Tag: politics

The Red Monday Audio Drama explodes into existence today!

OnlineAudio

Red Monday - Audio DramaGuess what today is? Yup, it’s Red Monday! That countdown clock website turned out to mean something after all! I got this chilling email early this morning…

You are receiving this message because you asked to be notified of the “Event.” Consider this your notification. We weren’t able to stop it. It has already occurred.

> A nuclear weapon has just exploded in Los Angeles.
> Millions of people are trying to get out.
> ..three are trying to get in.

Hi, I’m J. Marcus Xavier, executive producer of Red Monday–the all-new action / adventure audio drama from StarKnight Productions. The countdown clock has finally reached zero, and Red Monday has arrived. The premiere episode is now live and available for FREE download at www.redmonday.com. Please visit and listen.

Check out the RedMonday.com site where you can download the first episode for free. Subsequent episodes sell for $1.67 each or just $4.99 for the entire series.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Copyfighting (and Hugo Winning) Science Fiction from Spider Robinson: Melancholy Elephants

OnlineAudio

Spider On The Web PodcastThe Spider On The Web podcast, has a terrific Hugo winning story from 1982! This is a story made for BoingBoing.net, its creative commons licensed, a Heinleinesque Science Fiction tale in which a shadowy killer meets with a corrupt senator who’s been paid to back a proposed copyright extension bill. As Robinson sez “Copyright is a hot-button topic these days. Does information want to be free…or just reasonably priced?” Find out the answer, in this FREE tale. Spider Robinson is amazing, as writer and narrator both!

Science Fiction short story - Melancholy Elephants by Spider RobinsonMelancholy Elephants
By Spider Robinson; Read by Spider Robinson
1 |MP3| – Approx. 34 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcast: Spider On The Web
Podcaster: November 17th 2007
“She sat zazen, concentrating on not concentrating, until it was time to prepare for the appointment. Sitting seemed to produce the usual serenity, put everything in perspective. Her hand did not tremble as she applied her make-up; tranquil features looked back at her from the mirror. She was mildly surprised, in fact, at just how calm she was, until she got out of the hotel elevator at the garage level and the mugger made his play. She killed him instead of disabling him. Which was obviously not a measured, balanced action–the official fuss and paperwork could make her late. Annoyed at herself, she stuffed the corpse under a shiny new Westinghouse roadable whose owner she knew to be in Luna, and continued on to her own car. This would have to be squared later, and it would cost. No help for it–she fought to regain at least the semblance of tranquility as her car emerged from the garage and turned north. Nothing must interfere with this meeting, or with her role in it.”

Grab the podcast feed here:

http://www.spiderrobinson.com/iTunes_feed.xml

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of The Aftermath by Ben Bova

SFFaudio Review

The Aftermath by Ben BovaThe Aftermath: Book Four of The Asteroid Wars
By Ben Bova; Read by Emily Janice Card, Gabrielle de Cuir, Stephen Hoye, and Stefan Rudnicki
10 CDs – 12 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Published: 2007
ISBN: 1427201064
Themes: / Science Fiction / Space Travel / Asteroid Belt / Politics / War / Survival /

I really enjoy Ben Bova’s vision of humanity’s future in space. That vision is contained in all of his Grand Tour books, and the Asteroid Wars books are part of that larger series. The Aftermath is the fourth, and possibly the last, Asteroid Wars novel. Bova’s future is well considered, and that’s part of the fun of reading his books. To get artificial gravity, a part of the ship needs to spin. Resources are limited. Problems arise – frustrating ones, like when you’ve climbed a ladder to do a job and realize that you’ve forgotten the tool you need to do that job. Only in space, you can’t climb down and get that tool. You have to figure something else.

The Zacharias family finds this out the hard way, because the four of them, who run a merchant vessel as a family business, find themselves ready to dock at what turns out to be a military target during the Asteroid War. When they discover their mistake, Victor Zacharias, the father, leaves the ship in a pod in an attempt to lure attackers away, and the rest of the family gets out of there, but not before their ship is damaged, and not before committing to a trajectory that will keep them away from civilization for years.

Victor then finds himself on the attacked habitat in a state of near-slavery while his family does what it can to stabilize their ship and ride out the years in solitude. The story focuses on both of those situations – Victor’s, who never really loses hope, and the family’s, who struggle. In this way, Bova gives us a story of peripheral damage in war.

The audiobook is read by multiple narrators, switching as the point of view of the story shifts. All of the narrators are top-notch, and the style works well with the book. I was particularly enamored with the opening of the book, as the family is introduced, then tossed into peril. Bova’s characters are well-drawn, and the narrators took full advantage in their effective story-telling.

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

ARTC Podcast performs Heinlein’s Solution Unsatisfactory

SFFaudio Online Audio

ARTC PodcastThe Atlanta Radio Theater Company has just completed podcasting all three parts of their production of Robert A. Heinlein’s Solution Unsatisfactory. Heinlein’s original short story was adapted by Daniel Taylor and the Atlanta Radio Theater Company. This is an archive recording of their 2001 DragonCon performance (we reviewed the studio recorded CD version back in 2004, click HERE to read it).

Solution Unsatisfactory by Robert A. Heinlein“Solution Unsatisfactory”
Adapted by Daniel Taylor from the short story by Robert A. Heinlein; Full Cast Production
3 MP3 Files – Approx 70 Minutes [AUDIO DRAMA]
Podcaster: Atlanta Radio Theater Company
Podcast: October 2007
“Solution Unsatisfactory describes an American supersecret project to develop an atomic superweapon that proves vital to the Allied triumph of World War II. ‘So what,’ you say. ‘That’s old news.’ And you’d be right, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were the final nails in the coffin of WWII. But what’s weird is, Solution Unsatisfactory was published in 1940, a full half decade before the atom bomb was even known to exists by the general public. What’s more, Heinlein’s story goes on to foresee the coming cold war with the Soviet Union and the concomitant race to arm with atomic weapons. Heinlein’s story doesn’t actually foretell the same events that happened, but the similarities are pretty eerie.”

Download the three parts |Part 1 MP3|Part 2 MP3|Part 3 MP3| or subscribe to the feed:

http://artc.libsyn.com/rss

Meta SFFaudioAlso, on Sunday October 14th SFFaudio.com will be switching over to WordPress. A technical change that should go off without a hitch and provide more functionality for readers. But, our RSS only subscribers should take note, our new RSS feed will be:

http://www.sffaudio.com/?feed=rss2

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Voyagers by Ben Bova

SFFaudio Review

Science Fiction Audiobooks - Voyagers by Ben BovaVoyagers
By Ben Bova; Read by Stefan Rudnicki
12 CDs -13 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Sample: Click here
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2006
ISBN: 0786167424
Themes: / Science Fiction / Alien Contact / Space Program / Politics / Religion /

Voyagers is a superior first contact novel. It was originally published in 1981, but it holds up extremely well, especially since our space program has not changed all that much in the past 26 years. But the novel’s setting is the now that was then, which means the United States and USSR are the two superpowers and the only two countries with space programs.

The book starts off in a similar way to Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama. An alien craft has been detected, and it’s in the solar system. Those in the know have no clue what the ship wants – are the aliens hostile or friendly? What does this mean for humanity?

From there the story takes a tack similar to another Clarke novel – 2010: Odyssey Two, but Clarke’s book was published a year after Bova’s. The United States and the USSR decide to cooperate rather than fight. The underlings (i.e. the folks doing the actual work) are ready and willing to do so, but the politicians spend their time pulling the other way. Other internal arguments include everything from “when should we tell the public” to “who gets to go”.

Throughout the novel, Bova takes the time to look around at the world’s reaction as they are informed. Rumors fly and some factions of humanity take action based on those rumors. In short, Bova gives us a fascinating and plausible account of the world’s reaction to first contact. Widespread panic? Don’t think so.

All of this builds up to a truly powerful conclusion. The final two CDs of this audiobook contain the most affecting first contact narrative I’ve ever heard or read. I couldn’t help but to play them both again immediately upon finishing, and I’ve resolved myself to keeping them on my iPod indefinitely so that I’m sure to have them with me next time I find myself in a quiet moment under a starry sky.

Stefan Rudnicki continues to impress with this narration, in which he performs many different voices with many different accents, all effective. Though Bova’s story is Clarke-like, there is much more to work with in the character department than in Clarke’s stories, and this allows Rudnicki the opportunity to shine. Also effective in the audiobook are the chapter breaks, each of which is read by a different narrator and each of which contain thought-provoking stuff, from quotes of real-life scientists to news stories that are part of the fiction. I greatly appreciate this kind of thing in an audiobook because it provides a true break as effective as a new chapter in text. All too often, audiobooks don’t create this break for the listener, resulting in a few moments of disorientation as the listener mentally moves to a new setting and/or POV. No such problem here – the prominent breaks are much appreciated.

posted by Scott D. Danielson