Elizabeth Moon – Page 2

The SFFaudio Podcast #101 – RECENT ARRIVALS

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #101 – Scott, Jesse and Tamahome talk recent arrivals

Talked about on today’s show:
The Wise Man’s Fear is long, ♪ Hellhole ♪, The Road To Dune |READ OUR REVIEW|, quality of Dune series, Adjustment Bureau, Twilight Zone, A Kind Of A Stopwatch, The Stainless Steel Rat For President, The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted, Richard Matheson, Other Kingdoms, (parentheses), Richard Christian Matheson (son), I Am Legend comic, Splatterpunk, some Masters Of Horror tv episodes, James Tiptree, Jr., The Screwfly Solution, Lovecraft, Dreams In The Witchhouse, Ambrose Bierce, Damn Thing, John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns episode, incontinence, Alex Bledsoe, Dark Jenny, Sword-Edged Blonde, Blood Groove |READ OUR REVIEW|, Alex H And The Airship City, Girl Genius Online comics, Airship Fantasy, William Gibson, Count Zero, Necromancer?, Normads Of Gor, Assasins Of Gor, Warlord Of Mars, Elvin Blood, cover of Warlord Of Mars #5 comic, comics vs trade paperbacks, 3 YA titles, Sweep: Book Of Shadows, don’t worry the title isn’t Wicca, Liparulo’s Whirlwind, Guardians of Ga’Hoole Book 9: The First Collier, would owls be good pets?, Shadowfever has a soundtrack, Darkfever used to be on Podiobooks, Moning is not George R. R. Martin, Fevre Dream, The Armageddon Rag, March In Country, Lifeforce the movie, The Executioner series, E. E. Knight at Graphicaudio, “I Am Batman!”, Batman: Inferno at Graphicaudio, Kings Of The North, borderline sf, Clive Cussler, The Jungle, aural noir, Andrew Vachss, rhymes with tax, child protection, Only Child, Down Here, Hard Looks comics, Shaken, Jacq Daniels, drink names, Tequila Mockingbird, Lucky Stiff, a million honeybees, this is noir romance, Romeo And Juliet spoiler, horoscopes, David Suzuki, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Radio Drama Revival, Anita Blake #1 (Guilty Pleasures), Death Cloud (young Sherlock), Fountains Of Paradise, Fade To Blonde, Gilgamesh The King |READ OUR REVIEW|, The God Engines |READ OUR REVIEW|, fiction where “stuff happens”, Roy Dotrice world record, The God Engines review gender controversy

Posted by Tamahome

(note by poster: listening to yourself is weird)

Commentary: SFSignal Mind Meld on the best of 2010

SFFaudio Commentary

JP Frantz, of the wonderful SFSignal blog, recently asked me to participate in their annual year end “Mind Meld.”

Here’s the topic:

Q: What were the best genre-related books, movies and/or shows you consumed in 2010?

Here was my answer:

Audiobooks in 2010:
The year isn’t over yet, and I’m really enjoying the new Brilliance Audio (Audible Frontiers) reading of The Speed Of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. Of the audiobooks I’ve reviewed this year I’m pleased to report the first audiobook released in the Gabriel Hunt series, Hunt: Through The Cradle Of Fear |READ OUR REVIEW|, and it’s bonus short story “Nor Idolatry Blind the Eye” have really scratched the Fantasy Adventure itch that I occasionally get. Another pair of novels released by Blackstone Audio, written by the recently deceased John Steakley, were designated SFFaudio Essentials. As read by the powerful Tom Weiner Armor |READ OUR REVIEW| and Vampire$ |READ OUR REVIEW| make for a very interesting pair of novels – they have multiple character names in common and yet one is Science Fiction (in the tradition of Starship Troopers) and the other is Fantasy (with vampires). Similarly, Full Cast Audio’s unabridged reading of Robert A. Heinlein’s Red Planet is, in my mind, now the definitive telling of the novel. It features a full cast of actors performing the entirety of the novel’s text (minus attributions). This brings the story to life in a way no TV or movie adaptation ever could – it doesn’t change a single golden word. Finally, George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides, available through Audible.com and Brilliance Audio, was perhaps the highlight of my audiobook year. Earth Abides had me reconsidering much of my outlook on life – that’s a powerful piece of SF.

