The Time Traveler Show #14

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Time Traveler Show #14The Time Traveler Show podcast #14 came out yesterday. Along with the customary unabridged classic Science Fiction story:

Doom From Planet 4 by Jack Williamson was featured on the cover of Astounding magazine’s July 1931 issue. The story is read by Bill Coon (a favorite narrator over on LibriVox). Interestingly this story also ties in nicely with my commentary from yesterday (Doom From Planet 4 is set on a remote and mysterious volcanic island in the South Pacific – a possible “phantom island” in fact). To listen download the show directly |MP3| or plug this this podcast feed into your podcatcher to get the show:

http://www.timetravelershow.com/shows/feed.xml

Also, be sure to listen to the new Time Traveler Show PROMO |MP3|!

Review of The Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Science Fiction Audiobook - The Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson, read by Harlan EllisonThe Stonehenge Gate
By Jack Williamson; Read by Harlan Ellison
7 CDs – 8.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9780786146550 (Cassette), 9780786174119 (MP3-CD), 9780786167784 (CD)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Stargate / Journey / Slavery / Evolution / Aliens /

Click here for audio sample.

This is Jack Williamson’s last book, at least it’s the last book published in his lifetime. The man has had a long career, a very long career. Jack’s first story was published in the fairly new Amazing Stories in 1928. Jack has been able to adapt his fiction to the changing and maturing literature that we call Science Fiction, again and again.

One admirable quality of Jack’s work that remained consistent over the nine decades in which he wrote, was his ability to tell a good yarn. His stories can always hold your attention, and he never forgot to have a beginning, middle and an end. This may sound like a trait that all writers should have, but it is really not the case. This always kept Jack’s works above the average SF writer.

In The Stonehenge Gate, we have four poker buddies that find a gateway into other worlds. The four characters are academics who are excavating a site under the sands of the Sahara. Will is an English Professor who narrates the story. Ram is an African professor who has a strange birthmark that mimics the shape of the Stonehenge Gate that they find. Stranger still is that the birthmark seems to be hereditary.

They soon pass into many new worlds throughout this novel. The majority of the novel takes place in a world inhabited by a preindustrial society with institutionalized black slavery. The characters have to grapple with functioning in this world while supporting abolishinest causes. There’s a dark quality to this part of the journey that has more than a passing nod to Joseph Conrad’s Heart Of Darkness.

Harlan Ellison’s narration is spectacular. This is likely the only audiobook that is written by one SF Grand Master and read by another. Of course, there aren’t any SF Grandmaster’s that have also won an Audie award like Harlan has. Harlan throws himself into his acting. He’s energized and seems to be convincingly living the parts he’s portraying to a greater degree than can be said of most voice actors.

How does this book stack up against the rest of the Williamson cannon? I don’t believe this is one of Jack’s best books nor one of his lesser efforts. Placing it somewhere in the middle. But in the case of Jack, that’s a pretty damn good book.

Jack Williamson, Grand Master of Science Fiction, has died

SFFaudio News

Science Fiction grandmaster - Jack WilliamsonJack Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006)

Science Fiction Grand Master Jack Williamson has passed away. Williamson had a long, long legacy in Science Fiction. His first story, The Metal Man, was published in Amazing Stories in 1928. Jack not only wrote iconic SF stories but he penned such horror classics as Darker Than You Think. His most recent book was The Stonehenge Gate. I’m currently listening to it and will post a review soon.

Few of Jack’s works have thus far been adapted to audio. But hopefully that will be rectified in the near future. Here’s a few:

Radio Drama:
Dimension X – With Folded Hands |MP3|

Audiobooks:
The Stonehenge Gate
By Jack Williamson; Read by Harlan Ellison
7 CDs – 8.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9780786146550 (Cassette), 9780786174119 (MP3-CD), 9780786167784 (CD)

The Humanoids and With Folded Hands
By Jack Williamson; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
8 CDs – 10 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2004
ISBN: 078612332X (Cassette), 0786191058 (MP3-CD), 0786193468 (CD)

Thanks for all the wonderful stories Jack!

Recent Arrivals from Blackstone Audio

Science fiction audiobook - The Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson, read by Harlan EllisonThe Stonehenge Gate
By Jack Williamson; Read by Harlan Ellison
7 CDs – 8.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 9780786146550 (Cassette), 9780786174119 (MP3-CD), 9780786167784 (CD)
Click here for audio sample.


Science fiction audiobook - Superman Returns by Marv Wolfman, read by Scott BrickSuperman Returns
By Marv Wolfman; Read by Scott Brick
8 CDs – 9.5 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0786145455 (Cassette), 0786171332 (CD), 0786175729 (MP3-CD)
Click here for audio sample.

New Releases – July 2006

SFFaudio New Releases

Here are the New Releases for July!

Horror Audiobook - Danse Macabre by Laurell K. HamiltonDanse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton, read by Cynthia Holloway, Brilliance Audio, Unabridged
Click for an audio sample

Science Fiction Audiobook - A Dry, Quiet War by Tony DanielA Dry, Quiet War by Tony Daniel, read by Jared Doreck, Infinivox, Unabridged

Science Fiction Audiobook - Fear Nothing by Dean KoontzFear Nothing by Dean Koontz, read by Keith Szarabajka, Random House Audio, Unabridged, (re-release)
Click for an audio sample

Science Fiction Audiobook - Of Fire and Night by Kevin J. AndersonOf Fire and Night: The Saga of Seven Suns Book 5 by Kevin J. Anderson, read by David Colacci, Brilliance Audio, Unabridged
Click for an audio sample

Fantasy Audiobook - Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley PearsonPeter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, read by Jim Dale, Brilliance Audio, Unabridged

Science Fiction Audiobook - The Stonehenge Gate by Jack WilliamsonThe Stonehenge Gate by Jack Williamson, read by Harlan Ellison, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
This was mentioned by Harlan Ellison in our recent interview. A Grandmaster reading a Grandmaster!
Click for an audio sample

Science Fiction Audiobook - Superman Returns by Marv WolfmanSuperman Returns by Marv Wolfman, read by Scott Brick, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
Click for an audio sample

Science Fiction Audiobook - Voyagers by Ben BovaVoyagers by Ben Bova, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Blackstone Audio, Unabridged
Click for an audio sample

New Releases: A Century of Science Fiction, an unabridged narrat…

New Releases

A Century of Science Fiction, an unabridged narrated history of science fiction film and television, Request Audiobooks
This looks interesting… from the description: “Here are the details of some of the most well known science fiction films and television series ever created: A Trip To The Moon, The Day The Earth Stood Still, The War of The Worlds, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Star Wars, Star Trek, and many more. Listen to the recapitulations of sci-fi voyages from the men and women who realized these fantasies. With interviews and sound bites from their films, William Shatner, Samuel L. Jackson, Stephen Spielberg, and Kevin Costner, along with Liam Neeson, Denzel Washington, Raquel Welch, Orson Welles, just to name a few, speak of their excursions into strange, new worlds…”

Eye for Eye by Orson Scott Card, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Request Audiobooks
Here’s an audio version of Orson Scott Card’s Hugo Award-winning novella Eye for Eye.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, read by Christopher Hurt, Unabridged, Blackstone Audio
Ray Bradbury’s classic novel about a fireman whose job it is to burn books. Click here for an audio sample.

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, read by John Lee, Unabridged, Random House Audio
Book 4 in the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series by George R.R. Martin. Been waiting for this one… It’s also available at Books on Tape in library binding. Yay! Listen to excerpt oneListen to excerpt two.

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells, read by Jonathan Kent, Unabridged, Tantor Media
A classic H.G. Wells novel from Tantor Media, the fine folks who brought us Edgar Rice Burroughs on audio.

King Kong by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Blackstone Audio
This is a novelization of the original King Kong script, and includes commentary by Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Orson Scott Card, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven, Catherine Asaro, Jack Williamson, and Marc Zicree. Click here for an audio sample.

March Upcountry by David Weber and John Ringo, read by Stefan Rudnicki, Unabridged, Blackstone Audio
A novel by two masters of military SF – click here for an audio sample.

Master of Dragons by Margaret Weis, read by Suzanne Toren, Unabridged, Audio Renaissance
This is the third novel in a trilogy written by Margaret Weis, who is half of the Weis-Hickman team that wrote many popular epic fantasy novels in the Dragonlance series. Click here for an audio sample.

Run for the Stars by Harlan Ellison, read by the Author, Unabridged, Request Audiobooks
A new (to audio) story by Harlan Ellison. That alone makes it a must-have!

Star Wars: Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno, read by Jonathan Davis, Abridged, Random House Audio
Star Wars! I continue to be impressed with the richness of the Star Wars line of audio novels. Jonathan Davis is the perfect reader, and the production quality is first rate.

The Unnameable: Four Tales by H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft, Read by David Cade, with music by Paolo Barzini, Unabridged, Tales of Orpheus
Contains: “The Book”, “The Music of Erich Zann”, “The Cats of Ulthar”, and “The Unnameable”

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, read by Maxwell Caulfield, Unabridged, Request Audiobooks
The original War of the Worlds novel.

And from Escape Pod in the past month:
“The Death Trap of Dr. Nefario” by Benjamin Rosenbaum, read by Chris Miller with Stephen Eley
“The Great Old Pumpkin” by John Aegard, read by Stephen Eley
“Iron Bars and the Glass Jaw” by Jeffrey R. DeRego, read by Jonathan Sullivan
“The Ludes” by Lisa M. Bradley, read by Stephen Eley
“Mount Dragon” by Vera Nazarian, read by Stephen Eley

Posted by Scott D. Danielson