Audible Frontiers – Page 10

The SFFaudio Podcast #029

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #029 – Jesse and Scott are joined by Julie D. of the Forgotten Classic podcast. Listen in as Julie gushes over the new audiobook of Ken Scholes’ novel Lamentation! We also talk Space Opera, libraries, and how to read a paperbook: “Breaking the spine of a book is like breaking the spine of the family dog.” Ya, it’s a Buck Roger-ish show.

Talked about on today’s show:
Hyperion by Dan Simmons, David Weber, “The Honor Harrington” series, On Basilisk Station, military SF, Audible Frontiers, John Ringo, March Upcountry, Off Armageddon Reef, Theodore Sturgeon, More Than Human, Venus Plus X, To Marry Medusa, Nancy Kress, Beggars In Spain, Infinivox, Blackstone Audio, Beggars And Choosers, Beggars Ride, Children Of Men by P.D. James |READ OUR REVIEW|, BBC Audiobooks America, Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer, Doctor Who, Audible’s new format 4, radio drama, audio drama, 2000X: Tales of the Next Millennia |READ OUR REVIEW|, Spoken Books Publishing, Dr. Wasserman’s Time Chamber: Preventing Armageddon by Lee Geiger, Lamentation by Ken Scholes, Fantasy, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, George R.R. Martin, Dune by Frank Herbert, Macmillan Audio, Simon Vance, The Prestige by Christopher Priest, The January Dancer, SciPodBooks, LibriVox, The Green Odyssey, Space Vulture, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Grim Space by Ann Aguirre, the “Gap” series by Stephen R. Donaldson, ScottBrickPresents.com, The Phoenix Legacy, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Tony Smith, StarShipSofa, Trophy Wives, Twitter, Neil Gaiman, OTRcat.com, Worldcat.org, the Amber series by Roger Zelazny, Maria Lectrix, giving up blogs for lent.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Starship: Rebel by Mike Resnick

SFFaudio Review

SFFaudio Essential Starship: Rebel
By Mike Resnick; Read by Jonathan Davis
Audible Download – 8 Hours 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: December 16th 2008
Themes: / Science Fiction / Space Opera / Galactic Civilization / Aliens / Rebellion / War / Military SF / Space Station /

The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation. Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost fifty ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier. With one exception. The Republic still comes and goes as it pleases, taking what it wants, conscripting men, and extorting taxes, even though the Frontier worlds receive nothing in exchange. And, of course, the government still wants Wilson Cole and the starship Theodore Roosevelt. He has no interest in confronting such an overwhelming force, and constantly steers clear of them. Then an incident occurs that changes everything, and Cole declares war on the Republic. Outnumbered and always outgunned, his fleet is no match for the Republic’s millions of military vessels, even after he forges alliances with the warlords he previously hunted down. It’s a hopeless cause…but that’s just what Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. are best at.

A good audiobook can make a regular day enjoyable. A great audiobook can put a delightful spring in your step for a whole week. Starship: Rebel has made for absolutely terrific listening. As I was listening to it over the course of a week or so I’d wake up in the morning, remember that I’d still got a few hours of listening left, and smile as if I’d won the Nobel Prize for luck. I’ve heaped a lot of praise for this terrific series of audiobooks since Audible Frontiers started releasing it back in Spring 2008. The closest I’ve come to criticism has been a little humming and hawing about how the series is ‘short on ideas and originality.’ That, it feels like a better version of Star Wars. And that’s all still true, nothing in the Starship series feels anything like innovative. The weapons technology has no new ideas, the faster than light space travel relies on the same few tropes, the aliens are all Star Wars-ish. Despite this, there is an amazing feeling of being safely ensconced in the hands of a master storyteller when listening to this series. The team of writer Mike Resnick with narrator Jonathan Davis is absolutely stupendous.

With this book, Book 4, Resnick is raising the stakes by forcing Captain Cole and the crew of the Theodore Roosevelt to take on the Republic itself. And that’s good, but it isn’t everything. Resnick also pulls an unexpected maneuver – a very important character is killed about a third of the way into the novel – and that hit, a real hit, shakes up that feeling of familiarity and safety in a way that just freezing Han Solo into a block of carbonite can never do. Barring accidents I expect to be enjoying another terrific week when Starship: Flagship, the 5th and final book in the Starship series, comes out in December 2009.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Fix: Rocket Science 1958 – 1959

SFFaudio News

Posted on February 1 at The Fix: Short Fiction Review is the latest Rocket Science column, which covers 1958 – 1959. The stories covered: “Or All the Seas with Oysters” by Avram Davidson, “The Big Front Yard” by Clifford Simak, and “That Hell-Bound Train” by Robert Bloch.

