Tag: Cory Doctorow

The SFFaudio Podcast #034 – READALONG: The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #034 – Jesse and Scott have invited a roster of internet celebrities on for this podcast to talk about Richard K. Morgan‘s novel The Steel Remains. Listen in as…

Brian Murphy (of The Silver Key blog and The Cimmerian),

Gregg Margarite (LibriVox.org narrator and book coordinator),

and Luke Burrage (professional juggler and host of the Science Fiction Book Review Podcast) discuss…

The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan [AN UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK from TANTOR MEDIA]!

Talked about on today’s show:
The Cimmerian blog, Deathworld by Harry Harrison @ LibriVox.org, The Real Fantastic Stuff an essay by Richard K. Morgan, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord Of The Rings, noir, Sci-Fi Dimensions interview with Richard K. Morgan (not Dark Horizons), homosexuality, nihilism, anti-hero, the Takeshi Kovacs novels (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies), Morgan’s Thirteen (aka Black Man), Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, Adam Robert’s letter to Hugo fans (about the Hugo nominees), Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, the Hugo Awards, Morgan’s Market Forces, Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg, George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire, David Eddings, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, Terry Brooks, the Dragonlance series, magic, Tolkien’s use of magic, Morgan’s use of magic in The Steel Remains, characterization in The Steel Remains, recurring themes in Morgan’s novels, Robert E. Howard‘s Conan, what is Ringil Eskiath’s motivation?, what does everyone think of The Steel Remains?, what is the nature maps in Fantasy novels?, The Darkness That Comes Before by Scott Bakker. Next week we’ll talk about more audiobooks with these guys too.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Cory Doctorow’s review of Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

SFFaudio News

Brilliance Audio - Sandman Slim by Richard KadreyCory Doctorow is singing the praises of a cool sounding audiobook by Richard Kadrey called Sandman Slim. It’s available now from Brilliance Audio…

“I’ve just finished listening to the unabridged, 10-hour audiobook of Sandman Slim, which is available on a single MP3 CD without DRM from Brilliance Audio. The reading is performed by Macleod Andrews, who does the narration in a perfect whiskey voice that’s 80 percent Tom Waits, 20 percent Clint Eastwood. The performance and production are marvellous, a great interpretive reading that really brought the novel to life for me. I also love that I could get it without having to suffer through either DRM through one of the audiobook download stores or through ripping ten CDs’ worth of material, which is how I normally get my audiobooks onto my computer.”

[via BoingBoing]

Posted by Jesse Willis

SFOHA: The Science Fiction Oral History Association

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Science Fiction Oral History AssociationThe Science Fiction Oral History Association, has a new blog (that’s also soon to be a podcast). SFOHA is currently presided over by el presidente Rick Jackson. Rick is a former reviews editor for SFFaudio. The site is just getting started – but it’s a terrific start with several cool convention panels Rick recorded at Penguicon 2009 (a combination Science Fiction and open source software convention) and CONfusion 2009.

Penguicon 2009:

Copywhat Copyrights! Open Source Licensing in Literature |MP3|
Panel: Rick Jackson,

Creating a Wikinomic Online Community |MP3| Panel: Rick Jackson, Sarah Elkins

Legal Issues and Podcasting |MP3|
Panel: Rick Jackson, Steve Eley

Selling Your Soul – Marketing Your Work on a Limited Budget |MP3|
Panel: Rick Jackson, Jim C. Hines

Cyptic CONfusion 2009:

What Turns Great Ideas Into Short Stories Or Novels?
Panelists: Kelley Armstrong, Violette Malan [M], Paul Melko, Catherine Shaffer and Sandee Rodriguez
1 |MP3| – Approx. 46 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Recorded: Saturday January 24, 2009 10am
We all know where ideas come from, don’t we? But what are we supposed to do with them after that? How do we translate those ideas into successful stories and novels? Come and find out!

Did Captain Kirk Own A Wallet?
Panelists: Cory Doctorow, Tobias Buckell [M], Philip Edward Kaldon, Paul Melko and Matthew Stewart-Fulton
1 |MP3| – Approx. 52 Minutes [CONVENTION PANEL]
Recorded: Recorded: Saturday January 24, 2009 11am
Economics and SF how has science fiction has portrayed economics of the future over the years how have things changed, what are some of the enduring themes?

Setting: Haven’t I been here before?
Panelists: Violette Malan [M], Karl Schroeder, Catherine Shaffer, Doselle Young and Jim Frenkel
1 |MP3| – Approx. 46 Minutes [CONVENTION PANEL]
Recorded: Recorded: Saturday January 24, 2009 12pm
How important is setting to a reader’s understanding and enjoyment of the story? Is setting the real difference between S and SF? Are we overusing the settings we have, and are there any new ones?

