fantasy – Page 75

BBC7 Twilight Zone, Doctor Who, Kelly Link, John Wyndham +MORE

SFFaudio Online Audio

There’s actually a lot to listen to (or eventually download via radioarchive.cc) over on BBC Radio 7 this weekend and next week.

Airing under the “7th Dimension” banner for the coming week on BBC7 are…

The Twilight Zone – Free Dirt
Based on the story by Charles Beaumont; Performed by a full cast
[RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Saturday at 6pm and Midnight
Penny-pinching Luther acquires soil from a cemetery to grow his vegetables. But there’s a grim price he must pay. Starring Eric Bogosian, with Stacy Keach as the Narrator it was written by Charles Beaumont and adapted for radio by Dennis Etchinson.

Dalek I Love You Too
By Colin Sharpe; Performed by a full cast
[RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Sunday at 6pm and Midnight
A sequel to Dalek I Love You, we revisit enigmatic hero Nigel English in his quest to find a part in the new Doctor Who series, with the hope of meeting his father, who Nigel believes to be the Doctor himself. First broadcast in March 2008.

Catch My Breath
By Marty Ross; Performed by a full cast
[RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Monday to Friday at 6pm and Midnight
A contemporary horror story set in a remote Scottish country house. Another Radio 7 commission. First broadcast in March 2007.

Fantastic Journeys – The Faery Handbag
By Kelly Link; Read by Maggie Blake
[ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Monday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
A distraught young woman reveals how a magical handbag has caused her to lose both her boyfriend and grandmother. New to Radio 7.

Trouble With Lichen
By John Wyndham; Read by Joanne Tope
[ABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Weekdays at 6.30pm and 12.30am
Recorded especially for Radio 7A biochemist stumbles upon a discovery which could change the course of humanity by isolating a strain of lichen that actually slows down the aging process.

And airing under the “Crime and Thrillers” moniker is…

Above Suspicion
Based on the novel by Helen MacInnes; Read by Emma Currie
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Monday to Friday at 9.30am, 8.30pm and 1.30am
As Europe teeters on the brink of World War II, a naïve young British couple are swept into the unfamiliar world of espionage. This series was made-for-Radio-7 and first broadcast in 2007 to mark the centenary of the birth of Helen MacInnes, the Scottish-American thriller writer who was hugely influential in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. It was produced by Eilidh McCreadie.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Mary Robinette Kowal – Novel = sold!!!!

SFFaudio News

MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL (1969 – ) A past contributor to SFFaudio, is an American John W. Campbell Award winning author who is currently serving as SFWA secretary. Kowal is also a puppeteer (non-Pierson’s) and has just sold her first novel to Tor books…

Dear Everyone I Know,

I have sold my novel!

Tor books, the largest SF publisher in the world, has bought “Shades of Milk and Honey,” which is my fantasy novel set in Jane Austen’s England. I’m delighted not only by the sale, but because my editor will be Liz Gorinsky who is not only personally charming, but also the editor for some of my favorite authors, like Cherie Priest. Needless to say, I am thrilled and have to tell EVERYONE I know.

I found out on January 30 but have been sitting on the news until we finalized some details. So you can look for my first novel to come out in 2010. So excited!

http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/novel-sold-best-birthday-present-ever/

Yours,
Mary

I asked Mary what the word was on the audiobook version. Here’s what she said:

“the initial idea for this came from a radio serial that I was writing.”

There is also a good possibility of an audiobook.

Cool and congrats!

Posted by Jesse Willis

Story Speiler: Accidental Death and All The World A Grave

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here are another two excellent unabridged audiobook short story offerings from Roy Turnbull…

The first, Accidental Death by Peter Baily, is definitely Science Fiction. It’s about an ill-fated expedition to an alien planet with some friendly, though dangerous, tennis-playing aliens. It speculates on the nature of luck in a first person present tense narrative – which is fun.

The second story, All The World A Grave by C.C. MacApp, is either Fantasy or Science Fiction, depending on your view of human nature. I take it as very apt satirical SF, in the same vein as The Space Merchants – as such, and despite its vintage, it has some very promising economic stimulus ideas for the new Barack Obama administration. Go economy, go!

Accidental Death
By Peter Baily; Read by Roy Turnbull
1 |MP3| – Approx. 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Story Spieler Podcast
Published: 2009?
Provider: Internet Archive
From Astounding Science Fiction February 1959. The most dangerous of weapons is the one you don’t know is loaded.