“Or All the Seas with Oysters” by Avram Davidson – No audio version known.

“The Big Front Yard” by Clifford D. Simak – No audio version known.

“That Hell-Bound Train” by Robert Bloch – Included in Gravely, Alternate World Recordings, 1976, read by Robert Bloch.

While I’m in 1958 and 1959, I should mention that the Hugo Winning novels from those years have both been published by Audible Frontiers:

1958 Best Novel or Novelette:
The Big Time
By Fritz Leiber; Read by Suzanne Toren
Audible Download – 4 hours 42 mins – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: 2008

SFFaudio Essential 1959 Best Novel:
A Case Of Conscience
By James Blish; Read by Jay Snyder
Audible Download – 7 Hours 55 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: November 2008
|READ OUR REVIEW|

Also worth mentioning, but not audio related, is that I got my latest issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction in the mail yesterday, and in that issue is a reprint of “That Hell-Bound Train” by Robert Bloch. Great story!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

Review of A Case Of Conscience by James Blish

SFFaudio Review

SFFaudio Essential A Case Of Conscience
By James Blish; Read by Jay Snyder
Audible Download – 7 Hours 55 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: November 2008
Themes: / Science Fiction / Religion / Catholicism / Aliens / Biology / Evolution /

Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man – a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics…until he is sent to Lithia. There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief. Confronted with a profound scientific riddle and ethical quandary, Father Ruiz-Sanchez soon finds himself torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity. There is only one solution: He must accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy -and risk the futures of both worlds…

A Peruvian priest is a strange enough protagonist for Science Fiction. Add in an essentially bloodless tale of alien human interaction, a token female, and a bowlful of Catholicism on every page, the fact that it’s clearly inspired, at least in part, by James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, and what you get is a classic SF novel? Yup! A Case Of Conscience is not quite the greatest SF novel of its era, but it holds up quite well. Blish put a good deal of thought into the original novella, and that pays off mid way through the novel (which is really two novellas put-together). The first half of the book is set on Lithia, a recently discovered alien planet teeming with unusual alien life. Lithia and its intelligent inhabitants are being considered for full human contact. There, judging the planet, are Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez a Jesuit biologist, Cleaver, a physicist, Michelis, a chemist, and Agronski, a geologist. Curiously Father Ramon seems to have strong reasons for opposing the opening of Litihia despite the fact that he has befriended one of the intelligent aliens. The fact that the Lithians seem to have an ideal society free of crime, conflict, ignorance and want also seems to worry Ramon. It all comes down to one question: Do the Lithians have souls? Despite his suspicions about the answer, the priest seems to only hold a deep affection for the Lithians.

I was highly impressed with the revelations that Ruiz-Sanchez (and Blish) give for it all. This is excellent idea driven SF. Blish seems to have taken the idea of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) very much to heart in writing the novel. These are/were the priests that were trained to take on the hardest tasks confronting the Catholic church. Blish has done them proud. But, that’s not the end of it. The turning point of the novel comes when the humans leave Lithia carrying with them a fertilized egg of one of the Litihians, an alien child to be raised on Earth and learn the ways of humans. This is where the second half of the novel begins. Earth is a “shelter society” (everyone lives in massive underground fallout shelters – you can see how it was written in the 1950s). There we follow our protagonist, a few other folks including the requisite token female named “Louella” (but called “Lou”) and the alien baby-cum-juvenile alien (who acts rather unlike his species normally does back on Lithia). Highlights here come when Ruiz-Sanchez is requested for a Papal audience! Again, some clever revelations occur in this second half, though they are generally weaker than the first. But, all together, and with the ending quite well done as it is, it’s very solid.

Included in the audiobook edition is the six page appendix, which is a ‘special preliminary report on the planet Lithia’ by Ruiz-Sanchez. As far as I can tell the narrator, Jay Snyder, has completely followed Blish’s own pronunciation guide for the book (which is not actually included in the audiobook). I’ve done a little comparing of the written text in the paperbook with the way Snyder says the alien names in the audiobook. It all sounds pretty accurate to me. Kudos to Audible Frontiers for carefully audiobooking this Hugo Award novel (and Retro Hugo Award winning novella). A Case Of Conscience is an SF classic!

