Fred Saberhagen – Page 4

Durkin Hayes Audiobooks for sale

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Durkin Hayes Audiobooks

I’ve been selling Durkin Hayes Paperback Audio audiobooks for about 10 years. None of them are available on Audible.com as DH Audio (formerly Durkin Hayes, formerly Listen For Pleasure) was going bankrupt about the same time Audible.com took off. These are all out-of-print audiobooks, and I think they’re some of the very best ever put to tape. Anybody want to buy some?

All of these are $5.00 each (U.S. or Canadian). That’s $0.01 above the original retail price. Buy 6 or more and I’ll throw in free shipping to the USA. For other countries (including my own country of Canada) I’ll charge a flat shipping fee of $5.00 for an unlimited number of audiobooks. All of these are single cassette audiobooks. They’re all “brand new” and “shrinkwrapped”. I’ve heard all of them, some pretty recently. If you have any questions please post em below or email. Money orders and PayPal are both ok. Details follow the pics:

First up an anthology of awesomeness selected by Isaac Asimov (for print) and Martin Greenberg (for audio) in 7 parts…

Isaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories – Volume I
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 60 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “Captive Market” by Philip K. Dick and “The Last Of The Deliverers” by Poul Anderson
*The cover incorrectly states the title of the Poul Anderson story as (The Last Of The Defenders) , it is actually “The Last Of The Deliverers”
ISBN: 0886469481
QUANTITY IN STOCK: VERY FEW

Isaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories – Volume II
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 72 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “World Of A Thousand Colors” by Robert Silverberg and “Impostor” by Philip K. Dick
ISBN: 0886469430
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Isaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories – Volume III
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 80 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “Silent Brother” by Algis Budrys and “Ishmael In Love” by Robert Silverberg
ISBN: 0886469511
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Isaac Asimov’s All Time Favorite Science Fiction Stories – Volume IV
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 80 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “The Victim From Space” by Robert Sheckley and “Honorable Enemies” by Poul Anderson
ISBN: 0886469570
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 5
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois?
1 Cassette – Approx. 93 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “Wings Out Of Shadow” by Fred Saberhagen and “Exposure” by Eric Frank Russell
ISBN: 0886468612
QUANTITY IN STOCK: VERY FEW

Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 6
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois?
1 Cassette – Approx. 93 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “The Ship Who Sang” by Anne McCaffrey and “Though Dreamers Die” by Lester del Rey
ISBN: 0886469732
*This one says its abridged by I believe that is an error.
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Isaac Asimov Presents Volume 7
Edited by Martin H. Greenberg; Read by Rene Auberjonois?
1 Cassette – Approx. 104 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes: “Allamagoosa” by Eric Frank Russell, “The Last Monster” by Poul Anderson, and Why Johnny Can’t Speed by Alan Dean Foster
ISBN: 088646983X
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Next 5 assorted short story collections…

Unicorn Variation
By Roger Zelazny; Read by Rene Auberjonois
1 Cassette – Approx. 83 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Includes:
Unicorn Variation by Roger Zelazny and “Angel Dark Angel” by Roger Zelazny
ISBN: 0886467365
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Tales By American Masters: The Masque Of Read Death
By Edgar Allan Poe; Read by Win Phillips
1 Cassette – Approx 60 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
ISBN: 0886468949
Includes:
The Masque Of Read Death and Silence, A Fable by Edgar Allan Poe
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Points Of Departure
By Pat Murphy; Read by Brenda Vaccaro
1 Cassette – [UNABRIDGED]
ISBN: 0886466296
QUANTITY IN STOCK: A FEW

Over The River And Through The Woods
By Clifford D. Simak; Read by Jonathan Frakes
1 Cassette – Approx. 97 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
ISBN: 0886467624
Includes: “Over The River And Through The Woods“, “Founding Father” and “Beachhead” all by Clifford D. Simak
QUANTITY IN STOCK: VERY FEW