And All The Earth A Grave
By C.C. MacApp; Read by Roy Turnbull
1 |MP3| – Approx. 16 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Story Spieler Podcast
Published: 2009?
Provider: Internet Archive
From Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1963. There’s nothing wrong with dying—it just hasn’t ever had the proper sales pitch!

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #024

Podcast

The SFFaudio Podcast #024 – Jesse and Scott discuss hardware (which is the best iPod), comics (graphic novels to some), movies (bad and worse) and even a few audiobooks (not so bad at all).

Talked about on today’s show:
Recent arrivals, Od Magic by Patricia A. McKillip, Blackstone Audio, Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint, urban fantasy, Pebble In The Sky by Isaac Asimov, BBC Audiobooks America, Gentleman Of The Road by Michael Chabon, In The Electric Mist With The Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke, New Orleans, why there’s no such thing as a “noir” series, Montana, film: Taken, ViolentWorldOfParker.com, Duplicate Effort by Kristine Katherine Rusch, the Moon, Audible.com’s Short Story sale, Coming Attraction by Fritz Leiber, LibriVox + SFFaudio = Instant iTunes Audiobooks, “Here Comes The eBook Revolution” by Mike Elgan, the e-ing of magazines, review of The Book Of Lies by Brad Meltzer, Phantoms by Dean Koontz, revisionism – what authors shouldn’t go back and revise (or update) their published novels, evidence: Star Wars, Star Trek: Amok Time, Escape Pod returns! with a new Ken Scholes short story, Lamentation by Ken Scholes, Springtime for Hitler (and Germany), iPhone’s drawback (battery life), iPod Nano vs. iPod Classic vs. iPod Touch, The Cutie by Donald E. Westlake comes to audiobook on March 1st 2009, Decoder Ring Theatre, Gregg Taylor’s Black Jack Justice is now a webcomic!, Sandman: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman, Gaiman on CBC.

Posted by Jesse Willis

ABC Radio National: Watch by Stephen Dedman

SFFaudio Online Audio

ABC Radio National, Australia’s public radio broadcaster will be airing (but sadly not podcasting) a story from the paperbook Year’s Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy Volume 2 collection (2006). It airs at 08:30 in the SUNDAY STORY slot.

Watch
By Stephen Dedman; Read by Matthew O’Sullivan
1 Broadcast – [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: ABC Radio National
Broadcast: February 1st 2009
A modern retelling of King Lear with a supernatural twist.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Stonefather by Orson Scott Card

SFFaudio Review

Stonefather
By Orson Scott Card; Read by Emily Janice Card
Audible Download – 3 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2008
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / Nature / Politics / Youth /

Runnel is nothing special. He was never good at anything nor exceptionally bad at anything, just plain ordinary. He is frequently beat by a just as frequently angry father. He lives in a house with more than a dozen children. “Runnel” is a water name, which he was given out of piety to the god Yegut. Even though he has a water name, the only thing that Runnel is better than the other children at is rock climbing. He can find footholds and crevices where other children can’t.

As Runnel approaches his “man height” the other kids begin playing mean jokes on him. During one of these jokes Runnel finds himself on the top of a mountain all alone looking at a road heading to Mitherhome, the city of water mages. He decides to leave and starts to walk towards Mitherhome which is an island surrounded by a deep gorge in the land. He walks to the town of Hetterfairy, the only way to get to Mitherhome. Here he meets a servant named Lark who becomes his first friend. Runnel persuades her to take him to her masters house where he gets a job and discovers something amazing about himself.

This book is written by Orson Scott Card and is read by his daughter Emily Janice Card. Orson Scott Card is the famous award-winning author of the Ender series, Bean Series, and the Earthfall Series. “Stonefather” is a story set in a series he is writing, an introduction you might say.

Emily Janice Card read this book amazingly. This is the first audio book that I have heard that she has read and I was pretty surprised. She is not the best reader in the world but she is very very good. I could see the same voice in all the characters but this did not distract me from the story.

Card’s clever use of words had me from the beginning as all of his books do. I could tell each character not only from their voice but from their style of words. Some had very similar styles but there was always a little tweak in it that I could see and it made it all the better. I dislike books in which I can not tell who is speaking.

Posted by DanielsonKid (Age 14)