The Jolly Corner by Henry James

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Jolly Corner by Henry James

I’ve edited together, cleaned up, and Levelated the 2009 solo LibriVox narration of Henry James’ 1908 novelette The Jolly Corner.

The Jolly Corner is a ghost story, said to be rivaled only by The Turn Of The Screw. Here is narrator Nicholas Clifford’s own description:

James’s protagonist, Spencer Brydon, is an American of 56, returned to New York after 33 years in Europe, where he has apparently accomplished little while living off his New York rentals. His friendship with Alice Staverton, and his engagement in the development of a property awaken him to the possibilities that might have been his, had he chosen a different course of life. The “ghost,” if that’s what it is, is that other self that might have been, and his confrontation with that self and its possibilities leads to a deeply unsettling, yet ambiguous, conclusion.

Having been downloaded more than 7,000 times there’s still only one review on Archive.org page – but it is a very positive review, writes Kydiana:

This is an intriguing and thought-provoking tale. On the surface a ghost story, it is really a story about the ghosts which haunt our own interiors. It poses deep existential questions–Who are we, really? Would we even recognize ourselves in a life in which in which we had made different choices? What does it mean to love someone regardless of how that person develops over the course of a lifetime? Well-read. Highly recommended.

|MP3| Approx. 95 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]

And, made from a scan of the original magazine publication, here’s a handy 31 page |PDF| version.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Dreams In The Witch House by H.P. Lovecraft

SFFaudio Online Audio

Bryan Baugh‘s illustration of The Dreams In The Witch House is fabulous.

The Dreams In The Witch House - illustrated by Bryan Baugh

It captures everything I love about this novelette. In a stating his inspiration for the illustration Baugh explains his own experiences, of not being able to appreciate The Dreams In The Witch House, until he had matured. But he also goes on to call it “[an] insane little epic” one “which offers a mind boggling blend of old fashioned haunted-house horror with sci-fi quantum physics and alternate dimensions.

In The Nyarlathotep Cycle, a collection of related stories by various authors, editor R.M. Price wrote this for the introduction to The Dreams In The Witch House:

“Fritz Leiber was right: Lovecraft effected a Copernican revolution in horror by using the fearsome implications of modern science as the subtext for Gothic horror.”

Julie Hoverson, a Seattleite polymath and sometime guest on the SFFaudio Podcast, narrates it for us. A Lovecraft expert herself, Julie has adapted several of his short stories as audio dramas for her 19 Nocturne Boulevard series.

And me? I’m just glad that the twisting non-Euclidean angles of the actual real life witch house, as seen in the Masters Of Horror adaptation of this story, allow me to live within driving distance of Caprica City (where I attended university), the Tomb of Athena (where I went hiking), and Kobol (where I go dog walking).

The Dreams In The Witch House by H.P. LovecraftThe Dreams In The Witch House
By H.P. Lovecraft; Read by Julie Hoverson
1 |MP3| – Approx. 1 Hour 42 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Provider: Julie Hoverson
Provided: April 2013
Walter Gilman, a student of mathematics and folklore at Miskatonic University, rents a local rooming house. First published in the July 1933 issue of Weird Tales.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #225 – AUDIOBOOK: The Iron Heel by Jack London

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #225 – The Iron Heel by Jack London, read by Matt Soar.

This UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK (8 Hours 9 Minutes) comes to us courtesy of LibriVox.org. The Iron Heel was first published in 1907.

The Iron Heel by Jack London

Posted by Jesse Willis

Five Free Favourites #18: The 5 first Philip K. Dick AUDIOBOOK/READALONG episodes of The SFFaudio Podcast

SFFaudio Online Audio

Five of my favourite SFFaudio podcasts are our first five Philip K. Dick AUDIOBOOK + READALONG episodes. We’ve done more than five podcasts about Philip K. Dick stories, but these five all have the audiobook up front!

I think they are among the best podcasts we’ve recorded.

Five Free Favourites

1. The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #109 (May 23, 2011)
AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick
|MP3|
Also available, the |PDF|
Narrator: Mac Kelly
Participants: Jesse, Scott, Tamahome
First published in Science Fiction Adventures, December 1953.

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2. The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #122 (August 22, 2011)
AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Beyond The Door by Philip K. Dick
|MP3|
Also available, the |PDF|
Narrator: Gregg Margarite
Participants: Scott, Jesse, Tamahome, Gregg Margarite
First published in Fantastic Universe, January 1954.

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3. The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #153 (March 26, 2012)
AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Small Town by Philip K. Dick
|MP3|
Also available, the |PDF|
Narrator: Gregg Margarite
Participants: Jesse, Tamahome, Gregg Margarite
First published in Amazing Stories, May 1954.

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4. The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #194 (January 7, 2013)
AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Of Withered Apples by Philip K. Dick
|MP3|
Also available, the |PDF|
Narrator: Julie Davis
Participants: Jesse, Tamahome, Jenny, Julie Davis
First published in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, July 1954.

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5. The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #224 (August 5, 2013)
AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Exhibit Piece by Philip K. Dick
|MP3|
Also available, the |PDF|
Narrator: Mark Turetsky
Participants: Jesse, Jenny, Maissa Bessada, Mark Turetsky
First published in If: Worlds Of Science Fiction, August 1954.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #224 – AUDIOBOOK/READALONG: Exhibit Piece by Philip K. Dick

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #224 – Exhibit Piece by Philip K. Dick; read by Mark Turetsky. This is a complete and unabridged reading of the story (40 minutes) followed by a discussion of it. Participants in the discussion include Jesse, Jenny, Maissa Bessada, and Mark Turetsky.

Exhibit Piece was first published in the August 1954 issue of If: Worlds Of Science Fiction.

Talked about on today’s show:
“Hi, I’m the main character”, a pocket universe, a time portal, is the cold war a 22nd century office feud?, looking back at the 1950s, 1950s nostalgia in the 1950s, middle class white guy, cobalt bombs, the boogeyman, global warming?, Jesse needs to listen to the fear propaganda, a historical perspective, how to build a cobalt bomb, what was he doing in there?, was Miller herded into the 1950s world?, the authority figures, the TV, the newspaper, the dreamed are secure until the dreamer wakes?, Star Trek, Barbara Adams, talking to her hair?, Trekkies, is Miller delusional?, a crack in time, a nested world, living inside a museum exhibit with a confabulated wife and children, Berkeley, California, San Francisco, New York -> N’York, public transportation (the bus) -> pubtrans, the Wikipedia entry for Exhibit Piece, citation needed, does the entire story happen in the 1950s?, did Miller have a psychotic break after reading the newspaper?, TOTAL WORLD DESTRUCTION AHEAD, the missing newspaper, Philip K. Dick’s old house, dog food for dinner, the world of the neighborhood,a mistake the Oakland Daily, I didn’t get up until noon anyway, the newspaper as the binding point, is the psychiatrist right?, the names, Grunberg, Fleming, Carnap, the philosopher Rudolph Carnap, logical positivism, the slippage of words, natural deductive logic, death panels, a priori, philosophy, Newspeak in reverse, double plus good, “Dig me?”, the Eisenhower administration, Jazz cats, the 22nd century is pretty awful, the time when men were still men, Military–industrial complex, Eisenhower’s field rank, misplaced power, a golden age, the greying of the world, even the robot thinks he’s weird, how smokeable is two centuries old tobacco?, is the future the delusion?, was anti-hist a term at the time?, gorning!, transformed language, Russian River, incongruous authority figures, the highest ranking official in the world directorate doesn’t have anything better to do, delusions of grandeur, maybe history is just that important to them, Hampton Court Palace, who is the museum for?, what a weirdo, the business suit as a uniform, similar Philip K. Dick short stories, Upon The Dull Earth by Philip K. Dick, resurrection, The Commuter by Philip K. Dick, only the reader can see it, how are the worlds linked?, the version where Miller is crazy, Second Life, computer generate realities, World Of Warcraft grinding day and night, sorta-real gold, there’s no distinguishment between realities, Breakfast At Twilight by Philip K. Dick, time travel, the Cold War, idealized suburban lifestyle, a fleet of Russian robots (drones), fear of nuclear war 1950s – 1980s, Russian spy stories, fear of AIDS, AIDS education in Kindergarten!, blast radii, things are going to be great, Mark Turetsky has been narrating audiobooks since 2009, nerdy kids books, Pi In The Sky by Wendy Mass, a Recorded Books Book, Mark’s like a Kirby Heybourne type, the zombie books, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Cloud Atlas, Gone Girl, Ace Galaksi is a Canadian comedic audio drama miniseries.

Exhibit Piece by Philip K. Dick

Exhibit Piece illustrated by Paul Orban

Posted by Jesse Willis

The Iron Heel by Jack London

SFFaudio Online Audio

I’ve stitched together the 26 MP3 files (8 hours 9 minutes) of Matt Soar’s LibriVox narration of The Iron Heel by Jack London. I’ve removed all redundant intros and extros, Levelated the audio, and done some noise removal. I’ve also added art, taken from the cover of one of the first printings of this 1907 Science Fiction dystopia. You’re welcome.

|MP3|

Gutenberg has the |ETEXT|

The Iron Heel by Jack London - Capital V. Labour

Posted by Jesse Willis