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The Guilded Earlobe reviews Daniel O'Malley's The Rook, read by Susan Duerden
Posted on 2012-03-13 at 15:22 by Sam
Link: The Guilded Earlobe reviews Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook, read by Susan Duerden
“Quick Thoughts: The Rook is one of the most fascinating Fantasies I have experienced in a long time, truly touching that sense of wonder as only the best Fantasies can. In many ways, this is the novel that JK Rowling’s should have wrote next, an adult fantasy that reminds us of those feelings we would get as a child hiding under our blankets trying to read just one more chapter. Grade: A.”
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Audiobook review: Raising Stony Mayhall by Daryl Gregory
Posted on 2012-03-09 at 18:40 by Sam
Reviewed by Dave Thompson: “The Undead Have Never Been So Fresh (or Funny)”
The living dead seem to be rising just about everywhere you turn, and these days the zombie apocalypse is feeling a bit run of the mill. Do not let this keep you from checking out Raising Stony Mayhall — one of the most delightful zombie books I’ve read.
There’s a trope in zombie fiction of a loved one being infected, and instead of being killed by family in friends, he’s restrained and shackled. Almost always this ends badly, but author Daryl Gregory goes against the grain and starts off his tale in the late sixties, just after a Romero-esque zombie uprising, when a widow and her three daughters find a dead woman and baby in the snow. When the baby starts moving, they decide to take him in, and teach him about life, humanity, family, friendship, and sacrifice. Meet Stony Mayhall, and follow him as he impossibly grows up, and goes out into the world.
You can tell Gregory had a blast writing — all the familiar zombie trappings are here, but turned on their heads. There’s blood and guts and uprisings, sure, but there’s also crazy zombie evangelicals and zombie hitmen, would-be superhero zombies, pulp writers and protesters, Deadtown, and so much more I’d hate to give it away because it wouldn’t be as funny when you hear it (and as well as being charming, this book is always very, very funny). In short, Stony does his best to try and keep things together, even while everything (including himself) is falling apart.
This was David Marantz’s debut as an audiobook reader, but he handles it like a veteran, breathing life (or whatever passes for it with zombie protagonists) into Stony, Delia, Mr. Blunt, Captain Callhoun — and made listening to this book a total delight.
Gregory’s third novel will leave you wondering why his other two aren’t out in audio already, and will leave you eager for whatever he does next.
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Dave Thompson is the host and co-editor of PodCastle, the fantasy fiction audio magazine. His own fiction has been published by Bull Spec and Apex Magazine, among others. You can follow him on Twitter @krylyr.
Posted in regular | Tagged audible frontiers, daryl gregory, dave thompson, david marantz, raising stony mayhall, review
Release Week: Tanith Lee's Tales from the Flat Earth and A. Lee Martinez's Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain
Posted on 2012-03-07 at 15:07 by Sam
Leading a fairly quiet first Tuesday in March in terms of new audiobook releases are the five books in Tanith Lee’s series Tales from the Flat Earth, all read by Susan Duerdan for Audible Frontiers:
“Night’s Master is the first book of the stunning arabesque high-fantasy series Tales from the Flat Earth, which, in the manner of The One Thousand and One Nights, portrays an ancient world in mythic grandeur via connected tales. Long ago when the Earth was flat, beautiful, indifferent Gods lived in the airy Upperearth realm above; curious, passionate demons lived in the exotic Underearth realm below; and mortals were relegated to exist in the middle. Azhrarn, Lord of the Demons and the Darkness, was the one who ruled the night, and many mortal lives were changed because of his cruel whimsy. And yet, Azhrarn held inside his demon heart a profound mystery which would change the very fabric of the Flat Earth forever. Come within this ancient world of brilliant darkness and beauty, of glittering palaces and wondrous elegant beings, of cruel passions and undying love. Discover the exotic wonder that is the Flat Earth.”
Also of interest and out on Monday, Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez, read by Scott Aiello for Audible Frontiers:
Coming in at a bit under 7.5 hours: “Emperor Mollusk. Intergalactic Menace. Destroyer of Worlds. Conqueror of Other Worlds. Mad Genius. Ex-Warlord of Earth. Not bad for a guy without a spine. But what’s a villain to do after he’s done… everything. … But Mollusk isn’t about to let the Earth slip out of his own tentacles and into the less capable clutches of another. So it’s time to dust off the old death ray and come out of retirement. Except this time, he’s not out to rule the world. He’s out to save it from the peril of the Sinister Brain!”
ALSO OUT TUESDAY:
Read more...Posted in regular, Release Week
Audible.com's latest "Win-Win" sale, with $4.95 audiobooks until March 13
Posted on 2012-03-07 at 03:18 by Sam
As the 200+ books are listed by section by author last name, though there’s an Editors’ Picks section as well, this doesn’t make it that easy for the sf/f listener to get a glance at all the titles. (Though what I generally do is check my wish list, sorted by price, to see what sorts up at $4.95.) So, here’s my glance-through (not every sf/f title, particularly in the urban fantasy and paranormal romance side of things you’ll want to check the listings for yourself) of Audible.com’s latest “Win-Win” sale, which ends March 13.
