Official Blurb
The human race was expanding through the galaxy … and so, they knew, were the Aliens. When two expanding empires meet … war is inevitable. Or is it …?
My Review
This short sci fi book , which is only an hour and twenty minutes long, hits all my favourite buttons in sci fi. It's set in space, it has space battles, it has aliens and it has tension and mystery. Hit hit hit hit Ding!
It's a typical pulp era sci fi story in all of the best ways. mankind is spreading across the galaxy and keeps coming across evidence of another space going race but they have never met... until now, so that makes this a first-contact story.
The author has handled the situation well, and the aliens have a different tech and mind set that make the situation that the story is centered around all the more interesting.
Even in so short a time the story introduce an array of character all with different motivations which dont fit into the "star trek" mold of all being good guys, which it a nice change.
I don't really want to say too much, the story is so short that if I go on I'll end up giving the plot away. That would be a shame as the book is a treat for sci fi fans. Download it.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Librivox
Listen to the first part
.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Leviathan Chronicles
Official Blurb
A hidden city called Leviathan lies deep within the dark trenches of the Pacific Ocean. The city is home to a community of immortals that sought to create a utopia over 1,000 years ago. For a millennia, they lived in peace and secrecy, gently influencing world events to aid the advancement of mankind. But a terrible secret has been kept deep within the catacombs of Leviathan that threatens the existence of the immortals, and quite possibly the entire world.
One woman named Macallan Orsel, a young genetic scientist in New York, discovers she is descended from a group of immortals that rebelled against Leviathan and are now waging a civil war around the globe. As the immortal war spills into the realm of mortal man, Macallan realizes that she holds the key to stopping the battle and bringing peace to Leviathan. But a clandestine government agency called The Blackdoor Group is trying to exterminate the immortal population and has identified Macallan as their critical target.
The Leviathan Chronicles is a revolutionary science fiction audio drama podcast featuring the voices of over 60 actors, professional sound effects and an original music soundtrack.
My Review
This is a sci fi story set on modern day earth. Is reveals all of the tropes of a sci fi novel but as a hidden world in and under the world as we know it. As the blurb says the story is presented as a full cast audio drama, and it’s done quite well. The music, sound effects and acting is pretty good. At times you can sense the actors struggling with the text which was written as for a book rather than for audio presentation, but that is something you get used to as the story draws you in.
The characters are well put together and having a separate actor for each really makes the plot easy to follow, which is a blessing when you consider the story jumps from one party to another and even occasionally through time. The voices keep it all straight.
It is exciting, it’s an audio experience, it’s fun. It’s all good stuff. I love the full-on audio movie style of presentation, especially the fight scenes you hear the crunches the cracks and the punches all with a simultaneous narration that makes it all very visceral and attention grabbing.
So having said how great this book is, what’s wrong with it? Only two things as far as I’m concerned. Firstly the narrator seems to have taken breath breaks mid paragraph and then come back. It means the audio doesn’t quite flow as well as it should but after the first half hour you won’t even notice that. The real bugbear is that this is part 1 and ends with me wanting more. I had the same feeling you got at the end of “The Empire Strikes Back.” It’s the “What? You’re stopping there?” feeling.
A quick look at the home page for the book doesn’t reveal any current activity on the next part which I found a disappointment, especially as the first part is so well done. The story does work standalone, only I wish they hadn’t stuck me with the hooks for the next part!!
Reading 2/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
A hidden city called Leviathan lies deep within the dark trenches of the Pacific Ocean. The city is home to a community of immortals that sought to create a utopia over 1,000 years ago. For a millennia, they lived in peace and secrecy, gently influencing world events to aid the advancement of mankind. But a terrible secret has been kept deep within the catacombs of Leviathan that threatens the existence of the immortals, and quite possibly the entire world.
One woman named Macallan Orsel, a young genetic scientist in New York, discovers she is descended from a group of immortals that rebelled against Leviathan and are now waging a civil war around the globe. As the immortal war spills into the realm of mortal man, Macallan realizes that she holds the key to stopping the battle and bringing peace to Leviathan. But a clandestine government agency called The Blackdoor Group is trying to exterminate the immortal population and has identified Macallan as their critical target.
The Leviathan Chronicles is a revolutionary science fiction audio drama podcast featuring the voices of over 60 actors, professional sound effects and an original music soundtrack.
My Review
This is a sci fi story set on modern day earth. Is reveals all of the tropes of a sci fi novel but as a hidden world in and under the world as we know it. As the blurb says the story is presented as a full cast audio drama, and it’s done quite well. The music, sound effects and acting is pretty good. At times you can sense the actors struggling with the text which was written as for a book rather than for audio presentation, but that is something you get used to as the story draws you in.
The characters are well put together and having a separate actor for each really makes the plot easy to follow, which is a blessing when you consider the story jumps from one party to another and even occasionally through time. The voices keep it all straight.
It is exciting, it’s an audio experience, it’s fun. It’s all good stuff. I love the full-on audio movie style of presentation, especially the fight scenes you hear the crunches the cracks and the punches all with a simultaneous narration that makes it all very visceral and attention grabbing.
So having said how great this book is, what’s wrong with it? Only two things as far as I’m concerned. Firstly the narrator seems to have taken breath breaks mid paragraph and then come back. It means the audio doesn’t quite flow as well as it should but after the first half hour you won’t even notice that. The real bugbear is that this is part 1 and ends with me wanting more. I had the same feeling you got at the end of “The Empire Strikes Back.” It’s the “What? You’re stopping there?” feeling.
A quick look at the home page for the book doesn’t reveal any current activity on the next part which I found a disappointment, especially as the first part is so well done. The story does work standalone, only I wish they hadn’t stuck me with the hooks for the next part!!
Reading 2/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Gallipoli Diary by John Graham Gillam
Official Blurb
Major John Graham Gillam, British Supply Officer, wrote in his World War I "Gallipoli Diary" that when he sailed from England for the Dardanelles in March, 1915, he had visions of “trekking up the Gallipoli Peninsula with the Navy bombarding a way for us up the Straits and along the coast-line of the Sea of Marmora, until after a brief campaign we entered triumphantly Constantinople, there to meet the Russian Army, which would link up with ourselves to form part of a great chain encircling and throttling the Central Empires. . . We little appreciated the difficulties of the task,” he continues, in potent understatement.
Gillam’s charge was shepherding supplies--food and munitions--from beach depots to the trenches for a brigade of 4000 men. Since it was his first experience with “real war,” he decided to keep a diary, which he did from the day he landed at Gallipoli (April 25, 1915) until he was evacuated at the end of the campaign in January 1916. He aptly states in the preface to the published version of his diary: “those who desire to survey the whole amazing Gallipoli campaign in perspective must look elsewhere than in these pages. Their sole object was to record the personal impressions, feeling, and doings from day to day of one supply officer to a Division whose gallantry in that campaign well earned for it the epithet “Immortal.”
As the campaign intensifies, Gillam’s entries mature. Early on (May 30), a sample entry: “This afternoon I ride . . . to Morto Bay, and on the way have a delightful cross-country canter. I have difficulty, though, in making my mare jump trenches. She jumped hurdles at Warwick race-course like a bird.” A month later, on June 30,“The smell of dead bodies is at times almost unbearable in the trenches, and chloride of lime is thrown over them. I know of no more sickly smell than chloride of lime with the smell of a dead body blended in.” Another month, and respect for the Turks, and also for the rugged terrain of the peninsula is evident (August 29): “Behind me, purple Turkish hills, every point of which is held by the enemy. Then in between our line and the hills the scrubby low-lying country. . . I look at it hopelessly--for I know now, as we all do, that the conquest of the Peninsula is more than we can hope for. All that is left to us is to hang on day by day. . . Death in various forms walks with us always . . .”
Today, the Turkish Government maintains a war memorial and cemeteries at the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park. Memories are very much alive there. Preserved trenches and the sad graves of many, many soldiers from both sides of the conflict are made especially poignant by the beauty of the setting-- the sea and high hills beyond.
My Review
This book caught my interest in history. I had a vague idea that the WW1 Gallipoli campaign was unsuccessful but that was about it, so I downloaded this book and gave it a listen.
The joy of this kind of history is that it's personal. It's not some high minded historian presenting his interpretation of historical facts with the benefit of hindsight. Instead you get the facts from the horses mouth as such, and even better from my point of view, its not some grand strategical overview it's through the eyes of someone who was there, first hand, literally in the trenches.
When you get personal viewpoints you really get a better idea of what it felt like to be there. You get to know what matters to the men on the ground. You get to hear about how much pleasure could be gained from managing to light even a small fire while snow lies all around, or how getting a simple drink of water can be a genuine risk to life! How reaching a treeline is a massive achievement, even though its just a few yards away.
The author in this book, is a supply officer who finds himself constantly under fire and struggling to get the food and ammunition through. You get a real feel for the difficulties suffered by the men on the ground.
As well as the difficulties the author suffers in doing his job you get a feel for his hope and high expectations during the opening of the campaign. Then you can feel that change to unbelief as he slowly comes to realise that things are not going well.
All in all I found this a terrificly interesting listen, a genuine history lesson from someone "who was there". The reader was excellent, having a pacing and tone that suited the tone of the text very well.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first part
.
Major John Graham Gillam, British Supply Officer, wrote in his World War I "Gallipoli Diary" that when he sailed from England for the Dardanelles in March, 1915, he had visions of “trekking up the Gallipoli Peninsula with the Navy bombarding a way for us up the Straits and along the coast-line of the Sea of Marmora, until after a brief campaign we entered triumphantly Constantinople, there to meet the Russian Army, which would link up with ourselves to form part of a great chain encircling and throttling the Central Empires. . . We little appreciated the difficulties of the task,” he continues, in potent understatement.
Gillam’s charge was shepherding supplies--food and munitions--from beach depots to the trenches for a brigade of 4000 men. Since it was his first experience with “real war,” he decided to keep a diary, which he did from the day he landed at Gallipoli (April 25, 1915) until he was evacuated at the end of the campaign in January 1916. He aptly states in the preface to the published version of his diary: “those who desire to survey the whole amazing Gallipoli campaign in perspective must look elsewhere than in these pages. Their sole object was to record the personal impressions, feeling, and doings from day to day of one supply officer to a Division whose gallantry in that campaign well earned for it the epithet “Immortal.”
As the campaign intensifies, Gillam’s entries mature. Early on (May 30), a sample entry: “This afternoon I ride . . . to Morto Bay, and on the way have a delightful cross-country canter. I have difficulty, though, in making my mare jump trenches. She jumped hurdles at Warwick race-course like a bird.” A month later, on June 30,“The smell of dead bodies is at times almost unbearable in the trenches, and chloride of lime is thrown over them. I know of no more sickly smell than chloride of lime with the smell of a dead body blended in.” Another month, and respect for the Turks, and also for the rugged terrain of the peninsula is evident (August 29): “Behind me, purple Turkish hills, every point of which is held by the enemy. Then in between our line and the hills the scrubby low-lying country. . . I look at it hopelessly--for I know now, as we all do, that the conquest of the Peninsula is more than we can hope for. All that is left to us is to hang on day by day. . . Death in various forms walks with us always . . .”
Today, the Turkish Government maintains a war memorial and cemeteries at the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park. Memories are very much alive there. Preserved trenches and the sad graves of many, many soldiers from both sides of the conflict are made especially poignant by the beauty of the setting-- the sea and high hills beyond.
My Review
This book caught my interest in history. I had a vague idea that the WW1 Gallipoli campaign was unsuccessful but that was about it, so I downloaded this book and gave it a listen.
The joy of this kind of history is that it's personal. It's not some high minded historian presenting his interpretation of historical facts with the benefit of hindsight. Instead you get the facts from the horses mouth as such, and even better from my point of view, its not some grand strategical overview it's through the eyes of someone who was there, first hand, literally in the trenches.
When you get personal viewpoints you really get a better idea of what it felt like to be there. You get to know what matters to the men on the ground. You get to hear about how much pleasure could be gained from managing to light even a small fire while snow lies all around, or how getting a simple drink of water can be a genuine risk to life! How reaching a treeline is a massive achievement, even though its just a few yards away.
The author in this book, is a supply officer who finds himself constantly under fire and struggling to get the food and ammunition through. You get a real feel for the difficulties suffered by the men on the ground.
As well as the difficulties the author suffers in doing his job you get a feel for his hope and high expectations during the opening of the campaign. Then you can feel that change to unbelief as he slowly comes to realise that things are not going well.
All in all I found this a terrificly interesting listen, a genuine history lesson from someone "who was there". The reader was excellent, having a pacing and tone that suited the tone of the text very well.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first part
.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Fractured Horizons by H.E. Roulo
Official Blurb
Katherine Downs sets off to find her mysterious father—and awakens hundreds of years later into a world guided by visionary Royals. But Kay inadvertently blinds their power.
Hunted, she joins the rebel Adams, bioengineered warriors who rely on banned technology for a precarious foothold on the fading world. Will they destroy Kay for being only human, or will revelations about her own unnatural origins cause Kay to help them in their ongoing war?
Greeted by a high-tech horde, courted by visionary royalty, and always steps away from her goals, Kay must master her own abilities before humanity is destroyed on Earth and the colonies in space.
Envision a world ready to collapse-- and then watch it tip over the edge.
