Recent Arrivals – Blish, Resnick, Metzler, Westlake

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Audible Frontiers - A Case of Conscience by James BlishA 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…

Audible Frontiers - Starship: Rebel, Book 4 by Mike ResickStarship: 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.

Book Of Lies by Brad MeltzerThe 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. WestlakeWatch 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

Aural Noir Review of Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald E. Westlake

Aural Noir: Review

Somebody Owes Me Money is book number 044 in the Hard Case Crime library.

Audible.com and BBC Audiobooks America audiobook - Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald E. WestlakeSFFaudio EssentialHard Case CrimeSomebody Owes Me Money
By Donald E. Westlake; Read by Stephen Thorne
Audible Download (or 6 CDs) – 6 Hours 37 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America / Audible.com
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9780792754534
Themes: / Mystery / Crime / Murder / Humor / Gambling / The Mob / New York /
SAMPLE: |MP3|
Cab driver Chet Conway was hoping for a good tip from his latest fare, the sort he could spend. But what he got was a tip on a horse race; which might have turned out okay, except that when he went to collect his winnings, Chet found his bookie lying dead on the living room floor. Chet knows he had nothing to do with it – but just try explaining that to the cops, to the two rival criminal gangs who each think Chet’s working for the other, and to the dead man’s beautiful sister, who has flown in from Las Vegas to avenge her brother’s murder.

If I’m looking for a fun read, something that entertains on every single page, I can always rely on Donald Westlake. The folks at Hard Case Crime know it too. The only author they’ve published more of than Westlake is Lawrence Block. Like Block, Westlake is a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master – and, they’ve both been writing steadily since the 1950s. This particular novel was first published in 1969, and was released in June 2008 by Hard Case Crime, with it’s awesome new cover art. BBC Audiobooks America, as they’ve are doing with far too few of the Hard Case lineup, has released it as an audiobook.

Westlake says he’s “always had a soft spot” for Somebody Owes Me Money, the novel came to him out of the common introductory phrase, “I bet…” – Westlake figured if a guy was going to say that as the opening lines of a novel, he’d be a gambler, and being a gambler, he’d have a tale of woe. Somebody Owes Me Money is the result. And what a result! This is another classic Westlake “nephew” story.

The hero, Chet, is a poker playing New York cab driver who lives with his retired father. Chet’s a little short of cash right now, so when he’s fairly pissed when an uptown fare stiffs him on the tip. The customer instead only drops him a ‘line on a horse.’ Frustrated, but thinking about it on his way home, Chet decides to give his bookie a call and the horse a shot. The next day, to Chet’s surprise, he ends up winning a bundle on the longshot horse! But, when he goes to collect from his bookie, he finds the guy dead, himself without the cash he’d won, and inches away from being charged with the murder. To clear his good name, collect his winnings and recover his money he’ll not only have to find the murderer, but also keep the cops from knowing he’d been illegally gambling. As the mystery progresses Chet finds himself mixed up with a gun toting moll named Abbie, getting shot in the head by persons unknown and playing a few more hands of poker. This is a fast paced, cleverly plotted mystery with an old time New York ambiance. I loved it.

Narrator Stephen Thorne has a voice and range like that of audiobook hero William Dufris. They share an amiable, lighthearted, voice that makes perfect the narration of first-person light comedy mysteries. In other words, this book. This is a letter prefect reading, bright, shiny, fun, solid. SFFaudio Essential listening.

Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald E. Westlake
Somebody Owes Me Money - Doug Johnson illustration from Playboy, July and August 1969

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Arrivals – Doc Smith, Octavia Butler, Robert A. Heinlein

Science Fiction Audiobook Recent Arrivals

Three new titles from three different publishers.

Audiobook - Vortex Blaster by Doc E E SmithVortex Blaster
By E.E. “Doc” Smith; Read by Reed McColm
1 MP3 Disc or 6 CDs, Approx. 7.5 hrs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books In Motion
Published: 2007
ISBN: 159607793X (MP3 disc); 1596077921 (CDs)

From the back cover:
One man against the basic energy of the universe, unleashed in ravening fury that was “Storm” Cloud. Unique was the only way to describe him, yet alone in his single-handed battle. The appalling destructiveness of a loose atomic vortex could be cancelled out only by destroying the vortex itself. While not even the most massive and modern of electronic computers could figure out how to destroy a loose vortex, “Storm” Cloud could and did.

To Galactic Civilization, the loose vortices were just one menace among many. It was “Storm’s” unique brain, itself a computer with fantastic powers that enabled him to select and direct a duodecaplylatomate bomb with exactly the right energy to snuff each vortex out of existence. The day a runaway vortex exploded in his home was the day “Storm” Cloud became the Vortex Blaster!

Science Fiction Audiobook - Fledgling by Octavia Butler read by Tracey LeighFledgling
By Octavia E. Butler; Read by Tracey Leigh
10 CDs, Appox. 12.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9780792746713

From the back cover:
Fledgling, the late Octavia E. Butler’s final novel, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted–and still wants–to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of “otherness” and questions what it means to be truly human.

Science Fiction Audiobook - Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A. HeinleinRocket Ship Galileo
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Spider Robinson
5 CDs, 4 Cassettes or 1 MP3 disc – 5.5 hrs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9780786162765 (CDs); 9780786147892 (cassettes); 9780786172092(MP3 disc)

From the back cover:
Ross Jenkins, Art Mueller, and Morris Abrams are not your average high-schools students. While other kids are cruising around in their cars or playing ball, this trio, known as the Galileo Club, is experimenting with rocket fuels, preparing for their future education at technical colleges.

Art’s uncle, the nuclear physicist Dr. Donald Cargraves, offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to construct and crew a rocket that will take them to the moon. Cargraves believes their combined ingenuity and enthusiasm can actually make this dream come true. But there are those who don’t share their dream and who will stop at nothing to keep their rocket grounded.

The Time Traveler of the Time Traveler Show podcast.

New Releases

SFFaudio New Releases

Newcomer ElectricStory.com (through Fictionwise.com) has a Hugo and Nebula award winning story for just $0.99…

Science Fiction Audiobook - Bears Discover Fire by Terry BissonBears Discover Fire
By Terry Bisson; Read by Alec Rowell
1 MP3 Download – 27 Minutes 35 Seconds [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Fictionwise.com / ElectricStory.com
Published: February 2007
Listen to an MP3 sample
The title pretty much says it. Whether because of climate change or some even more mysterious cause, bears have discovered fire. This affords the Southern-gentleman narrator new opportunities to teach his nephew about life, death, and how, more than ever, “it’s best not to alarm bears.” This audiobook comes bundled with an afterword read by Bisson himself at RustyCon 2007.

Fantasy Audiobook - The New Moon's Arms by Nalo HopkinsonThe New Moon’s Arms
By Nalo Hopkinson; Read by Gin Hammond
8 CDs – 10 Hours 15 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
Published: February 2007
ISBN: 0792747356
Listen to an MP3 sample
What’s in a name? A lot, according to Caribbean-born Chastity, who has adopted the more fitting moniker Calamity. Now in her fifties, true to her name, Calamity is confronting two big life transitions: Her beloved father has just died, and she is starting menopause, a physical shift that has rekindled her special gift for finding lost things. Suddenly she is getting hot flashes that seem to forge objects out of thin air. Only this time, the lost item that has washed up on the shore is not her old toy truck or her hairbrush, but a 4-year-old boy.

New Releases

SFFaudio New Releases

Leading the pack, with a Murray Leinster classic …

Science Fiction Audiobook - Anthropological Note by Murray LeinsterAnthropological Note
By Murray Leinster; Read by Tara Platt
1 MP3 Dowload – 55 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Wonder Audio
Published: February 2007
Miss Cummings, a female anthropologist, is set down in the middle of a Venusian Krug village to study the alien culture. Ray Hale, a scondrel and murderer, is on his way to the very same village. Miss Cummings and Ray Hale have a past, but what of their future?

Audio Renaissance has much lengthier modern titles…

Science Fiction Audiobook - Empire by Orson Scott CardEmpire
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Stephan Rudnicki
9 CDs – 11 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: November 2006
ISBN 1593979800 (CD)
The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone. The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side, and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities, and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop, and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons and strategic geniuses of their own. When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together? And which side will you be on?

Science Fiction Audiobook - Halo Ghosts Of Onyx by Eric NylandHalo: Ghosts Of Onyx
By Eric Nylund; Read by Jonathan Davis
CD or Digital Download – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published:
ISBN: 1593979835
Covenant forces are sweeping through the outer colonies, glassing the planets and taking no survivors. But humans have a super weapon more powerful then one-hundred covenant troops, Spartans. These super soldiers are part human part machine, tactical and strong, and spell one word for the covenant, Death. Few are left, so ONI decides to mass produce them in a remote planet Onyx.

A freshly minted Octavia E. Butler novel, perhaps her last publication…

Science Fiction Audiobook - Fledgeling by Octavia E. ButlerFledgling
By Octavia E. Butler; Read by Tracey Leigh
10 CDs – 12 Hr 19 Min [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
Published: February 2007
ISBN: 0792746716 (CD)
The late Octavia E. Butler’s final novel: The story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly un-human needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: she is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted–and still wants–to destroy her and those she cares for, and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of “otherness” and questions what it means to be truly human.