science fiction – Page 196

Review of The Plant People by Barnes and Engle

Science Fiction Audiobook Review

Plant People
By Johnny Ray Barnes Jr. and Marty M. Engle; Multicast recording
2 CDs – 2 Hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9781423308508
Themes: / Science fiction / Alien Invasion / Intelligent plants /

Rachel Pearson is a loner. Her only close friend, Tess, now lives in another city, and her life is measured in the days and hours between phone calls. One afternoon, as she is exploring the house under construction in a wooded lot near her home, she spies a strange plant from which something large has hatched, and its smell lures her to the edge of disaster. Two months later, the house is completed and a new family with teenaged children moves in. But strange things begin to happen around them, and Rachel wonders if they aren’t more than just odd people. Could they be something else entirely, something inhuman, with dark designs for mankind?

Plant People has a spunky heroine with a delightful upper-Midwestern twang, and an entertaining little dash-about plot that is short and mindlessly fun. Even the prose mostly soars, though not without frequent bumps. The worst occur during action sequences, when phrases like “…and just at that moment, what should I find but…” appear with distracting frequency. But it also borrows a little too heavily from classic works like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers and The Day Of The Triffids, and strips the borrowed elements from their deeper subtext. On the whole, Plant People is like a sugar-free chocolate meringue: Briefly enjoyable, but ultimately empty of even the calories it took to chew.

[Editor’s Note: Plant People was originally written as part of the “Strange Matter” series (created by Marty M. Engle and Johnny Ray Barnes Jr.). The series takes place in the fictional town of Fairfield. Stories in the series generally center on the children attending Fairfield Middle School who encounter paranormal situations.]

Posted by Kurt Dietz

Review of Voyagers by Ben Bova

SFFaudio Review

Voyagers
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

Public Domain Poul Anderson tale audiobooked, podcast

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Maria Lectrix podcast and its prolific narrator, Maureen O’Brien, have just completed a recording of a novelette by Poul Anderson. The story was first (and last) published in the February 1953 issue of “Space Science Fiction” magazine. Here’s what Maureen has to say about her podcasting of this tale:

“The late Poul Anderson was a writer of infinite variety, whom I defy you to define. He was also a true gentleman of the old school, as I learned on the single occasion when I got to meet him and eat dinner with him (the con committee hath its perks!). I regard it as an honor to host this tale and adapt it to audio.”

Security
By Poul Anderson; Read by Maureen O’Brien
5 MP3s – 92 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Podcaster: Maria Lectrix
Podcast: August 2007
“Security introduces us to a mild-mannered scientist with a high clearance, living in what we gradually realize is a very unpleasant future.”

Part 1 |MP3| Part 2 |MP3| Part 3 |MP3| Part 4 |MP3| Part 5 |MP3|

Check out the Maria Lectrix all Science Fiction podcast feed:

http://marialectrix.wordpress.com/tag/fiction/science-fiction/feed/

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Local Custom by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Local Custom
By Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; Read by Michael Shanks
1 MP3-CD or 8 CDs – Approx. 10.5 Hours [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Buzzy Multimedia
Published: 2005
ISBN: 0979074916 (MP3-CD); 096572557X (CDs)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Romance / Space Opera / Galactic Civilization / Love /

“Each person shall provide his Clan of origin with a child of his blood, who will be raised by the Clan and belong to the Clan, despite whatever may later occur to place the parent beyond the Clan’s authority. And this shall be Law for every person of every Clan.”

So far there are seven novels set in the Liaden Universe, though this one isn’t the first published it is chronologically the first to happen. Local Custom is a simple story, a Romeo And Juliet, tale, except with a happy ending and a few more spaceships. Master trader Er Thom yos’Galan is from the planet Liaden, an honour based society of humans. His family, and especially his mother are demanding an heir from Er Thom, as is only right and proper. But Er Thom cannot think of the traditional contract-marriage to some Liaden clan daughter when his true love is back on Terra. Anne Davis, a professor of Liaden studies on Terra had a brief affair with Er Thom years ago. When Er Thom shows up on her doorstep her secret and his duty will embroil them in a galaxy spanning scandal which threatens the honour of clan Korval.

Much of the interest here is in the worldbuilding, Liaden culture is richly imagined and the idea of “melant’i” is fodder for lots of drama. Melant’i, is a conveyed honour, not dissimilar from that created by Jack Vance for The Moon Moth. While the resolution of complex culture clashes makes for good drama, the effect here also makes many long dialogue scenes.This was coupled with a general lack of description – I didn’t know what anybody or anything looked like. The plot, centering around Er Thom’s marital fate, is spread thinly – while the novel never actually bores I kept wondering when something meaty was going to happen – very little did, this is a personal family drama set in a science fiction setting. Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have obviously built themselves an interesting universe here, and I think it’d be one worth visiting again, especially if there is a story in it with a wider-ranging plot. Fans of the series are vehement in their ardor for it.

Some of the exposition is placed at chapter or scene beginnings, mostly notes on Liaden history and cultural norms. This helped the general flow of the telling. Also helpful was Buzzy Multimedia’s engagement of screen actor Michael Shanks for the narration. Shanks appears as Dr. Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG1, but he’s a capable narrator, giving distinction to male and female character alike. There were a few times where I thought I heard Shanks stumble over a word, but generally these were in dialogue, and they may have been deliberate – they certainly didn’t detract from the production. The first three chapters are available for FREE MP3 download on the Buzzy website.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Norman Spinrad Audio Drama COMPLETED and DOWNLOADABLE

SFFaudio Update

Two months ago we told you about an unproduced Norman Spinrad, audio drama that was written for Omni magazine, and that was languishing unrecorded. Broken Sea contacted Spinrad and secured the okay for go-ahead. Mark Kalita and the good folks at Broken Sea Audio Productions have now COMPLETED it. Reportedly, Spinrad has given the dramatization a thumb’s up and it is available for listening…

Voice Over
By Norman Spinrad; Featuring a full cast
1 |MP3| – [AUDIO DRAMA]
Publisher: Broken Sea
Published: August 2007
Talk radio shows are always a source of interesting characters, sometimes originating from the most unexpected places. But amiable, unflappable talk show host Bobby Edwards gets more than he bargains for when his airwaves are suddenly hijacked by a strange cast of callers from beyond the stars.

Featuring the vocal talents of:

Mark Kalita as Bobby Edwards
Elie Hirschman as: The Announcer, Debbie, Caller #3, Electronic Voice, Daffy Duck, JFK, Groucho Marx & Ma Bell
Chip Joel as: Mr. Spock, Porky Pig, Rod Serling, Orson Welles & Bert Parks
Doug Manllen as: Caller #2 & The Director

Directed by Mark Kalita
Post-production by Paul Mannering
Music by Scott Shannon – podsafeaudio.com

posted by Jesse Willis

2 John Kessel Audiobooks FREE on his website

SFFaudio Online Audio

Here’s a sweet find! John Kessel who’s story of A Clean Escape premiered on the new Masters Of Science Fiction anthology TV series a couple of Saturdays ago has made the original tale available to be heard as a regular audiobook reading on his website. Kessel, with help from friend, and fellow SF writer, James Patrick Kelly, has recorded his most adapted story and posted it for our listening pleasure. It was first published in 1985 in the pages of Asimov’s Science Fiction. Also available from Kessel is his short story, Some Like It Cold, which first appeared a 1994 issue of Omni. Grab the details for each below…

A Clean Escape
By John Kessel; Read by John Kessel
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: John Kessel’s website
Published: August 2007
A psychiatrist deals with a patient who seems to have lost his memory of the last twenty-four years. Or has he?

Some Like It Cold
By John Kessel; Read by John Kessel
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: John Kessel’s website
Published: August 2007
A time traveling talent scout from the future visits 1962 in search of his next recruit. But is she ready to come?

posted by Jesse Willis