Best of August 2011 in Audible.com SFF: Lev Grossman's The Magician King
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Best of August 2011 in Audible.com SFF: Lev Grossman's The Magician King
Posted on 2011-09-08 at 20:49 by Sam
Link: Best of August 2011 in Audible.com SFF: Lev Grossman’s The Magician King
It’s probably not too much of a surprise for those who have followed this blog that my pick for the Best of August 2011 in Audible.com SFF is The Magician King: A Novel by narrated by
I reviewed the audiobook on Audible some weeks ago, and was going to use this space to add a few thoughts which did not fit into the 2000-character limit there. However, I’m going to just let a blog post elsewhere suffice, at least for now. In short: it’s brilliant, and Bramhall again is wonderful bringing Grossman’s world to life (though his attempt at an Australian accent for Poppy…).
OTHER PICKS, ADULT:
- A Canticle for Leibowitz (1960) by arrated by
- Stand on Zanzibar (1968) by arrated by
- Among Others (Tor, January 2011) by Jo Walton narrated by Katherine Kellgren
- All the Lives He Led: A Novel by arrated by
- Machine Man by Jennifer Government) narrated by David Halperin’s excellent Journal of a UFO Investigator: A Novel)
- Two novels from the late The House of the Stag read by the incomparable Oliver Wyman (Finch, Gateway) and Empress of Mars read by Nicola Barber
- A Blight of Mages by arrated by
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline narrated by Wil Wheaton — while it’s praised glowingly for its fun (which it does deserve) and I had several nostalgic moments of glee along the way (buoyed to no small extent by Wheaton’s outstanding narration, complete with Pac Man sound effects), its more solidly YA voice and aims left me fairly empty handed at the novel’s close. It also serves as an 80s pop culture obsessed fan’s heroic dream — quite simply it is the protagonist’s deep and wide knowledge of 80s pop culture that makes him able to be the hero, as if somehow all the catch phrases and movie line memorization will all have a glorious purpose, and by Voltron you’ll be ready if only you watch a few more episodes of Family Ties.
- The Orange Eats Creeps by Grace Krilanovich narrated by Angela Goethals — one of last year’s acclaimed avant garde fantasy novels
- Equations of Life by narrated by
- Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs narrated by Eric G Dove
- The Dervish House by arrated by
- Two novels from M. K. Hobson both narrated by Suehyla Et-Attar: The Native Star (2010) and The Hidden Goddess
- Low Town: A Novel by narrated by
OTHER PICKS, YR:
- YR: The White City: Book 3 of The Clockwork Dark by John Claude Bemis narrated by
- YR: Wildwood by arrated by
- YR: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians by narrated by
ALSO IN AUGUST:
- Retribution: A Dark-Hunter Novel, Book 16 by narrated by
- Always a Witch by narrated by
- Gears of War: Coalition’s End by narrated by
- The Halloween Tree (short) by arrated by
- The Last Four Things by arrated by
- The Omen Machine: A Richard and Kahlan Novel by arrated by
- The Moon Maze Game: A Dream Park Novel by arrated by
- The Warlords of Nin: The Dragon King Trilogy, Book 2 by narrated by
- Downward to the Earth by narrated by
- Hellbent by narrated by
- The Measure of the Magic: Legends of Shannara by by
- The Leftovers by arrated by
- The Year’s Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 3 which collects short stories by arrated by
- YR: This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by narrated by
- Downpour: Greywalker, Book 6 by arrated by
- Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Ascension by arrated by
- Non-Fiction: Future Science: Essays from the Cutting Edge by narrated by
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by arrated by
- Juliet Immortal by narrated by
- YR: The Bellmaker: Redwall, Book 7 by the late arrated by
- Two “Doctor Who” novels/novelisations: Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep by arrated by Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man by arrated by
- Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by arrated by
- The Twelfth Enchantment by arrated by
- The “Samurai Kids” series from Sandy Fussel: White Crane: Samurai Kids #1, Owl Ninja: Samurai Kids #2, and Samurai Kids #3: Shaolin Tiger all narrated by
- YA: The Fox Inheritance: The Jenna Fox Chronicles, Book 2 by narrated by
SEEN BUT NOT HEARD:
- YR: Meeting by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Viking Children’s, Aug 4)
- Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire) by Mark Lawrence (Ace, Aug 2, 2011)
- ICO: Castle in the Mist (Haikasoru) by Miyuki Miyabe (Aug 16, 2011) — interview with Haikasoru editor Nick Mamatas
- By Light Alone by Adam Roberts (Aug 18, 2011) (via cybermage.se)
- Isles of the Forsaken by Carolyn Gilman (Aug 15, 2011) — blurbed as: “Vivid world-building, fascinating characters, and a rich, complex story - I love this book!” by Kij Johnson, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Fox Woman
- The Restoration Game by Ken Macleod (Pyr, Aug 3, 2011)
- The Tempering of Men by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette (Tor, Aug 16, 2011) — reviewed by Brit Mandelo
- Scorch City by Toby Ball (St. Martins, Aug 30, 2011) — billed as “dystopian noir” — sequel to 2010’s The Vaults
- With Fate Conspire by Marie Brennan (Tor, Aug 30, 2011) — featured as a a Big Idea on Scalzi’s Whatever blog
- Anthology: Bewere the Night ed. by Ekaterina Sedia (Prime)
- The Watchtower by Lee Carroll (Tor)
- Steelhands by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett (Hardcover - Aug 2, 2011)
- Dark Tangos (political thriller) by Lewis Shiner, author of Glimpses and Black & White
- Anthology: The Wild Side: Urban Fantasy with an Erotic Edge edited by Mark L. Van Name (Baen)
- Circle Tide by Rebecca Rowe (EDGE)
- Mayan December by Brenda Cooper (Prime)
- Awakenings by Edward Lazellari (Tor, Aug 30, 2011)
- Iron Butterflies Rust by Lee Thompson (Delirium Books)
- The Urban Fantasy Anthology by Peter S. Beagle & Joe R. Lansdale (Tachyon)
- The Unincorporated Woman by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin (Tor, Aug 16, 2011)
- The Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley (Orbit, Aug 17, 2011)
- The Postmortal: A Novel by Drew Magary (Aug 30, 2011)
- Black as Snow by Nick Nolan (AmazonEncore, Aug 30, 2011)
- With Fate Conspire by Marie Brennan (Tor Books, Aug 30, 2011)
- The Tempering of Men by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette (Aug 16, 2011)
- White Tiger: Dark Heavens Book One (Angry Robot) by Kylie Chan (Aug 30, 2011)
- City of Refuge by Kenzo Kitakata (Vertical, Aug 30, 2011)
- Crude Sunlight by Philip Tucker (Kindle Edition - Aug 12, 2011) - Kindle eBook — “A promising first novel from an interesting stylist with a lot of atmosphere and chills.” - Jeff Vandermeer
- Collection: Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan (Volume One) by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Hardcover - Subterranean, Aug 31, 2011)
- The Black God’s War by Moses Siregar III
- Roil (The Nightbound Land) by Trent Jamieson (Mass Market Paperback - Aug 30, 2011)
- Countdown: A Newsflesh Novella by Mira Grant (Aug 1, 2011) - Kindle eBook
- Anthology: The Book of Cthulhu edited by Ross E. Lockhart (Night Shade Books, Aug 30, 2011) — with stories from Caitlin R. Kiernan, Charles Stross, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Bruce Sterling, Molly Tanzer, David Drake, Elizabeth Bear, Kage Baker, John Hornor Jacobs, Cherie Priest, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Pratt, Gene Wolfe, Laird Barron, and more…
- The Panama Laugh by Thomas S. Roche (Aug 30, 2011) — from Library Journal: Night Shade offers The Panama Laugh by Thomas Roche (Sept.), about a mercenary who unwittingly releases a biological weapon that raises laughing zombies from the dead.
- ANTHOLOGY: Kizuna: Fiction for Japan (a charity anthology) by Michael Moorcock, Jason Wuchenich, Trent Zelazny and Ken Asamatsu (Kindle Edition - Aug 7, 2011)
