Official Blurb
John Endlich needed to clean up his act. Gambling, drinking, a hot temper and wanderlust were the last things Rose and the kids needed. So he went to the Homesteaders Office and signed up to terraform Vesta, a chunk of a once thriving alien planet that had exploded from within; a flat lump of crust which was now the remains of a farm on one side and a mining operation on the other. The miners hated Endlich and sabotaged his plans at every opportunity. They were going to kill him and his family if he didn’t find a way to stop them.
Written by :
My Review
When I settled down to write this review it occurred to me that this was a western story set in space. The protagonist is a homesteader in the back of beyond and the "indians" are played by the miners.
Apart from that, the story is pure sci fi. It's set on an alien world that includes a dead ancient civilisation. People flit about in space ships and shoot "blasters" so it has all of the good sci fi stuff.
What it boils down to in the end is 80-90 minutes of classic sci fi story, a man with a history trys to settle a barren land and defend his family and his home from a bunch of bully boys that are armed to the teeth!
Add to that, the story being read by Gregg Margarite and you have a recipe for a great listen. Highly recommended.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from the Librivox
Listen to the first part
Showing posts with label Gregg Margarite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gregg Margarite. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Saturday, 4 September 2010
The Thing in the Attic by James Blish
Official Blurb
Honath the Pursemaker is a heretic. He doesn’t believe the stories in the Book of Laws which claims giants created his tree-dwelling race. He makes his opinion known and is banished with his infidel friends to the floor of the jungle where dangers abound. Perhaps he’ll find some truth down there. – The Thing in the Attic is one of Blish’s Pantropy tales and was first published in the July, 1954 edition of If, Worlds of Science Fiction magazine.
My Review
This is a fun Sci Fi story. It features members of an alien race who live in the tree tops of the jungle. They are not technologically advanced, and I had the impression they were fairly monkey like.
It gets off to a good start that leads you into revealing parts of their culture through the viewpoint of a few rebels. Rebels are always good for the story!
So there we are, the tree dwelling race have a religion, as mentioned in the blurb, and those who don't believe are punished by being lowered to the jungle floor. This is where the real story begins. Adapted to the tree top the "monkey people" as I thought of them, have to struggle to survive in a strange environment.
The story has a neat twist to round it off, which is a real treat that surprised me.
The reader Gregg Margarite who has avery good voice for this type of work.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 7/9
Find it at Librivox
Listen to the first chapter.
.
Honath the Pursemaker is a heretic. He doesn’t believe the stories in the Book of Laws which claims giants created his tree-dwelling race. He makes his opinion known and is banished with his infidel friends to the floor of the jungle where dangers abound. Perhaps he’ll find some truth down there. – The Thing in the Attic is one of Blish’s Pantropy tales and was first published in the July, 1954 edition of If, Worlds of Science Fiction magazine.
My Review
This is a fun Sci Fi story. It features members of an alien race who live in the tree tops of the jungle. They are not technologically advanced, and I had the impression they were fairly monkey like.
It gets off to a good start that leads you into revealing parts of their culture through the viewpoint of a few rebels. Rebels are always good for the story!
So there we are, the tree dwelling race have a religion, as mentioned in the blurb, and those who don't believe are punished by being lowered to the jungle floor. This is where the real story begins. Adapted to the tree top the "monkey people" as I thought of them, have to struggle to survive in a strange environment.
The story has a neat twist to round it off, which is a real treat that surprised me.
The reader Gregg Margarite who has avery good voice for this type of work.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 7/9
Find it at Librivox
Listen to the first chapter.
.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
The Variable Man by Philip K Dick
Offical Blurb
Predictability has come a long way. The computers of the future can tell you if you’re going to win a war before you fire a shot. Unfortunately they’re predicting perpetual standoff between the Terran and Centaurian Empires. What they need is something unpredictable, what they get is Thomas Cole, a man from the past accidently dragged forward in time. Will he fit their calculations, or is he the random variable that can break the stalemate?
My Review
An odd book, in its structure at least. About two and a half hours long in only three parts with the first and last parts being an hour each. I guess that comes down to how the author chapterized his work.
The story however is pretty good. As the blurb says, we find our future driven by computers calculating the odds of every action before we take it. This authoritarian culture is at war, or at least, wants to be at war with an alien race. They are constantly striving to change the odds in Earths favour so that a real winnable war can take place.
I was confused a little by the characters interpretation of odds. At one point the odds become 7-6 in Earths favour and they declare its time for war. Those odds look a little slim to me! I'd want 100-1 or better before I'd risk all.