My Review
This is an exciting novel and sci fi in every sense. The story has bio engineering, time travel (sort of), battles, duels, royals, murders, grand balls and plots. In fact the plot twists and changes direction a number of times that keeps the whole thing exciting.
The story leads the listener through a number of competing and facinating societies that the protagonist has to live in and assimilate. The author has come up with some great ideas and has written them very well into a narrative that bowls you along both introducing the strange worlds and keeping you hooked to the plot at the same time.
The author has devised a plot that weaves the fate of the protagonist in with the doom and fate of the entire world, when one threat wanes the other waxes so thing sdon't get boring for a second.
The author is also the reader, and she has a terrific voice for it.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
Katherine Downs sets off to find her mysterious father—and awakens hundreds of years later into a world guided by visionary Royals. But Kay inadvertently blinds their power.
Hunted, she joins the rebel Adams, bioengineered warriors who rely on banned technology for a precarious foothold on the fading world. Will they destroy Kay for being only human, or will revelations about her own unnatural origins cause Kay to help them in their ongoing war?
Greeted by a high-tech horde, courted by visionary royalty, and always steps away from her goals, Kay must master her own abilities before humanity is destroyed on Earth and the colonies in space.
Envision a world ready to collapse-- and then watch it tip over the edge.
My Review
This is an exciting novel and sci fi in every sense. The story has bio engineering, time travel (sort of), battles, duels, royals, murders, grand balls and plots. In fact the plot twists and changes direction a number of times that keeps the whole thing exciting.
The story leads the listener through a number of competing and facinating societies that the protagonist has to live in and assimilate. The author has come up with some great ideas and has written them very well into a narrative that bowls you along both introducing the strange worlds and keeping you hooked to the plot at the same time.
The author has devised a plot that weaves the fate of the protagonist in with the doom and fate of the entire world, when one threat wanes the other waxes so thing sdon't get boring for a second.
The author is also the reader, and she has a terrific voice for it.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first part
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Aliens in the Mind by Robert Holmes(?)
Official Blurb
None! ( well, none I could find. )
My Review
This is a radio drama, that I think was made for the BBC way back when. It stars Vincent Price. It's what you might call speculative fiction, rather than true science fiction, as its set in our world and time but with some interesting things going on.
Vincents character is called to a remote scottish island to attend the funeral of a friend, but arrives just too late. However he finds something much more upsetting.
There is another breed of near-humans moving amoungst us! Not only are they all around but they have mutant powers.
I don't really want to say much more as I'll end up giving away the plot and spoiling the whole thing. It's a bit of an mystery adventure and really enjoyable, I got through it in one day ( today! ) I recommend you download it and give it a try.
Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 9/9
Download it from the Vincent Price Audio page
.
None! ( well, none I could find. )
My Review
This is a radio drama, that I think was made for the BBC way back when. It stars Vincent Price. It's what you might call speculative fiction, rather than true science fiction, as its set in our world and time but with some interesting things going on.
Vincents character is called to a remote scottish island to attend the funeral of a friend, but arrives just too late. However he finds something much more upsetting.
There is another breed of near-humans moving amoungst us! Not only are they all around but they have mutant powers.
I don't really want to say much more as I'll end up giving away the plot and spoiling the whole thing. It's a bit of an mystery adventure and really enjoyable, I got through it in one day ( today! ) I recommend you download it and give it a try.
Reading 3/3
Production 3/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 9/9
Download it from the Vincent Price Audio page
.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Official Blurb
The Foundation Trilogy concists of:
1. Foundations
2. Foundation and Empire
3. Second Foundation
The Foundation Trilogy is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of seven volumes that are closely linked to each other, although they can be read separately. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966.
The premise of the series is that mathematician Hari Seldon spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept devised by Asimov and his editor John W. Campbell. Using the law of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale; it is error-prone for anything smaller than a planet or an empire. It works on the principle that the behavior of a mass of people is predictable if the quantity of this mass is very large (equal to the population of the galaxy). The larger the mass, the more predictable is the future. Using these techniques, Seldon foresees the fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting thirty thousand years before a second great empire arises. To shorten the period of barbarism, he creates two Foundations, small, secluded havens of art, science, and other advanced knowledge, on opposite ends of the galaxy.
The focus of the trilogy is on the Foundation of the planet Terminus. The people living there are working on an all-encompassing Encyclopedia, and are unaware of Seldon's real intentions (for if they were, the variables would become too uncontrolled). The Encyclopedia serves to preserve knowledge of the physical sciences after the collapse. The Foundation's location is chosen so that it acts as the focal point for the next empire in another thousand years (rather than the projected thirty thousand).
My Review
First up, this is not a traditional audio book, it is an audio dramatisation of three books rolled up into an 8 hour serial. This series was produced by the BBC back in 1966 and sounds like it! The sounds effects at times sound like the BBC engineers had a new toy and were going to use it!. The high pitched beeps an whines can occasionally be painful. The recordings are pretty good although I did detect a slight muddiness in the last episode
As to the story, the blurb pretty much gives away the "plot". The story spans hundreds of years, dropping in on particular events and following people caught up in those events, and developing an overarching plot.
I read the Foundation trilogy many years ago and remembered it with affection, so downloaded this as soon as I found it. Personally I really enjoyed this serial but I'm aware that the series does have its pitfalls. I fear that anyone who is not an Asimov fan may find a little disconnect from the story when it leaps from one era to another. Also the sound effects I've already mentioned may put off some listeners.
Reading 3/3
Production 1/3 (The sound effects might surprise the unwary!)
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Internet Archive
Listen to the first part
.
The Foundation Trilogy concists of:
1. Foundations
2. Foundation and Empire
3. Second Foundation
The Foundation Trilogy is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of seven volumes that are closely linked to each other, although they can be read separately. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966.
The premise of the series is that mathematician Hari Seldon spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept devised by Asimov and his editor John W. Campbell. Using the law of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale; it is error-prone for anything smaller than a planet or an empire. It works on the principle that the behavior of a mass of people is predictable if the quantity of this mass is very large (equal to the population of the galaxy). The larger the mass, the more predictable is the future. Using these techniques, Seldon foresees the fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting thirty thousand years before a second great empire arises. To shorten the period of barbarism, he creates two Foundations, small, secluded havens of art, science, and other advanced knowledge, on opposite ends of the galaxy.
The focus of the trilogy is on the Foundation of the planet Terminus. The people living there are working on an all-encompassing Encyclopedia, and are unaware of Seldon's real intentions (for if they were, the variables would become too uncontrolled). The Encyclopedia serves to preserve knowledge of the physical sciences after the collapse. The Foundation's location is chosen so that it acts as the focal point for the next empire in another thousand years (rather than the projected thirty thousand).
My Review
First up, this is not a traditional audio book, it is an audio dramatisation of three books rolled up into an 8 hour serial. This series was produced by the BBC back in 1966 and sounds like it! The sounds effects at times sound like the BBC engineers had a new toy and were going to use it!. The high pitched beeps an whines can occasionally be painful. The recordings are pretty good although I did detect a slight muddiness in the last episode
As to the story, the blurb pretty much gives away the "plot". The story spans hundreds of years, dropping in on particular events and following people caught up in those events, and developing an overarching plot.
I read the Foundation trilogy many years ago and remembered it with affection, so downloaded this as soon as I found it. Personally I really enjoyed this serial but I'm aware that the series does have its pitfalls. I fear that anyone who is not an Asimov fan may find a little disconnect from the story when it leaps from one era to another. Also the sound effects I've already mentioned may put off some listeners.
Reading 3/3
Production 1/3 (The sound effects might surprise the unwary!)
Story 2/3
Total Score 6/9
Download it from the Internet Archive
Listen to the first part
.
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
One Fall by Spencer Baum
Official Blurb
With one kick, Joey Hamilton has sent the world of professional wrestling into chaos. In his first World Title match, on national television, Joey botched a simple maneuver, turning a scripted wrestling match into a nightmarish reality.
Now the World Champion is injured and the locker room is in tatters. With the top spot open, veteran wrestlers are jockeying for position, hoping to become the next megastar, and Joey is their target.
With a unique look behind the scenes at America's most violent dramatic art, One Fall shows the world of professional wrestling in its rawest form.
My Review
A couple of days ago I decided that I'd heard enough sci fi and fantasy and wanted to try something else, and so a search for "thrillers" turned up "One Fall" over at Podiobooks.
So what did I find? I found an excellent novel that went way beyond my expectations and cought me up in an unexpected manner. the blurb doesn't tell the whole story. You don't have to be a Wrestling fan to enjoy this book. It's as much about the Business aspects and machinations as about the wrestling.
The wrestling is treated well, this book does not pretend the on screen wrestling stories are real and shows how the business really works, how fights are planned how the on screen wrestling stories are created and shows the business world to be the real back biting place it is.
The characters are also really well portrayed. Not just the wrestlers themselves but also the fans the organisers and owners. All of them come across as real people with real feelings and problems. I had expected some cardboard cut out characters but this was not the case. I couple of times the lead character was faced with situation where I just knew he was going to turn out to be a heel, but the writer surprised me!
To summarise, I was exceptionaly pleased to find this novel, it was a great story, with great characters and terrific reading. Worth a listen!
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first chapter
With one kick, Joey Hamilton has sent the world of professional wrestling into chaos. In his first World Title match, on national television, Joey botched a simple maneuver, turning a scripted wrestling match into a nightmarish reality.
Now the World Champion is injured and the locker room is in tatters. With the top spot open, veteran wrestlers are jockeying for position, hoping to become the next megastar, and Joey is their target.
With a unique look behind the scenes at America's most violent dramatic art, One Fall shows the world of professional wrestling in its rawest form.
My Review
A couple of days ago I decided that I'd heard enough sci fi and fantasy and wanted to try something else, and so a search for "thrillers" turned up "One Fall" over at Podiobooks.
So what did I find? I found an excellent novel that went way beyond my expectations and cought me up in an unexpected manner. the blurb doesn't tell the whole story. You don't have to be a Wrestling fan to enjoy this book. It's as much about the Business aspects and machinations as about the wrestling.
The wrestling is treated well, this book does not pretend the on screen wrestling stories are real and shows how the business really works, how fights are planned how the on screen wrestling stories are created and shows the business world to be the real back biting place it is.
The characters are also really well portrayed. Not just the wrestlers themselves but also the fans the organisers and owners. All of them come across as real people with real feelings and problems. I had expected some cardboard cut out characters but this was not the case. I couple of times the lead character was faced with situation where I just knew he was going to turn out to be a heel, but the writer surprised me!
To summarise, I was exceptionaly pleased to find this novel, it was a great story, with great characters and terrific reading. Worth a listen!
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first chapter
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow
Official Blurb
Art is an up-and-coming interface designer, working on the management of data flow along the Massachusetts Turnpike. He's doing the best work of his career and can guarantee that the system will be, without question, the most counterintuitive, user-hostile piece of software ever pushed forth into the world.
Why? Because Art is an industrial saboteur. He may live in London and work for an EU telecommunications megacorp, but Art's real home is the Eastern Standard Tribe.
The comm -- instant wireless communication -- puts everyone in touch with everyone else, twenty-four hours a day. But one thing hasn't changed: the need for sleep. The world is slowly splintering into Tribes held together by common time zones, less than families and more than nations. And Art is working to humiliate the Greenwich Mean Tribe to the benefit of his own people.
The world of next week is overflowing with ubiquitous computing, where an idea scribbled onto one's comm can revolutionize an industry. But in a world without boundaries, nothing can be taken for granted -- not happiness, not money, and, most certainly, not love.
Which might explain why Art finds himself stranded on the roof of an insane asylum outside Boston, debating whether to push a pencil into his brain. Happiness or smarts? What's it going to be, Art?
My Review
This book is by Cory Doctorow and was first released as part of his ongoing podcast which incidentally is where I first heard it a year or two ago. I remembered the title but not much else so when I spotted it on podiobooks I downloaded it straight away to get a fresh listen.
The story is set in the not too distant future where technology is powerful and common place, but people are still the same old people with hope, desires... and machinations. That's what the plot revolves around, with characters who belong to modern "tribes".
The book uses the clever mix of alternating chapters one in the present one in the past, and slowly as the book progress' the stories come together to what I thought was a great conclusion.
Cory is reading his own work here and has a loverly clear diction I like to listen to. He doesn't "do voices" yet I never have any difficulty telling who's talking, perhaps that comes from reading his own work.
I was thinking about who would like this book and it's a difficult question. The story is more "Speculative Fiction" than classic science fiction and includes some Instant messenger type conversations, which might well put off anyone who likes standard writing. In the end, I've settled on recommending this book for Gadget freaks who enjoy good and well written characters.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first chapter
Art is an up-and-coming interface designer, working on the management of data flow along the Massachusetts Turnpike. He's doing the best work of his career and can guarantee that the system will be, without question, the most counterintuitive, user-hostile piece of software ever pushed forth into the world.
Why? Because Art is an industrial saboteur. He may live in London and work for an EU telecommunications megacorp, but Art's real home is the Eastern Standard Tribe.
The comm -- instant wireless communication -- puts everyone in touch with everyone else, twenty-four hours a day. But one thing hasn't changed: the need for sleep. The world is slowly splintering into Tribes held together by common time zones, less than families and more than nations. And Art is working to humiliate the Greenwich Mean Tribe to the benefit of his own people.
The world of next week is overflowing with ubiquitous computing, where an idea scribbled onto one's comm can revolutionize an industry. But in a world without boundaries, nothing can be taken for granted -- not happiness, not money, and, most certainly, not love.
Which might explain why Art finds himself stranded on the roof of an insane asylum outside Boston, debating whether to push a pencil into his brain. Happiness or smarts? What's it going to be, Art?
My Review
This book is by Cory Doctorow and was first released as part of his ongoing podcast which incidentally is where I first heard it a year or two ago. I remembered the title but not much else so when I spotted it on podiobooks I downloaded it straight away to get a fresh listen.
The story is set in the not too distant future where technology is powerful and common place, but people are still the same old people with hope, desires... and machinations. That's what the plot revolves around, with characters who belong to modern "tribes".
The book uses the clever mix of alternating chapters one in the present one in the past, and slowly as the book progress' the stories come together to what I thought was a great conclusion.
Cory is reading his own work here and has a loverly clear diction I like to listen to. He doesn't "do voices" yet I never have any difficulty telling who's talking, perhaps that comes from reading his own work.
I was thinking about who would like this book and it's a difficult question. The story is more "Speculative Fiction" than classic science fiction and includes some Instant messenger type conversations, which might well put off anyone who likes standard writing. In the end, I've settled on recommending this book for Gadget freaks who enjoy good and well written characters.
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 8/9
Download it from Podiobooks
Listen to the first chapter
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Legacy by James Schmitz
Official Blurb
Ancient living machines that after millennia of stillness suddenly begin to move under their own power, for reasons that remain a mystery to men. Holati Tate discovered them—then disappeared. Trigger Argee was his closest associate—she means to find him. She's brilliant, beautiful, and skilled in every known martial art. She's worth plenty—dead or alive—to more than one faction in this obscure battle. And she's beginning to have a chilling notion that the long-vanished Masters of the Old Galaxy were wise when they exiled the plasmoids to the most distant and isolated world they knew....
My Review
This is a fun sci fi yarn tat will keep you on your toes, much like the lead character! The plot has lots of action and twists, and the lead character is quite literally a kick ass heroine.
The universe that's built up in this story is really classic sci fi, inter-stella travel is faster than light, people with the money can travel between planets and stars and humans are everywhere. Pretty typical sci fi backdrop. Now add in the mysterious missing acient race and the relics they left behind and you have what is now considered a cliched backdrop. Yet, I expect that was not so much the case back in '62 when this was written. Never the less, despite the familiar in this story it is never dull or predictable.
It's a true yomp round the future with the hero being a girl and the enemies plentiful. Cahses, fights, monsters, space ships, what more could you want?
This book is read by "peac", a voice new to me. I really hope he keeps recording because he's done an outstanding job on this reading!
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
.
Ancient living machines that after millennia of stillness suddenly begin to move under their own power, for reasons that remain a mystery to men. Holati Tate discovered them—then disappeared. Trigger Argee was his closest associate—she means to find him. She's brilliant, beautiful, and skilled in every known martial art. She's worth plenty—dead or alive—to more than one faction in this obscure battle. And she's beginning to have a chilling notion that the long-vanished Masters of the Old Galaxy were wise when they exiled the plasmoids to the most distant and isolated world they knew....
My Review
This is a fun sci fi yarn tat will keep you on your toes, much like the lead character! The plot has lots of action and twists, and the lead character is quite literally a kick ass heroine.
The universe that's built up in this story is really classic sci fi, inter-stella travel is faster than light, people with the money can travel between planets and stars and humans are everywhere. Pretty typical sci fi backdrop. Now add in the mysterious missing acient race and the relics they left behind and you have what is now considered a cliched backdrop. Yet, I expect that was not so much the case back in '62 when this was written. Never the less, despite the familiar in this story it is never dull or predictable.
It's a true yomp round the future with the hero being a girl and the enemies plentiful. Cahses, fights, monsters, space ships, what more could you want?
This book is read by "peac", a voice new to me. I really hope he keeps recording because he's done an outstanding job on this reading!
Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3
Total Score 7/9
Download it from Librivox
Listen to the first chapter
.
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Collapse at Hidden Verse Three Three Two by Brian Holtz
Official Blurb
The Multiverse Generator is failing. Dimensions threaten to collapse and entire populations will cease to exist unless it is reset. One being from each of more than five thousand verses has been acquired, and their DNA verified. Only one remains. His name is Timothy Rayburn and he is a resident of Earth. The Consolidation of Organized Systems has sent a ship to retrieve him.
Timothy is a teenager failing speech class due to a paralyzing fear of public speaking. He soon learns that his problems are quite small compared to the impending collapse of all existence. He must overcome his fear if he is to survive not only the dangers of space travel and multiversal war, but himself.
My Review
This is an excellent Sci Fi story, it doesn't take itself too seriously but at the same time has moments of high tension and excitement.
The official blurb really doesn't give you a clue as to what this story is about, so at the risk of a minor spoiler or two...
The Timothy mentioned is a normal kid, dragged across time and dimensions into a place where his DNA is needed to save the multiverse. Unfortunately the place they have to go to is at war with an alien race who want nothing more than the destruction and subugation of everyone! They are going to have to fight to save the multiverse.
This simple plot outline is only half the story. It leads us through dramatic and heroic actions, huge space battles, the great unknown and alien creatures that are really strange.
The lead character is believable but the author has had some fun with the aliens and they are a bit... star trekkie... but not in a bad way.
If you like sci fi, this is a rec' download.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 7/9
Find it at Podiobooks
Listen to the first chapter.
.
The Multiverse Generator is failing. Dimensions threaten to collapse and entire populations will cease to exist unless it is reset. One being from each of more than five thousand verses has been acquired, and their DNA verified. Only one remains. His name is Timothy Rayburn and he is a resident of Earth. The Consolidation of Organized Systems has sent a ship to retrieve him.
Timothy is a teenager failing speech class due to a paralyzing fear of public speaking. He soon learns that his problems are quite small compared to the impending collapse of all existence. He must overcome his fear if he is to survive not only the dangers of space travel and multiversal war, but himself.
My Review
This is an excellent Sci Fi story, it doesn't take itself too seriously but at the same time has moments of high tension and excitement.
The official blurb really doesn't give you a clue as to what this story is about, so at the risk of a minor spoiler or two...
The Timothy mentioned is a normal kid, dragged across time and dimensions into a place where his DNA is needed to save the multiverse. Unfortunately the place they have to go to is at war with an alien race who want nothing more than the destruction and subugation of everyone! They are going to have to fight to save the multiverse.
This simple plot outline is only half the story. It leads us through dramatic and heroic actions, huge space battles, the great unknown and alien creatures that are really strange.
The lead character is believable but the author has had some fun with the aliens and they are a bit... star trekkie... but not in a bad way.
If you like sci fi, this is a rec' download.
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 7/9
Find it at Podiobooks
Listen to the first chapter.
.
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.
.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
The Intrusion of Jimmy by PG Wodehouse
Official Blurb
The action begins with playboy bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousian romantic farce, set at the stately Dreever Castle, overflowing with imposters, detectives, crooks, scheming lovers and conniving aunts.
My Review
As the blurb says this story is typically Wodehousian. It's a light comedic farce, where everything can and will go wrong, people will make bad decisions and everyone is a stereotype!
I'm a fan of P.G. Wodehouse's work, its just so typically silly upper class twittery that it always makes me smirk and makes them a delight to listen to. This one is no different. As the blurb says an upper crust twit takes part in a crime to win a bet. Of course he's going to get caught and have to use some fast talking to stay out of trouble, oh and of course he'll find a girl and fall in love and not know how to talk to her.
That's it really, I cant say much more about the story, its simple light silly faire and fun to listen to.
It's read by the excellent Mark Nelson who proves here that he's not limited to just Sci Fi readings!
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 7/9
Find it at Librivox
Listen to the first chapter.
.
The action begins with playboy bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousian romantic farce, set at the stately Dreever Castle, overflowing with imposters, detectives, crooks, scheming lovers and conniving aunts.
My Review
As the blurb says this story is typically Wodehousian. It's a light comedic farce, where everything can and will go wrong, people will make bad decisions and everyone is a stereotype!
I'm a fan of P.G. Wodehouse's work, its just so typically silly upper class twittery that it always makes me smirk and makes them a delight to listen to. This one is no different. As the blurb says an upper crust twit takes part in a crime to win a bet. Of course he's going to get caught and have to use some fast talking to stay out of trouble, oh and of course he'll find a girl and fall in love and not know how to talk to her.
That's it really, I cant say much more about the story, its simple light silly faire and fun to listen to.
It's read by the excellent Mark Nelson who proves here that he's not limited to just Sci Fi readings!
Reading 2/3
Production 2/3
Story 3/3
Total Score 7/9
Find it at Librivox
Listen to the first chapter.
.
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