Tag: H.G. Wells

The SFFaudio Podcast #041

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #041 – Jesse and Scott are joined by SF author Robert J. Sawyer to talk about his audiobooks, writing Science Fiction novels, and the TV show based on his novel FlashForward.

Talked about on today’s show:
FlashForward (the TV series), FlashForward by Robert J. Sawyer, Blackstone Audio, David S. Goyer, Marc Guggenheim, Jessika Borsiczky, Brannon Braga, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, does the TV show of FlashForward have a plan?, idea based SF, time travel, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells |READ OUR REVIEW|, differences between the television show and the novel versions of FlashForward, WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer |READ OUR REVIEW|, Inconstant Moon by Larry Niven, philosophy in Science Fiction, Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer |READ OUR REVIEW|, Jonathan Davis, Audible Frontiers, atheism and religion in SF, scientific institutions in Science Fiction, The Royal Ontario Museum, CERN, The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, science, Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, Launchpad Astronomy Workshop, Edward M. Lerner, Joe Haldeman, science literacy amongst Science Fiction authors, Karl Schroeder, Charles Stross, post-singularity SF, Clarke’s Third Law, NASA Ames Research Center, TRIUMF, Human Genome Project, Neanderthal Genome Project, military SF, S.M. Stirling, Harry Turtledove, alternate history, consciousness, aliens, spaceship, time travel, the WWW trilogy, Audible.com, Starplex by Robert J. Sawyer, Star Trek, alien aliens, Larry Niven, Niven’s aliens, Golden Fleece by Robert J. Sawyer, how did fantasy and Science Fiction get lumped together? Donald A. Wollheim, dinosaurs, artificial intelligence, genetics, time travel, the Internet, quantum physics, CBC Radio’s version of Rollback, Alessandro Juliani.

Jessika Borsiczky on adapting the novel of FlashForward to television:

Trailer for Sawyer’s WWW trilogy:

Posted by Jesse Willis

New Releases: The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica

New Releases

Simon & Schuster Audio is publicizing the fourth book in a series of novels for “Young Readers” that may interest just about any reader of any age. Here, There Be Dragons is the first book in James A. Owen’s “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” series which is a “grand fantasy adventure that tells the story of four travelers — who happen to be C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and H.G. Wells — as they travel through lands that may be familiar to readers of myths, legends, and fantasy literature.”

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica

Here’s the book trailer for the third book in the series:

The trailer has me wondering if Jules Verne ever wrote a story with a time machine in it. That’s gotta be the H.G. Wells time machine right? Right?!?

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 023

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxIn addition to the readers, this audiobook was produced by:

Book Coordinator: Gregg Margarite
Dedicated Proof-Listener: Wendel Topper
Meta-Coordinator/Cataloging: Lucy Burgoyne

Thanks guys!

I haven’t had a chance to listen to half of these yet but I did get a chance to enjoy the final tale in this collection. It’s by Fritz Leiber and is super-funny. It’s the tale of an alien invasion — of privacy. See when a Martian visitor lands on Earth he has the good sense to make his first contact with a professor of anthropology. The only question is, will the formalities actually start after the naturally necessary bodily functions finish?

If you find another good one in this collection put in a comment. I’d be much obliged!

LibriVox - Short Science Fiction Collection Vol. 023Short Science Fiction Collection 23
By various; Read by various
10 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 22 Minutes [UNABRIDGED
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/short-science-fiction-collection-23.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

LibriVox - Bolden's Pets by Floyd L. WallaceBolden’s Pets
By Floyd L. Wallace; Read by Bev J. Stevens
1 |MP3| – Approx. 45 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
The price of life was a life for a life—which was all the reward the victim looked for! From Galaxy Science Fiction, October, 1955.


LibriVox - A Filbert Is A Nut by Rick RaphaelA Filbert Is A Nut
By Rick Raphael; Read by Linda Dodge
1 |MP3| – Approx. 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
That the gentleman in question was a nut was beyond question. He was an institutionalized psychotic. He was nutty enough to think he could make an atom bomb out of modeling clay! From Astounding Science Fiction November 1959.

LibriVox - The Hated by Frederik PohlThe Hated
By Frederik Pohl; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 23 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
After space, there was always one more river to cross … the far side of hatred and murder! From Galaxy Science Fiction January 1958.