TOP PICKS:
- By Narrated by
NEXT PICKS:
Read more...Posted in regular | Tagged sales
The Guilded Earlobe reviews Germline by T.C. McCarthy
Posted on 2012-03-06 at 18:09 by Sam
Link: The Guilded Earlobe reviews Germline by T.C. McCarthy
Last week’s release week write-up for T. C. McCarthy’s Exogene: The Subterrene Trilogy, Book 2 ended up rambling into what’ll serve as my review of the Bahni Turpin-voiced audiobook, and today Bob Reiss at The Guilded Earlobe has posted his review: ”Quick Thoughts: Exogene is literary science fiction at its best, full of visceral imagery, devastating violence and precise war time action. TC McCarthy has taken elements of Post Apocalyptic, Dystopian and Military Science fiction and blended them together into something entirely unique, and perhaps greater than the sum of its parts.”
Posted in link | Tagged exogene, tc mccarthy, the guilded earlobe
Listening Report: February 2012
Posted on 2012-03-02 at 20:33 by Sam
Quite a month in listening, with 8 audiobooks (up from six in January), but I really fell by the wayside in my print reading. A train trip to and from StellarCon (where I’m a guest, along with guest of honor Patrick Rothfuss and a long list of people much more awesome than me) this weekend should make for some dedicated reading time, when I hope to finally finish up James Maxey’s Greatshadow and get back to chapter 3 or so of Nancy Kress’s After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, and continue chipping away at that monstrous “to read” pile. The best listen this month goes to Little, Big: or, The Fairies’ Parliament by John Crowley, read by the author for Blackstone Audio. Anyway, making room for six of the eight covers:
HEARD:
Read more...Posted in regular, Sam's Monthly Listening Report | Tagged monthly listening report
Audiobook release day: Daniel O'Malley's The Rook and Gail Carriger's Timeless: The Parasol Protectorate, the Fifth
Posted on 2012-03-02 at 02:58 by Sam
March 1 brings with it two much-anticipated audiobooks, though also sees the print publication of a few books I’d love to see/hear in audio.
First up among those anticipated audiobooks is The Rook: A Novel By Narrated by O’Malley’s debut was published in hardcover and e-book by Little, Brown and Company on January 11, and it was on both my radar and my “where’s the audio?” list, put onto the former by TIME magazine book editor (and author of The Magicians) Lev Grossman in his article ”7 Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2012”: “Utterly convincing and engrossing - totally thought-through and frequently hilarious. The writing is confident and fully fledged. Even this aging, jaded, attention-deficit-disordered critic was blown away.” Read by Susan Duerden for Dreamscape, the audiobook for The Rook comes in at TKTK hours: “‘The body you are wearing used to be mine.’ So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies wearing latex gloves.” Narrator Duerden I recognize from her work on China Mieville’s Embassytown, and I’m very much looking forward to picking this one up this month.
The other is Timeless: The Parasol Protectorate, the Fifth By Narrated by Series: Parasol Protectorate, Book 5 — “Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire’s second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell’s acting troupe’s latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia’s enjoyment of her new London lifestyle. Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored.” I haven’t taken the dive into Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, and so don’t know when I’ll be catching up to book 5. Someday…
MISSING IN ACTION:
- Surfing the Gnarl (Outspoken Authors) by Rudy Rucker (PM Press, Mar 1, 2012)
- The Kingdoms of Dust (The Necromancer Chronicles) by Amanda Downum (Orbit, Mar 1, 2012)
- Any Day Now: A Novel by Terry Bisson (Overlook, Mar 1, 2012) — alternate history going from Kerouac and The Beats forward… I just learned about this book and am very excited to read it — no audio news
- Intrusion by Ken MacLeod (Orbit UK, Mar 1) — UK-only so far — no audio news
Posted in regular | Tagged daniel o'malley, dreamscape, gail carriger, hachette audio, release day, the rook, timeless
Audible.com 24-hour 2-for-1 sale
Posted on 2012-02-29 at 15:17 by Sam
Starting this morning and lasting until Thursday March 1 at 11 AM Eastern Time (US), Audible.com is promoting a 2-for-1 sale. This is one of the “special shopping cart” mini-site sales, and there is a tab for both Fantasy and (separately!) for Sci-Fi titles, though some titles of sf interest lurk on the Fiction, Young Adult, and other tabs as well. The titles include books from Fforde, Vonnegut, Tim Powers, Robert J. Sawyer, and more, and here are the ones which most caught my eye when scanning through this morning:
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Release Week: TC McCarthy's Exogene, Michael Swanwick's Dancing with Bears, Sergey and Marina Dyachenko's The Scar, and Elizabeth Hand's Available Dark
Posted on 2012-02-29 at 03:49 by Sam
February goes out with quite a splash, with T. C. McCarthy’s Exogene: The Subterrene Trilogy, Book 2, Michael Swanwick’s Dancing with Bears: A Darger and Surplus Novel, Sergey and Marina Dyachenko’s The Scar, and Elizabeth Hand’s Available Dark.
EXOGENE: Read by Bahni Turpin for Blackstone Audio and released concurrently with the mass market and e-book from Orbit, Exogene sets up as a much more traditional military sf novel than did the author’s debut, 2011’s Germline. Germline was read by Donald Corren, and was a drug-addled war journalism narrative, glossing a bit over technical details whether of weaponry, mech suits (other than detailing a bit of the waste system), or of the eponymous genetic engineering.
Here, Exogene shares only the setting — a near future war over mineral resources in Kazakhstan and its surrounds — and a first person perspective. The voice has changed, as has the narrator’s attention to technical detail. Turpin shows us the Subterene War from the point of view of Catherine, one of the genetically-engineered soldiers used by the United States and its allies. We find out some technical details of her flechette rifle such as its capacity, speed, and firepower. We find out more about the science and psychology and training behind the Germline project, and the lives, loves, and losses of women who were more shallowly perceived by the aforementioned drug-addled male journalist in the first book. This is not to say that there aren’t a few missteps: in the first quarter of the audiobook, some post-production artifacts remain from re-recordings for corrected pronunciations, though they aren’t too distracting. And for my money, though this was admittedly a review copy, some of the emotional impact of these losses don’t appear fully realized or felt. (Though, again, there are drugs and psychological conditioning at work.) But overall Turpin does a quite capable job here of bringing the “girls” (16-18 year olds) to a richer life, amidst a wider and richer cast of characters than inhabited the close quarters of Germline. Turpin’s turn at Russian (and other accents) are mostly well done, easily besting recent attempts from other non-native narrators (Malcolm Hillgartner’s forgettable tries at Russian, Hungarian, and Chinese accents in Neal Stephenson’s Reamde for example) though at times the closing words of sentences lose their flavor. It’s a good thing Turpin can handle her Russians, because we see quite a few of them, and hear a fair bit of Russian along the way towards discovering what it is the Russians are up to, exogentically. (If you’re guessing “exoskeleton”, you’re on the right track.)While Germline spent quite a bit of the capital of sf ideas for the world of the Subterrene War and had a more unique voice, Exogene sees McCarthy come a bit more into his powers of plot, and already leaves me wondering on where he’ll go with the trilogy’s conclusion, Chimera, due out in August. More info: 4 short films at The Subterrene War Clips website present fictional interviews.
DANCING WITH BEARS: Read by the always amazing Stefan Rudnicki for Audible Fontiers, this book was first published by Night Shade Books on May 17, 2011. I haven’t read this one yet, so I’ll pass along Jeff VanderMeer’s thoughts in his “dozen of the best from 2011” year-in-review for Locus: ”In this daring post-utopian novel complete with dangerously weird robots, con-men Darger and Surplus are on their way to Russia, having quite “innocently” acquired a caravan delivering a priceless gift from the Caliph of Baghdad to the Duke of Muscovy. Once they reach Moscow, an absurd level of intrigue, revolution, and double-crossing occurs. Fritz Leiber set a high bar indeed for loveable rogues with his Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series. It’s such a high bar that I find most riffs on this kind of thing tiresome and not at all witty. But Michael Swanwick has, in Dancing with Bears, provided readers with two of the narstiest and most entertaining such rogues in recent memory.”
Joined today by another new Swanwick audiobook from Audible Frontiers, Jack Faust (read by Peter Ganim), Dancing with Bears caps off no fewer than five new audiobooks pairing the publisher and author this year: The Iron Dragon’s Daughter, Stations of the Tide, and Bones of the Earth on Feb 7 being the other three.
THE SCAR: I’ve already used up far too much space above the fold, but all-star narrator Jonathan Davis brings this Russian bestseller to audio concurrently with the hardcover and e-book from Tor. (Its release is heralded enough that Audible prepared a new mini-feature on translations in audio for the occasion.) Compared to Robin Hobb, Michael Moorcock, and Patrick Rothfuss, this Sword in the Stone winner comes across the language divide bearing a starred review in Kirkus for its “rich, vivid, tactile prose, with a solid yet unpredictable plot—and an extraordinary depth and intensity of character reminiscent of the finest Russian literature”, and narrated by commensurate pro Davis (Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Alchemist and The Windup Girl being just two of my favorites of his narrations), this one makes for quite the crowded end of February for me.
AVAILABLE DARK: Narrated by Generation Loss. Published in print by Minotaur Books on Feb 14, it’s an unexpected surprise on a day which had its share of unexpected absences.
ALSO OUT TUESDAY:
Read more...Posted in regular, Release Week | Tagged available-dark, dancing-with-bears, elizabeth-hand, exogene, michael-swanwick, release week, review, sergey-dyanchenko, tc mccarthy, the-scar
A brief summary of Saladin Ahmed's "Throne of the Crescent Moon"
Posted on 2012-02-27 at 17:06 by Sam
Posted in conversation
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