Harper Audio – Page 3

Barnes & Noble: Try 9 FREE Short Stories

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here’s a “FREE” deal (for Mac and PC users) that, despite some convoluted wrangling with OverDrive, is still worth it…

HERE is the offer. From the notes:

“This offer may be redeemed once per customer and entitles customer to free copies of eligible Audiobook MP3 titles at bn.com or its mirror sites. Offer ends May 16, 2009 at 2:59 a.m. Eastern Time”

It also says:

“Please Note:you must have a valid credit card on file with bn.com or enter one during checkout in order to obtain the free eligible Audiobook MP3 titles, even if these free items are the only items in your order. However, your credit card will not be charged for the free Audiobook MP3 titles.”

But, payment methods of PayPal or “telephone order” are also offered as options. Be also aware you must also enter a USA shipping address (even though these are digital downloads). After the checkout process you’ll also need to install OverDrive’s “Media Console” software in order to download the files. That’s annoying, but more annoying is the 2,000 word essay on which rights you are giving up to use the stupid software. After that you’ll get an email linking you to a B&N download page, where you can one-click a download for each story – which in turn will allow you to two-click your actual MP3 downloads. Then after the actual download of the actual MP3 a search of your hard drive for the title of the story will reveal where the files were hidden on your computer.

So like I said, the offer WAS WORTH IT, at least for me. It took about 25 minutes all told to get the two stories that interested me. For that time invested I’ve got myself a novel, Blackstone Audio’s The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (read by the incomparable Grover Gardner), and a Harper Audio short story called Best New Horror by Joe Hill (read by David Ledoux). It’s a cool horror tale from the collection called 20th Century Ghosts. The other 7 titles may be good too, I’m not sure its worth the wrangling and searching – I couldn’t tell who wrote some of them, or what they were about. So, if you do give this offer a shot please let me know if you find something else worthwhile in the 9 freebies. I’ll delete OverDrive’s “media console” within the next couple of days. I’ll give you 48 hours to convince me to use it again.

[via SFsignal]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

SFFaudio Review

The Graveyard Book
By Neil Gaiman; Read by Neil Gaiman
Audible Download – Approx. 8 Hours[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: 2008
Themes: / Fantasy / Ghosts / Childhood / Revenge / Parenting / Afterlife / Humor / YA /

In a few words: Not as disturbing as Coraline (which is… a bit) and every ounce as entertaining as I hoped.

Now, details: The Graveyard Book is Neil Gaiman’s latest YA novel. The story is about Nobody Owens, a young boy who starts the novel as a toddler that ends up in a graveyard late at night, all by himself. I’ll let Gaiman tell you how that happens, because the journey is all the fun here. Nobody Owens grows up, and Gaiman’s ghosts do all the parenting.

Again, Gaiman manages to be both sinister and funny at the same time, like he’s telling you the worst thing you’ve ever heard, but with a smile and a wink. Here’s the first lines of Chapter 1:

There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black gold, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you may not even know you had been cut. Not immediately.

You’d think what follows would be a bit grisly, and I suppose it is, but it’s all so fantastic that I smiled through most of that chapter, with the sort of glow I get around Halloween. A pair of ghosts (the Owens’s) raising a live boy, that boy growing up and learning his letters off gravestones and his life’s philosophy from the perspective of dead but well-meaning people; well, it’s just a great idea, and it’s perfectly presented by Gaiman. My kids love it too. This is the kind of book that will be revisited in my house often. In addition, I’d say that if you have a Harry Potter fan on your Christmas list, this book might be just the right fit, and it has the added bonus of introducing him or her to the likes of Neil Gaiman, which in turn could open that fan up to the rest of the world of books as well.

Gaiman also narrates, and like I’ve said elsewhere, he’s one of the few authors I’ve heard that could make a comfortable living as an audiobook narrator. I can’t imagine this audiobook being read by someone else, and I’m very happy that it isn’t.

Edited to add the SFFaudio Essential, which was forgotten by the reviewer. He has been sacked.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

FREE Neil Gaiman short story A Study In Emerald

SFFaudio Online Audio

A wonderful gift from Harper Audio! A FREE Hugo Award winning (2004) Neil Gaiman short story, A Study In Emerald, it comes from Neil Gaiman’s collection entitled Fragile Things…

Fantasy audiobook - short story - A Study In Scarlet by Neil Gaiman A Study in Emerald
By Neil Gaiman; Read by Neil Gaiman
1 |MP3| – Approx. 49 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: November 2007
Alluding to both the Sherlock Holmes canon and the Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos, this Hugo Award winning short story will delight fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, and of course, Neil Gaiman. A Study in Emerald draws listeners in through carefully revealed details as a consulting detective and his narrator friend solve the mystery of a murdered German noble. But with its subtle allusions and surprise ending, this mystery hints that the real fun in solving this case lies in imagining all the details that Gaiman doesn’t reveal, and challenges listeners to be detectives themselves.