Neighbor
By Clifford D. Simak; Read by Jonathan Frakes
1 Cassette – Approx. 84 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
ISBN: 0886467616
Includes: “Neighbor“, and “Desertion” both by Clifford D. Simak
QUANTITY IN STOCK: VERY FEW

Posted by Jesse Willis

KAMN talk about Fred Saberhagen’s The Broken Lands

SFFaudio Online Audio

KAMN (aka The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas) are back, and in show #36 they tackle The Broken Lands by Fred Saberhagen, which is the first book in his “Empire Of The East” trilogy. To take down that monster the Ninjas have added a newcomer to their ranks, Jen Crawford. Jen joins David and Brian in a raucous chat about this 1968 Epic Fantasy which is set in a…

“…distant future, society has crumbled. Dark forces now rule the land, keeping all humans under their oppressive thumbs.In the darkness of the shadows and whispered on the winds, there is talk of a rebellion. In the swamps, a small band has formed. Determined to regain their freedom, the rebellion, heavily outnumbered, plans to overthrow an army of thousands . . . with the help of one incredible weapon.”

Have a listen |MP3| direct, or subscribe to the show, and never miss a match:

http://www.kickassmysticninjas.com/shows/feed/

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Arrivals-Hamilton, Saberhagen, Bujold, Greenwood

Science Fiction Audiobook Recent Arrivals
New titles from Brilliance and Blackstone Audiobooks.

A Lick of Frost
By Laurell K. Hamilton; Read by Laural Merlington
8 CDs -9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audiobooks
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423340393

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch…and kill me.

Dark Lord: Book One of the Falconfar Saga
By Ed Greenwood; Read by Christopher Lane
11 CDs – 14 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423348917

When he mysteriously finds himself drawn into a world of his own devising, writer Rod Everlar is confronted by a shocking truth – he has lost control of his creation to a brooding cabal of evil. In order to save his creation – and himself – he must seize control of Falconfar and halt the spread of corruption before it’s too late.Dark Lord is the first epic installment in The Falconfar Saga from bestselling author Ed Greenwood.

Berserker Fury
By Fred Saberhagen; Read by Paul Michael Garcia
10 CDs – 12.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781433207525

Before George Lucas’s Death Star, before Star Trek’s Doomsday Machine, came the Berserkers, intelligent, space-faring killing machines whose sole purpose is to destroy all life. The Berserkers have developed a new trick: Berserker units that can pass for human-created androids. They’re gambling on the advantage this gives them and massing for an all-out attack on human-held space.

But the humans have developed a trick of their own. They’ve cracked the Berserkers’ basic codes and know what their battle plans are. Both sides are betting everything they have. For one of them, it will be the beginning of the end.

The Sharing Knife; Vol. 2, Legacy
By Lois McMaster Bujold; Read by Bernadette Dunne
11 CD, 13 hrs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781433207792

Here is volume two of this gripping adventure-romance filled with heroic deeds and wondrous magic. Fawn Bluefield, the clever young farmer girl, and Dag Redwing Hickory, the seasoned Lakewalker soldier-sorcerer, have been married all of two hours when they depart her family’s farm for Dag’s home on Hickory Lake Camp. But their arrival is met with prejudice and suspicion, setting many in the camp against them and threatening permanent exile for Dag.

Then Dag is called away by an unexpected and vicious malice attack on a neighboring hinterland, threatening Lakewalkers and farmers both. What his patrol discovers there will not only change Dag and his new bride but will call into question the uneasy relationship between their peoples and may even offer hope of a less divided future.

posted by The Time Traveler of the Time Traveler Show

Review of Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen

Empire of the East
by Fred Saberhagen, read by Raymond Todd
15 CD’s – 18.5 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0786178833
Themes: / Fantasy / Magic / Technology / Demons / Empires / Post-Apocalypse

Have you ever wondered what one modern piece of weaponry might have meant for a given side in a war in past centuries? In the world Fred Saberhagen creates in Empire of the East, it is the future rather than the past where such scenarios are explored. In this distant future magic is real, understood, and trusted, while technology from the “old world” (i.e., our time) exists in the form of mistrusted relics.

