mystery – Page 26

Review of Infected by Scott Sigler

SFFaudio Review

Infected
By Scott Sigler; Read by Scott Sigler
9 CDs – 12 hours – [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Random House Audio
Published: 2008
ISBN: 9780739328859
Themes: / Horror / Science Fiction / Mystery / Bio Chemical / Self Mutilation / Scott Sigler / Podcast

Maybe you’ve been away on vacation. Maybe you’re new here. Maybe you fell asleep 100 years ago and you’re just waking up. Maybe you’ve been locked inside your house with a pair of chicken scissors. Who knows? But, if you are a fan of audiobooks and audio fiction and DON’T know about Scott Sigler, you’ve been missing out.

So, for those of you who don’t know who Scott Sigler is, he started out as a rogue novelist that decided to record his own novels and distribute them for free, over the internet, as podcasts, to build an audience for his writing. And my, oh my how it has worked! Who would have ever thought that you could make money, or at least get yourself a big time publishing deal with a major company just by giving your stuff away for free? For those of you who, like me, have been following his rise, you’ll be happy to hear that our little Scott Sigler is all grown up now. He’s out of diapers and he’s using his “big boy” voice.

The basic premise of Infected is this: Some strange virus, disease, or biological weapon is turning normal people in to stark raving lunatics. This mysterious disease, whatever it is, causes its victim to become paranoid, psychotic, and just a little more than grumpy. There’s suspense, gore, disturbing self mutilation and of course, lots and lots of violence. But, as you may well know, adult themes and disturbing images only work if they are used to serve as a backdrop to great writing. Infected is most certainly well written and that’s why it is a good listening experience from beginning to end.

CIA operative Dew Phillips is burdened with the task of figuring out what this thing is and why it causes such behavior from its victims. Even with the help of CDC Epidemiologist Margaret Montoya, he does not know much about the disease. Because of its nature, all infected victims have been found dead. The investigation takes them from city to city, hoping to catch a live host.

Then there’s our “host” Perry Dawsey. He’s a gigantic former college football player, with a slight twinge towards problems of an anger management nature. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s about to take you on a wonderful ride of beautifully written “gross”. Perry is a man who has struggled for years to control his anger and you begin to feel for him as you witness his downward spiral in to violence. You may find yourself fighting for Perry the perfectly crafted underdog. Normally you wouldn’t consider such a hugely athletic man as an “underdog”. But, in Infected, his strength is literally his weakness.

I first heard Infected in its original form as a free audio podcast. When I sat down to listen to this professionally produced and released unabridged recording, I thought I was about to take a trip in to a wonderfully relaxing nostalgia. But, I was wrong. From the first page, the book has been completely re-worked, tightened, tweaked, improved upon, and added to. Infected is as fit as a boxer getting ready to fight for the title belt and every page, chapter, and verse has a polished feel that resonates with the listener. There is also new material, previously unreleased, including twenty-two pages that you won’t even find in hardcover book.

For fans of Sigler’s podcast, you will be happy to hear that he narrated the entire book himself. It comes complete with elements that you don’t normally find in a big budget release, such as voices and a mild amount of sound effects that help the recording spring to life. Yet the entire thing feels like his podcast. I kept expecting him to come in and say, “That’s all the story I’ve got for you this week…” but he never did. Not until the end, almost twelve gruesome hours later.

The sound quality is very good. There are no flubs, exterior sounds, or flaws. It not only sounds good, but Scott Sigler has actually never sounded better. That’s a lot to be said for someone who jokingly claims to have been doing this perfectly for over eighteen years now.

I realized when I first pressed “play” on this audiobook that I had never actually listened to anything written by Scott Sigler in one extended sitting. I had been consuming his fiction, just like every other person out there, one week at a time, for just a few minutes at a time. I am happy to report that he is not like one of those annoying friends that you enjoy only in small doses. I started listening to Infected, and even though I already had a good idea of what the story and characters were going to be, I just kept listening all the way through to the end. The writing is solid and the plot twists and character arcs are all perfectly juxtaposed. You can never relax or let your guard down because there is something even worse coming to get you from just around the corner.

So, if you’re in to a little romantic comedy where all is well at the end and everyone loves each other, Infected is not for you. But, if you are looking for something that is page burningly well written with great characters, violence gore, a dash of self mutilation and some chicken scissors thrown in for good measure, definitely give Infected a shot. I’m sure Scott Sigler would thank you personally, but he’s locked in his closet right now recording his next great hit, which he is still giving away for free, every week. Well, almost every week. It isn’t exactly clockwork.

Posted by Michael Bekemeyer of the Scatterpod podcast.

Review of Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan

SFFaudio Review

Tantor Audio - Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan

Thirteen
By Richard K. Morgan; Read by Simon Vance
18 CDs or 3 MP3-CDs – Approx. 23 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: July 2007
ISBN: 1400104319 (CDs), 1400154316 (MP3-CDs)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Noir / Mystery / Hard Boiled / Genetic Engineering /

Carl Marsalis is a traitor, a bringer of death, a genetic freak and an unwelcome reminder of all that is dark in the human psyche – he in every sense of the word a Black Man. And right at the moment he’s beyond the UN’s jurisdiction, banged up in a Florida jail for financing an illegal abortion. So when the US police call, Carl cuts a deal. The 13s are genetically engineered alpha males, designed to fight the century’s last conflicts. But men bred and designed to fight are dangerous to have around in peacetime. Many of them have left for Mars, but one has returned. Somehow he survived the journey to Earth, and now a series of brutal slayings has erupted across America. Only Carl can stop him. And so begins a frenetic man hunt and a battle for survival. And a search for the truth about what was really done with the world’s last soldiers.

I find Richard K. Morgan, in his rare interviews, offers deep insights into his work. In regards to Thirteen (called Black Man in the U.K.), he describes it as: “An accidentally lengthy meditation on elements of the human condition that the Kovacs books [Altered Carbon etc.] always had the capacity to sidestep – namely, the prison of our own flesh, and the inevitable doom of our own mortality.” And its true, Morgan delivers action and cogitation on action. The setting, a grimly-futuristic Earth and the characters play out the consequences of a well thought out backstory. In Thirteen it seems that various experiments in genetic engineering have lead to at least thirteen strains of humanity. Like all good hard-boiled mysteries it has a fully realized backstory that predominates the main-stage machinations. Carl Marsalis is our anti-hero. He’s one of a small group of genetically engineered super-soldiers who were created by the British government for military use. In Thirteen, Morgan has created a grim future – one that is different from his detailed Altered Carbon and Market Forces worlds – but no less vivid. Years ago, in our future, a new arms race ran rampant, every nation with super-power ambitions started making genetic super-soldiers, others side stepped into crossbreeding bonobos sexual appetites and attitudes into humans. Add in a new racism bound to genetics, the old racism based on skin tone, the potential return of Jesus Christ, a dissolved United States of America, and international intrigue plays out from South America to Asia Minor and Mars – and you get a very rich premise. Carl Marsalis is a dour, taciturn anti-hero, but he’s pretty compassionate for a sociopath. His genes and something called “mesh” (another Richard K. Morgan edge-giver like “neuro chem” from Altered Carbon) and martial arts from Mars make him one bad-ass Brit. If there’s a weakness with the story, it’s the intricacy, there’s almost too much backstory – this leads to too many scenes where little bits of information get doled out. The addition of well more than a dozen characters for Marsalis to tangle with make the whole novel feel long. Thankfully, there’s a perfect ending capping this thoughtfully Noir Science Fiction novel.

Tantor Audio tapped Simon Vance to voice Thirteen, he also narrated Morgan’s Market Forces. Vance brings his a growing body of experience to work with him, and manages to nail a lot of accents in this continent bounding tale. The only point I was shaken from the narrative came when Vance used what sounded like a Charlie Chan impression for a female Chinese character. So far Tantor’s had a lock on the Richard K. Morgan audiobook market so I’m hoping they’re planning on recording The Steel Remains, his forthcoming novel too.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

SFFaudio Review

Fool Moon: Book Two of the Dresden Files
By Jim Butcher; Read by James Marsters
1 MP3 Disc or 8 CDs – Approx. 10.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia
Published: 2003
ISBN: 9780965725583
Themes: / Fantasy / Mystery / Magic / Private Detective / Wizard / Noir /

The fantastically grey world of Wizard Harry Dresden is back in this, the second book of the series. Harry Dresden is still a private investigator who has special supernatural powers that people who believe in him would call being a Wizard. Those who do not believe in such things might call him a fake. This coupled with the fact that Dresden still has the ability to get himself in to the deepest and darkest of trouble makes for a equally fun and entertaining read.

Fool Moon takes place less than a year after the climax of Storm Front (Dresden, Book 1). As the title suggests, Fool Moon spends much of its time dealing with supernatural creatures of the night known to us as Werewolves. And as it turns out there is a lot I did not know about werewolves. There are many different ways to become one and there are many different versions of them as well. So, even if you are not an expert in werewolves, don’t worry, because neither is our hero, Mr. Dresden.

For two months, when the moon is full, certain people have been dying horribly gruesome deaths and Dresden finally gets a call from his friend and main source of income, Detective Murphy. She’s the head of the city’s special investigations and leans on Harry whenever the mystery has a twinge of the unexplainable. When Dresden gets the call from her, he jumps at the chance to pay the bills and put some food on the table. The moon is full for four nights and that’s all the time they have to solve the murders. As they start to connect the pieces to the puzzle, they both begin to realize that they are not prepared for what is about to happen.

The details and story are dark and horrifying. Dresden is the consummate intuitive detective, acting on things that he isn’t quite sure about, but just has a solid hunch or gut feeling. His sage-like wisdom often leads him in the right direction, but also leaves him asking the question, “Now what?” These intuitions are what I like best about Harry. His wizardry is more than just using magic. It’s more like an innate ability to look at any given situation from a different perspective.

It always gets him in to trouble, not because he is wrong, but because he is right about so many things. You might find yourself pitying the poor wizard as he follows his nose and heart in to trouble. He gets beaten to a pulp more than once and I was wondering how much more could he take? Trust me, Harry Dresden gets pushed to the physical and mental limits in this story and the depths he visits, both magically and psychologically, are sure to get your heart pumping. The thought “don’t go there” crept in to my mind more than once. The Harry Dresden “hat tricks” will put a smile on your face and keep you asking for more.

I like the way Dresden is written, always telling the tale in a first person. It sucks you in to Dresden’s brain. It’s from his perspective, which isn’t always correct. But, you’re in it with him. Dresden often makes decisions based on his point of view or the facts that he has at the time, like we all do and some times. It’s just not every day that we are all making life or death decisions on how to best defeat a violent, man eating beast, like Harry does in this book.

The first person narrative is perfect for the audio book outlet. In fact, it’s almost as if these words were meant to be spoken out loud. The text is not too proper and not too relaxed either. Just right. The book is narrated stunningly well, once again by James Marsters, AKA Spike of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. He’s able to capture the essence of the character, moment by moment. He immortalizes the wit, sarcasm, and underdogedness of Dresden in a single paragraph, all while sounding incredibly relaxed. It’s just another telling of a story straight from the guy it happened to.

Fool Moon is not unlike the previous production of Storm Front. In some places the audio production is flawed. There are periodical flubs by the reader, things that could be easily edited out of the soundtrack to bring the quality of the production in to the same level as the writing and performing. You can also hear the faint sounds of page turns and other pesky undesirables that only pull you out of the story that Jim Butcher and James Marsters are working so hard to keep you sucked in to. I have spoken about this before and will resist the urge to go on another tirade about the virtues of audible storytelling and the need for quality to assure the listener’s total absorption in to the world that they are listening to. So, I will only say that it is a little upsetting, because these are simple problems that even podcasters, such as J.C Hutchins and Scott Sigler, with their homegrown recordings have figured out how to avoid. Why not the professionals at Buzzy?

But, all criticism aside, if you are a fan of audio books and a fan of Harry Dresden, the flaws and inconsistencies in this production of Jim Butcher’s wonderful concoction Fool Moon are few and far between. The world he has created grows richer and deeper with every word. The story starts strong on page one and continues on full force until the end. That’s said of Harry Dresden, as well. He is growing as a person and a wizard and I am looking forward to listening to the next installment of the Dresden books. And with eight more of them published, including the newly released Small Favor, I am sure to have many, many more hours of Dresden to spark my imagination and to keep me wishing I had some of those tricks up my sleeve.

Posted by Michael Bekemeyer of the Scatterpod podcast.

BBC7 Robert Harris’ Fatherland RADIO DRAMA

SFFaudio Online Audio

Beginning on Monday and running daily, BBC7 is airing their adaptation of Robert Harris’ bestselling novel Fatherland. This powerful and award winning drama, examines an alternate history in which the Nazi empire never fell. The setting is 1960s Berlin, on the cusp of Hitler’s 75th birthday. Dramatised and produced by John Dryden, it stars Anton Lesser and Andrew Sachs. This will definitely be one to catch via the Listen Again service!

Fatherland
Based on the novel by Robert Harris; Performed by a full cast
5 Parts – Approx. 2 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
BROADCASTER: BBC 7
BROADCAST: Monday March 3rd to Friday March 7th @ 9am, 8pm and 1am (UK time)
Nazi Germany has won the war. Churchill is living in exile. King Edward and Queen Wallis are puppet monarchs of the UK. It is 1964, a week before Hitler’s 75th birthday. Anton Lesser stars as the Berlin detective called to investigate the suspicious death of a retired German senior civil servant.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Audio exerpt: Philosophy course in solving murder

SFFaudio Online Audio

Have a listen to this |MP3|. Normally I wouldn’t bother you with a mere excerpt from a new novel, but the premise of Will Lavender‘s Obedience does catch the ear and tease-out your attention. It is listed in the mystery/thriller section of most online bookstores but at least one site is classifying it as a Fantasy (though I suppose we’ll have to listen to the whole novel to know for sure). The unabridged audiobook is available from Books On Tape and Audible.com.

When the students in Winchester University’s Logic and Reasoning 204 course arrive for their first day of class, they are greeted not with a syllabus or texts, but with a startling assignment from Professor Williams: Find a hypothetical missing girl named Polly. If, after being given a series of clues and details, the class has not found her before the end of the term (in six weeks), she will be murdered.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Wormwood Season One wrapped

SFFaudio Online Audio

I received an email from Bradford R. Bowman, who among other things runs a cool blog about crossbows (it needs updating with more posts Bradford!). Bowman had this to say:

“Hey, I just thought the site [SFFaudio.com] might mark the season finale of Wormwood, which in my mind was really the highlight of the year in audio drama. They hint at plans for a second season, but it would be great if could urge them to that end. I mean, we have to know what happens to Sparrow!”

Good idea! I’ve just finished listening to the season finale of Season 1 – “It has all built to this moment…” – and boy did it finish cool, very, very, VERY cool! I previously described this show as “one part Twin Peaks, one part mystery, one part supernatural” after hearing the Season Finale I’d like to add a couple more descriptors: “Wicker Man-esque” and “Lovecraftian!”

Wormwood: A Serial Mystery – Season One
By various; Performed by a full cast
24 MP3s – Approx. 9 Hours [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Habit Forming Films / WormwoodShow.com
Podcast: July 2007 – January 2008
Tragedy forced Doctor Xander Crowe down the pathways of the occult and he was forever transformed. Now, chasing the vision of a drowned woman, Crowe finds himself in the haunted town of Wormwood, where evil lurks in the shadows and stains the souls of its inhabitants.

Subscribe to podcast with this feed and get all 24 first season episodes:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/WormwoodMystery

Posted by Jesse Willis