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Year? New Releases!

Audiobook New Releases

Audio Renaissance starts a bold new series, and at 30 hours long so will you be…

Off Armageddon Reef
By David Weber; Read by Oliver Wyman
25 CDs – 30 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: January 2007
ISBN: 1427200653
Humanity pushed its way to the stars—and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they’ve built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever.

What’s next for Michael Crichton? Yes…

Next
By Michael Crichton; Read by Dylan Baker
CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: November 2006
ISBN: 006087306X
Is a loved one missing some body parts? Are blondes becoming extinct? Is everyone at your dinner table of the same species? Humans and chimpanzees differ in only 400 genes; is that why an adult human being resembles a chimp fetus? And should that worry us? There’s a new genetic cure for drug addiction—is it worse than the disease?The audiobook also includes an interview with Crichton!

Written by a 15 year old, who sold it to the movies! Now here’s the true test of his success, the audiobook…

Eragon
By Christopher Paolini; Read by Gerard Doyle
CDs – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: October 2006
ISBN: 0739330942
Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.

Now this sounds very, very interesting…

The Sky People
By S.M. Stirling; Read by Todd McLaren
12 CDs or 2 MP3-CDs – 15 hours[UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: January 2007
ISBN: 1400103452 (CDs), 1400153458 (MP3-CDs)
The first of a series of alternate-history tales based on a brashly entertaining premise: that in the 1960s, Russian and American space probes to Mars and Venus revealed not the arid worlds of our reality, but the colorful Mars and Venus of old pulp Science Fiction adventure. In The Sky People, it’s 1988, the Cold War is still raging, and Marc Vitrac has been assigned to Jamestown, the US Commonwealth base on Venus, near the great Venusian city of Kartahown. But all is not well. There is also a Russian base on Venus. Outside the bases is a wilderness swarming with sabertooths and dinosaurs—and lost races of people who seem to be human. An even greater mystery than lost races awaits Marc—as well as a danger that may well threaten the entire human race.

It is always a good day when you see a new Infinivox title…

The Chief Designer
By Andy Duncan; Read by Jared Doreck
2 CDs – 132 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Infinivox
Published: 2006
ISBN: 1884612547
An Alternate history novella that won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. This story, an alternate history masterpiece, as told from the point of view of Korolev, the “Chief” who managed the most crucial years of the secret Soviet space program, and his assistant and eventual successor, Aksyonov. The story spans from World War II, when Korolev was released from a prison camp to design rockets, to 1997 and the Mir space station.

Long promised and now released…

Dandelion Wine
By Ray Bradbury; FULL CAST
MP3-CD, Cassettes or CDs -[RADIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Colonial Radio Theatre / Blackstone Audio
Published: January 2007
ISBN: 9780786173501 (MP3-CD), 978-0786147144 (Cassettes), 9780786165827 (CDs)
Twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding knows Green Town, Illinois, is as vast and deep as the whole world that lies beyond. It is a pair of new tennis shoes, the first harvest of dandelions for Grandfather’s renowned intoxicant, the distant clang of the trolley bell on a hazy afternoon.

Blackstone continues their release of Heinlein classics! this time with narration by Spider Robinson…

Rocket Ship Galileo
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Spider Robinson
Cassettes, CDs or MP3-CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: January 2007

Ross Jenkins, Art Mueller, and Morris Abrams are not your average high-schools students. While other kids are cruising around in their cars or playing ball, this trio, known as the Galileo Club, is experimenting with rocket fuels, preparing for their future education at technical colleges. Art’s uncle, the nuclear physicist Dr. Donald Cargraves, offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to construct and crew a rocket that will take them to the moon. Cargraves believes their combined ingenuity and enthusiasm can actually make this dream come true. But there are those who don’t share their dream and who will stop at nothing to keep their rocket grounded.

Plug plug! I’m reliably informed this novel will be complete very shortly, download the first 2/3rds immediately and for free thanks to podiobooks.com…

Badge Of Infamy
By Lester del Rey; Read by Steven H. Wilson
15 MP3s – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Podiobooks.com
Published: December 2006 – January 2007
Status: In Progress
Daniel Feldman was a doctor once. He made the mistake of saving a friend’s life in violation of Medical Lobby rules. Now, he’s a pariah, shunned by all, forbidden to touch another patient. But things are more loose on Mars. There, Doc Feldman is welcomed by the colonists, even as he’s hunted by the authorities. But, when he discovers a Martian plague may soon wipe out humanity on two planets, the authorities begin hunting him for a different reason altogether.

Already reviewed, but a new release nonetheless – is it the first audiobook created on a dare (?)…

The Green Odyssey
By Philip Jose Farmer; Read by Mark Nelson
10 MP3s or 10 OGG Vorbis files – 6 Hours 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Published: December 2006
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Alan Green is a space traveler stranded on a barbaric planet. He’s been taken as a slave and made a consort to an insipid and smelly queen. His slave-wife, though beautiful and smart, nags him constantly. He’s given up hope of ever returning to Earth when he hears of two astronauts who have been captured in a kingdom on the other side of the planet, and sets out on an action-packed journey on a ship sailing across vast grasslands on rolling pin-like wheels in a desperate scheme to save them and return home.

posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases: two Neil Gaiman audiobooks

Audiobook New Releases

Two new audiobooks from Neil Gaiman and Harper Audio:

This one actually shows as being available back in December of 2005, but I never saw it released then….

MirrorMask
By Neil Gaiman; Read by Stephanie Leonidas
CD – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0060899328

Helena is about to embark on a most amazing journey. Raised in a family of circus performers, she’s always dreamed of leading a more ordinary life. But when haunting music draws her into a strange and magical realm, one where anything can happen, her real life is stolen by a runaway from the…

This one streets today….

Fragile Things
By Neil Gaiman; Read by Neil Gaiman
8 CDs – Approx. 9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Harper Audio
Published: September 2006
ISBN: 0061142379

A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . . In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . . In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . . Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams—and nightmares . . . In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an exclusive epicurean club lament that they’ve eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . . Such marvelous creations and more—including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children’s fiction—can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman’s storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time.

And note that it is read by Neil Gaiman himself! Cool!

posted by Jesse Willis

In conjunction with the next Kick-Ass Mystic Nin…

News

In conjunction with the next Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Podcast (set to be recorded this coming weekend) we’re giving you the complete and total rundown of every Dune related audiotape and audio CD that we know of, it is a very long list and it continues to grow.

The Original Dune Books by Frank Herbert:
There are six original Dune novels by Frank Herbert, all of which have been produced in UNABRIDGED editions. The first novel has been released three times, with three different readers. All subsequent novels in the original six book series have been released only once and are now out of print and very costly to purchase.

Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by George Guidall
16 Casettes – 24 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Recorded Books LLC
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0788763334
[CLICK HERE FOR OUR REVIEW]
Arguably the best reading of Dune ever recorded. George Guidall is a master narrator.

Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Scott Brick
18 Cassettes or 22 CDs – Approx. 27 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 2002
ISBN: 0736689591 (cassettes), 0736692401 (CDs)
The original masterwork as performed by Scott Brick, an excellent reader. This edition also includes the complete appendices and the “Terminology of the Imperium” sections. This edition also won the AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award.

Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Connor O’Brien
13 Cassettes – 19.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 1997
ISBN: 073663763X
This is the earlier Books On Tape edition, Connor O’Brien’s performance is probably the least popular of the three UNABRIDGED audio editions of Dune released so far. This is out of print and very hard to find.

Dune Messiah
By Frank Herbert; Read by Connor O’Brien
6 Cassettes – Approx. 9 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 1997
ISBN: 0736640185
The immediate sequel to Dune. This is out of print and very hard to find.

Children Of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Connor O’Brien
? Cassettes – ? Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 1997
ISBN: 0736640193
Third book in the original Dune sequence. This is out of print and very hard to find.

God Emperor Of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Connor O’Brien
10 Cassettes – Approx. 15 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0736644229
Fourth book in the original Dune series. This is out of print and very hard to find.

Heretics Of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by John Edwardson
14 Cassettes – Approx. 21 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0736654534
Book five in the original Dune series. This is out of print and very hard to find.

Chapterhouse: Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by John Edwardson
? Cassettes – ? Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Books on Tape Inc.
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0736643443
The last of the original Dune books written by Frank Herbert. This is out of print and very hard to find.

The Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson “Prelude To Dune” Books:
A series of three novels set in the years leading up to the momentous events of Dune. These were the first new Dune books since Chapterhouse: Dune.

Dune: House Atredies
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Tim Curry
? Cassettes – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 1999
ISBN: 0553526650
The first of the three prequel novels by Frank Herbert’s son Brian and SF author Kevin J. Anderson.