You can’t listen to this story long without comparing it to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, and it compares favorably. It’s a compilation (I believe with some revision) of three earlier books written by Saberhagen. The sheer breadth of the three-part story is impressive, sweeping you through a vast world where an oppressive Eastern empire is resisted by free men of the West. The main character Rolf resembles Frodo (even beyond the near-anagramatic match of names) and another reminds the reader of Aragorn.

But Saberhagen is no poor man’s Tolkien. He manages the micro- and macro-details with great skill. There are no Tom Bombadils dancing around, hinting of early ideas left in but not fully integrated. No disrespect for Lord of the Rings intended, I’m just saying that Empire of the East merits praise in its own right.

Saberhagen’s characters were believable and easy to care about. Lord Chup is my favorite character. Is he a good bad guy? A bad good guy? And making up for in evilness what they lack in nuance, the main antagonists are gripping. Lord Ekuman is evil, but he is easily outdone in the second book by Som the Dead (yes, he is as attractive as he sounds). Then, in the third book you realize Som is simply middle management. His boss (his mother named him Ominor, perhaps expecting the worst) likes to relax to the sounds of impalement.

The breadth of the milieu is matched by lush detail. I couldn’t help thinking of what a movie version of this would be like. Saberhagen describes situations and interactions with such precision that images came to mind as easily as if I’d watched it on a screen. The story aside, it was just fun listening to Saberhagen’s writing. He captures subtleties in the action, giving you the feeling like you know exactly what it would have been like to be there. Here is a random example of his writing:

As a man dragged to the edge of a precipice will throw away all his treasures and his weapons, to grab with every finger for some saving hold, so did the demon emperor now abandon all the threads of Eastern wizardry.

If you read fantasy, you often just accept that there happens to be magic in the world, and Saberhagen does a very good job explaining the magic of his world. The magic isn’t just part of the scenery, though. In a pleasant surprise at the end, just how the world came to have magic is explained and tied into the climax. There isn’t much of a denouement, perhaps the greatest contrast between Empire of the East and Lord of the Rings.

Even if a story is great, however, it does not necessarily translate to greatness when presented in other mediums. In this case, the audio production is equal to the story. Blackstone Audiobooks did a perfect job producing the Raymond Todd narration for Empire of the East. While a reader that does not distract from a story is desirable, Todd’s voice talent goes beyond and enhances it.

Some readers have interesting voices, but they soon become distracting, like a new shirt you don, but are soon irritated by when it doesn’t quite fit and rubs irritatingly against your skin. Raymond Todd’s voice, in contrast, is like a comfortable sweater that gives familiar reassurance. He uses variations of some kind of Gaelic or Scandinavian accent with the men of the West and did a great job with it.

So thank Blackstone Audiobooks for bringing us such a brilliant novel in a very impressive production. I’ll be keeping my eye out for other stories read by Raymond Todd.

If you don’t want to carry around a case with 15 CDs, you can get two MP3 CDs for just under fifty bucks, or do a digital download from their site for only $9.95 (if it’s your first time). I think anyone who appreciates his work will be glad this part of his legacy is preserved in this quality production.

Posted by Mike

Sci-Fi Private Eye
Edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin Greenberg; Read by Bill Fantini and Nelson Runger
4 cassettes – 6 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Dercum Audio
Published: August 1997
ISBN: 155656273X
Themes: / Science Fiction / Mystery / Utopia / Dystpoia / Sherlock Holmes / Mars / Berzerker / Time Travel / Artificial Intelligence / Covert Warfare /

Decades ago, SF grandmaster Isaac Asimov noted the similarity between detective “whodunit” stories and science fiction “puzzle” stories. Avoiding some of the obvious pitfalls, he began to write stories that contain elements of both of these popular genres. Later as an anthologist, Asimov teamed up with Martin H. Greenberg to collect the best of this subgenre. Sci-Fi Private Eye was the happy result. Though obviously not recorded under perfect conditions, you can literally hear the pages turning, I was flabbergasted by the love and care that went into the recording of this audiobook. It starts off with a haunting original musical score, then, instead of simply reading the first story, as is typical with nearly every audiobook, it introduces the anthology with a brief but well composed essay on the subject of mystery science fiction! The packaging is not as good, while in a sturdy enough case, the original cover art falls into a category I call “computer designed abstract boring”. Even worse, they spelled Asimov’s name wrong. The cassettes themselves also lack important details (what story starts where and ends where). The stories though are so good that I’ve got to summarize and review them individually:

Stories Included:
Introduction written and read by Isaac Asimov
“Getting Across” by Robert Silverberg
“The Martian Crown Jewels” by Poul Anderson
“Of The Metal Murderer” by Fred Saberhagen
“Mouthpiece” by Edward Wellen
“War Game” by Philip K. Dick

Robert Silverberg’s “Getting Across” is a terrific SF short story told in the first person. It was originally published in the anthology entitled Future City (1973). A future society is in danger. To house the engorged human race, the Earth is entirely covered by one large metropolis. But it isn’t one big city so much as it is a million city-states abutting one another. Each district has its own government, its own customs and industries, and it’s own way of life. Contact between districts is restricted and often dangerous to those who attempt it. All districts rely on a master computer program for the smooth operation of these automated communities. So when Ganfield’s master computer program is stolen, things start to deteriorate quickly. Garbage starts piling up uncollected, food stops being delivered, the climate control system stops working, and the deactivated robotic police force cannot prevent the cannibalism that is only weeks away. The man whose “month-wife” stole the program is sent to find her and bring it back. His task is nearly impossible because even if he can get out of his district getting across will only be the first hurdle. Typical of Silverberg’s great work in the 1970s.

Poul Anderson’s “The Martian Crown Jewels” was first published in A Treasury of Great Science Fiction, Vol. 1 (1959). The Martian Crown Jewels have been stolen! The theft threatens to destroy diplomatic relations between Mars and Earth. Inspector Gregg, of the Earth police force stationed on Mars, is stumped. Who can solve the baffling locked spaceship mystery and avert a galactic catastrophe of cataclysmic proportions? None other than Mars’ greatest consulting detective, Syaloch, a seven-foot feathered Martian who lives at 221B “Street of Those who Prepare Nourishment in Ovens.” Most entertaining.

Edward Wellen’s “Mouthpiece” first saw print in the pages of Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine’s February 1974’s issue. Most of the stories I’ve read by Edward Wellen tend to be focused on the workings of the human mind, and this one is no exception. This one fictionalizes a fascinating historical curiosity regarding the final hours of “Dutch” Schultz and takes it just that bit farther – into artificial intelligence – leaving us pondering the nature of personality, memory and thought. It’s also a great little mystery to boot!

Fred Saberhagen’s “The Adventure Of The Metal Murderer” was first published in Omni Magazine’s January 1980 issue, and is another in Saberhagen’s long running series of Berzerker short stories. It’s a time travel story that starts in the distant future and then goes back to 19th century London, England. A clever tale that will remind you of Michael Moorcock’s “Behold The Man”.

Philip K. Dick’s “War Game” was first published in Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine’s December 1959 issue. Earth’s traditional enemy, Ganymede, is at it again. They are trying to subvert and soften up the good people of Earth by selling potentially dangerous toys and games as a prelude to invasion. One toy appears to assemble itself over time into a nuclear weapon, another convinces the user that the virtual reality he or she is in is actual reality, and a third is a harmless variation on the board game Monopoly. But the market demand for the inventive Ganymedian games is pressuring the Earth customs to clear the toys for stocking in time for Christmas. If they follow the rules only one will get through to the store shelves. Typically Dickian and thus very entertaining.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Tag: Fred Saberhagen

Durkin Hayes Audiobooks for sale

KAMN talk about Fred Saberhagen’s The Broken Lands

New Arrivals-Hamilton, Saberhagen, Bujold, Greenwood

Review of Empire of the East by Fred Saberhagen

Here are the New Releases for this month: The Con…

Review of Sci-Fi Private Eye edited by Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg