James Randi’s podcast talks about Arthur C. Clarke

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Amazing Show featuring James RandiThe Amazing Show podcast, which features weekly interviews with James “The Amazing” Randi, has earned your ears this week. In the latest show Randi shares some stories about his late friend Arthur C. Clarke! Randi talks about their relationship, his visits to Clarke’s home in Sri Lanka, and what happend at the premiere screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Clarke walked out in tears). Have a listen |MP3| or subscribe to the podcast feed:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/JamesRandi

Posted by Jesse Willis

Arthur C. Clarke’s last interview?

SFFaudio Online Audio

 IEEE Spectrum has reportedly podcast the last interview with Sir Arthur C. Clarke. Saswato Das interviewed Clarke from his hospital bed in Sri Lanka. Saswato Das asked Clarke about geo-stationary satellites, terraforming, space elevators, and SETI. Sadly, this appears to be one of the “so you’re a futurist” interviews, rather than a “so you’re the guy who wrote Childhood’s End” kind of interview. Listen online or subscribe to the podcast feed to get the show:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/snippet/radio_podcast_xml

[via BoingBoing]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Commentary: What are we missing?

SFFaudio Commentary

SFFaudio MetaBy any measure of the times were living in, there is a new audio renaissance. More audiobooks are getting made now than ever before. And more SF, Fantasy and Horror audiobooks are being released than ever before. Here’s a list of the top 10 SFF novels from Sci-Fi lists:

1. Frank Herbert Dune
2. Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game
3. Isaac Asimov Foundation
4. Douglas Adams Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
5. George Orwell 1984
6. Robert A. Heinlein Stranger in a Strange Land
7. Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
8. William Gibson Neuromancer
9. Isaac Asimov I, Robot
10. Arthur C. Clarke 2001: A Space Odyssey

All of these novels have had UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK releases at some point or another. Several have had more than one unabridged release! That’s wonderful. But I’m still not satisfied. What novels are we still missing? Or rather, what novels are you missing.

Personally I’m missing a few, here’s a list of just 10 titles I’ve picked from out of the air. I’d like to see any and all of these made into unabridged audiobooks:

1. Scott Lynch The Lies Of Loch Lamora
2. Dan Simmons Hyperion
3. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle The Mote In God’s Eye
4. Clifford Simak Way Station
5. Alfred Bester The Stars My Destination
6. Steven Gould Jumper
7. Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space
8. Robert J. Sawyer Golden Fleece
9. John Brunner Stand On Zanzibar
10. Ken MacLeod The Star Fraction

What novels are missing from your audiobook shelf?

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7 for Christmas: Arthur C. Clarke

OnlineAudio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionBBC Radio 7’s The 7th Dimension has some 1950s vintage SF short stories up for listening this weekend. The tales are: All The Time in the World and The Parasite. Together they form an Arthur C. Clarke double-bill airing today and tomorrow. They will both be available through the “listen again” service for 7 days following their broadcast.

BBC Radio 7 - All The Time In The World by Arthur C. ClarkeAll The Time In The World
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by Nicholas Boulton
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: December 15th 2007 @ at 6.30pm & 00.30am (UK Time)
“A clever tale about some alien art thieves who arrive to plunder Earth.”


BBC Radio 7 - The Parasite by Arthur C. ClarkeThe Parasite
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by Nicholas Boulton
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: December 16th 2007 at 6.30pm & 00.30am (UK Time)
“A chilling tale about a man who starts having dreams of a monstrous creature from the future.”


Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7’s The Seventh Dimension has a Arthur C. Clarke short story Summertime On Icarus

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionOn Friday BBC7’s The 7th Dimension will rebroadcast an UNABRIDGED reading of Arthur C. Clarke’s short story Summertime On Icarus. This hard-sf tale, first broadcast in 2005, was first published in Vogue magazine’s June 1960, as “The Hottest Piece of Real Estate in the Solar System.”

Everything had been carefully planned, years in advance, as part of the International Astrophysical Decade. Here was a unique opportunity for a research ship to get within a mere seventeen million miles of the sun, protected from it’s fury by a two-mile-thick shield of rock and iron. In the shadow of Icarus, the ship could ride safely round the central fire which warmed all the planets, and upon which the existence of all life depended.

BBC 7 Unabridged reading Summertime On Icarus by Arthur C. ClarkeSummertime On Icarus
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by Tim Pigott-Smith
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Friday November 30th 2007 @ 6:30pm and 12:30am (UK time)

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7’s The 7th Dimension does the classics: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Brave New World

Online Audio

BBC 7's The 7th DimensionBBC7’s the 7th Dimension will be airing two Science Fiction classics back to back starting monday weekdays for two weeks. First, Arthur C. Clarke’s novel 2001: A Space Odyssey as produced by radio legend Dirk Maggs. Followed by a definitely abridged version of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Details follow…

2001: A Space Odyssey
By Arthur C. Clarke; Read by William Roberts
10 X 15 Minute Episodes – Approx. 2.5 Hours [ABRIDGED?]
BROADCASTER: BBC7’s The 7th Dimension
BROADCAST: Monday to Friday at 6:30pm (repeats 12:30am) UK Time*
When an enigmatic monolith is found buried on the moon, scientists are amazed to discover that it’s at least 3 million years old; the spaceship Discovery, its highly trained crew and self-aware, ultra-capable computer, HAL are sent to investigate.

*This has been broadcast twice before: (in 2001 on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC7 in November 2005)

Brave New World
By Aldous Huxley; Read by Anton Lesser
10 X 15 Minute Episodes – Approx. 2.5 Hours [ABRIDGED]
BROADCASTER: BBC7’s The 7th Dimension
BROADCAST: Monday to Friday at 6:45pm (repeats 12:45am) UK Time*
A nightmare vision of the future, where humans are battery farmed and cloning and consumerism is rife.

*This has been broadcast at least once before on BBC Radio 4

These will both be avilable via the Listen Again service shortly after they air.

Jesse Willis