Anyway, odds aside, this is a good little book, with some twists in it to keep you interested and listening. The variable man of the title is our hero, a man out of his time and totally unpredictable.
Of course and as usual Gregg Margarite's reading is outstanding and sugar for your ears.
If your a sci fi fan, download it!
Reading 3
Production 2
Story 3
Total 8/9
Download the book from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
Predictability has come a long way. The computers of the future can tell you if you’re going to win a war before you fire a shot. Unfortunately they’re predicting perpetual standoff between the Terran and Centaurian Empires. What they need is something unpredictable, what they get is Thomas Cole, a man from the past accidently dragged forward in time. Will he fit their calculations, or is he the random variable that can break the stalemate?
My Review
An odd book, in its structure at least. About two and a half hours long in only three parts with the first and last parts being an hour each. I guess that comes down to how the author chapterized his work.
The story however is pretty good. As the blurb says, we find our future driven by computers calculating the odds of every action before we take it. This authoritarian culture is at war, or at least, wants to be at war with an alien race. They are constantly striving to change the odds in Earths favour so that a real winnable war can take place.
I was confused a little by the characters interpretation of odds. At one point the odds become 7-6 in Earths favour and they declare its time for war. Those odds look a little slim to me! I'd want 100-1 or better before I'd risk all.
Anyway, odds aside, this is a good little book, with some twists in it to keep you interested and listening. The variable man of the title is our hero, a man out of his time and totally unpredictable.
Of course and as usual Gregg Margarite's reading is outstanding and sugar for your ears.
If your a sci fi fan, download it!
Reading 3
Production 2
Story 3
Total 8/9
Download the book from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
Monday, 19 April 2010
Short Science Fiction Collection 23
Official Blurb
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.
My Review
Simply put this is a very good collection of short sci fi stories. Theres no theme to this collection its a random mix.
I rated three of the stories as OK, and the rest as GOOD which is the best hit rate I've had with these collections.
A Filbert Is A Nut by Rick Raphael gave me a laugh, as did The Success Machine by Henry Slesar. The Hated by Frederik Pohl was a good crunchy story with a twist and The Plattner Story by H. G. Wells pricked my interest intensely with its scientific investigative vent.
I've just mentioned a few here, but this is a really good collection and very worth your attention. If that's not enough, I'll point out that three of the stories have been read by Gregg Margarite, who's voice can make anything into candy for the ears.
Reading 2
Production 2
Story 2
Total : 6/9
Download from Librivox
Listen to the Pohl story
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.
My Review
Simply put this is a very good collection of short sci fi stories. Theres no theme to this collection its a random mix.
I rated three of the stories as OK, and the rest as GOOD which is the best hit rate I've had with these collections.
A Filbert Is A Nut by Rick Raphael gave me a laugh, as did The Success Machine by Henry Slesar. The Hated by Frederik Pohl was a good crunchy story with a twist and The Plattner Story by H. G. Wells pricked my interest intensely with its scientific investigative vent.
I've just mentioned a few here, but this is a really good collection and very worth your attention. If that's not enough, I'll point out that three of the stories have been read by Gregg Margarite, who's voice can make anything into candy for the ears.
Reading 2
Production 2
Story 2
Total : 6/9
Download from Librivox
Listen to the Pohl story
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Short Science Fiction Collection 22
Official Blurb
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.
My Review
Once again the Librivox blurbs gives you absolutely nothing specific about a sci fi collection. Fear not dear reader, thats why I'm here!
We've got a mixed bag of short sci fi stories, some good, some ok, and few that I didn't find interesting. This is expected with any collection from disparate authors, it's the same if the collection is in a book, or in audio.
I can say that I found 4 good stories, 3 ok and the rest did not appeal to me. All of the readers were good, so it's not their fault if the stories don't appeal.
The only author in this collection that I have heard of is Harry Harrison, and in fact his entry into this collection was my fave'. It's a story called "The Velvet Glove" and features a poor out of work robot, trying to make his way in a human world.
Among the readers are Gregg Margarite and Reynard T. Fox who are some of my favoured readers in the Librivox collective.
Reading 2
Production 2
Story 2
Total : 6/9
Download from Librivox
Listen to the Harrison story
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.
My Review
Once again the Librivox blurbs gives you absolutely nothing specific about a sci fi collection. Fear not dear reader, thats why I'm here!
We've got a mixed bag of short sci fi stories, some good, some ok, and few that I didn't find interesting. This is expected with any collection from disparate authors, it's the same if the collection is in a book, or in audio.
I can say that I found 4 good stories, 3 ok and the rest did not appeal to me. All of the readers were good, so it's not their fault if the stories don't appeal.
The only author in this collection that I have heard of is Harry Harrison, and in fact his entry into this collection was my fave'. It's a story called "The Velvet Glove" and features a poor out of work robot, trying to make his way in a human world.
Among the readers are Gregg Margarite and Reynard T. Fox who are some of my favoured readers in the Librivox collective.
Reading 2
Production 2
Story 2
Total : 6/9
Download from Librivox
Listen to the Harrison story
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
The Dueling Machine
Offical Blurb
The Dueling Machine is the solution to settling disputes without injury. After you and your opponent select weapons and environments you are injected into an artificial reality where you fight to the virtual death… but no one actually gets hurt. That is, until a warrior from the Kerak Empire figures a way to execute real-world killings from within the machine. Now its inventor Dr. Leoh has to prevent his machine from becoming a tool of conquest. – The Dueling Machine, written with Myron R. Lewis, first appeared in the May, 1963 issue of Analog Science Fact & Fiction.
My Review
This is a classic sci fi story, dealing with a new technology and its effects on society. In this case, as the blurb says, it's a Dueling Machine, a virtual reality machine where two competitors meet to carry out a "safe" combat. In the virtual world the characters avatars select an environment and weapons and batter each other until one or other avatar dies. Of course the character is fine, just the virtual avatar dies... or do they.
The inventor of the Dueling Machine is called in to sort out the "problem".
It's pretty typical sci fi, and does not suffer it. I was interested in the story and eagerly started up the new episodes.
It's a fairly short novel, coming in only three parts, each over 40 minutes. the reader is one of my faves for sci fi, Gregg Margarite. A smooth voice and a great pacing makes for a cool listen.
Reading 3
Production 2
Story 2
Total : 7/9
Download from Librivox
Listen to chapter one
The Dueling Machine is the solution to settling disputes without injury. After you and your opponent select weapons and environments you are injected into an artificial reality where you fight to the virtual death… but no one actually gets hurt. That is, until a warrior from the Kerak Empire figures a way to execute real-world killings from within the machine. Now its inventor Dr. Leoh has to prevent his machine from becoming a tool of conquest. – The Dueling Machine, written with Myron R. Lewis, first appeared in the May, 1963 issue of Analog Science Fact & Fiction.
My Review
This is a classic sci fi story, dealing with a new technology and its effects on society. In this case, as the blurb says, it's a Dueling Machine, a virtual reality machine where two competitors meet to carry out a "safe" combat. In the virtual world the characters avatars select an environment and weapons and batter each other until one or other avatar dies. Of course the character is fine, just the virtual avatar dies... or do they.
The inventor of the Dueling Machine is called in to sort out the "problem".
It's pretty typical sci fi, and does not suffer it. I was interested in the story and eagerly started up the new episodes.
It's a fairly short novel, coming in only three parts, each over 40 minutes. the reader is one of my faves for sci fi, Gregg Margarite. A smooth voice and a great pacing makes for a cool listen.
Reading 3
Production 2
Story 2
Total : 7/9
Download from Librivox
Listen to chapter one
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Short Science Fiction Collection 20
Official Blurb
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.
My Review
Well as usual with the Librivox collection blurb , it tells you absolutely nothing about the collection!
Well let me rectify that a little. As with the last collection this set of stores is pretty good, especially as most of them are fairely recently written (last 50 years!).
I rated only one as bad, two as ok and he rest as good, making this a collection well worth listening to.
I can reccommed "The Gun" which is a Phillip K Dick story and read by Gregg Margarite who is fast becoming one of my fave Librivox readers.
My other reccomendation is "Arm of the Law" by Harry Harrison, and once again read by Gregg Margarite!.
These two stories and most of the others are classic sci fi where a friends from the future deal with robots, aliens and smoke cigarettes. All in all a good little collection with some excellent reads.
Readng 2
Production 2
Story 2
Total 6/9
Download the book from Librivox
Listen to my pick
Science Fiction is speculative literature that generally explores the consequences of ideas which are roughly consistent with nature and scientific method, but are not facts of the author’s contemporary world. The stories often represent philosophical thought experiments presented in entertaining ways. Protagonists typically “think” rather than “shoot” their way out of problems, but the definition is flexible because there are no limits on an author’s imagination. The reader-selected stories presented here were written prior to 1962 and became US public domain texts when their copyrights expired.
My Review
Well as usual with the Librivox collection blurb , it tells you absolutely nothing about the collection!
Well let me rectify that a little. As with the last collection this set of stores is pretty good, especially as most of them are fairely recently written (last 50 years!).