Audio Drama in 2010:
In the audio drama department BrokenSea‘s expansive adaptation of Escape From New York |READ OUR REVIEW| blew my socks off! It’s a hardcore retelling of the movie of the same name with enhancements and inspiration from the novelization of the script. And, as always, the ever dependable Red Panda Adventures |READ OUR REVIEW|, now in it’s fifth season, is ramping up to a wonderful World War II arc – turning Toronto superheroes against the baddest baddies of them all – those evil Nazi scum. 2010 was a very good year for audiobooks and audio drama.

In the 2010 comics department:
I’ve been swept up in Eric Shanower’s epic quest to retell the entirety of the Trojan War in his Age Of Bronze series of graphic novels. I am also currently reading The Walking Dead and enjoying it very much. But I am not yet ready to admit that either The Walking Dead comics or on the TV show are even half as great as the zombie freaky awesomeness in the Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows series Crossed (which I read in the spring). Crossed is one scary good comic. I also thoroughly enjoyed Logicomix: An Epic Search For Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou. It’s kind of about Bertrand Russell and kind of about the only part of philosophy that I am really bad at, natural deductive logic.

Movies and TV in 2010:
The only movies that I’ve seen, worthy of the designation Science Fiction, in 2010, were Moon and Inception. If you made me pick which was superior I’d take Moon over Inception and not just because I root for the underdog. In TV, Spartacus: Blood and Sand turned out to be well worth wading through – it’s 300-style green screen visual effects nearly drowned me, but I stuck with it, and the story and acting paid-off supremely.

You can read it |HERE| along with a bunch of other folk’s own lists.

And, I participated in the 2009 Mind Meld on the same topic too!

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrivals: Penguin Audio, Macmillan Audio, Brilliance Audio

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Here are three very different recently arrived audiobooks – one humor, one Fantasy, one Science Fiction. What do they have in common? This post!

Perhaps it’s a contractual obligation? If you work for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart maybe you’re actually required to write and release a short audiobook. Or it may be just a wise decision? What I do know is that we have an obligation to tell you about all the audiobooks we receive, including this one…

I’m Dreaming Of A Black Christmas
By Lewis Black; Read by Lewis Black
4 CDs – Approx. 5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Published: November 2, 2010
ISBN: 9780142428559
Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace on earth and goodwill toward all. But not for Lewis Black. He says humbug to the christmas traditions and trappings that make the holiday memorable. In I’m Dreaming Of A Black Christmas, his hilarious and sharply observed book about the holiday, Lewis lets loose on all things Yule. It’s a very personal look at what’s wrong with Christmas, seen through the eyes of “the most engagingly pissed-off comedian ever.”* [*Stephen King] From his own Christmas rituals – which have absolutely nothing to do with the presents or the Christmas tree or Rudolph – to his own eccentric experiences with the holiday (including a USO Christmas tour and playing Santa Claus in full regalia). I’m Dreaming Of A Black Christmas is classic Lewis Black: funny,razor-sharp, insightful, and honest. You’ll never think of Christmas in the same way.

This is, apparently, the penultimate book in the Wheel Of Time series. The first book in the series, The Eye Of The World, came out in 1990, that’s twenty years ago. According to the Wikipedia entry it would take 17 days, 11 hours and 30 minutes for you to every unabridged audiobook in the series so far. Based on the price of this one, $91.99 CDN, and the first one, $59.95 USD, I’m guessing a complete set would set you back slightly more than $1,000. Now, based on these statistics, I’m betting that fat fantasy (or phat fiction? or heroic fantasy?) fans must be both extremely patient and very well-to-do.