The Plattner Story
By H.G. Wells; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 46 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009

LibriVox - Regeneration by Charles DyeRegeneration
By Charles Dye; Read by Wendel Topper
1 |MP3| – Approx. 24 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
So long as there are men and women alive, in a livable environment, then a new beginning is possible. From Future combined with Science Fiction stories September 1951.

Fantastic Universe May 1954Rex Ex Machina
By Frederic Max; Read by Synergy
1 |MP3| – Approx. 6 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
The domination of the minds of tractable Man is not new. Many men have dreamed of it. Certainly some of them have tried. This man succeeded. A science fictional letter from a father to a son. From Fantastic Universe May 1954.

Tales of Space and Time; The Star
By H.G. Wells; Read by Linda Dodge
1 |MP3| – Approx. 32 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009

LibriVox - The Success Machine by Henry SlesarThe Success Machine
By Henry Slesar; Read by Troy Bond
1 |MP3| – Approx. 25 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
Mechanical brains are all the rage these days, so General Products just had to have one. But the blamed thing almost put them out of business. Why? It had no tact. It insisted upon telling the truth! From Amazing Science Fiction Stories January 1960.

LibiVox - Unspecialist by Murray F. YacoUnspecialist
By Murray F. Yaco; Read by Wendel Topper
1 |MP3| – Approx. 29 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
A machine can be built to do any accurately described job better than any man. The superiority of a man is that he can do an unexpected, undescribed, and emergency job … provided he hasn’t been especially trained to be a machine. From Astounding Science Fiction, January, 1960.

LibriVox - What's He Doing In There? by Fritz LeiberWhat’s He Doing In There?
By Fritz Leiber; Read by Gregg Margarite
1 |MP3| – Approx. 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibirVox.org
Published: August 4, 2009
He went where no Martian ever went before—but would he come out—or had he gone for good? From Galaxy Science Fiction December 1957.

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC Audiobooks America: New stock in from the UK

SFFaudio News

BBC Audiobooks America has just brought in a bunch of previously U.K. only BBC audiobooks. For North American customers this means a big savings on that crazy overseas shipping price. Among the available titles is the first in the series of radio dramatizations of Lindsey Davis books (Shadows In Bronze)! This is the “FALCO” series that I’m always telling everyone to try. Here’s the big list:

Posted by Jesse Willis

BBC R7: Chandler, Daly, Wells, Matheson, King!

SFFaudio Online Audio

BBC Radio 7 - BBC7The coming week on BBC Radio 7 is chock full of must listen content. These are all re-runs so you’ve probably heard at least one or two of them before. Myself, I’m most excited about hearing Anton Lesser’s reading of the Wells story. I’ve only known his work in one series, that FALCO radio drama series I’m always telling everyone about. Also, this 1970s by Wally K. Daly “Scream” series could be good. I’ll check it out, as this week sees its first two (of three) stories airing. Likely next week will see the rebroadcast of the final chapter. So which of these draws your interest?

BBC Radio Collection - The Little Sister by Raymond ChandlerThe Little Sister
Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler; Performed by a full cast
1 Broadcast – Approx. 90 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Saturday at 1pm and 1am
The search for a missing man deepens into an investigation of several brutal murders. Philip Marlowe’s enquiries take him to a Hollywood film set where he wonders which of the suspects is putting on the best performance. Ed Bishop stars as Raymond Chandler’s quick-witted, sharp-talking private eye in a 1977 production dramatised by Bill Morrison and produced by John Tydeman.

Before The Screaming Begins
By Wally K. Daly; Performed by a full cast
3 Broadcasts – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Monday to Wednesday at 6pm and Midnight
When Tom Harris is abducted by aliens whilst celebrating his wedding anniversary, the police are understandably sceptical of his wife’s account. But the disappearances continue. Stars
Hannah Gordon, James Laurenson, Patrick Troughton, Jennifer Piercey and Robert Trotter, First broadcast in 1978.

The Silent Scream
By Wally K. Daly; Performed by a full cast
2 Broadcast – [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Thursday and Friday at 6pm and Midnight
James Laurenson returns as Tom Harris in the sequel to Before The Screaming Begins. The threat from the aliens increases. First broadcast in 1979. Martin Jenkins production co-stars Hannah Gordon, Donald Hewlett and Colin Douglas.

