won by Mark Nelson for his completion of The Cosmic Computer by H. Beam Piper

If you have any questions about the contest, or anything written above let me know and I’ll add details. SFFaudio wants you to make audiobooks!

** UPDATE ** Nov 13th 2006 @ 1PM

Nate Peterson has written in asking:

“How do I get started? What equipment do I need and what software? What format do you want?”

Here are some answers Nate:

1. Choose a title from the list above. You’ll probably want to print out at least one copy of it. Read through the novel, make sure it is something you’ll want to record.

2. Get yourself a microphone. I hear USB mics work quite well but many amateur narrators get good use out of cheaper equipment.

3. Audacity is some good freeware that many people starting out using. It is relatively versatile and the learning curve isn’t too high. You’ll probably also want to grab an MP3 LAME encoder so you can export your files into the MP3 format. HERE is a link on how to do that.

4. MP3 format is the preferred standard, but it isn’t required to fulfill the contest. Details on what bit-rate, etc, should be worked out in advance, LibriVox and Podiobooks.com both have resources that can help you choose (more on that below).

5. There is a terrific resource available at Podiobooks.com. Their authoring guidelines (a PDF file) will give you a good general outline of what standards and practices will help you to make a better audiobook. Also, LibriVox has a number of experienced amateur narrators in their forums from which you can draw expertise. They have also created a wiki that will answer many technical questions.

** UPDATE ** Nov 16th 2006 @ 9:30PM

Banshee points out that…

“Manybooks.net apparently has the wrong version of some of those books which Gutenberg is going to post, but hasn’t posted yet. For example, the version of The Skylark of Space on manybooks.net is the book version, which is still under copyright. The public domain version is the magazine version, which they have over at durendal.org. Since Smith extensively revised Skylark, that’s a problem you can’t just sweep under the rug.”

Thanks for pointing that out Banshee. Yikes! If someone has already started recording a copyrighted version of one of these novels listed at Manybooks.net they will still be eligible for the prize (but they will still have to prove they recorded the entire novel), they will obviously however not be able to release the audiobook in any sort of commercial capacity. If this turns out to be the case the entrant who recorded a public domain version will still get a prize. I will award two prizes (of your choice) – one to the ‘mistaken copyrighted’ entrant, one to the public domain entrant. Nobody will be cheated for an error of ‘was it copyrighted or public domain?’ Sound fair?

** UPDATE ** Dec 19th 2006 @ 11:38PM

Three titles have been claimed! One has already been completed, another is set to release and one is set to begin recording. Nice work folks!

** UPDATE ** Dec 22nd 2006 @ 11:30PM

Four titles have been claimed. One has completed, another is set to release and two others are going to begin recording soon. Cool!

** UPDATE ** Jan 8th 2007 @ 2:10PM

Seven titles have been claimed. One has been completed and released, another has been completed and is being podcast! More updates as they come.

** UPDATE ** Jan 21st 2007 @ 12:10AM

Eight titles have been claimed. Three have been completed and released! All three of the prize audiobooks have been won. I’m still not sure what prizes will be offered to those challengers who are still striving to complete their claimed titles. Suggestions are welcomed.

** UPDATE ** Jan 22nd 2007 @ 8:48PM

Only 9 titles remain unclaimed! I’ve pulled Triplanetary by E.E. “Doc” Smith from the list because it has actually been commercially released already. The Answer by H. Beam Piper will be appearing in an H. Beam Piper short story collection.

** UPDATE ** March 30th 2007 @ 11:17PM

Only 7 titles remain unclaimed! This is so awesome.

** UPDATE ** May 16th 2007 @ 8:25AM

A mere 6 titles remain unclaimed! Nice work folks!

** UPDATE ** July 16th 2008 @ 4:53PM
7 titles have been completed, and only 4 titles are left to be claimed.

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases

Audio Renaissance

Saucer: The Conquest by Stephen Coonts in both abridged and unabridged versions. This is a sequel to a novel about the discovery of a 140,000 year-old spacecraft. I missed the first one, but would like to hear if it exists on audio – Audio Renaissance does not carry it if it does. Kirkus calls Saucer “a comic, feel-good SF adventure.”

First Meetings in the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card, read by Gabrielle de Cuir, Amanda Karr, and Stefan Rudnicki

I’m a fan of Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels, so this was a real treat. It contains 4 stories, one of which is the original Ender’s Game novella, the others stories from various places on the Ender timeline. All of Card’s unabridged Ender novels are being re-released by Audio Renaissance.