Towers Of Midnight (Wheel of Time #13)
By Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson; Read by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer
30 CDs – Approx. 38 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: November 2010
ISBN: 9781427210227
The Last Battle has started. The seals on the Dark One’s prison are crumbling. The Pattern itself is unraveling, and the armies of the Shadow have begun to boil out of the Blight. The sun has begun to set upon the Third Age. Perrin Aybara is now hunted by specters from his past: Whitecloaks, a slayer of wolves, and the responsibilities of leadership. All the while, an unseen foe is slowly pulling a noose tight around his neck. To prevail, he must seek answers in Tel’aran’rhiod and find a way–at long last–to master the wolf within him or lose himself to it forever. Meanwhile, Matrim Cauthon prepares for the most difficult challenge of his life. The creatures beyond the stone gateways–the Aelfinn and the Eelfinn–have confused him, taunted him, and left him hanged, his memory stuffed with bits and pieces of other men’s lives. He had hoped that his last confrontation with them would be the end of it, but the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. The time is coming when he will again have to dance with the Snakes and the Foxes, playing a game that cannot be won. The Tower of Ghenjei awaits, and its secrets will reveal the fate of a friend long lost. This penultimate novel of Robert Jordan’s #1 New York Times bestselling series–the second of three based on materials he left behind when he died in 2007–brings dramatic and compelling developments to many threads in the Pattern. The end draws near. Dovie’andi se tovya sagain. It’s time to toss the dice.

Phat Fiction

We talked about this audiobook back in SFFaudio Podcast #074, but somehow it never got scanned – until now! In fact, I’m listening to this one now, and LOVING IT.

The Speed Of Dark
By Elizabeth Moon; Read by Jay Snyder
12 CDs – Approx. 14 Hours 47 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: August 27, 2010
ISBN: 9781441875068
Sample: |MP3|
Thoughtful, poignant, and unforgettable, The Speed Of Dark is a gripping exploration into the world of Lou Arrendale, an autistic man who is offered a chance to try an experimental “cure” for his condition. Now Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that may change the way he views the world — and the very essence of who he is.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Graphic Audio: Interview with Elizabeth Moon

SFFaudio Online Audio

Graphic Audio‘s podcast has a very interesting and informative interview with Elizabeth Moon. They talk about the Graphic Audio adaptations of Moon’s Vatta’s War and Serrano Legacy series of novels, cochlear implants, cyborgs, facial recognition, math, horses, embryonic livestock transport, selective breeding, genetic engineering, post-traumatic stress disorder, realistic villains, faster than light travel, and a whole lot more!

|MP3|

Podcast feed:

http://www.graphicaudio.net/t-rss.aspx

Posted by Jesse Willis

SciFiFest 2010: Olympia Timberland Library, October 23

SFFaudio News

Librarian Kelsey Smith sez:

“SciFi fans, please join us for our second annual SciFiFest! Hugo & Nebula award winning authors Ted Chiang and Nancy Kress will read their work, answer questions, and challenge you to a SciFi trivia throwdown. Spiritual Successor (featuring the infamous Zach Mandeville) will lull you with tunes about suicidal superheroes, terminally ill space babies, and moon janitors. Local heroes Mutoid Men will close out the evening with their special brand of ‘particle-accelerated, Moog synthesized, scientific rock’n’roll.’ Come in costume and win a prize! The library is normally closed at this time and is only open for the program. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library.”

This event is FREE and open to the public.

