Bones Burned Black by Stephen Euin Cobb

Official Blurb

A serial killer—brilliant, methodical and suicidal—sabotages a large commercial spacecraft's engines to set it on an eight-day trajectory to burn up in the sun, then remains aboard ship to murder and torment its passengers and crew. With no other ships near enough to reach them, rescue is impossible, and the few survivors fight their unknown enemy while trying to invent a way to survive the growing heat of the sun.

My Review

It's not often that I get so enamored by an audio book, but this one hooked me almost immediately.  The first three words of the official blurb will either grab you or they wont, but if they do then the fact that this is also science fiction is just the cherry on top. The story opens with a mystery, a woman in a space suit floating alone through space with no idea of why. What a great horrifying opening scene.

From there the characters are introduced and we start putting the story together as the threads start winding the plot together.  This story is science fiction survival horror adventure at its best. It presents a believable version of the future that's seems to be just around the corner, with characters that are likeable and real.

None of the character in this story appear as super-heroes, no one is super-capable, everyone makes mistakes and shows their human side. Heroism comes from those that struggle on anyway. I like that, it makes them appealing without them appearing as helpless people to whom things happen.

I sped through this book in one day, hooked from beginning to end, which is pretty unusual for me, as I like to swap in other things, including music to keep me awake, but this story was pretty darned absorbing.

The reader/writer did a splendid job. At first I thought is was Stacey Cochran reading, as they seem to share an accent, if not a cadence. Both voices I really enjoy listening to.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 7/9

Listen to the first chapter.
Download it from Podiobooks
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Jetta of the Lowlands by Ray Cummings

Official Blurb

Fantastic and Sinister Are the Lowlands into Which Philip Grant Descends on His Dangerous Assignment.

My Review

That has to be the shortest Official Blurb! I even searched the internet looking for a better one. It doesn't exist! I'm not sure any of the people that are selling this book have even bothered to read it.

Anyway.

This is classic sci fi. Adventure and excitement, a hero who falls in love and nothing, repeat, nothing will stop him from saving his love when she's kidnapped. Classic style, her love for him is as instant and all encompassing as his. This really is the stuff that makes these older tales so good.  I may be a bit of a softy at heart but I love this stuff.

The bad guy knows that Jetta's worth a pretty penny and intends to take that for himself. So we have the good guy sweeping in to burn down the bad guys and rescue the princess but nothing is ever easy and things start to go wrong.

The reader for this librivox story is Richard Kilmer and I love his voice. Sadly in this story his pacing seems off, or maybe it's the original writing (it appeared in a pulp magazine). That aside his voice is easy on the ears and like it, its the audio equivalent of pop corn. :)

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 1/3

Total Score 5/9

Listen to the first chapter.
Download it from Librivox

The Sky Is Falling by Lester del Rey

Official Blurb

After dying in a terrible accident at a building site, Dave Hanson finds himself being brought back to life in a world where magic is real, and where the sky is breaking apart and falling. And he is expected to put it back together again. Will he be able to save this strange world, and his own new life?

My Review

This classic sci fi tale is a good 'un. It was birthed in 1954 during the science fiction golden age and appeared in the magazines of the time, that means that the story does all of the normal tropes of the time. A man out of water, a beautiful girl, a problem to be solved. In this case it's a really very interesting problem. The sky IS falling! Our hero has been resurrected in a strange alien world and is expected to save that world as it literally starts to fall apart. It's a world where magic actually works and nearly everything there is made with magic, but the magic is starting to fail. To add to the maelstrum there are opposing factions vying for control and fighting over our hero.

I was hooked as soon as I started listening, the strangeness of the world was original and intriguing from the outset. The story is outrageous and perhaps even silly at times, but I never lost my interest and listened straight5 through without break.

On top of that cool story the reader was outstanding, she brought a voice with marvelous expression and pacing to the story.

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 7/9

Listen to the first chapter.
Download it from Librivox

Blake's 7: Rebel, Traitor, Liberator

Official Blurb

In the third century of the second calendar, the galactic Federation, once a beacon of democracy and peace, has become a corrupt tyranny.

