Page 31 of posts by: Sam

Release Week: Rip-Off!, Mayan December, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Terry Goodkind's The First Confessor, and more

Posted on 2012-12-21 at 19:00 by Sam

The middle of December brings some ear candy for the holiday season, including an all-star author/narrator anthology, the end of the world, secondary world fantasy, and quite a bit more. Still, with all that, my mind's on a "missing" audiobook, that for Jesse Bullington's The Folly of the World, my most-anticipated title this week. And at the bottom, details for another "Whispersync for Voice" price quirk, this time netting you both the Kindle and Audible formats of Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim. (Sorry for

Posted in Release Week | Tagged brenda cooper, gardner dozois, john scalzi, mayan december, rip-off, sfwa, wil wheaton

Release Week: Falling Kingdoms, Tears of Rain, Joel Rosenberg, and Dean Ing

Posted on 2012-12-12 at 16:01 by Sam

Posted in Release Week | Tagged falling kingdoms, joel rosenberg, mary robinette kowal, release week, tears in rain

Today's Audible.com Daily Deal: Neil Gaiman and Neil Gaiman Presents

Posted on 2012-12-07 at 16:40 by Sam

Audible.com has been offering Daily Deals this December, and today (Friday, Dec 7) brings a 50% off deal on a list of titles by Neil Gaiman and from Neil Gaiman Presents.

From Gaiman's American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition (A Full Cast Production) to Anansi Boys, Good Omens to The Graveyard Book; to the "Presents" titles Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (by Ellen Kushner), Light (by M. John Harrison), and my pick for best new novel of 2012, The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan.

The sale

Posted in regular | Tagged caitlin r kiernan, ellen kushner, neil gaiman, neil gaiman presents

Release Week: The Testament of Jessie Lamb, A Red Sun Also Rises, and Shadow and Bone

Posted on 2012-12-05 at 18:02 by Sam

The first release week in December brings an Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel, along with the latest from Mark Hodder and a much-anticipated young adult release, and, well, a few dozen more audiobooks, besides. The most missing audiobook this week for me is a debut novel, Ink, by Damien Walters Grintalis. (More on those after the avalanche of new audiobooks.)

The Testament of Jessie Lamb: A Novel By Jane Rogers, Narrated by Fiona Hardingham for Blackstone Audio -- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins. Published

Posted in Release Week | Tagged jane rogers, leigh bardugo, mark hodder, me and the devil, nick tosches, release week, shadow and bone, the testament of jessie lamb

Audible's editors pick the best audiobooks of the year (and a so-far rundown of The Lists)

Posted on 2012-12-04 at 19:18 by Sam

While I'm most eagerly awaiting Bob Reiss's picks over at The Guilded Earlobe, the first of the big year-end "best of the year" audiobooks lists is up, from Audible.com as a Best of 2012 featurette, collecting their editors' picks in quite a few categories, the top 10 Listener Favorites of the year, and additional picks from six editors. (Note: since the original post, I've added a few more run-downs of some best-of-the-year lists.)

First, those Listener Favorites, which included six (count 'em!) sf/f

Posted in regular

Release Week: The Rise of Ransom City, The Dresden Files, The Iron Druid Chronicles, and City of Dark Magic

Posted on 2012-11-28 at 14:49 by Sam

The last Tuesday in November brings new books in beloved series, as well as a Conan O'Brien-blurbed romp through a fantastical Prague. Still, it's another sequel which most catches my eye, and another sequel (Hannu Rajaniemi's The Fractal Prince) which I'm most disappointed to not see in audio this week.

That most-anticipated title for me this week is The Rise of Ransom City: The Half-Made World, Book 2 By Felix Gilman, Narrated by Ramon De Ocampo and Gregory Itzin for Audible Frontiers -- Length: 14 hrs

Posted in regular, Release Week | Tagged city of dark magic, cold days, dresden files, felix gilman, iron druid chronicles, james marsters, jim butcher, kevin hearne, luke daniels, magnus flyte, release week, the rise of ransom city

Release Week: Robert Jackson Bennett, Seanan McGuire, Joel Rosenberg, and A.A. Attanasio

Posted on 2012-11-21 at 16:27 by Sam

Two of 2012's most missing audiobooks and two backlist books from two of my favorite authors highlight the pre-Thanksgiving release week.

The Troupe By Robert Jackson Bennett, Narrated by Luis Moreno for Recorded Books -- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins -- Published in February in print and ebook by Orbit, it's been a leading contender for "most missing audiobook" all year for me, and leads off the Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2012 - SF/F/H list: "Best-selling author Robert Jackson Bennett has won widespread

Posted in regular, Release Week | Tagged aa attanasio, joel rosenberg, robert jackson bennett, seanan mcguire, the troupe

A second look at Downpour

Posted on 2012-11-19 at 15:49 by Sam

A little over a month ago, I gave my first thoughts on Downpour, a new DRM-free multi-publisher audiobook service from Blackstone Audio. Still officially in "Beta", I've had another month of buying, downloading, and listening, so it's maybe time to give a bit of an update.

A new iOS app version released in late October solves an occasional issue with play position save, by far the biggest issue for me. And an Android app is also available now, though I haven't been able to test it yet. (If Kobo wants to

Posted in regular | Tagged downpour

Release Week: Red Country, Annotated Shannara, six from Christopher Priest, and Goblin Secrets

Posted on 2012-11-14 at 18:33 by Sam

In a packed week of exciting mid-week releases by Kameron Hurley (Rapture) and Walter Jon Williams (The Fourth Wall), it's Joe Abercrombie's Red Country which leads the way in new audio releases. However, all the news isn't great, as there is apparently no forthcoming audiobook for Cherie Priest's latest Clockwork Century novel, The Inexplicables.

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie, read by Steven Pacey for Hachette Audio -- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins -- The third standalone novel in the world of Abercrombie's

Posted in regular, Release Week | Tagged cherie priest, christopher priest, goblin secrets, joe abercrombie, kameron hurley, red country, shannara, terry brooks, walter jon williams

Sam's listening report: September 2012

Posted on 2012-11-08 at 14:52 by Sam

After dropping to six audiobooks in August, I downsized my listening even further, to the tune of just five in September. (And at that, a bit of a cheat perhaps, considering I'm counting the 1.5-hour podcast of a novella, but hey -- my column, my rules, and it was very enjoyable besides.) The month includes the second half and then some of my Neil Gaiman re-read and Neil Gaiman Presents study, ahead of going to a wonderful storytelling event which featured Gaiman and at which I was entirely too chicken to

Posted in Sam's Monthly Listening Report | Tagged ellen kushner, jeff vandermeer, karen thompson walker, light, m john harrison, marbelle, monthly listening report, neil gaiman, neil gaiman presents, podcastle, swordspoint, the age of miracles, the cage, the graveyard book