Podiobooks.com is now in BETA and there are severa…

SFFaudio News

Podiobooks.com is now in BETA and there are several great sounding speculative fiction or related “podiobooks” (podcast audiobooks) that are in the pipe. Podibooks from Podiobooks.com will be available for FREE, but all donations go to the author and the bandwith and other costs to support the podcasts. Here’s a list of titles we know so far:

Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana
By Tee Morris and Lisa Lee; Read by Tee Morris
[ABRIDGED] – STATUS: COMPLETED
This was the first podcast novel finished and it is very, very good!
http://www.teemorris.com/podcast

Earthcore
By Scott Sigler; Read by Scott Sigler
[UNABRIDGED?] – STATUS: COMPLETED
Hands down the most popular Podcast novel released.
http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/

The Pocket and the Pendant
By Mark Jeffrey; Read by Mark Jeffrey
[UNABRIDGED?] – STATUS: COMPLETED
I’m listening to this one now and expect to be giving it a review after I finish.
http://markjeffrey.typepad.com/

Tom Corven
By Paul Story; Read by Paul Story
[UNABRIDGED] – STATUS: ?????????
– STATUS: ?????????
http://www.dreamwords.com/TomCorven.htm

Killed by Death
By R. Scott Bolton
– STATUS: ?????????
Four years ago, Man-of-Action Horatio Bartholomew Fist closed the final chapter on the Zombie Slave War with the apprehension of the War’s most notorious criminal, Arnold X. DemiGod. Now, DemiGod has turned up missing, and Fist finds himself on the trail of the vicious killer again. Armed with his merciless Dimensional Minimizer weapon, Fist and a showgirl named Pepper Shaker traverse the universe…
http://www.authorsden.com/rscottbolton

Spherical Tomi: A Novel of Despair
by Jack Mangan
– STATUS: ?????????
Can one woman escape her past? Not if she is one of the greatest combat programmers in history. Caught between two powerful warlords in the far future, and trapped by the memory of the man she couldn’t save, Tomi must face the ghosts from her own past, and hide from a world that counts her among its most heinous criminals. Add to this challenge her rapidly deteriorating cloned body, falling apart just in time to meet a new invasion from an old friend, but not quite time enough to replace, and you have the makings of an all around bad day…
http://www.irosf.com/user/show.qsml?loaduser=13579

Fiddle and Burn
By Jason Pomerantz
– STATUS: ?????????
Part comedy. Part soap opera. A fiction blog. A serialized sit-com. A daily comic strip in prose. It’s the continuing adventures of the staff of Fiddle and Burn Magazine.
http://www.fiddleandburn.com/

Noggle Stones
By Wil Radcliffe; Read by ?????
– STATUS: ?????????
In his tortured dreams, the mad goblin scholar, Bugbear, saw the coming war. Pride would crumble to dust. Glory would melt to tears. Wisdom would shatter to madness. And the shadows would reign supreme. Only an eldritch scroll, a humble bee, and Bugbear’s awkward human apprentice could win this desperate struggle… a conflict that began in a time now remembered only in faded parchments, fractured whispers, and a children’s rhyme…
http://nogglestones.com/

AmerIndian 2192
by J. Scott Garibay; Read by Leanne Garibay
– STATUS: IN PRODUCTION
The story of two brothers, Wovoka and Keokuk, restoring the Native American people to a Homeland where their culture can thrive. Lodge ships, Cybershaman rituals and Tsimshian high technology are all elements in this action-oriented tale of interstellar Elder politics and personal struggles. Sounds something like the Kirniyaga series by Mike Resnick.
http://garibaywrite.tripod.com/garibay/

Escape Pod
Editor Steve Eley Read by Steve Eley and Various Readers
[UNABRIDGED] – STATUS: ?????????
Short stories, science fiction and fantasy and fun. Guaranteed to be GREAT!
http://www.escapepod.info/

????????????????
By Kelley Armstrong; Read by Kelley Armstrong
– STATUS: ?????????
We’re not sure what the title will be yet, but its a previously published Armstrong novel. Cool!
http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Geek Fu Action Grip
By Mur Lafferty; Read by Mur Lafferty
– STATUS: ?????????
Essays with a Geek Fu Action Grip. Solid!
http://www.geekfuactiongrip.com/

Posted by Jesse Willis

Review of Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana by Tee Morris

Science Fiction Audiobooks - Morevi by Tee MorrisMorevi: The Chronicles Of Rafe and Askana
By Lisa Lee and Tee Morris; Read by Tee Morris
22 MP3 Files – Approx. 16 Hours [ABRIDGED]
Publisher: TeeMorris.com / Podiobooks.com
Published: 2005
Themes: / Fantasy / Sailing / Magic / Court Intrigue / Alternate Worlds /

Across a mysterious rift in the space-time continuum exists a world called Naruihm. In this world is a realm called Morevi, a landlocked kingdom ruled by Askana Moldarin, crowned “First Queen” following a swift and bloody rise to the Throne of a Thousand Suns. Yet hidden traitors are already at work to destroy everything that she has won. Enter Rafe Rafton, privateer captain of the Defiant. Arrogant. Overconfident. Dangerous and cunning enough to pillage the Queen’s own ships and survive. As a man, he is the embodiment of everything she has fought against, and the perfect instrument in a last desperate bid to save her kingdom. With the sum agreed upon, Rafe and Askana embark on an epic adventure spanning the kingdoms of
Naruihm and King Henry VIII’s England. Two souls, drawn together in the battle for a kingdom.

On January 21st 2005 Tee Morris started podcasting the fantasy novel Morevi: The Chronicles Of Rafe and Askana which he previously co-authored as a published paperbook. Given away free as a promotion of the sequel Morevi was one of the very first podcast novels serialized and is the very first to be completed (22 MP3 files made up of a prologue, twenty chapters and an epilogue). The final installment was completed on schedule and posted June 17th 2005 timed to coincide with the gala premier of the paperbook sequel Legacy of Morevi at Westercon 58 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on July 1st – 4th 2005.

Morevi is a richly imagined whirlwind adventure which plays out like a cross between an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the Oriental Adventures world and James Clavell’s historical novel Shogun. Swashbuckling action takes the main and heart-rending romance builds slowly culminating right at the end. Exotic spices pepper the scenes like the a complex and subtle poison, labyrinthine court intrigue and black magic thrown in to enrich the flavour all the more. But though it might sound it Morevi: The Chronicles Of Rafe and Askana isn’t a traditional fantasy novel, it is daring-do adventure set in a world that would fit well on a shelf next to Eric Flint’s “1632verse” alternate history series. High fantasy purists hearing this may have some difficulty with the occasional clichéd line of dialogue, anachronistic phrasing or they may be tempted to reject the novel out of hand because it balances both an historical setting and an alternate universe. This would be a mistake. Lisa Lee and Tee Morris’ words flow easily and I was never confused as to what was going on or as to who was speaking. My only real regret is that this is an abridged version of the novel. What we miss can of course be found in the print version, and I know that many listeners to the podcast couldn’t wait for the serialization to finish before snapping up the paperbook, but I would have preferred a complete unabridged reading. Tee Morris reads the book himself, and though he has no previous audiobook narration under his belt his professional acting background explains why he does such a good job. Morris does accents, voice changes and has edited the production himself. The editing is particularly interesting too as Morris has cut the reading in such a way as to talk over himself – when the
characters talk over each other. The use of punctuating music, voice effects and the occasional sound effect fully illustrates the recording. I’m not sure that all the sound effects were necessary, I’m happy enough with straight readings, but it certainly didn’t hurt the podcasts. As it is I plan on burning a CD-R MP3 for my own use as I’m sure I will want to listen to it again! Click here to find all the files.

Highly recommended!

*Also, Tee Morris has recorded the prologue for the sequel, Legacy Of Morevi and that’s available now HERE.

Posted by Jesse Willis

Everybody’s talking about podcasting these days, e…

SFFaudio News

Everybody’s talking about podcasting these days, either that or starting their own and then talking about it. We’ve collected some resources for the Science Fiction and Fantasy audio fan who is finally ready for the MP3 experimentation to begin…

The Dragon Page
A long running Arizona radio show has transitioned from mere frequency and amplitude modulations to the exciting world of Podcasting! But in a disturbing turn it has started to multiply at a truly alarming rate! The Dragon Page has spawned three, count em three, podcasts and a number of spin-off serial novels. Will they become the Walmart of SF & F podcasting? Tune in and see…

Cover to Cover
A podcast with a literary science fiction and fantasy bent, authors are interviewed frequently, hosted by Michael R. Mennenga and Evo Terra.
http://dragonpage.com/

Slice of Sci Fi
A podcast with a spec fic media and Star Trek bent, hosted by Michael R. Mennenga and Evo Terra.
http://www.sliceofscifi.com/

Wingin’ It
Two bent SF & F geeks, Michael R. Mennenga and Evo Terra, podcasting without a net.
http://dragonpage.com/

Evo Terra came up with the term, “Podiobooks”, for serially podcast audiobooks and he’s built a site showcasing four spec fic novels that are doing just that, the first three were associated with The Dragon Page prior to the the creation of the Podiobooks site, but they’ve generously included a fourth independent author’s “podiobook” there too:

MOREVI: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana
Tee Morris and Lisa Lee’s paperbook novel Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana gets serially podcast with Tee Morris reading and engineering.
http://www.teemorris.com/podcast

Earthcore, Scott Sigler’s geology and mining centered novel is being serially podcast. It plays out like a technothriller in the vein of a Lincoln Child novel only far, far angrier. Sigler reads it himself.
http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/

The Pocket and the Pendant, Mark Jeffrey’s young adult fantasy novel being serially podcast.
http://markjeffrey.typepad.com/

Tom Corven is a tale being written and read by Paul Story. Story (a pseudonym) originally hails from Scotland but he’s writing it in Split, Croatia and podcasting it serially from a cybercafe there.
http://www.dreamwords.com/TomCorven.htm

Rev Up Review
British blogger and SF author Paul Jenkins’ new podcast sounds very promising indeed. His second podcast carefully surveys what’s available in the speculative fiction podcast field and what of it is worth listening to. He’s also reading his short story “The Journey of Jonathan Cave”, but part one starts with his first “experimental” podcast so be sure to check that one out first.
http://www.rev-up-review.co.uk/

The Seanachai
Thanks to Paul S. Jenkins for finding this one. The Seanachai is a “weekly(ish)” podcast of dramatic storytelling and commentary by Patrick E. McLean.
Funny fantasy so far!
http://www.goodwordsrightorder.com/

Nuketown Radio Active
Speculative fiction reviews from “a geek dad”. Includes movie, book, game, comic book, web site and podcasts reviews.
http://www.nuketown.com/music/archive.php?type=74

The Comic Geeks
A podcast about comic books, toys, memorabilia, science fiction and more.
http://www.thecomicgeeks.com/

SFSite.com Podcasts
MP3 reviews of audiobooks!
http://www.sfsite.com/depts/podcast.xml

Matamea Rising
“A fictional serialized radio show”. Despite that description this radio style serial actually exists!
http://www.matamea.org/podcast/

“Next, I Hem a Cyclic Door”
A project using “podcasting”, comic book panels and video to tell an episodic science-fiction story across different mediums. A collaboration between comic book artist Tim Dedman and Code Owl Productions founder Gabriel Walsh. Dedman and Walsh exchange scripts and execute each other’s idea.
http://www.codeowl.com/nextihemacyclicdoor/

Have we missed a podcast? Let us know!

Posted by Jesse Willis