Freedom and Justice are things of the past.

Roj Blake stood up for the ordinary people. When the establishment tried intimidation he laughed in their faces. When they tried to crush him he fought back. When they tried to brainwash him into obedience, he broke their conditioning. Finally they framed him and sentenced him to permanent exile on the notorious prison planet Cygnus Alpha.

The Federation thinks it has seen the last of Roj Blake.

The Federation will wish it had...

My Review

I remember watching Blaske's 7 when it was first run on television. As a kid I was glued to this amazing series. As an adult I saw some re-runs and realised just how low the production values were!

I've been listening to Spotify of late and was rather pleased to discover that it includes some audio books. Mostly these are the classics, some from Librivox and the other free locations, but I was supremely delighted to discover some "new" material too., including this particular presentation.

This full cast audio drama was produced in 2010 by a professional audio company and includes everything that entails. Good acting and great sound effects!

This three part (3 CD's I guess) story starts with Blake breaking free of the Federation and building his team, just like the TV series did. I can't say if this follows the same story path as the TV version as I don't recollect but if was a fun ride. It's a straight up adventure of world building, narrow escapes and brave stand offs. Throw in some space battles and the mysterious ship "Liberator" that has a life of its own and you have everything for a great story.

There are 3 significant episodes in this story. That is, the story is episodic, just like a TV or radio series, it does not follow a single story arc.  And that was where this superb production let me down. I like my audiobooks to have a beginning middle and end, but this is just the first three episodes of an ongoing story. If I'd known that going in, I wouldn't have had the disappointment factor when I reached the end. It was just an expectation thing, and does not reflect on the book itself which is great!

In fact, there are other stories in the series on Spotify, and knowing their episodic nature I'm still interested in them. Watch this space.

In summary, Good.

Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 8/9

Listen for free on Spotify

SHAT by S. Lawrence Parrish

Official Blurb

In a post-plague world where plants have suffered as much as animals, a colony of human survivors has gathered in a fortified former-luxury condominium complex they call “The Park”. These remnants of humanity are inextricably bound to their domestic cats, from which Dose (a temporary plague vaccine) is derived.
A forager army is rumored to be heading toward The Park. The Park people must prepare to defend themselves and all they have worked for, because they have made a discovery: not all cats are created equal; while regular Dose only staves off plague symptoms, the dose derived from Simon, The Park’s only Siamese cat, can be refined into SHAT, a super-dose that rejuvenates the growth of plant life. . . and which also may hold the secret to a permanent plague-cure. Problem: Simon is a neuter. If he should die, so, too, dies humanity’s one hope for survival.
Enter Sasha, a purebred female Balinese of breeding age that also produces SHAT. With the sky-rocketing tensions of increasing militarization, Sasha’s humans want to take their cat and leave The Park. But The Park people will use whatever means necessary to make them stay.

My Review

I found this story when I was trawling Podiobooks looking for new sci fi books, and when I saw this revolved around cats I HAD to listen to it.

I was hooked almost from the first instant. Being a cat owner, I found the cat P.O.V. used in some segments totally absorbing.  And that was a major part of the appeal throughout the book.  It seemed like every third chapter or so was told from the a cat's perspective. The animals relationships to one another was anthropomorphic, even to the point of them "speaking" to each other. However by making sure this never crossed over into talking to humans, it didn't ruin the mood of the piece.

Don't get me wrong this is not all about the cats, it has very strong characters who all come across as individuals with their own motivations. They are believeable people in a weird world and I wanted a happy ending for all of them.

A warning of sorts for cat lovers. Cats get torn up in hideous ways in this book. When I was considering this review, I asked myself, who was this book aimed at, not cat-lovers as the poor beasts suffer, nor was it aimed at cat-haters because the cat characters are appealing. Then it hit me. The cats in this book are treated no worse than the human characters who also get torn up in the same way. What the author's done here, is to create a post apocalyptic world that is as horrid to cats as it is to people and we the reader get to see just how horrid it is to everyone.

The book kept me hooked all the way through, the tension kept building towards the finale in just the way you want a book to.  It was a very good reading too,with a neat use of sound effects to help bring the whole thing to life.

Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 9/9

Listen to the first chapter 

Download it from the Podiobooks

The Secret Of The Ninth Planet by Donald Wollheim

Official Blurb

An alien race has put a station on Earth and other planets in order to steal the rays of the sun, possible causing the sun to nova within two years. Burl Denning, a high school student, is the only person who has the power to stop the alien project. Can he and the crew of the experimental space ship Magellan act in time to save the earth?

My Review

This a classic pulp style sci fi adventure where as the blurb suggests the protagonist is young chap who just happens to be in the right place at the right time... oh and he's a bit of a hero.

This is not a serious sci fi story, it take some facts such as the vast distances between the planets and uses them within the story, but these are sprinkled in with the "super science" of the 50's era.

It's a good yarn, an adventure in space, where the bad guys are not criminals but aliens. It has a dramatic finale that I really enjoyed.

Keep in mind the stories low-sci-fi take on things and that it's a pulp story and you'll have a good time with it, like I did.  Great reading, and a fun listen.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 6/9

Download it from the Librivox

Listen to the first chapter.

Police Your Planet by Lester Del Rey

Official Blurb

Bruce Gordon looked at his ticket, grimaced at the ONE WAY stamped on it, then tore it into bits and let the pieces scatter over the floor. He counted them as they fell; thirty pieces in all, one for each year of his life. Little ones for the two years he'd wasted as a cop. Shreds for the four years as a kid in the ring before that--he'd never made the top. Bigger bits for two years also wasted in trying his hand at professional gambling; and the six final pieces that spelled his rise from special reporter helping out with a police shake-up coverage, through a regular leg-man turning up rackets, and on up like a meteor until.... He'd made his big scoop, all right. He'd dug up enough about the Mercury scandals to double circulation. And the government had explained what a fool he'd been for printing half of a story that was never supposed to be printed until all could be revealed. They'd given Bruce Gordon his final assignment... 

My Review

Bruce is sent to Mars, supposedly as part of an undercover operation, but he doesn't want the job, doesn't believe they mean it, it's just an excuse to git rid of him. Mars is a hell hole. Corruption and gang-life run rampant. The cops steal what the gangs don't and people live in a misery of hand to mouth existence.

This is a brutal story of life at Mars port where beatings and muggings are the norm and our hero, or perhaps I should say protagonist, is beating and fighting his way through life. In the "dome" the thugs carry clubs instead of guns, because even they realize a stray bullet could puncture the dome. So the copy carry a shield and club!

I really enjoyed this story. It's well written and well narrated and if you love sci fi you'll like this. 


Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 7/9

Download it from the Librivox

Listen to the first chapter.

The Chapter Ends by Poul Anderson

Official Blurb

Far, far in the future the Earth is still spinning around the Sun, on the edge of the galaxy, dozing in obscurity, forgotten by it's trillions of progeny and completely irrelevant. But this doesn't matter to the few millions who still live there in simplicity and quiet happiness. But then interstellar politics dictates that they must all leave Earth because ... well, listen to the story as told by the great Poul Anderson as he explores what the Earth means to humans and to one man in particular. 

My Review

A short story in four parts running for about an hour. There really isn't a lot I can tell you about the story without spoiling the whole thing. It's sci fi, but is really a character-play. As the blurb says everyone has to leave Earth but the story revolves around the last few, as they are rounded up and encouraged to get on board ship.

I listened to the end, but it didn't really grab me. Also I found the ending a bit weak. I don't think Poul quite pulled off the effect he was after.

The reader was good. So in summary, its a easy unchallenging listen but don't expect to be wowed.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 1/3

Total Score 5/9

Download it from the Librivox

Listen to the first chapter.

The Creature from Beyond Infinity by Henry Kuttner

Official Blurb

A lone space traveler arrives on Earth seeking a new planet to colonize, his own world dead. At the same time a mysterious plague has infected Earth that will wipe out all life. Can a lone scientist stop the plague and save the world? Or will the alien find himself on another doomed planet?