SciFiFest 2010
Date: Saturday, October 23, 7:30pm
Location:
Olympia Timberland Library
313 8th Ave SE
Olympia, WA
Phone: 360-352-0595

As a special SFFaudio bonus, the first five attendees to send me (by email) a photograph (or suitable hand drawn facsimile) of themselves and Ted Chiang together at the October 23rd event will receive, by mail, his or her choice of one of the following unabridged audiobooks:

Carnival by Elizabeth Bear (Recorded Books, 11 CDs)
On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers (Blackstone Audio, 10 CDs)
The Caves Of Steel by Isaac Asimov (Tantor Media, 6 CDs)
The Speed Of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (Brilliance Audio, 12 CDs)
Zero History by William Gibson (Penguin Audio, 11 CDs)

To be eligible the emailed images must be received no later than 11:59 pm on October 31, 2010. Prizes shall be awarded in order of their receipt by email. The suitability of any hand drawn entries shall be determined by me. Please title your emailed entries “SciFiFest 2010”.

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #074

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #074 – Jesse and Scott talk about the recently arrived audiobooks with assistance and commentary by Luke Burrage

Talked about on today’s show:
New York, “your whole life is a holiday”, The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel Of Time series, “the entire world is imagined from the ground up”, Blackstone Audio, The Shadow Hunter by Pat Murphy, neanderthals, cave bear, “a little cave dude”, The Ugly Little Boy by Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Robert J. Sawyer’s Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, shamanic or shamanistic, The Science Fiction Book Review Podcast, Urban Fantasy Alert, City Of Ghosts by Stacia Kane, the Chess Putnam series, First Drop Of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost (Book 1 in the The Night Huntress World series), paranormal romance vs. urban fantasy, spade vs. Spade, vampires, by , southern Gothic, Flannery O’Connor with zombies, the full zombie vs. the half zombie vampire, The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell, The Walking Dead by , Being Human (tv show), Dark Shadows, Hawaii 50, V, Half Blood Of Brooklyn by Charlie Huston, Stephen King, noir urban fantasy?, On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, Subterranean Press, Bronson Pinchot, pirates, magic, voodoo, Brilliance Audio, Bearers Of The Black Staff by Terry Brooks, Caviar by Theodore Sturgeon, Shannara, Audiofile Magazine, Connecting the Robots and Empire (Foundation) series, demon war, war dudes and siege engines, The Speed Of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, autism, Mary Robinette Kowal’s review of the Books On Tape edition of The Speed Of Dark |READ OUR REVIEW|, Luke’s idea for a paranormal romance set in the stone age, “urban cave fantasy”, Quicksilver by Neal Stephanson, audiobooks are being shaped to the length of an Audible credit, The Baroque Cycle, The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch |READ OUR REVIEW|, “it ends in Gibraltar”, Penguin Audio, Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston, Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, science fiction, Zero History by William Gibson, Max Headroom, Elmore Leonard, great writing is not enough, Michael May’s Adventure Blog article on back of the book copywriting, taking the risk of writing only the keywords, Starship: Mutiny by Mike Resnick |READ OUR REVIEW|, Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick |READ OUR REVIEW|, Finch by Jeff Vandermeer, StarShipSofa, weird fantasy vs. new weird, the George Zarr talk (The SFFaudio Podcast #071), Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot a BBC radio drama, “if you’re 14 years old and you’re listening to this…”, fantasy women, Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan, Young Adult fiction, the The Ruins of Gorlan series, I Am Number Four, Battlestar Galactica, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, This Immortal by Roger Zelazny, Dune by Frank Herbert, Children Of Dune, Bad Blood by John Sanford, James Lee Burke, Santa Fe Edge by Stuart Woods, by Michael Kramer, the Richard Stark Parker books (Books On Tape), Ed Eagle vs. Eddie The Eagle, New Mexico, puzzling murder, false identity, lush and exclusive resorts, family, vegetarian, car, crash, human, not human, zombie, mystery, maggot infested corpse, brink of death, flesh off her bones, Dust by Joan Frances Turner, should be able to know it, OVERLORDS!, Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, The Caves Of Steel by Isaac Asimov, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein, futuristic gadgetry, Snow Crash, Virtual Light by William Gibson, “the first really good augmented reality book”, The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan.

Posted by Jesse Willis