The SFFaudio Podcast #050 – READALONG: The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #050 – Jesse and Scott discuss The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James.

Talked about on today’s show:
An excerpt from the lecture: Masterpieces Of The Imaginative Mind (Lecture 6: H.G. Wells: We Are All Talking Animals) by Professor Eric S. Rabkin, James thought novels ‘must explore an individual’s psychology’ but H.G. Wells asserted novels ‘must explore the great social forces that shape all of us.’, The Teaching Company, The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James, Blackstone Audio’s version, PaperbackSwap.com, The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, The Science Fiction Book Review Podcast show on The Invisible Man and More Invisible Men, LibriVox.org, LibriVox’s FREE version of The Turn Of The Screw, Stephanie Beacham, War Of The Worlds, The Time Machine, Donald E. Westlake, John Irving, James Lee Burke, Pat Conroy, literary fiction, ambiguity, deliberate ambiguity, the framing sequence, Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, outlining the plot, country estates, England, governesses, orphans, corruption and contamination, ghosts, Christmas, Why is it called The Turn Of The Screw?, Is this a double ghost story?, if the governess is crazy doesn’t that make the story pointless? sexism, solitary decisions may not be wise, what happens to Miles? The Innocents (1961), sexuality, James called The Turn Of The Screw “a shameless potboiler”, adaptations and interpretations, The Turn Of The Screw (2009), The Others (2001), Marlon Brando’s prequel The Nightcomers (1971), Thomas Kuhn, incommensurable literary paradigms?, Margaret Atwood, literary Science Fiction, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The Handmaid’s Tale, governess stories, tutors, teachers, surrogate parents, William Makepeace Thackeray‘s Vanity Fair, Johdi May, The Turn Of The Screw (1999), is the governess an unreliable narrator?, The Adventure Of The Copper Beeches by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, Mystery and Science Fiction are very closely aligned, tales of ratiocination, Edgar Allan Poe, The Turn Of The Screw in comics, Pocket Classics, Oscar Wilde, The Importance Of Being Earnest, Jesse’s Pick Of The Week: The Innocents, Blackadder II, Scott’s Pick Of The Week: The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow as read by Martin Jarvis, RadioArchive.cc, The Turn Of The Screw BBC radio drama, Saturday Night Theatre.

The opening of The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James – Pocket Classics edition (ISBN: 0883017393):

Pocket Classics - The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James (ISBN: 0883017598)
The Turn Of The Screw - illustration by Lynd Ward
The Turn Of The Screw - illustration by Lynd Ward
DELL - The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of “The Eternal Wall” by Raymond Z. Gallun

SFFaudio Review

SFFaudio’s 7th Anniversary World Tour continues – we’ll have you know that no hotel rooms have been trashed to date. But there’s still time…

Science Fiction Audiobook - The Eternal Wall by Raymond Z. Gallun“The Eternal Wall”
By Raymond Z. Gallun; Read by Gregg Margarite
26 Minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Librivox
Published: 2009
Themes: / Science Fiction / Time Travel / Evolution / Time /

This story was published in November, 1942 in Amazing Stories magazine. It’s the first story by Raymond Z. Gallun that I’ve read. I was happy to come across it, since I recently ordered the Del Rey The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun paperback. Love those books.

“The Eternal Wall” is not included in that collection, which raises my expectations of the stories that were included, because this is a very good story. It starts with a guy driving a car quickly down the road. He’s late for a date with his girlfriend, so he pushes it too far and ends up flying off a cliff into deep alkali-rich water. Now pick up the story a few million years later. Humans have long since left the Earth, and the next phase of evolution has resulted in a race of prairie dog-like intelligent creatures that find a mummified body at an archaeological dig. Their technology is great, so they figure out how to re-animate the well-preserved body.

The end of the story didn’t ring true to me, but it contained the point of the story, or at least the reason the story was titled “The Eternal Wall”. The wall is time – the main character can’t go back in time, and the new intelligent life on Earth, despite their advanced technology, can’t do it either. It can easily be seen as a response to the time travel stories that permeated science fiction in the 40’s – a dose of scientific realism, perhaps?

But it’s not the view of time presented in the story that doesn’t ring true – it’s the reaction of the man after being re-animated. Oh, the drama! I wanted to slap him.

Gregg Margarite performs the story, hysterical re-animated man and all, and I’ll be looking for more from him. Thanks to Gregg, and thanks to Librivox for making it available!

A reminder – Librivox is looking for your help!

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

LibriVox: The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxThe SFFaudio Podcast #50 is scheduled to be a discussion of The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James. If you’re like me, and enjoy self-assigned homework, you might try listening to the audiobook version in advance. There’s a very solid public domain version read by Nikolle Doolin! But, if you try to listen to Nikolle Doolin’s recording of The Turn of the Screw on her website you’re in for a massive headache. The site is almost navigable, but listening there feels like mucking through a needle-forest while carrying a massive haystack. Not fun. Plus, it sports a preposterous “terms of use” page. Don’t let that jumbo mumbo stop you!

Instead, swing on over to LibriVox‘s page for the same audiobook, there you’ll find her recording available in a handy number of instantly accessible formats, all fully public domain and all lacking any hint of eula terrorism. Or just use one of the options below!

LIBRIVOX - The Turn Of The Screw by Henry JamesThe Turn of the Screw
By Henry James; Read by Nikolle Doolin
25 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 5 Hours 43 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 21, 2006
The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. It is a ghost story that was originally published in 1898. A nameless governess reports the events of two ghosts who stalk the young children she has charge over. Is she reliable, or an imaginative neurotic?

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-turn-of-the-screw-by-henry-james.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

[Thanks Julie!]

Posted by Jesse Willis

The SFFaudio Podcast #049

Podcast

The SFFaudio PodcastThe SFFaudio Podcast #049 – Jesse and Scott talk about recent arrivals, new releases, audiobooks, podcasts and plenty more!

Talked about on today’s show:
SFFaudio.com is 7 years old, So I Married An Axe Murder, San Fransisco, California, Alcatraz, recent arrivals, Brilliance Audio, military SF, Fearless: The Lost Fleet Book 2 by Jack Campbell, space opera, Gene Roddenberry‘s Andromeda, Buck Rogers, Live Free or Die: book 1 in the Troy Rising series by John Ringo, Paperback Digital, Cally’s War by John Ringo and Julie Cochrane |READ OUR REVIEW|, John Ringo can give his books away and sell books too, Time’s Eye: A Time Odyssey Book 1 by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, it’s not a sequel it’s an “othrquel“, time is orthogonal to space (in relativity theory), Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke, benevolent aliens, malevolent aliens, H.P. Lovecraft, The Eternal Wall by Raymond Z. Gallun, LibriVox, Gregg Margarite, time travel, Blackstone Audio, Identity Theft by Robert J. Sawyer, Mars, consciousness uploading/downloading, Treason by Orson Scott Card, A Planet Called Treason by Orson Scott Card, Stefan Rudnicki, Spider Robinson, Melancholy Elephants by Spider Robinson |READ OUR REVIEW|, copyright, copyfight, the philosophy of art, The Graveyard Book |READ OUR REVIEW|, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Harry Potter, The Dark Is Rising, A Wizard Of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, ripping off Heinlein is legit when you are Spider Robinson, Friday by Robert A. Heinlein, new releases, Wonder Audio, The Men Return & Worlds Of Origin by Jack Vance, Brilliance Audio, The Songs Of Dying Earth: Stories In Honor Of Jack Vance, Gene Wolfe, The Book Of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe, David D. Levine, Tk’Tk’Tk’ by David D. Levine, The Moon Moth by Jack Vance |READ OUR REVIEW|, Suldrun’s Garden, The Green Pearl, Madouc by Jack Vance, Swimming Kangaroo Books, Need For Magic by Joseph Swope, BBC Audiobooks America, Great Classic Science Fiction: Eight Unabridged Stories, Forgotten Classics podcast talks James Gunn’s The Road To Science Fiction series, paperback book bags, A Game Of Thrones coming to HBO, A Game Of Thrones by George R.R. Martin |READ OUR REVIEW|, Roy Dotrice, John Lee, Shogun (the TV miniseries), FlashForward, Stephen King’s Storm Of The Century, 1408, Scott’s Pick Of The Week: Steve, The First by Matt Watts |READ OUR REVIEW|, @ the CBC store, radio drama, post apocalypse, humor, Canadia: 2056 |READ OUR REVIEW|, The Hitch-hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Jesse’s Pick Of The Week: The Chronicles Of Solomon Kane, Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, Robert E. Howard, The Iliad, Ralph Macchio, Red Shadows by Robert E. Howard, religion, Solomon Kane, The Punisher.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox.org: Fundraiser