My Review

This is a classic age Science Fiction story. It starts rather unusually in ancient times before humans even exist on Earth.  An alien space ship crashes on Earth and two human like aliens are the only survivors...Now you're already starting to think Adam and Eve aren't you! It's not like that, these survivors are both male. They are the only survivors of their entire race, and one of them is mortally wounded.

So starts this story, where an alien puts himself to sleep to await the rise of intelligent human life. The author makes an odd presumption here, that Human life will always arise, it being the only way intelligent life forms.

I like the way this story works, the Alien wakes up and interacts with humans a number of times and the stories of these visits are interwoven with the main story about chap living at the time the story was written. It's a super-science story where super geniuses can make anything at the drop of hat. I like these stories! This adventure is a blast and even has touching moment or two to give you contrast.

The reader is the marvelous Mark Nelson who never disapoints.

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 7/9

Download it from Librivox

Listen to the first chapter.

The Flying Saucers are Real by Donald Keyhoe

Official Blurb

The Flying Saucers are Real is a book that investigates numerous encounters between USAF fighters, personnel, and other aircraft, and UFOs between 1947 and 1950. Keyhoe contended that the Air Force was actively investigating these cases of close encounter, with a policy of concealing their existence from the public until 1949. He stated that this policy was then replaced by one of cautious, progressive revelation. Keyhoe further stated that Earth had been visited by extraterrestrials for two centuries, with the frequency of these visits increasing sharply after the first atomic weapon test in 1945. Citing anecdotal evidence, he intimated the Air Force may have attained and adapted some aspect of the alien technology: its method of propulsion and perhaps its source of power. He believed the Air Force or the US Government would eventually reveal these technologies to the public when the Soviet Union was no longer a threat.

Donald E. Keyhoe, who relates here his investigation of the flying saucers, writes with twenty-five years of experience in observing aeronautical developments. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He flew in active service with the Marine Corps, managed the tour of the historic plane in which Bennett and Byrd made their North Pole flight, was aide to Charles Lindbergh after the famous Paris flight, and was chief of information for the Aeronautics Branch, Department of Commerce. 

My Review

This audobook is narrated by Roger Melin, one of my faves over at Librivox.  This is not a novel ( or at least it purports itself as investigative journalism. It follows the writers investigation into the "truth" about all of the flying saucer incident that took place after the end of WWII.

I found the whole book fascinating. The details of the cases involved, the investigative process and the reactions of those being interviewed were very well presented. I felt my own curiosity woken up by the questions the author put forwards, and  I ended up as doubtful of the official position as he did himself.

There are a number of UFO theories put forwards here that are still floating around today. I also found the assumptions and the thoughts he had about space travel were made even more interesting because they were written before we actually had space travel.

Well written, well read, totally absorbing.  If you have any interest in ufology, this is a must-listen.

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 7/9

Download it from Librivox.

Listen to the first chapter.

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Official Blurb

None.

My Review

In this full cast audio drama from the Seeing Ear Theater we get a real treat.

When Dana is surprised by being sacked from her job, it's just the start of the strange and weird things about to happen. This is a historical sci fi drama, that might sound a bit weird, but when the story is based around time travel it has to be sci fi, right? But when that time travel keeps the main characters in the past, during the age of slavery in the southern states of america it kind of becomes historical.

This story is about a modern black woman who falls through time into the 1800's. As the story evolves, she finds that she has a mission to accomplish, although it's not one she asked for nor volunteered for.

The white slave-owners treat her as a slave and she has to deal with the culture shock that this produces.

It's very well written, well acted and the story drew me in and kept me hooked for all two hours.  It was fun, exciting and intriguing all at the same time.

Once again, this is a not-safe-for-work story that contains in-character racism of the lowest order, it shouldn't be played to an unsuspecting audience.

Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 9/9

Download it from the Internet Archive
Listen to the first part

Origin of Legends: Crush Depth by Jeff Lane

Official Blurb


A novella by Jeff lane called Crush Depth starts off his Origins of Legends series:

Marylou Kelsum is a young scientist about to embark on the journey of a lifetime on-board a first-of its-kind research submarine on its maiden voyage to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean.

But not long after they get under way, Marylou’s professional dream come true turns into a nightmare. A face appears, looking into her cabin porthole at the impossible depth of 5,000 meters below the ocean’s surface. And worse, she thinks she recognizes the face as that of a fellow crew member.

Crush Depth is narrated by the author and brought to life with a full cast.

My Review

This is a fun little sci fi story set not in space, but under the sea.  It has a little bit of mystery, a little bit of horror, a little bit of sci fi geekery and the mix is just right.  I really enjoyed the story.  I can't say too much without giving away a lot, it being a novella doesn't leave a lot for me to tell you about without despoiling the whole thing.  Story wise this is great, sound production wise, ahhh, that's another story.

The opening/closing credits and the narration are fine, the acting by the full cast is also pretty good. Where this falls down is the sound work. I get the impression that whoever put this together was doing their first audio drama/podcast because the actors keep either breathing on the microphones or on some occasions blowing the levels.  The levels have been calmed down so you won't lose an ear drum but sadly that doesn't fix the sound where half the vocal tones are missing. It seems a real shame that this little little problem has slipped through. As I said great story, and I really hope they make a second version, with all the same people but with a little more attention to mic' work.


Reading 3/3
Production 1/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 7/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part

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Interference by Eric Luke

Official Blurb


SOMETHING wants in. To your head. Through this audiobook.

Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when the audiobook he's listening to reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter, but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help.

Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology, unearthing the mind-bending concept of a POSSIBILITY PARASITE bent on unleashing an explosion of APOCALYPTIC META HORROR.


My Review

I caught my first wiff of this audio book over on the Audio Drama Talk forums and loved the sound of it so nipped over to Podiobooks and downloaded it immediately.  It was well worth the effort and time.

As the blurb above hints, it takes one of the little moments of coincidence that we experience every day, you know, where the book your reading or the song your listening suddenly matches what's going on around you, and takes that to the next step. That idea of building on the listeners own experiences makes this drama and premise of this story leap almost to reality.

There's a whole "meta" experience to be had listening to an audio book about someone listening to an audio book that is apparently listening to them, that is so much fun. We audio book listeners are like a little community that has its own clique-i-ness.  You're either in, an audio book listener, or your out, a normal person who does not listen to audio books. This audio book seems to panda to that feeling of being-in. By being a regular audio book listener you'll get more out of this audio book.

Quite apart of the "Meta" experience I can safely say that this is a great audio book. Drama, horror and an excellent plot to bind them together, with an excellent reader producing an excellent quality product make this a real treat to stick in your ears.

The creators use of minimal sound effects is just right, adding to the mood when needed.  From the opening titles you'll be hooked, the creators use of sections from the original Orson Wells radio show really bring the show to life, and once again this adds to the "realism" feel of it that I was getting at earlier.

In summary, please understand this, if you don't download this book you're hurting yourself.  It was a blast!


Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 9/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part

The Night of the Long Knives by Fritz Leiber

Official Blurb

"I was one hundred miles from Nowhere—and I mean that literally—when I spotted this girl out of the corner of my eye. I'd been keeping an extra lookout because I still expected the other undead bugger left over from the murder party at Nowhere to be stalking me." In a Post apocalyptic world, the few people left must be strong. And must not hesitate to kill. Of course, killing another Deathlander was one of the chief pleasures and urges of all the solitary wanders in this vast wasteland. Kill and kill again. But this other was a girl and that brought up the second great urge: sex. Which was it to be today? Perhaps both?

My Review

This is a short Sci Fi story in the classic style.  It's suprised me.  Next to nothing really happens and yet I found myself hooked.

The whole story is more or less a monologue with the odd bit of conversation thrown in. The protagonist lays out the events and the describes everything as the story goes along, all from the first person perspective, and I found it absorbing from the outset.  Radioactive dust clouds, murdering people for a living and living on the edge of survival all make for a quite unusual playground.

Now I said that next to nothing happens, physically that is.  The characters talk, and the protagonist "thinks" to us, and boy does he think a lot of things.  We get to understand the dangers motivations and drives of the lead character as he considers almost every option or possible meaning behinds everyone's smallest actions.

If you want a lot of action in your Sci Fi, this book isn't for you, if you're happy to hear what the protagonist is thinking in great detail you'll like this.  As to the reader, he comes at the book in an upbeat almost jovial style. During the first chapter I found that a little jarring, the upbeat tones versus the rather gritty content, but I soon got over that and enjoyed the book.


Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 6/9

Download it from the Librivox
Listen to the first part

ASUNDER by John Mierau

Official Blurb

Twenty years after the American civil war, former slave Marcus Riggs fights for his life in a British harbor, in a world where Invaders came to enslave all of humanity.

They came. They conquered... they died.

Now, new powers battle Empires and Nations in a world torn... Asunder.

My Review

Wow. Cool. Need I say more? What do you mean, "that's not a review!"

Well as the blurb says, this sci fi story is set twenty years after the American civil war and after the invaders of H.G. Wells have passed away. So the lead characters are ex slaves caught in England by the invasion of aliens. What a great concept, that alone hooked me and made sure I was going to listen. Once it started it turned out to be action packed, and as a bonus read by a great narrator.

The heroes are caught up in a society fractured by the coming of the aliens. The British nation and empire is dissolved as warlords have set themselves up are using the alien tech' to make grabs for any and everything.

It's a conflict rich environment that is peppered with so many strange and exciting things that I was totally hooked on that side of things. The characters likewise feel real and are also filled with conflicts that seem designed to hook the reader.

Simply put, I was blown away with how great this story was, and was very sad on reaching the end. This audio book is the first in a series, and the subsequent parts are not released yet ( at least my Googling couldn't find it).

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3

Total Score 8/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part

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Storm Over Warlock by Andre Norton

Official Blurb

The Throg task force struck the Terran survey camp a few minutes after dawn, without warning, and with a deadly precision which argued that the aliens had fully reconnoitered and prepared that attack. Eye-searing lances of energy lashed back and forth across the base with methodical accuracy. And a single cowering witness, flattened on a ledge in the heights above, knew that when the last of those yellow-red bolts fell, nothing human would be left alive down there.

And so Shann Lantee, most menial of the Terrans attached to the camp on the planet Warlock, was left alone and weaponless in the strange, hostile world, the human prey of the aliens from space and the aliens on the ground alike.

ANDRE NORTON has become one of the highest rated authors of science-fiction adventure now writing. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, a book collector, and s-f fan, Ace Books have had the pleasure of presenting her best novels in newsstand editions.

My Review

This is a classic sci fi story, telling a good pulpy sci fi story including heroes, aliens, battles and mysteries. With that description how could it be bad! As the blurb describes a powerful alien forces attack a human camp on new world, and a young lad is the only survivor.

What can he do? How will he survive? What dangers lurk on this new planet? Will the aliens come looking for him?

Lots of questions, and all the answers are explored in typical sci fi style. I really enjoyed the story. The narrator is Mark Douglas Nelson, one of my favourite Librivox readers, who has now posted this book over at Podiobooks.

My only niggle with the Audiobook, is some of the incidental music which at times seemed a little inappropriate and perhaps a little loud at times too. But this is a minor negative on what is an excellent book.

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 7/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
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Black Star Passes by John W. Campbell

Official Blurb

Follow along with Arcot, Morey, and Wade as they discover a revolutionary form of propulsion, visit our neighboring planets, and go up against aliens from a rogue solar system that passes close to our own. These three stories (Piracy Preferred, Solarite, and The Black Star Passes) were originally published as a serial in Amazing Stories magazine.

My Review

This book is a "classic" from the Golden age of Sci Fi. Super villains using new science to feather their nests and Super Genius scientists seting out to battle them. Great stuff. Remember when you listen that these stories were written decades ago and the author didn't have the scientific knowledge we have today. Back then telephones had wires, they didn't VCR let alone DVD!

All three stories are good. In the first, someone is robbing aircraft in mid flight and there are no witnesses as all of the crew are left sleeping. In the second story, the heroes travel into space and find alien civilisations. In the third, it steps up a notch and becomes a full on WAR!

In summary, great stuff, the sort of thing I wish they'd put on the "Escape Pod" podcast occasionally.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 6/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
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Mr Dead Eyes by Roberto Scarlato

Official Blurb

Strange things happen when the lights go down in the shady setting of the Roseville Hospital. Unexplained sightings of a man resembling that of a doctor is known to walk the hallways in search of patients he has yet to help. His name was Derek R. Schillar, M.D. He was a complicated man with a desire to help people, but felt that he didn't do enough. Now, his friend has betrayed him, his wife thinks he's dead, a mysterious detective is on his trail, and the medical staff is perplexed at the growing number of inexplicable miraculous phenomena occurring within the hospital walls. Is there an answer? Why is a dying boy drawing pictures of this man? And just who is Mr. Dead Eyes?

My Review

Set in a modern hospital, we have some very strange and un-medical things are going on! The official blurb above gives you a pretty good idea of how weird these things get.

When I started listening I really had no idea what to expect. If anything I thought it was going to be a horror piece, but what a I got was part thriller, part speculative fiction, part super hero, and part detective, as real mashup.

In the end this mash up worked for me. I like things a little unusual and this story has it in spades.

I loved the protagonist and his family and learnt to hate the bad guys. The author is reading his own work and did a great job, although I think the intro which seems to suggest a nasty Horror, was overplayed a little.

If you want a dark story which probes the mysterious this is for you.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 6/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
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Guardians by A. S. Frye

Official Blurb

Guardians is set in the near future and follows the life of a young girl, Kathy, who suffers a head injury which gives her some amazing psychic abilities, and then, through various extraordinary circumstances, ends up in a small town near Roswell, New Mexico. Along the way, she joins up with Megan, another psychic who is also being drawn to that same town.

When they arrive, Kathy is abducted by a UFO and after some alien technological wizardry, she gives birth to a hybrid baby. In the meantime, the aliens are surprised at how strong the psychic force is in some humans and fear that this power could destroy them, so they use the hybrid baby in a plot to wipe out the entire human race before anyone discovers they are here. Kathy dares to resist them and fights to save her hybrid child.

But in the end, it is the child, himself—half alien / half human—who will determine which race will live, and which will die.

My Review

If I was afraid of including any spoilers in my review, I need not worry, as the offical blurb has out-spoilered anything I ever included in a review!

I found this a very interesting book. Even when you know the plot up front the characters themselves are very attractive and the twists and turns in the story itself keep everything fresh so that you are always wondering what's coming up.

The plot revolves around a group of people with strange occult powers that come together and fight an alien influence. That summary is honey to this particular Bee! I was hooked after a couple of chapters. It also took me that long to get used to the reader who has his own style of pacing. Once I settled into his pace or reading I found it very graceful.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 6/9

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Anon Time by Craig Robertson

Official Blurb

What if you weren't who you thought you were, what others saw you to be? What if the structure of time depended on you to keep it steady. What if unseen forces, both good and evil, surrounded you, effecting your life in way's you could not begin to imagine? Well, if that were the case, you'd be Mark De Martel, unobtrusive advertising agent in Los Angeles. Or would you? Possibly you were a Mark, but possibly you would be a powerful warrior, using skills such as the manipulation of gravity itself to save existence.

The answer can be found by listening to Anon Time. It is a science fiction formatted novel with philosophical and spiritual underpinnings guaranteed to whisk you on an adventure of wondrous scope and amazing clarity. Treat yourself to this fantastic story, trust us, you deserve it.

My Review

This was a pretty good story. A man discovers that he's not who he thought he was, or even WHAT he thought he was. As soon as the discovery is made is he finds himself embroiled in a battle across time and space against the great enemy of humanity.

I've said it's a pretty good story, and it is, I really enjoyed it. Yet, I have "But" to add. After it was over I felt that the big-bad was a bit of whiner, that is he seemed more like a spoiled child rather than a terrible enemy to be feared.

Now that I've written that, I fear I may have overstated it. The book was good. It was a fun sci fi story that kept me thrilled and interested right to the end, and yes there may have even been a tear in my eye.

Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 6/9

Download it from the Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
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