Saturn by Ben Bova, read by Amanda Karr and Stefan Rudnicki and others

Here’s the latest of Ben Bova’s Solar System novels. I’ve heard Mars and Return to Mars, but I’m not sure how these novels are related to this one, Venus and Jupiter.

Blackstone Audio

Ringworld’s Children by Larry Niven

I talked a bit about this last month, but it was really released in September, so here it is again.

Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell by Pat Murphy

I’ve got this one in my to-be-heard pile and I’m eager to get to it. I know very little about Pat Murphy, but I see she won a Nebula Award for the novel The Falling Woman, which I don’t think is available on audio.

Jesse: Pat Murphy won a hugo and a nebula for a short story called “Rachel In Love”, which is a love story from the point of view of a chimpanzee. It’s been recorded a couple of times. There was also a single cassette collection of her short stories published by Durkin Hayes called “Points Of Departure”.

Brilliance Audio

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, read by Jim Dale

I’m starting to see this one everywhere, but haven’t received any feedback from anyone on it. It’s aimed at the YA market – 9-12 year-olds – and is a prequel to Peter Pan. I may have to listen just to hear another Jim Dale performance. There’s an audio sample on Brilliance’s website.

Free Reads

James Patrick Kelly adds three more stories to Free Reads, a section of his site where you can download free audiobooks (MP3 format) of his stories. Included now are “Faith”, “The Best Christmas Ever”, and “Serpent”.

Jesse: This is an awesome value – cool and funny stories read by James Patrick Kelly and all it costs you is guilt if you don’t donate something to his future recording fund.

Harper Audio

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection by Neil Gaiman, read by Neil Gaiman

This is an hour-long CD that contains readings of some children’s books by Neil Gaiman. Included are: The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, Wolves in the Walls, Cinnamon, and Crazy Hair.

Jesse: Looking forward to this collection. I was worried this was just another repackaging of Coraline and the two Seeing Ear pieces. Glad to see it is all new to audio!

Paperback Digital

As reported here early this month, Paperback Digital is online with two new MP3 format audiobooks for sale: Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint and 1634: The Galileo Affair by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis. I haven’t heard either of them, but they appear to be professionally done with William Dufris and Christine Marshall narrating. These books are available as downloads or on MP3-CDs.

Also from Paperback Digital is the X Minus One episode “Drop Dead” by Clifford D. Simak, which is available on Fictionwise.com, a site well-known for eBook sales. Paperback Digital is editing out commercials and doing what they can to improve the sound quality of several old radio shows. Next week they will be releasing these episodes:

The Green Hills of Earth and Destination: Moon by Robert A. Heinlein

The Orson Welles/Mercury Theatre Halloween broadcast of The War of the Worlds

The Orson Welles/Mercury Theatre broadcast of Bram Stoker’s Dracula

With Folded Hands by Jack Williamson

Colony by Philip K. Dick

The Coffin Cure and Prime Difference by Alan E. Nourse

Protective Mimicry by Algis Budrys

The Merchants of Venus by A.H. Phelps, Jr.

Jesse: Coming out of the blue as it did, Paperback Digital is the most exciting and surprising news in Science Fiction and Fantasy audiobooks so far this year!

Recorded Books

Swords of Night and Day, a science fantasy by David Gemmell and narrated by Christopher Kay. I’m unfamiliar with this, but it’s part of a something called the Drenai series.

Last, but certainly not least, here’s what Audible.com has added in the last month, many of which were mentioned above:

An updated edition of First Meetings by Orson Scott Card

Saucer: The Conquest by Stephen Coonts

Saturn by Ben Bova

High Druid of Shannara: Tanequil by Terry Brooks

Dune: The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Ringworld’s Children by Larry Niven

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card

The Dragon’s Son by Margaret Weis

Stalking Darkness (Nightrunner #2) by Lynn Flewelling

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

Several titles from Brian Jacques’ Redwall series

Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb

Titles from the Wingman series by Mack Maloney

Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

Titles from the Deathstalker collection by Simon R. Green

Collections of Arthur C. Clarke’s stories (The Nine Billion Names of God, The Songs of Distant Earth, etc.)

Wow! An excellent month for science fiction audio. Happy listening!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson