Aural Noir Review of The White Moll by Frank L. Packard

Aural Noir: Review

LibriVox - The White Moll by Frank L. PackardThe White Moll
By Frank L. Lampard; Read by Rowdy Delaney
21 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – 8 Hours 45 Minutes – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Librivox.org
Published: November 15, 2008
Themes: / Crime / Gangsters / Superheroes / Thieves / New York City /

“…an angel of mercy who spends her time helping the poor in the slums of New York City is drawn into the criminal world when she attempts to help Gypsy Nan, who is not what she seems. Accused of a crime and on the run from the police, she must battle the most nefarious criminal gang in the New York underworld to prove her innocence.”

The White Moll is an exciting adventure story by Frank L. Packard who also wrote the wonderful Adventures Of Jimmie Dale. Set in New York’s shady underbelly of crime, we follow The White Moll as she strives to do good but finds herself framed by criminals who also blame her for ruining their schemes. Can she foil their plans and also save herself? And what of the adventuring thief with whom she has fallen in love?

This book is not as hard-boiled as a typical noir-ish story but definitely holds its own in New York City’s seamy underbelly as unsavory characters plot thefts and murders with little regard for any sense of decency. The White Moll is a quick thinking and plucky heroine who never performs better than when her back is against the wall and we think there is no way out of a threatening situation. Packard wrote in the early 1900s but the stories have as much zest and adventure as when they were new.

Reader Rowdy Delaney has a low key narrative style. She does not attempt to change voice styles from one character to another yet we still get impressions of the characters as they appear. Her reading is smooth and steady, allowing the story to succeed or fail upon its own merits.

This book is available free from Librivox.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/the-white-moll-by-frank-l-packard.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Julie D.

LibriVox: Stories Of King Arthur’s Knights Told To The Children by Mary MacGregor

SFFaudio Online Audio

New at LibriVox for kids of all ages (especially those who like crossbows and catapults)…

LibriVox - Stories Of King Arthur's Knights Told To ChildrenStories Of King Arthur’s Knights Told To The Children
By Mary MacGregor; Read by Joy Chan
7 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 1 Hour 53 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 8, 2009
“More than four hundred years ago there lived a diligent man called Sir Thomas Malory, who wrote in English words many of the beautiful Welsh tales about King Arthur’s Knights, that the people of Wales loved so well. All the stories in this little book were found in Malory’s big book, except ‘Geraint and Enid.’ But it, too, is one of the old Welsh tales that tell of the brave knights and fair ladies of King Arthur’s court. Many times, since Sir Thomas Malory wrote his book, have these stories been told again to old and young, but perhaps never before have they been told to the children so simply as in this little book.”

Too see all the pictures associated with this book look HERE.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/stories-of-king-arthurs-knights-told-to-the-children-by-mary-macgregor.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Year Of The Big Thaw by Marion Zimmer Bradley

SFFaudio Online Audio

From a new collection at LibriVox.org called Young Adult Short Works Collection Vol. 001 comes a short Marion Zimmer Bradley story.

Fantastic Universe May 1954Year Of The Big Thaw
By Marion Zimmer Bradley; Read by Tom Hackett
1 |MP3| – Approx. 15 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: July 5, 2009
In this warm and fanciful story of a Connecticut farmer, Marion Zimmer Bradley has caught some of the glory that is man’s love for man—no matter who he is nor whence he’s from. By heck, you’ll like little Matt. From Fantastic Universe, May 1954.

Also included in Young Adult Short Works Collection Vol. 001 is a humorous tale, Pigs Is Pigs by Ellis Parker Butler. I draw it to your attention primarily because it helped inspire Robert A. Heinlein’s The Rolling Stones (aka Space Family Stone). The Rolling Stones is a novel depicting an industrious family on an interplanetary tour of our solar system. One sequence, the part in which “Pigs Is Pigs” is mentioned, features an cuddly xenomorph called a “Flatcat.” Star Trek‘s David Gerrold later used a similar concept in his creation of the “Tribble.” Pigs Is Pigs is definitely neither Science Fiction or Fantasy, but it is funny. If you’re a bit curious have a listen |MP3|!

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxThe prospect of listening to an amateur narration of an audiobook may not get your shaft cranking but perhaps that’s because you haven’t yet found the right one. Here’s an older LibriVox recording, one that’s made many a listener happy. Alex Foster’s English accent is perfectly aligned for a reading of The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells – so much so that nobody haas bothered recording another version for LibriVox! This is something rather unusual on LibriVox – at least for a work as famous as The Invisible Man!

LibriVox - The Invisible Man by H.G. WellsThe Invisible Man
By H.G. Wells; Read by Alex Foster
13 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 4 Hours 54 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: 2006
The Invisible Man (1897) is one of the most famous science fiction novels of all time. Written by H.G. Wells (1866-1946), it tells the story of a scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility and uses it on himself. The story begins as the Invisible Man, with a bandaged face and a heavy coat and gloves, takes a train to lodge in a country inn whilst he tries to discover the antidote and make himself visible again. The book inspired several films and is notable for its vivid descriptions of the invisible man–no mean feat, given that you can’t see him!

Podcast Feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/invisible-man-by-h-g-wells.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Starman’s Quest by Robert Silverberg

SFFaudio Online Audio

LibriVoxHey now! Check out the FREE audiobook of Robert Silverberg’s second ever novel, a “juvenile” written by a juvenile…

“This was my second novel, which I wrote when I was 19, in my junior year at Columbia. I’ve written better ones since. But readers interested in the archaeology of a writing career will probably find much to explore here.”
-Robert Silverberg 17 May 2008

Starman’s Quest is probably most famously remembered for employing the “twin paradox.” Other elements included in the book include a dystopian/utopian earth of the 37th century. Earth overpopulated and jobs are few and far between for anyone who isn’t in a hereditary guild. There’s also “a kind of enforced consumerism” in which it is considered immoral to save money – “everyone must buy, buy, buy.” The only legal profession open to those without a guild is gambling.


LibriVox - Starman's Quest by Robert Silverberg
Starman’s Quest
By Robert Silverberg; Read by Dawn Larsen
20 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 5 Hours 17 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 12, 2009
Traveling at speeds close to that of light, spacemen lived at an accelerated pace. When one of the twin boys left the starship, he grew older while his twin in space barely aged. So the starship twin left the ship to find what happened to his brother who was aging away on earth.

Podcast feed: http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/starmans-quest-by-robert-silverberg.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis

LibriVox: Bat Wing by Sax Rohmer

Aural Noir: Online Audio

“A crime thriller with a voodoo twist, from the creator of Fu Manchu.”

Is this the first great summer audiobook from LibriVox? I think it may very well be. Just image listening to this tale in on a summer evening, a tall glass of cold beverage in hand, the sun setting, the bats flying out of their belfries. So cool.

LibriVox - Bat Wing by Sax RohmerBat Wing
By Sax Rohmer; Read by Mark Douglas Nelson
12 Zipped MP3 Files or Podcast – Approx. 9 Hours 14 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: LibriVox.org
Published: June 12, 2009
Private detective Paul Harley investigates a mysterious case involving voodoo, vampirism, and macabre murder in the heart of London. The first book in the Paul Harley series, written by Sax Rohmer, author of The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu. Originally published in 1921.

Podcast feed:

http://librivox.org/bookfeeds/bat-wing-by-sax-rohmer.xml

iTunes 1-Click |SUBSCRIBE|

Posted by Jesse Willis