I rated only one as bad, two as ok and he rest as good, making this a collection well worth listening to.
I can reccommed "The Gun" which is a Phillip K Dick story and read by Gregg Margarite who is fast becoming one of my fave Librivox readers.
My other reccomendation is "Arm of the Law" by Harry Harrison, and once again read by Gregg Margarite!.
These two stories and most of the others are classic sci fi where a friends from the future deal with robots, aliens and smoke cigarettes. All in all a good little collection with some excellent reads.
Readng 2
Production 2
Story 2
Total 6/9
Download the book from Librivox
Listen to my pick
Friday, 16 October 2009
The Stars my Brothers
Official Blurb
Published in the May, 1962 issue of Amazing Stories “The Stars, My Brothers” gives us a re-animated astronaut plucked from a century in the past and presented with an alien world where the line between humans and animals is blurred.
My Review
This is a cool short sci fi story set a couple of hundred years into the future. It deals with a man frozen who is then woken up a hundred years later and the worlds he finds himself inhabiting.
It's not all ray guns and combat, but rather a more intellectual look at human attitudes and their relationship with aliens/animals.
So, as I've hinted, we dont have ray guns and space combat, but we do have , space ships, aliens, other worlds, a chase, high tech, and all wrapped around a neat little story that will keep the sci fi fan happy.
The reader is excellent, he doesn't do "voices" but he has a pacing and style that is very good.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
Published in the May, 1962 issue of Amazing Stories “The Stars, My Brothers” gives us a re-animated astronaut plucked from a century in the past and presented with an alien world where the line between humans and animals is blurred.
My Review
This is a cool short sci fi story set a couple of hundred years into the future. It deals with a man frozen who is then woken up a hundred years later and the worlds he finds himself inhabiting.
It's not all ray guns and combat, but rather a more intellectual look at human attitudes and their relationship with aliens/animals.
So, as I've hinted, we dont have ray guns and space combat, but we do have , space ships, aliens, other worlds, a chase, high tech, and all wrapped around a neat little story that will keep the sci fi fan happy.
The reader is excellent, he doesn't do "voices" but he has a pacing and style that is very good.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Deathworld
Official Blurb
Deathworld is the first in a series of novels begun in 1960 and originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine. It’s the story of Jason dinAlt a professional gambler with psionic skills who finds himself on Pyrrus the deadliest planet to be colonized by humanity. Violent weather, active tectonics, heavy gravity, abundant predators, and a hostile splinter group of colonists is only the beginning of Jason’s quest to learn the truth about Pyrrus.
My Review
This is classic Sci Fi at its very best!. Alien worlds, space ships, creepy creatures, fighting, discoveries and gambling. What more could you pssibly want from a Sci Fi novel?
Well, I suppose you might want an appealing lead chacter, whos the underdog but is likely to win through in the end. You might want a plot that doesn't sleep, that presents you one exciting scene after another. Perhaps you want to explore the strange? Well you've got all of that here, in a story that doesn't show it's age.
The lead character is a professional gambler who has an edge, he can use his mind to manipulate the dice! Yet these powers are very limited, he's not some Sci Fi wizard wandering around the worlds blasting his enemies, no, his powers are limited to rolling the dice, and a mind to rival Sherlock Holmes.
Ths is fairly short novel that is read very well and is a delightful afternoons listening. If your a SciFi fan you should treat yourself to this free treat.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
Deathworld is the first in a series of novels begun in 1960 and originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction Magazine. It’s the story of Jason dinAlt a professional gambler with psionic skills who finds himself on Pyrrus the deadliest planet to be colonized by humanity. Violent weather, active tectonics, heavy gravity, abundant predators, and a hostile splinter group of colonists is only the beginning of Jason’s quest to learn the truth about Pyrrus.
My Review
This is classic Sci Fi at its very best!. Alien worlds, space ships, creepy creatures, fighting, discoveries and gambling. What more could you pssibly want from a Sci Fi novel?
Well, I suppose you might want an appealing lead chacter, whos the underdog but is likely to win through in the end. You might want a plot that doesn't sleep, that presents you one exciting scene after another. Perhaps you want to explore the strange? Well you've got all of that here, in a story that doesn't show it's age.
The lead character is a professional gambler who has an edge, he can use his mind to manipulate the dice! Yet these powers are very limited, he's not some Sci Fi wizard wandering around the worlds blasting his enemies, no, his powers are limited to rolling the dice, and a mind to rival Sherlock Holmes.
Ths is fairly short novel that is read very well and is a delightful afternoons listening. If your a SciFi fan you should treat yourself to this free treat.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
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