BBC Radio 7 - Fantastic JourneysFantastic Journeys: The Door In The Wall
By H.G. Wells; Read by Anton Lesser
1 Broadcast – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Saturday at 6.30 pm and 00.30am
On the eve of great success in public life, Lionel Wallace is troubled by the vision of a lost childhood paradise behind a mysterious door in a wall. Will he concentrate on his career – or succumb to the temptation to pursue this vanished world? First heard earlier this year (2009). The first of a five part series of short stories.

Duel by Richard MathesonDuel
By Richard Matheson; Read by Nathan Osgood
1 Broadcast – Approx 20 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Broadcaster: BBC 7 / 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Saturday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
“Driving to San Francisco, a businessman finds himself the victim of a deadly game being played by the driver of a huge, mysterious truck. Later to become Steven Spielberg’s classic 1971 film.” Previously broadcast in 2006 and 2007.

I Am Legend
By Richard Matheson; Read by Angus McInnes
9 Broadcasts – approx 5 Hours [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Monday to Friday at 6.30pm and 00.30am
“Taking place in New York, it’s a tale of vampires and a man immune to the plague that has decimated most of the population.” Adapted by Scott Stainton Miller.Produced by Eilidh McCreadie. Previously broadcast in 2006 and 2007.

Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen KingRita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption
By Stephen King; Read by Clarke Peters
5 Broadcasts – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC Radio 7
Broadcast: Monday to Friday at 1.30pm, 8.30pm and 1.30am
In a brutal American prison, wrongly-convicted Andy Dufresne develops an ingenious method of survival – and conceives an even more resourceful plan of escape. This was the story that inspired the film The Shawshank Redemption.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Recent Arrivals from Blackstone Audio, with YouTubes!

SFFaudio Recent Arrivals

Science Fiction Audiobook - Flashforward by Robert J. SawyerFlashforward
By Robert J. Sawyer; Read by Mark Deakins
10.5 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009

A scientific experiment begins, and as the button is pressed, the unexpected occurs: everyone in the world goes to sleep for a few moments while everyone’s consciousness is catapulted more than twenty years into the future. At the end of those moments, when the world reawakens, all human life is transformed by foreknowledge.

Was that shocking revelation a peek at the real, unalterable future, or was it only one of many possible futures? What happens when a man tries to change it, like the doctor who has twenty years to try to prevent his own murder? How will the foreknowledge of a part of “then” affect the experience of the “now”?

A great book! And it’s going to be a TV series this fall on ABC:


 
Horror Audiobook - Nightmare at 20,000 Feet by Richard MathesonNightmare at 20,000 Feet
By Robert J. Sawyer; Read by Various
10.5 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009

One of the finest and most influential horror writers of the twentieth century, Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Somewhere in Time) has left his stamp on the collective imagination. Here are more than twenty of Matheson’s most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, personally selected by the author himself. Many of these stories have already entered into popular culture, including the title story, which became a landmark episode of The Twilight Zone, and “Duel”, the nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg’s first film.

Other stories include “First Anniversary,” “Dress of White Silk,” “Witch War,” “Dance of the Dead,” “Mad House,” “Prey,” “Blood Son,” “Crickets,” “Wet Straw,” “The Children of Noah,” “Through Channels,” “Old Haunts,” “Disappearing Act,” “The Holiday Man,” “Legion of Plotters,” “The Distributor,” “Long Distance Call,” “Slaughter House,” and “The Likeness of Julie.” Find out why Stephen King (who writes the introduction) has called Matheson one of his favorite writers.

And here is part of the famous Twilight Zone episode based on the cover story:


 
Science Fiction Audiobook - The Invisible Man by H.G. WellsThe Invisible Man
By H. G. Wells; Read by James Adams
5.5 Hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2009

On a freezing February day, a stranger emerges from out of the gray to request a room at a local provincial inn. Who is this out-of-season traveler? More confounding is the thick mask of bandages obscuring his face. Why does he disguise himself in this manner and keep himself hidden away in his room?

Aroused by trepidation and curiosity, the local villagers bring it upon themselves to find the answers. What they discover is a man trapped in a terror of his own creation, and a chilling reflection of the unsolvable mysteries of their own souls.

And here’s the trailer for The Invisible Man (1933) starring Claude Rains:


 
Posted by Scott D. Danielson