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrivals – Blish, Resnick, Metzler, Westlake

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

A Case Of Conscience
By James Blish; Read by Jay Snyder
Audible Download – 7 Hours 55 Muinutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: November 2008
Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man – a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics…until he is sent to Lithia. There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief.Confronted with a profound scientific riddle and ethical quandary, Father Ruiz-Sanchez soon finds himself torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity. There is only one solution: He must accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy -and risk the futures of both worlds…

Starship: Rebel
By Mike Resnick; Read by Jonathan Davis
Audible Download – 8 Hours 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: December 16th 2008
The date is 1968 of the Galactic Era, almost three thousand years from now. The Republic, dominated by the human race, is in the midst of an all-out war with the Teroni Federation. Almost a year has passed since the events of Starship: Mercenary. Captain Wilson Cole now commands a fleet of almost fifty ships, and he has become the single greatest military force on the Inner Frontier. With one exception. The Republic still comes and goes as it pleases, taking what it wants, conscripting men, and extorting taxes, even though the Frontier worlds receive nothing in exchange. And, of course, the government still wants Wilson Cole and the starship Theodore Roosevelt. He has no interest in confronting such an overwhelming force, and constantly steers clear of them. Then an incident occurs that changes everything, and Cole declares war on the Republic. Outnumbered and always outgunned, his fleet is no match for the Republic’s millions of military vessels, even after he forges alliances with the warlords he previously hunted down. It’s a hopeless cause…but that’s just what Wilson Cole and the Teddy R. are best at.

The Book Of Lies
By Brad Meltzer; Read by Scott Brick
10 CDs – Approx. 11.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Published: September 2008
ISBN: 9781600243806
Cain kills Abel in Chapter Four of the Bible. It is the world’s most famous murder. But the Bible is silent about one key detail: the weapon Cain used to kill his brother. That weapon is still lost to history.
In 1932, Mitchell Siegel was killed by three gunshots to his chest. While mourning, his son dreamed of a bulletproof man and created the world’s greatest hero: Superman. And like Cain’s murder weapon, the gun used in this unsolved murder has never been found. Until now. Today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cal Harper comes face-to-face with his family’s greatest secret: his long-lost father, who’s been shot with a gun that traces back to Michell Siegel’s 1932 murder. But before Cal can ask a single question, he and his father are attacked by a ruthless killer tattooed with the anicent markings of Cain. And so begins the chase for the world’s first murder weapon. What does Cain, history’s greatest villain, have to do with Superman, the world’s greatest hero? And what do two murders, committed thousands of years apart, have in common?

BBC Audiobooks America (via Audible.com) - Watch Your Back by Donald E. Westlake Watch Your Back
By Donald E. Westlake; Read by William Dufris
Audible Download – 9 Hours 4 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
Published: October 2008 (at Audible.com)
Provider: Audible.com
Hapless criminal John Dortmunder returns in another rollicking tale of disorganized crime from Grand Master of Mystery Donald E. Westlake. It’s the score of a lifetime: easy access to a lavish New York City apartment, hordes of valuables, and an absentee owner avoiding the lawyers of his unhappy ex-wives. But before they pull the job, Dortmunder’s crew is startled to find their beloved gin joint, the OJ, in the clutches of the Mafia – who consider it perfect for a little fraud, courtesy of a nice big fire. For tactical and highly superstitious reasons, the fate of the OJ is even more important to the crew than the enormous score. Now, Dortmunder and his gang are determined to split their time, fighting the mob, and robbing the rich simultaneously.

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases – Audible Frontiers January 2009

New Releases

Here’s the latest batch of Audible Frontiers titles releasing exclusively through Audible.com for January 2009. The last two on this list are likely the most anticipated (I’m looking at you here Greg). Also on tap are the first four books in Alan Dean Foster’s “Pip and Flinx” series with a promise of the “entire series” over “the next several months … culminating in the May 19th simultaneous publication of Flinx Transcendent, the final book in the series.” That should make quite a few ADF fans happy. And, the sequel to Cally’s War is on the list too! There are also plans to bring this entire BAEN books series to audio.

