Tag: audio drama

Review of Tears of the Tin God

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Science Fiction Audio Drama - Tears of the Tin God by T. Ray GordonTears Of The Tin God
By T. Ray Gordon; Narrated by Richard Sellers and a Full Cast
1 CD – 80 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Apex Audio Theatre
Published: 2007
UPC: 701376158028
Themes: / Science fiction / Alien Artifact / Space travel /

If I were allowed only two words to review this audio drama, I would choose these: Harmless junk. But if I had to shave my word count, I wouldn’t know where to cut. Tears Of The Tin God is not a terrible audio drama. The sound and sound effects are fine, but the script is plagued by over-explanation of the familiar (as in: “…she frowned, making a face…”), juxtaposed with under-explanation of the novel. A few of the science fictional ideas are unconvincing, and the ending feels rushed and emotionally unsatisfying. Still, the enthusiastic production and the short running time make it kinda likable.

The plot is provocative, if not stunningly original: Seven future astronauts have been sent across space to investigate some immense alien artifacts on a planet called Borne 7. Upon landing on the surface of the largest artifact, one of the astronauts is ingested by it, becoming an integral part of a being with god-like power and knowledge. But are its intentions good or evil, alien or human?

The same concept is explored by Michael Crichton, sans space suits, in his novel Sphere. That one isn’t great, either, but it is superior to this one in the quality of its prose, the depth of its explanations, and the delicious thrill of its sustained tension. Tears Of The Tin God won’t take years off your life, but it kills an hour you might miss later.

Posted by Kurt Dietz

Review of The Plant People by Barnes and Engle

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Young Adult Audiobook - Plant People by Johnny Ray Barnes Jr and Marty M EnglePlant People
By Johnny Ray Barnes Jr. and Marty M. Engle; Multicast recording
2 CDs – 2 Hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423308508
Themes: / Science fiction / Alien Invasion / Intelligent plants /

Rachel Pearson is a loner. Her only close friend, Tess, now lives in another city, and her life is measured in the days and hours between phone calls. One afternoon, as she is exploring the house under construction in a wooded lot near her home, she spies a strange plant from which something large has hatched, and its smell lures her to the edge of disaster. Two months later, the house is completed and a new family with teenaged children moves in. But strange things begin to happen around them, and Rachel wonders if they aren’t more than just odd people. Could they be something else entirely, something inhuman, with dark designs for mankind?

Plant People has a spunky heroine with a delightful upper-Midwestern twang, and an entertaining little dash-about plot that is short and mindlessly fun. Even the prose mostly soars, though not without frequent bumps. The worst occur during action sequences, when phrases like “…and just at that moment, what should I find but…” appear with distracting frequency. But it also borrows a little too heavily from classic works like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Day Of The Triffids, and strips the borrowed elements from their deeper subtext. On the whole, Plant People is like a sugar-free chocolate meringue: Briefly enjoyable, but ultimately empty of even the calories it took to chew.

[Editor’s Note: Plant People was originally written as part of the “Strange Matter” series (created by Marty M. Engle and Johnny Ray Barnes Jr.). The series takes place in the fictional town of Fairfield. Stories in the series generally center on the children attending Fairfield Middle School who encounter paranormal situations.]

Posted by Kurt Dietz

Parsec Awards winners and finalists

News

The second annual Parsec Awards have just been handed out. This award started last year at Dragon*Con 2006. So it makes sense that the winners for this year were announced at Dragon*Con 2007 (which wrapped up yesterday). The idea behind the Parsec is to honor podcasting excellence in a number of categories relating to Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Here is the complete short-list of eligible PARSEC AWARD nominees and finalists in the SFFaudio related categories:

Best Audio Drama (Long Form)

Best Audio Drama (Short Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novel Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form)

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form)

Quite a collection of audio goodness!

posted by Jesse Willis

Missing early Doctor Who TV epsiodes available as Audio Dramas

SFFaudio Online Audio

Internet Archive - Audio ArchiveIn the Internet Archive’s Audio Archive section you can find audio from much of Season 3 of the original Doctor Who television series. This is one of the seasons for which many of the original broadcast episodes are missing (a long and infuriating story). Diligence on the part of some die hard fans, and some of the affiliate TV stations in other countries have turned up some of the video, and more of the audio tracks from this season over the decades since they were first broadcast. Since then the BBC had a Doctor Who actor (who played a companion during this time) provide narration for what would normally be a audio visual story. Here are all the completed serials:

Doctor Who - Galaxy 4Doctor Who – Galaxy 4
By William Emms; Narrated by Peter Purves
4 MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC
Broadcast: Sep. 11 – Oct. 2, 1965

“The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven land on an unknown planet inhabited by the hideous Rills, with their Chumbley robots, and the Drahvins. The Drahvins try to enlist the Doctor’s help to destroy the “evil” Rills, but who are the real villains?”

Episode 1 |MP3| Four Hundred Dawns
Episode 2 |MP3| Trap of Steel
Episode 3 |MP3| Airlock
Episode 4 |MP3| The Exploding Planet

Doctor Who - Mission To The UnknownDoctor Who – Mission To The Unknown
By Terry Nation; Narrated by Peter Purves
1 |MP3| – [UNABRIDGED AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC
Broadcast: Oct. 9, 1965

“On the planet Kembel three men struggle to repair their crashed spaceship in a hostile jungle.”


Doctor Who - The Myth MakersDoctor Who – The Myth Makers
By Donald Cotton; Narrated by Peter Purves
4 MP3 Files – [UNABRIDGED AUDIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC
Broadcast: Oct. 16 – Nov. 6, 1965

“The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven become involved in the siege of Troy.”

Episode 1 |MP3| Temple of Secrets
Episode 2 |MP3| Small Prophet Quick Return
Episode 3 |MP3| Death of a Spy
Episode 4 |MP3| Horse of Destruction

The über Doctor Who fans out there can also have a listen to the majority of the Daleks’ Master Plan, one of the longest serials ever made, but it is not available in its entirety.

[via Quasar Dragon]

posted by Jesse Willis