Hot Chocolate and Sex! Dave Begins The Tremontaine Listen-A-Long!

Posted on 2015-11-03 at 07:28 by Dave

Finding out that there was a new story set in Ellen Kushner's Riverside was kind of like waking up to a delicious cup of chocolate and then sporting with the beautiful woman beside me. And then some more chocolate. And then some more sport. You get the idea.

Welcome to the Tremontaine Listen-A-Long! Here there's swordfighting, chocolate, sex, political maneuvering, chocolate, sex, and also chocolate and sex. The jury is out on the magic. We kicked things off last week with "Arrivals," the first episode from Serial Box, and it seems clear from the get-go that this is definitely a story for fans of Kushner's other Riverside books: Swordspoint, The Privilege of the Sword, and The Fall of the Kings. I've been pretty outspoken about my love for these books, as you can see in those linked reviews, as well as hopeful about that awesome adaptation Brett Ratner is gonna make -- whatever happened to that? Anyway, "Arrivals" did double-duty of making us feel right back at home on the streets of Riverside, while introducing us to a new cast of characters. In that regard, I found the pilot episode to be a success. Riverside felt very much like Riverside, and the cast of characters -- particularly their wit, manipulations, dialogue, schemes, dreams, and desires, all felt very true to what we've come to expect from Kushner.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged ellen kushner, fantasy, katherine kellgren, listen-a-long, riverside, sarah mallo-christensen, serial box, tremontaine

Good Monsters?

Posted on 2015-10-31 at 19:42 by Dave

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, read by Christian Rummel Length: 9 hours, 8 minutes

Nothing says Halloween quite like monsters. Over the last few weeks, two books I've listened to have focused on monsters and our reactions to them: Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes and Clive Barker's Cabal. Both of these books are considered classics of their eras, and listening to them back-to-back, I found their differing perspectives on monsters as reflections of humanity kind of fascinating.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged all hallows listen, clive barker, monsters, ray bradbury

October #WhispersyncDeal roundup: Neal Stephenson's Anathem, Joe Hill's NOS4A2, Robin McKinley, Genevieve Valentine, Richard Kadrey, Christopher Golden, Umberto Eco, Alice Hoffman, and more

Posted on 2015-10-30 at 16:14 by Sam

There are hundreds of Whispersync deals this month, and now it's coming to a close here's what you are literally about to miss out on.

First up, from the monthly Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less listings, there are 161 (ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE) which are Whispersync for Voice enabled, and quite a few that are indeed less than $3.99. Here's what most caught my eye, though be warned that it is still a very long list:

Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Author), Oliver Wyman (Narrator), Tavia Gilbert (Narrator), and William Dufris (Narrator) for $1.99+$3.99 -- My favorite of Stephenson's novels, Anathem hit me at just the right time, of being a working computer scientist, and doing a lot of existential and philosophical reading. Additionally, the Long Now Foundation's 10,000 Year Clock project had also already fascinated me. Along comes Stephenson to combine science fiction, philosophy, millennial clocks, and monastic orders in this truly great novel.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (Author) and Kate Mulgrew (Narrator) for $1.99+$3.99 -- Yes, that Kate Mulgrew, known for her roles as Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager and as "Red" from Orange is the New Black. "Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself. Charles Talent Manx has a gift of his own. He likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the vanity plate NOS4A2. In the Wraith, he and his innocent guests can slip out of the everyday world and onto hidden roads that lead to an astonishing playground of amusements he calls Christmasland. Mile by mile, the journey across the highway of Charlie's twisted imagination transforms his precious passengers, leaving them as terrifying and unstoppable as their benefactor. And then comes the day when Vic goes looking for trouble...and finds her way, inevitably, to Charlie."

Posted in Whispersync Deals | Tagged alexandra sokoloff, alice hoffman, anathem, christopher rice, genevieve valentine, joe hill, neal stephenson, nos4a2, richard kadrey, robin mckinley, umberto eco

"Spooky Reads" #WhispersyncDeal roundup

Posted on 2015-10-24 at 19:56 by Sam

Today's Kindle Gold Box Deal is 50 spooky reads at up to 80% off, and while quite a few aren't Whispersync enabled (of these, Claire North's Touch for $1.99 is a steal, people), 27 titles are, and while several of those aren't exactly in the "deals" category (at +$10.99 for the Audible edition, The Girl With All the Gifts, Heart-Shaped Box, Half Bad (The Half Bad Trilogy Book 1)) there are quire a few that are under $5-$6 for the combined Kindle+Audible editions. My eleven sf/f picks among these are:

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Series Book 1) by Gail Carriger, read by Emily Gray for $1.99+$3.49 -- "Victorian romance mixes seamlessly with elegant prose and biting wit-and werewolves-in Gail Carriger's delightful debut novel. Soulless introduces Alexia Tarabotti, a parasol-wielding Londoner getting dangerously close to spinster status. But there are more important things than finding a husband. For Alexia was born without a soul, giving her the ability to render any vampire or werewolf completely powerless."

Harrowgate by Kate Maruyama, read by Nick Podehl for $1.99+$1.99 is a deeply creepy story that I won't give away by too much description here: "Michael should be overjoyed by the birth of his son, but his wife, Sarah, won't let him touch the baby or allow anyone to visit. Greta, an intrusive, sinister doula has wormed her way into their lives, driving a wedge between Michael and his family. Every time he leaves the Harrowgate, he returns to find his beloved wife and baby altered. He feels his family slipping away, and as a malevolent force begins to creep in, Michael does what any new father would do - he fights to keep his family together. Kate Maruyama's debut novel, Harrowgate, is a chilling, richly detailed story of love, loss, and the haunted place that lies between."

Posted in Whispersync Deals

There is No Redemption in the Sea -- Dave Revisits THE SCAR!

Posted on 2015-10-08 at 04:38 by Dave

The Scar by China Mieville, read by Gildart Jackson Length: 26 hours, 58 minutes

Some books just leave a mark on you. In China Mieville's The Scar, a character is told "Scars are not injuries...a scar is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole." I don't know whether or not that's true -- or if in the context of the book, Mieville is actually suggesting it's true. Probably he's saying it's a possible truth. Because in this book, every character has their share of scars -- be they physical and bloody or emotional and invisible. Sometimes the characters become better for it, and sometimes the characters are broken by them. Whether or not scars make you better or worse, they seem to be defining points in the lives of the characters who inhabit this book. For me, The Scar was a defining point in my reading.

Posted in reviews | Tagged bas lag, china mieville, fantasy, pirates, reviews, sea monsters, the-scar

Bookburners Listen-a-Long #3: Fair Weather by Margaret Dunlap

Posted on 2015-10-06 at 03:49 by Sam

Bookburners: Season One: Episode 3: Fair Weather by Margaret Dunlap read by Xe Sands for Serial Box

[Missed Episode 1? The pilot episode is still free, and at under 90 minutes each it’s a breeze to catch up!]

In some ways, Margaret Dunlap's "Fair Weather" is an echo of the winning formula that Brian Francis Slattery's "Anywhere But Here" established in the previous episode: Sal explores a bit of the Vatican, Sal meets some new team members, the team's "magic 8-ball" alerts them of a magical event, they deploy, they fight, they win.

But "Fair Weather" has got some wrinkles for you.

Posted in The Bookburners Listen-a-Long | Tagged margaret dunlap, serial box, xe sands

September WhispersyncDeal roundup: Octavia Butler's Bloodchild, Neal Stephenson's Mongoliad, Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men, Sarah Prineas, Arthur C. Clarke, David Wong, Jasper Fforde, and more

Posted on 2015-09-25 at 23:00 by Sam

Another roundup pushing up against the end-of-the-month wire, so let's jump right in with the deals expiring at the end of the month.

First up, a roundup of what most caught my eye of the 189 Whispersync-for-Voice-enabled titles in this month's $3.99 or Less listings, mostly in science fiction and fantasy but a few fiction, teen, children's, and mystery titles as well:

Bloodchild: And Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler (Author), Janina Edwards (Narrator) for $2.99+$3.49 -- This one's been in the monthly roundups before, but it bears repeating, and it bears being right up top, because this truly is one of the great works of literature, and Edwards narrates both Butler's short fiction and her essays superbly. "Six remarkable stories from a master of modern science fiction. Octavia E. Butler's classic "Bloodchild," winner of both the Nebula and Hugo awards, anchors this collection of incomparable stories and essays. "Bloodchild" is set on a distant planet where human children spend their lives preparing to become hosts for the offspring of the alien Tlic. Sometimes the procedure is harmless, but often it is not. Also included is the Hugo Award - winning "Speech Sounds," about a near future in which humans must adapt after an apocalyptic event robs them of their ability to speak. In this audiobook, Butler shows us life on Earth and amongst the stars, telling her tales with characteristic imagination and clarity."

Posted in Whispersync Deals | Tagged anne flosnik, arthur c clarke, bloodchild, brilliance, christina farley, david drake, david wong, ex-patriots, frank peretti, garard doyle, jasper fforde, jeff wheeler, john wyndham, luke daniels, marcus sakey, mark dawson, matthew quick, max allan collins, neal stpheneson, nick podehl, octavia butler, oliver wyman, peter clines, ray porter, salman rushdie, sarah prineas, stuart neville, ted dekker, terry pratchett, the day of the triffids, the magic thief, the wee free men, this book is full of spiders

Bookburners Listen-a-Long #2: Anywhere But Here by Brian Francis Slattery

Posted on 2015-09-25 at 14:25 by Sam

Bookburners: Season One: Episode 2: Anywhere But Here by Brian Francis Slattery read by Xe Sands for Serial Box

[Missed Episode 1? The pilot episode is still free, and at under 90 minutes each it's a breeze to catch up!]

Well, I'm again late late with the listen-a-long recap, as Episode 3 ("Fair Weather", by Margaret Dunlap) has been out since Tuesday. With Episode #2 we see Bookburners HQ at the Vatican ("Looks a little Satanic for around here, doesn’t it?"), meet a new team member, and ride along for Sal's first official mission with the Societas Librorum Occultorum.

Posted in The Bookburners Listen-a-Long | Tagged brian francis slattery, serial box, xe sands

Audible's Win-Win Sale through September 20: N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season, Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni, David Mitchell, Joe Abercrombie, and more

Posted on 2015-09-18 at 20:00 by Sam

Through 11:59 PM US Pacific Time, Audible's Member-Only "Win-Win" sale lists a fairly huge pile of audiobooks -- 234 titles! -- for $4.95 each. Here's what most caught my eye:

• By N. K. Jemisin
• Narrated by Robin Miles -- "A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great, red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal,and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the Earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy."

The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel

UNABRIDGED

• By Helene Wecker
• Narrated by George Guidall -- "Helene Wecker's dazzling debut novel tells the story of two supernatural creatures who appear mysteriously in 1899 New York. Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a strange man who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York Harbor. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop."

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Quick fiction #WhispersyncDeal roundup for Friday, September 18: Water for Elephants, The Transcriptionist, A Reliable Wife, and Jill McCorkle's Life After Life

Posted on 2015-09-18 at 19:15 by Sam

Rather than share/Tweet these four fantastic fiction deals one at a time, I figured I’d just quickly round them up here. Enjoy! But act fast, as these are only good through the wee hours after midnight tonight:

Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen (Author), David LeDoux (Narrator), John Randolph Jones (Narrator), for $1.99+$3.95 — “Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It’s the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world. Jacob introduces us to Marlena, beautiful star of the equestrian act; to August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus’ animal trainer); and to Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.”

The Transcriptionist: A Novel by Amy Rowland (Author), Xe Sands (Narrator) for $%1.99+$4.49 — “Lena, the transcriptionist, sits alone in a room far away from the hum of the newsroom that is the heart of the Record, the big city newspaper for which she works. For years, she has been the ever-present link for reporters calling in stories from around the world. Hooked up to a machine that turns spoken words to print, Lena is the vein that connects the organs of the paper. She is loyal, she is unquestioning, yet technology is dictating that her days there are numbered. When she reads a shocking piece in the paper about a Jane Doe mauled to death by a lion, she recognizes the woman in the picture. They had met on a bus just a few days before. Obsessed with understanding what caused the woman to deliberately climb into the lion¿s den, Lena begins a campaign for truth that will destroy the Record’s complacency and shake the venerable institution to its very foundation. In doing so she also recovers a life - her own.”

Life After Life: A Novel by Jill McCorkle (Author), Holly Fielding (Narrator) for $1.99+$3.99 — “Jill McCorkle’s first novel in 17 years is alive with the daily triumphs and challenges of the residents and staff of Pine Haven Estates, a retirement facility now home to a good many of Fulton, North Carolina’s older citizens. Among them, third-grade teacher Sadie Randolph, who has taught every child in town and believes we are all eight years old in our hearts; Stanley Stone, once Fulton’s most prominent lawyer, now feigning dementia to escape life with his son; Marge Walker, the town’s self-appointed conveyor of social status who keeps a scrapbook of every local murder and heinous crime; and Rachel Silverman, recently widowed, whose decision to leave her Massachusetts home and settle in Fulton is a mystery to everyone but her. C.J., the pierced and tattooed young mother who runs the beauty shop, and Joanna, the hospice volunteer who discovers that her path to a good life lies with helping folks achieve good deaths, are two of the staff on whom the residents depend.”

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Author), Mark Feuerstein (Narrator) for $1.99+$3.99 — “When a wealthy man first meets his mail-order bride in 1907, he realizes this statuesque beauty is anything but a ‘simple missionary’s daughter.’ But he doesn’t know of her devious plan to leave Wisconsin as a rich widow. Nor does she know of the furious demons he longs to unleash during the lonely months of snowbound isolation.”

Posted in Whispersync Deals | Tagged amy rowland, jill mccorkle, sara gruen, water for elephants, xe sands