Audio Publishers Association’s annual awards finalists in Spec-Fic

Science Fiction And Fantasy Audiobook News

The Audio Publisher's Association - The AudiesScott D. Danielson, Science Fiction author, blogger and SFFaudio editor Emeritus, who was recently mentioned March 2007’s Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, has written in to remind me of The Audio Publishers Association’s annual awards: “The Audies” – The APA has released their Finalists List in a PDF. Actual “Audie” winners will be announced June 1st 2007. Bur in terms of finalists…

In the Science Fiction category are:

Callahan’s Legacy – Blackstone Audio
Stolen Child, Recorded Books
Street Magic – Full Cast Audio
The Incredible Shrinking Man – Blackstone Audio
Voyagers – Blackstone Audio

In the short story category, two are genre:

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, Harper Audio
Grown-up’s Halloween by Yuri Rasovsky, Blackstone Audio

FULL CAST AUDIO tells us to expect Tamora Pierce, Shannon Hale, Robert A. Heinlein and Kenneth Opel AUDIOBOOKS!

Audiobook Publisher - Full Cast AudioDaniel Bostick, producer director and actor at Full Cast Audio tells us…

“The following recordings are coming down the pipline in the next few of months:

THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS by Tamora Pierce (December 2006)
PRINCESS ACADEMY by Shannon Hale (January 2007)
THE STAR BEAST by Robert A. Heinlein (1st quarter 2007)

For trivia fans: Fantasy Author Tamora Pierce and her husband Timothy Liebe will play cameo voice roles in PRINCESS ACADEMY.

Breaking news: We are in the casting stage of SKYBREAKER, Kenneth Oppel’s sequel to AIRBORN [SFFaudio Review Forthcoming]. It will record in February 07 for release later in the year.

We’re also considering participation in the Robert A. Heinlein Centennial in Kansas City next summer.”

Cool stuff.

Recent Arrival: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Fantasy Audiobook - Airborn by Kenneth OppelAirborn
By Kenneth Oppel; Read by a Full Cast
10 CDs – 10.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1933322543

Here’s the latest arrival from Full Cast Audio, the premier producer of family-friendly audiobooks:

An incredible swashbuckling adventure, set in a world where great airships ply the skies and there are unknown lands and strange creatures still to be discovered. You’ll love the characters, and the story has the drive and verve of a Saturday morning serial.

Reminiscent of Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs—with a touch of Robert Louis Stevenson—this is adventure writing at its finest. And with its cast of larger-than-life characters, it was just made for our full cast treatment.

Dragon Page Podcast Interviews Bruce Coville from Full Cast Audio

Online Audio

Dragon Page With ClassLogoThe latest Dragon Page With Class podcast (a more scholarly spinoff of the regular Dragon Page Cover-To-Cover podcast) features an interview with Bruce Coville owner and operator of the stupendous Full Cast Audio! Click HERE to download Show #009 directly. Or subscribe to the show’s XML feed by pluggin this into your podcatcher software:

http://www.dragonpage.com/podcastWC.xml

Review of The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

SFFaudio Review

Fantasy Audiobook - The Goose Girl by Shannon HaleThe Goose Girl
By Shannon Hale; Performed by a Full Cast
10 CDs – 10 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1932076727
Themes : / Fantasy / Magic / Horses / Animals /

When I finished listening to Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl, I wanted to start the story again. I had read the fantasy novel in print form about two years before hearing it and Full Cast Audio brings the characters to life in spot-on performances which won’t disappoint fans of the novel.

The story of Ani, the Princess Anidora Kiladra, (Erica Lustig) is as intimate as if you were hearing the troubles of your best friend, while at the same time covering a sweeping political plot. Princess Ani is sent to a neighboring kingdom to marry a prince she has never met. On the way there, her handmaid conspires to have her killed and take over her identity as Princess. Ani narrowly escapes with her life and must struggle to regain her identity.

What makes this book really wonderful is that during this political struggle, Ani goes through a great deal of very real personal growth. You can see the insecure girl become a confidant young woman through the combined performance of Grace Gates (young Ani), Erica Lustig (Ani) and the compelling narrative. Even if you have already read The Goose Girl, pick up a copy of the audio; it is well-worth the listen.

Posted by Mary Robinette Kowal

Review of Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong by Joe DeVito and Brad Stickland

Horror Audiobook - Merian C. Cooper's King KongMerian C. Cooper’s King Kong
By Joe DeVito and Brad Stickland; Read by a Full Cast
6 CDs – 6.75 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Full Cast Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 1933322497
Themes: / Science Fiction / Horror / Movie making / Gorillas / Dinosaurs /

Full Cast Audio has really perfected their style. The first audio I listened to by them was back in 2002 – I reviewed it for SFSite, and you can find it here. Their Full Cast style of audiobook narration was new to me, I was a little put off by it, though I enjoyed the book (as did my son).

Here we are in 2006, and Full Cast Audio presents Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong, during which I marveled at the expert production. The skillful acting, the flawless editing, and the classic story make this a title not to be missed. Nobody does Full Cast Unabridged narration better than Full Cast Audio.

The story is familiar to nearly all of us. Carl Denham is a recklessly ambitious filmmaker in 1930’s New York City. He gathers a crew and an actress (Ann Darrow) to sail to a secret destination where he can film his masterpiece. The crew finds the mysterious island, where they find King Kong in an adventure that turns dangerous in a big hurry.

I haven’t seen the original King Kong film for many years, and it didn’t have the effect on me that it did on so many others, including Peter Jackson. I have seen Peter Jackson’s version, though. This version of the story is not a novelization of the Peter Jackson script. It is an expansion of the original novelization of Cooper’s original Kong story.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson