science fiction – Page 204

Canadia: 2056 episode 6 airing now!

SFFaudio OnlineAudio

Another Friday, so you know what that means! Yep, it’s Canadia: 2056 day, and today’s CBC Radio One broadcast is of episode 6. It’s airing on every single CBC Radio One station across Canada this morning starting at 11:30 am in all time zones (Noon in Newfoundland). And of course, if you’re not conveniently sitting by your radio at 11:30 am you still have a chance to hear it ONLINE via the Streaming Radio Map – just click the time zone in your area at 11:30am in your time zone, or do a bit of math and you can also time-shift a bit. Only four more episodes left after today’s!

Here’s the official CBC Radio hotsheet description:

“Head for outer space this morning aboard Canadia 2056, the lone Canadian government spacecraft, sent to support an American space armada fighting hostile aliens. This week, the crew loses the ability to navigate the ship, when control is taken over by a cloud. The up side is that the cloud grants them wishes, and the down side is also that the cloud grants them wishes – in other words, they make some questionable choices! Also, Anderson is pining away for Connie, his first love. Canadia 2056, this morning at 11:30 (noon NT) on CBC Radio One.”

I’m sad to say, there’s been no response to my queries to the CBC, about the status of a Canadia:2056 podcast. Perhaps their tired of hearing my lone voice? If you want CBC to make their Radio Dramas available via podcast, or at least by something equivilent to the BBC “Listen Again” service try calling the toll-free phone number (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636 or using the web-contact form.

posted by Jesse Willis

BBC7’s The Seventh Dimension has a Brian Aldiss short story!

Online Audio

I missed telling you about a cool tale broadcast last Sunday. Though I have been remiss, all is not lost, you can still listen to this specially commissioned reading through the “Listen Again” service of BBC Radio 7. The story is Song Of The Silencer and it is a “chilling account” of man’s attempt to make order out of chaos by constructing an ‘ultimate machine.’ First Published in 1979. The reader is Nigel Anthony, a winner of both Sony award and Radio Times awards for radio performances.

Song Of The Silencer
By Brian Aldiss; Read by Nigel Anthony
1 Broadcast – Approx. 30 Minutes [UNABRIDGED?]
Broadcaster: BBC7 / The 7th Dimension
Broadcast: Sunday May 20th, 2007 @ 6.30pm and 12.30am (U.K. Time)
Humanity has built a massive computer out in space simply called the Ultimate Machine, that perfectly mimics the human brain — but some are predicting disaster once it is activated.

posted by Jesse Willis

Book Lust podcast delivers Connie Willis & Guy Gavriel Kay

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Book Lust podcast has two half-hour interviews you’ll want to hear. with SF writer Connie Willis and Fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. Connie talks about her novels, Doomsday Book, Bellwether, her first story Firewatch and the origins of her love of Science Fiction and lots more. Guy talks about his Fionavar Tapestry, his latest novel, his involvement with editing J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion and the nature of High Fantasy fiction. These are two terrific interviews conducted by a real fan of the two authors.

Connie Willis interview |MP3|
Guy Gavriel Kay interview|MP3|

You can subscribe to the podcast via this feed:

http://www.seattlechannel.org/podcasts/BookLust.xml

posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A. Heinlein

SFFaudio Audiobook Review

Rocket Ship Galileo
By Robert A. Heinlein; Read by Spider Robinson
5 CDs, 4 Cassettes or 1 MP3-CD – 5.5 hrs [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: 2007
ISBN: 9780786162765 (CDs), 9780786147892 (cassettes), 9780786172092(MP3-CD)
Themes: / Science Fiction / Young Adult / Space Travel / Rocket Science / Espionage / Moon /

Ross Jenkins, Art Mueller, and Morrie Abrams are not your average high school students. While other kids are cruising around in their cars playing ball, this trio, known as the Galileo Club, is experimenting with rocket fuels and preparing for their future education at technical colleges.

Robert Heinlein created something new when he started writing his “juvenile” SF novels. He wasn’t the first person to write what publishers would categorize as Young Adult SF but he was the first respected SF author to do so. Not only did it not harm his reputation, it actually enhanced it. Some of these, like Citizen of the Galaxy, The Star Beast, and The Rolling Stones still stand as some of his best books and are considered classics.

His first juvenile, from 1947, was Rocketship Galileo. It’s a tale of three young fellows that have their own amateur rocketry club. When one of their rocket experiments go awry with an explosion, they find that one of the boys’ uncles was injured on the grounds. The injured man is Doctor Donald Morris Cargraves. He’s a scientist with his own background in atomic propulsion. With true do-it-yourself ethos, Cargraves recruits the boys to build their own rocket to the moon. There are incidents of sabotage, which creates the mystery of who is responsible for the sabotage.

Eventually the boys with Cargraves in tow head to the moon. On occasion the story seems to stop for a science lesson. Once they reach the moon, they learn they are not alone. I’ll leave the nature of the co-habitants to the listener. I will say the answer that lies behind the sabotage attempts are less than satisfactory. What seems dated and implausible today was likely just as implausible in 1947 when the book was written. Although this novel is not the best of Heinlein’s juveniles, it is still an enjoyable ride with an optimistic future for mankind.

The book is narrated by SF author Spider Robinson. Spider is a gifted narrator with a flair for voice characterizations. His natural narrator’s voice seems a bit nasally at times, but he still conveys ease, and his pacing is unhurried.

This is not the first paring of Robert Heinlein with Spider Robinson. Spider recently coauthored a book with Mr. Heinlein called Variable Star. Using notes and an unfinished outline, Spider Robinson was chosen by Heinlein’s estate to complete it. The story is said to be reminiscent of one of the master’s juvenile novels circa 1955. The good news doesn’t end there. Robinson was tapped by Blackstone Audio to narrate the audiobook for Variable Star, which has just been released.

posted by The Time Traveler of the Time Traveler Show podcast

Canadia: 2056 episode 5 (half-way mark) airing today

SFFaudio OnlineAudio

Canadia: 2056 episode 5 is airing across Canada this morning starting at 11:30 am in all time zones (except Newfoundland). You can hear it ONLINE via the Streaming Radio Map – just click the time zone in your area at 11:30 (you can also time-shift a bit) and a RealAudio stream will be available. Radio stations across Canada are also an option – but as of yet there is no podcast feed! The airing of this episode makes this the half-way point through Canadia: 2056‘s run!

Here’s the official CBC Radio hotsheet description:

“The Captain and Anderson are away from the ship when disaster strikes. It’s a technical malfunction that’s bad enough to destroy the ship. And even moving around onboard requires ingenuity. Head for outer space this morning aboard Canadia 2056, the lone Canadian government spacecraft, sent to support an American space armada fighting hostile aliens. Canadia 2056, this morning at 11:30 (noon NT) on CBC Radio One.”

Hey, does anybody know how to spell the Canadia: 2056 version of their curse-equivalent of “frak”? Is it kruk? Cruc? Here, listen to this MP3 CLIP from episode 2, it’s full of lots of cruc/kruk/krukin’ type swearing.

I need to know how to spell it so I can write CBC an email, as in: “Hey CBC, where’s the crukin’ podcast feed for Canadia: 2056?”

posted by Jesse Willis

SFFaudio in Salt Lake City, Utah May 2th – 27th 2007

SFFaudio News

CONduit is an annual general interest Science Fiction and Fantasy convention held every May in Salt Lake City, Utah. Conduit 17 (called “Shadows Of Conduit”) runs this year between May 25th and 27th. We’ll be there, represented by our resident Web Kzin, SFFaudio co-founder, and professional SF author Scott D. Danielson.

If you’re going to be there too, look for Scott at one or all of these panels:

Friday, 3:00PM Podcasts: SF On The Web
Panel: Pam Oberg, Scott Danielson
Imagine listening to your favorite authors, artists, actors, and professionals talk about their work while you are at work or driving to work. Imagine listening to a convention panel, a decades-old radio interview, or a group of fans raving about the latest games while you
clean, jog, or mow the lawn. Enter the brave new world of podcasts. Our panelists discuss what podcasts are, where to find them, what to expect, and will even peer into the shadowy realm of iTunes voodoo.

Friday, 4:00PM The Viability Of Artificial Intelligence
Panel: Eric Swedin, James Brown, Scott Danielson (M), Eric James Stone
Research into artificial intelligence has been criticized for not advancing at the same rate as much of computing. Some have theorized that this is because we are simply incapable of creating intelligence — at least in the way we understand it. Will we ever see a Neuromancer?

Saturday, 11:00AM Take Me To Your Leader
Panel: James Brown, Scott Danielson, Eric James Stone (M), Ann Sharp
The Aliens Have Landed! Now what? Let’s have fun talking about what
impact the alien invasion (or a friendly visit) would realistically have on Earth. And what WOULD an alien really say at first contact?

Sunday, 10:00AM The Movies Of M. Night Shyamalan
Panel: Eric Swedin, Scott Danielson, Janus Daniels
The Sixth Sense. Unbreakable. Signs. The Village. Lady in the Water. M. Night Shyamalan has been hailed as the next Alfred Hitchcock. Is that accurate? Will he be able to keep the freshness of his directorial vision or is he destined to be just another Hollywood director? What are the themes that frequent his work? We discuss this intriguing newcomer to the movie scene.

posted by Jesse Willis