Meet the New Boss: Young Adult SF
Panelists: Cory Doctorow, Kelley Armstrong, Anne Harris [M], Jim Frenkel, Doselle Young, Steven Harper Piziks
1 |MP3| – Approx. 56 Minutes [CONVENTION PANEL]
Recorded: Saturday January 24, 2009 1pm
How it is the same and different from adult SF and how it has evolved over the years and where it is going. Will it overtake Paranormal Romance and become the next big thing?

Big Brother Is Watching You!
Panelists: Cory Doctorow, David Rozian, Steve Buchheit, Karl Schroeder [M], Catherine Shaffer
1 |MP3| – Approx. 58 Minutes [CONVENTION PANEL]
Recorded: Saturday January 24, 2009 3pm
Personal privacy in the electronic age we now have or will have chips on everything we own including pets, where is this all going? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Podcasting — the future of it
Panelists: Cat Rambo, Matthew Stewart-Fulton, Alexander Bouchard, and Rick Jackson
1 |MP3| – Approx. 45 Minutes [CONVENTION PANEL]
Recorded: Sunday January 25, 2009 12pm

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #023

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #023 – Jesse and Scott are joined by Rick Jackson (aka The Time Traveler) and talk to him about his podcast (The Time Traveler Show) and audiobook company (Wonder Audio).

Talked about on today’s show:
The Time Traveler Show podcast, Scott Brick, William Dufris, Mark Douglas Nelson, Sam Mowry, Arthur C. Clarke, Stefan Rudnicki, Wonder Audio, Mac Kelly, Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley, Audible.com/wonderaudio, ebook, Frank Herbert, Alfred Bester, Pat Bottino, The Cimmerian blog, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Chronicle Books, Macmillan Audio, fantasy, Lamentation by Ken Scholes, multiple narrators, Full Cast Audio, Elmore Leonard, Jim Dale, Stephen Fry, Harry Potter, Graphic Audio, Anathem by Neal Stephenson, The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (ISIS Audio ISBN: 1856955435), Phantoms by Dean Koontz, Mel Blanc, Billy West, Tara Platt, Yuri Lowenthal, Bill Hollweg, the public domain status of Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, The Weapon Shops Of Isher by A.E. van Vogt, William Coon, The Quest For Saint Aquin by Anthony Boucher, They Bite by Anthony Boucher, William F. Temple, A Sheckley Trilogy, Worlds Of Wonder edited by Robert Silverberg, The Monsters by Robert Sheckley, A Is For Alien, The Science Fiction Oral History Association, Lloyd Biggle Jr., SFOHA needs volunteers, Worldcon 2009, Macmillan Audio, Sly Mongoose by Tobias Buckell (read by Jonathan Davis), science fiction, aliens, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow |READ OUR REVIEW|, infodumping, Scott Westerfeld, Uglies, Pretties, Extras, A Case Of Conscience by James Blish |READ OUR REVIEW|, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce, The Star by Arthur C. Clarke, The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, Penguincon, Penguincon podcast, Spider Robinson, Stephen Eley, Day Million and We Purchased People by Frederik Pohl, Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), science as “arrogance control”, transhumanism.

Posted by Jesse Willis

FREE LISTENS REVIEW: Anda’s Game by Cory Doctorow

Review

Free Listens Blog“Anda’s Game”
By Cory Doctorow
Source: Craphound.com
Length: Approx. 1 hr
Reader: Alice Taylor

The story: “Anda’s Game” uses the setting of an online fantasy game to explore how world-spanning issues of responsibility are present even in the games people play. Like much of Doctorow’s science fiction that I’ve read, this story takes place in a near-future or slightly alternate present. Anda, a high school girl, spends most of her time playing a World of Warcraft-like game. She and Lucy, a friend Anda meets through an online gaming group called the Fahrenheits, begin taking on in-game quests of a very unusual nature. As Anda begins to realize these quests are morally questionable, she is caught up in a situation she knows is wrong, but feels powerless to alter.

Doctorow fits a number of societal issues into his fiction and this story is no exception. His knowledge and care for his characters allow his handling of childhood obesity and game addiction to avoid the crassness of TV news shock stories. The story touches on rarely-discussed questions about sweatshop labor, world economy, and virtual economies. The story does not try to provide the answer to all these thorny issues, but instead suggests that relying on others through honest communication is the starting point for solving difficult problems, be they personal or international.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Alice Taylor has a mumbly British accent, which makes it sometimes difficult to understand, but fits the main character perfectly. While individual words are sometimes unintelligible, whether through pronunciation or slang usage, the meaning is always clear. When a character in the story types, Taylor types along on her keyboard, making an aural equivalent to what authors sometimes do by changing typeface or indentation to indicate a written conversation over computer. Each of the three episodes is introduced and ended by Doctorow’s own comments on the story and his personal life.

Posted by Seth