BBC 7: H.G. Wells, Brian Aldiss, Hergé’s Tintin and a promise of Arthur C. Clarke tales to come)

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BBC Radio 7 - BBC7By the sheer volume of H.G. Wells stories airing this coming week on BBC Radio 7 you’d might think it was H.G. Wells who had just died, and not Arthur C. Clarke! But no, BBC7 is planning on playing some Clarke for they announced the following: “As a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke we will be repeating these programmes [four readings commisioned and broadcast in 2007] in the near future.” Good on them! Until then…

In typical Wellsian fashion (time travel used to be fantasy until Wells got his mitts on it) this 1901 tale transforms a Fantasy concept (the existence of past lives) into a SF theme, casting a future life (as of a dream), that is both vivid and recognizable – written before both of the World Wars it depicts a world in which tanks, airplanes and something that sound like a nuclear weapon exists…

A Dream of Armageddon by H.G. WellsA Dream Of Armageddon
By H.G. Wells; Read by Robert Bathurst
2 Parts – Approx. 2 Hours [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Monday and Tuesday at 6.30pm and midnight
A tale of an advanced civilisation descending into mindless war was an uncannily close prediction of the horrors of WW2 when it was written in 1901.

This one, sounding more like Lovecraft than it has any right to, should be a treat for sailor and land lubber alike…

The Sea Raiders by H.G. WellsThe Sea Raiders
By H.G. Wells; Read by Robert Bathurst
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Wednesday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
Another classic tale of high adventure by sci-fi master H. G. Wells. Strange monsters from the deep start terrorising the horrified residents of Devon’s coastline.

Yep, you’ll find Wells was responsible for most of the well worn tropes of SF – this next one is described as the inspiration for the Star Trek (original series) episode “Wink of an Eye”

The New Accelerator by H.G. WellsThe New Accelerator
By H.G. Wells; Read by Robert Bathurst
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Thursday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
A friend of H.G. Wells is on the verge of making a scientific breakthrough which promises to revolutionise human life – so the two friends decide to road-test the new drug – with exciting but dangerous consequences.

And a Brian Aldiss tale, first broadcast back in May 2007…

BBC Radio 7 - Song Of The SilencerSong Of The Silencer
By Brian Aldiss; Read by Nigel Anthony
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [ABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Friday at 6.30pm and 12.30am
To establish universal peace, scientists have constructed a massive computer designed to mimic human thought and act as a guide to world decision making. But will flicking the switch signal the end of the human race?

First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1993, here’s a treat of an audio drama…

The Adventures of Tintin RADIO DRAMAThe Adventures of Tintin
Based on the Hergé comic book series; Performed by a full cast
6 Broadcasts – 3 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7
Broadcast: Monday to Monday at 9am, 8pm and 1am
Famous boy reporter Tintin has been covering the return of the Sanders-Hardiman expedition from Peru. When all the participants fall mysteriously ill, Tintin is compelled to investigate.

All of the above will be available on the “listen again” page the day after they air.

Posted by Jesse Willis

StarShipSofa wants you to pick the BSFA Best Short Story of 2007 winner

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Star Ship SofaStarShipSofa now puts her money on the line and tries to pick the winner of the BSFA Best Short Story 2007.

Join Tony and guest listener Fred as they blast off into the unknown and try and name the winner. Someone help them – please!
If you missed any of the other posts, here are all stories and links to mp3’s:

Pop over to the StarShipSofa forums and cast your vote. You can subscribe free via iTunes or direct from the StarShipSofa website.

Subscribe to the podcast via this feed:www.starshipsofa.com/rss

Posted by Tony C. Smith

BBC7 airing Slipstream a Nazi/UFO alternate history Radio Drama

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BBC Radio 7 - BBC7Simon Bovey’s new SF thriller for BBC Radio 7 from March 24th to 28th, 2008. Simon Bovey is the scriptwriter for previous two Radio Drama thrillers: Cold Blood (Antarctic setting) and The Voice of God (Australia setting). In his new program, Slipstream. Bovey describes it as – “Part political thriller, part war story, part future shock.”


Slipstream by Simon BoveySlipstream
By Simon Bovey; Performed by a full cast
5 Parts – Approx. 2.5 Hours [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Mon. 24th March – Fri. 28th @ 6pm & Midnight (UK time)
March 1945 and the Allies’ victory in Europe is a forgone conclusion. But then over a hundred RAF bombers are shot down in one night by a shimmering aircraft. Is this a new terror weapon? One that could turn the tide of war back in the Germans’ favour? A misfit team of specialists are parachuted behind enemy lines, in the crucible between the attacking armies of the Russians and the Americans, to grab this technology and nip the threat in the bud. What they find is more shocking and alien than they could have ever imagined.

[via Daily Space]

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Sci Phi: The Journal of Science Fiction In Philosophy – January 2008 (Volume 1 Issue 1)

SFFaudio Review

Sci Phi: The Journal of Science Fiction In Philosophy - January 2008 (Volume 1 Issue 1)Sci Phi: The Journal of Science Fiction In Philosophy – January 2008 (Volume 1 Issue 1)
Edited by Jason Rennie; Read by various
11 MP3s and PDF – Approx. 3.5 Hours or 33,000 Words [PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL]
Publisher: Sci Phi Productions
Published: January 2008
Themes: / Philosophy / Science Fiction / Religion / Fantasy / Cloning / Time /

“Sci Phi is a new popular level journal aimed at readers who like science fiction but want to think about its implications a little more. Each issue of Sci Phi will contain short stories and articles. The short stories will tend to have an interesting idea underlying them and the articles will look at various philosophical ideas through the lens of science fiction. Each issue comes in various ebook formats as well as all of the stories and articles in mp3 format for your listening pleasure. Each issue costs $7, and all of the contributors are paid on a royalty basis, with about 80% of the issue price being paid directly to contributors. Additionally after one year each issue of the journal will be released under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial license 3.0.”

The Journal of Science Fiction In Philosophy is a spin-off from the Sci-Phi Show podcast. The short introductory editorial, written and read by the journal’s editor Jason Rennie, defines what the journal will be about using examples from film and television – but despite these examples the stated focus is on making the journal more focused on the literary side of Science Fiction.

Next up, “What Is Sci-Phi” (introductory article) by Jason Rennie; read by TD-0013, introduces the philosophical content of modern Science Fiction. The stories are followed by “questions for reflection” which are a series of questions designed to provoke the philosophical spirit in the listener.

“Irwin Goes To Hell” by Jason Pomerantz is the first piece of fiction in the journal; it is a humorous and surrealistic tale of a hapless suitor determined to break all ten of the Ten Commandments. But the joke runs a little long with so many commandments to break and so many trips to hell (and heaven).

Geoffrey Maloney‘s “The Oracle In The Red Limousine,” read by Nathan Lowell, the next short story, offers a small reflection on the idea predestination and a large handful of humor.

“Requiem for a Harlequin: Two Perspectives on Time, and a Celebration of Kairos, in Three Stories by Harlan Ellison” by Michael Spence is a commentary on what he sees as a previously unnoticed theme in Harlan Ellison stories. Warning, pre-reading of the three Ellison tales is definitely required.

“You Pretty Thing” by Lee Battersby (and read by Rick Stringer) is short, unmemorable, fleeting. This, despite having some weighty ideas (life after death, cloning, consciousness-downloading).

“Requiem for a Silent Planet” by Stephen Dedman, read by TD-0013, stands out (with lines like “I’m loaded for pope.”. This one is an intriguing listen right up until its very abrupt end. This story feels terribly unfinished – which is a real shame.

Likewise, the serialized piece “The Big Questions” by Stephan Vladimir Bugaj and Ben Goertzel, read by Jeffrey Kafer, starts with a moon-smashing bang. It is a snappy first person tale of a head in the clouds solipsist asking many of the traditional questions of metaphysics – many questions, few answers – perhaps some will come in future issues of the journal.

“A First Look at Lookism” is an article with an argument at its center. The subject of which is an exploration of the “morally inappropriate discrimination,” phenomenon of visual discrimination. The author, Ryan Nichols is an assistant professor. He examines the moral status of lookism with special reference to a piece of literary science fiction (namely Ted Chiang’s Liking What You See: A Documentary). Nichols surveys the terrain and then mulls over an argument that he thinks may show precisely why lookism is so wrong. He’s thorough and the article runs about 25 minutes.

Next, “The Losting Corridor” by Matt Wallace, read by Drew Beatty, offers a dreamy entrance into a Twilight Zone-like world. A hardboiled detective on the trail of a shooter winds up in a Platonic blind-alley that he may never escape from. The tale is gritty and well written, but ultimately it is a shallow mirror pointed at a past that never was.

Finally, the issue is capped by “The Epilogue” which is, despite its title, actually a fiction piece. It’s an eight minute tale, by The Rev-Up Review‘s Paul S. Jenkins. A cryptic worldwide broadcast by an anonymous grey-bearded sky guy proves once and for all that the atheists were wrong, and will be right. Well written, but more of an exercise in storytelling than a story.

Magazines by their nature are extremely hard to review (their many small components needing to be examined in detail). There is something in the essential character of magazine reading that is always more ephemeral than novels or short stories alone. That said, after reading over what I’ve written above, it appears I have been more damning than praising – had I been merely a casual reader looking for something to listen to I bet I’d have been far less so. So let me clarify, for the first issue of a magazine the Sci Phi: The Journal of Science Fiction In Philosophy – January 2008 is extremely well put together. It doesn’t have any real dead weight, and I eagerly look forward to listening to future issues.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Philip K. Dick’s We Can Remember It For You Wholesale on BBC7

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BBC Radio 7 - BBC7Dick. You know you want it. Indeed, a life without Philip K. Dick is hardly worth imagining! Thankfully the folks at BBC7 and The 7th Dimension agree and so they are re-running what I consider to be one of the best short stories ever written. We Can Remember It For You Wholesale posits a future world of memory implants and false vacations. Doug Quail, the shmendrik-hero of the tale, wants to visit the planet Mars. Unfortunately his shrewish wife vetos the idea whenever he mentions it. That all changes though when, after a mishap at a virtual travel agency, he discovers that he’s already been there! What’s real? What’s not? Dick explores these Cartesian questions better than any other writer (including Descartes himself) have a listen, you won’t be sorry…

BBC Broadcast - We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. DickWe Can Remember It For You Wholesale
By Philip K. Dick; Read by William Hootkins
2 Parts 2 Broadcasts – [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sunday March 16 & 23 @ 6.30pm & 12.30am (UK time)
This novelette was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction‘s in April 1966 issue and first broadcast on BBC 7 in September 2003. The reader is William Hootkins (aka “Red Six” from the original Star Wars).

Listeners unable to tune in can use the “Listen Again” service for a week after each broadcast.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Cory Doctorow and Benjamin Rosenbaum podcasting their novella True Names

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Cory Doctorow’s Craphound PodcastCory Doctorow and Benjamin Rosenbaum are podcasting a new novella that they co-wrote. It will appear in print in the forthcoming anthology, Fast Forward 2. It’s an homage to Vernor Vinge’s famous story of the same name… Rosenbaum sez:

“This story came out of a conversation at the Hugo Loser’s party at Worldcon 2002 — the part about ‘the second law of thermodynamics as the ultimate party-spoiler in a transhuman utopia of self-spawning consciousness’; it acquired shades of Jane Austen, Voltaire, megamillion year ideological warfare, gender theory, coming-of-age story, and musical theater along the way.

We’ve pretty much been working on it for the past six years. It’s been a delight to work on, and it’s surprisingly exciting to have it done and ready for readers — or first, in this case, listeners.

See, Cory, inexhaustible font of energy that he is (for those who don’t know Cory and who think of me as energetic, talkative, and full of enthusiasm for various projects — Cory is me cubed; he makes me look like a laconic hermit), has declared that we are podcasting it.

And so we are! I just have to hunt down a decent microphone so I can record the next installment….”

Science Fiction Novella - True Names by Cory Doctorow and Benjamin RosenbaumTrue Names
By Cory Doctorow and Benjamin Rosenbaum; Read by Cory Doctorow and Benjamin Rosenbaum
Podcast – [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Cory Doctorow’s Craphound
Podcast: March 2008 –
“Involves the galactic wars between vast, post-Singularity intelligences that are competing to corner the universe’s supply of computation before the heat-death of the universe.”

Subscribe to the podcast feed here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast

Posted by Jesse Willis