The Tar-Aiym Krang (book 1 in the “Pip & Flinx” series)
By Alan Dean Foster; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Audible Download – 7 Hours 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 2009
Foster’s first published novel!
Moth was a beautiful planet, the only one with wings – two great golden clouds suspended in space around it. Here was a wide-open world for any venture a man might scheme. The planet attracted unwary travelers, hardened space-sailors, and merchant buccaneers – a teeming, constantly shifting horde that provided a comfortable income for certain quick-witted fellows like Flinx and his pet flying snake Pip. With his odd talents, the pickings were easy enough so that Flinx did not have to be dishonest … most of the time. In fact, it hardly seemed dishonest at all to steal a starmap from a dead body that didn’t really need it anymore. But Flinx wasn’t quite smart enough. He should have wondered why the body was dead in the first place…

Orphan Star (book 2 in the “Pip & Flinx” series)
By Alan Dean Foster; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Audible Download – 7 Hours 40 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 2009
One man in the Universe holds the key to the mystery of Flinx’s past – and that man is trying to kill him! It is a strange childhood for a kid, to be adopted by the restless Mother Mastiff and raised in the bustling marketplace of Drallar. Flinx never knew the mom and dad who abandoned him years ago. In fact, his birth has always been shrouded in mystery. But Flinx eventually discovers that his unknown parents have left him a curious legacy – extraordinary mental powers that are both a marvelous gift and a dreaded curse. This double-edged legacy will lead Flinx, along with his loyal protector, the mini-dragon Pip, on a harrowing journey in search of the truth . . . about who he is and where he comes from. It is a daring adventure that brings him to another world – and into the clutches of one of the most evil and powerful men in the galaxy…

The End Of The Matter (book 3 in the “Pip & Flinx” series)
By Alan Dean Foster; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Audible Download – Approx. 8 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 2009
Accompanied by his faithful minidrag Pip and a most troublesome alien called Abalamahalamatandra – Ab for short – Flinx set out for Alaspin, the ruggedly primitive homeworld of his flying snake. There he hoped to find the giant man with the gold earring who somehow held the key to Flinx’s mysterious past and to the strange powers he possessed. Chasing down his heritage was trouble enough, but Flinx didn’t know what real trouble was until he realized that the Qwarm – a deadly assassin squad – were three steps behind him with a contract to kill. But the minidrag’s homeworld did not offer safety and Flinx had a terrible time just staying alive … a matter complicated to no mean degree by a collapsar already set on an unstoppable death course across the galaxy!

For Love Of Mother-Not (book 4 in the “Pip & Flinx” series)
By Alan Dean Foster; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
Audible Download – 8 Hours 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 2009
He was just a freckle-faced, red-headed kid with green eyes and a strangely campelling stare when Mather Mastiff first saw him an the auctioneer’s block. One hundred credits and he was hers. For years the old woman was his only family. She loved him, fed him, taught him everything she knew – even let him keep the deadly flying snake he called Pip.Then Mother Mastiff mysteriously disappeared and Flinx took Pip to tail her kidnappers. Across the forests and swamps of the winged world called Moth, their only weapons were Pip’s venom . . . and Flinx’s unusual Talents.

Honor Of The Clan (book 10 in the Legacy of the Aldenata series)
By John Ringo and Julie Cochrane; Read by Marc Vietor
Audible Download – 13 Hours 57 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 2009
The Posleen War Rages On – Undercover! Clan O’Neal Battles for the Right – And With Each Other! The Indowy “Bane Sidhe” conspiracy has grown strong, and the cunning and resourceful Darhel – tacit rulers of the Galactic Federation – have decided that the time has come to wipe that threat from the stars forever. What the Darhel don’t know is that humans have joined the rebellion – led by thief and assassin extraordinaire, Cally O’Neal. Now Cally is set to destroy a web of alien deceit millennia in the making. Only one obstacle lies in her path: the renowned warrior who stood tall and saved Earth from utter destruction during its first invasion by alien hordes – a legend who also happens to be Cally’s father!

Just Another Judgement Day (book 9 in the Nightside series)
By Simon R. Green; Read by Marc Vietor
Audible Download – 8 Hours 9 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 2009
There’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s got the Nightside’s rich and powerful quaking in their boots. He’s The Walking Man, and it’s his mission to exorcise sinners – with extreme prejudice. Problem is, the Nightside was built on sin and corruption, and The Walking Man makes no distinction between evildoers and those simply indulging themselves. He’ll leave the place a wasteland unless someone stops him, and P.I. John Taylor has been handed the job. No known magic or science can affect The Walking Man, and if John can’t discover his weakness, he’ll be facing the very Wrath of God.

Shortly forthcoming…

Endymion (book 3 in the Hyperion Cantos)
By Dan Simmons
Audible Download – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 20th 2009

The Rise Of Endymion (book 4 in the Hyperion Cantos)
By Dan Simmons
Audible Download – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: January 20th 2009
A Hugo Award nominee!

Posted by Jesse Willis