Dune: House Harkonnen
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Tim Curry
? Cassettes – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2000
ISBN: 0553526669
The second of the three prequel novels.

Dune: House Corrino
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Tim Curry
? Cassettes – [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2001
ISBN: 0553526677
The third of the three prequel novels.

The Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson “Legends of Dune” Books:
The LEGENDS OF DUNE trilogy details the saga preceding the Dune prequels. Set well before the events of the Original Dune series.

Dune: The Butlerian Jihad,
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Scott Brick
14 Cassettes or 20 CDs – 22 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2002
ISBN: 1559277548 (Cassettes), 1559277556 (CDs)
First of the “Legends Of Dune” trilogy.

Dune: The Machine Crusade
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Scott Brick
16 Cassettes or 22 CDs – 22 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2003
ISBN: 1559279443 (Cassettes), 1559279451 (CDs)
Second in the “Legends Of Dune” trilogy.

Dune: The Battle of Corrin
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson: Read by Scott Brick
16 Cassettes or 22 CDs – 25 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2004
ISBN: 1593974248 (Cassettes), 1593974256 (CDs)
Third and concluding book in the “Legends Of Dune” trilogy.
Both cassette and CD editions feature an interview with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

The Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson Sequel Novels:
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have recently announced plans to write and release two Dune sequel novels. The first of which will be set after Chapterhouse Dune. Here are the details as we know them…

Hunters of Dune
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by ????
20 CDs – 24.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: (ANNOUNCED FORTHCOMING – Tuesday, August 22, 2006)
ISBN: 1593979754

Sandworms Of Dune
By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by ???
Publisher: Audio Renaissance ???
Published: Tentatively scheduled for publication in 2007
ISBN: ???

Dune Audio Extras:
In addition to those “extras” listed below there have been several music soundtrack releases and kids movie-tie in releases related to the David Lynch Dune film and the two Sci-Fi Channel Dune miniseries.

Dune: An Interview with Frank Herbert and David Lynch
1 Cassette – 1 Hour [INTERVIEW]
ISBN: 0681308958
Date Published: 1983
Published by Waldentapes
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW]
This is long out of print and very hard to find.

The Road To Dune
By Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson; Read by Scott Brick
8 Cassettes or 12 CDs – 14 hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: September 2005
ISBN: 1593978235 (Cassettes), 159397776X (CDs)
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REVIEW]
An intriguing collection of Dune “extras” that should please any fan of Frank Herbert. It includes:
-A short novel Spice Planet by Frank Herbert (a prototype of the original Dune)
-Deleted Scenes and Alternate endings from Dune and Dune Messiah.
-Letters and notes from Frank Herbert from the time when he was trying to get Dune published.
-Four short stories by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson:
1. “Whisper of Caladan Seas”
2. “Hunting Harkonnens”
3. “Whipping Mek”
4. “Faces of a Martyr”

Sandworms of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1 LP – 41 Minutes 10 Seconds [UNABRIDGED EXPERPTS]
Publisher: Caedmon Audio
Published: 1978
Product #: TC 1565
This is long out of print and very hard to find.

Dune: The Banquet Scene
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1 LP – 53 Minutes 34 Seconds [UNABRIDGED EXPERPTS]
Publisher: Caedmon Audio
Published: 1979
Product #: TC 1555
This is long out of print and very hard to find.

The Battles of Dune
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1 LP – 62 Minutes 20 Seconds [UNABRIDGED EXPERPTS]
Publisher: Caedmon Audio
Published: 1979
Product #: TC 1601
This was re-released on a single cassette in 1994 by Harper Audio.

The Truths of Dune: Fear is the Mind Killer
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
1 LP – 45 Minutes 1 Seconds [UNABRIDGED EXPERPTS]
Publisher: Caedmon Audio
Published: 1979
Product #: TC 1616
This was re-released on a single cassette in 1994 by Harper Audio.

The Dune Collection
By Frank Herbert; Read by Frank Herbert
4 Cassettes – Approx. 3 Hours 22 Minutes [UNABRIDGED EXERPTS]
Publisher: Harper Audio (Caedmon Audio)
Published: 1994
ISBN: 1559949570
This is a collection of four late-1970s LPs reissued in one package. Each key excerpt is melded with connective text written by Frank Herbert specifically for these recordings. The LPs were titled: Dune: The Banquet Scene, Sandworms Of Dune, The Battles Of Dune and The Truths of Dune: Fear Is The Mind Killer.

posted by Jesse Willis