SFFaudio News

LibriVoxLibriVox.org is looking for some money. About two weeks ago I got this guilt-inducing email:

Dearest LibriVox listeners, volunteers, & supporters:

For four-and-a-half years, LibriVox volunteers have been making audiobooks for the world to enjoy, and giving them away for free. We’ve made thousands of free audiobooks that have been downloaded by millions of people; our site gets 400,000 visitors every month. To date, all our costs have been borne by a few individuals, with some generous donations and support from partners. However, these costs have become too big.

For the first time (and hopefully for the last time for at least another four-and-a-half years) we’re asking for your support, for a $20,000 fund-raising campaign.

Find out more about why we are raising money, and about how you can donate by following this link:
http://librivox.org/2010/02/24/librivox-needs-your-help/

Thanks for all your wonderful work over the years, and here’s to many many more free public domain audio books.

best,
Hugh.

Then yesterday we got a personalized tweet from LibriVox founder Hugh McGuire himself:

@SFFAudio any chance for a plug for the LirbiVox fundraiser? http://bit.ly/bcYcUF

That was the clincher. Ack! It made me feel sooooo guilty! And, after reviewing my finances, I realized that I could only send in a measly $20 USD.

I feel really ashamed that my donation wasn’t more.

LibriVox is in my thoughts and in my ears nearly every day of the week. I should have sent those hard working LibriVoxateers more money!

And, in my defense, I normally would. But, things being as they are, I haven’t sold anything on either Craigslist or eBay for a while and so my USD funds are rather sadly depleted. It would take one thousand more donations of the size of mine for LibriVox to reach its $20,000 funding goal. So I ask that you, if you have it to spare, make a donation to LibriVox. If not for them, than for me, because I feel so goddamn guilty and I don’t like feeling this way.

Click HERE to help.

Thanks.

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

SFFaudio Online Audio

If you’re just a poor boy you’ll appreciate this monstrosity sized FREE audiobook from LibriVox. From the author of Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk comes part of the inspiration for Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody: Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini!

If nothing else this audiobook will make you do the fandango! Check out the first line…

“He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”

LIBRIVOX - Scaramouche by Rafael SabatiniScaramouche
By Rafael Sabatini; Read by Gord Mackenzie
36 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 17 Hours 12 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: April 27, 2007
Scaramouche is a romantic adventure and tells the story of a young aristocrat during the French Revolution. His successive endeavors as a lawyer, politician, actor, lover, and buffoon lead his enemies to call him “Scaramouche,” but he impresses many with his elegant orations and precision swordsmanship.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/scaramouche-by-rafael-sabatini.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Incidentally, there’s a terrific 2005 BBC Radio 4 documentary on Bohemian Rhapsody available as a torrent on RadioArchive.cc:

I Will Not Let You Go: The Bohemian Rhapsody Story

And, here’s the trailer to the 1952 movie version of Scaramouche:

Posted by Jesse Willis