So, I recently upgraded my old 3rd generation 15 GB iPod, and got myself a sexy new 2nd Generation 8GB iPod nano. Yeah, yeah, I know, ‘upgrading’ from 15 Gb to 8Gb doesn’t make much sense, but.. the sexy got the best of me. I *could* have gotten a 30GB iPod Video for the same price, but.. I already have a much better video player than the iPod video ever was (I’m lookin’ at you, Cowon A2), and.. really, the new nano is so tiny and cute and slim, and.. turns out 8 Gb is more than enough room for the music I have and my podcasts. But anyway, on to the point of this post: my podcasts. Let me show you them. Originally, when I started listening to podcasts, I was more focused on talk shows and music shows, but as time has gone on, I’ve found that what I truly love is listening to stories. I recently got my housemate Hal to start listening to The Rookie (GO KRAKENS!!!), and I thought it might be a good idea to share links to other podiobooks and audio dramas that one can subscribe to and enjoy. There’s some really, really good stuff out there, and I’d be doing y’all a disfavor if I didn’t share.
First, if you already have an iPod, you probably already have the latest version of iTunes and can use that to subscribe. Otherwise, go snag a copy of Juice Receiver, so you can subscribe. Then, another quick step that will make your life easy is to go to Podiobooks.com and sign up, it’s free, and it’s the easiest way to get started. Then browse the list below:
Let’s start in with the classics, and where it all started:
- Earthcore: Scott Sigler’s bid for world domination starts here, with the story of a mining company and the secret they discover when they try and go for a huge motherload of platinum 3 miles below the surface. There’s a reason no one’s claimed it before: something’s down there, guarding… and waiting.
- Morevi: Morevi, a landlocked kingdom shrouded by jungles and mystery, falls under the rule of Askana Moldarin, known in her realm as “The Black Widow” following her swift and bloody ascent to the throne. In the dawn of this New Age, hidden traitors in her own regime threaten to destroy everything. Askana, independent of council, seeks help to reveal the conspiracy against her… Enter Rafe Rafton, captain of the Defiant.
- The Pocket and the Pendant: More towards the ‘Young Adult’ side of the spectrum, but if you enjoyed books like ‘His Dark Materials’, this might just tickle your fancy: WHEN TIME mysteriously stops, young Max Quick must travel across America to find the source of this ‘temporal disaster’… Along the way, he and his companions encounter ancient mysteries, quantum Books, and clues to the riddle of stopped Time. But the more Max learns, the more it seems that his own true identity is not what he once believed…
Those were the ‘Big Three’ that sorta kicked things off in the whole Podiobook arena, and they’re all pretty great, and make a great introduction to the genre. After that, more and more books started coming out, and just as exciting, several ‘radio drama’-style have come up as well, with multiple voice actors, sound effects, etc. Here’s some of the best, from both the Podiobook and ‘audio drama’ veins. Most of these are things I’m listening to right now, and I recommend them all:
Let’s start with the rest of Scott Sigler (the hardest working man in the business) has written. Every single one of his books rocks:
- Ancestor: Scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplantation — using animal tissue to replace failing human organs. Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals. By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions. His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago — an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry.
- Infection: Perry Daswey is 6-foot-5, 265 pounds of angry ex-linebacker. He knows all too well that if he doesn’t control his quick temper, people get hurt. Through constant focus, he has locked his violent past away in the deep dungeons of his mind. — The infection changes everything. — Strange, microscopic parasites tap into Perry’s bloodstream like tiny little vampires. They start as bright orange blisters, but soon take the shape of triangular growths just beneath his skin. The “Triangles,” as Perry calls them, try to control their host by manipulating hormone levels and flooding his body with neurotransmitters - imbalances of which cause paranoia, schizophrenia and excessive aggression. — As Perry begins a desperate battle to cut the Triangles out of his body before it’s too late, his self-control dissolves into raging, murderous madness.
- The Rookie: Imagine a story that combines the intense football action of “Any Given Sunday” with the space opera style of “Star Wars” and the criminal underworld of “The Godfather.” What? space football doesn’t sound like your cup of tea? Give Scott 4 episodes. Just 4. I hate football too.. but this story had me screaming like a loon with every touchdown, every interception, every tackle. It’s insanely good, and it just finished. Go check it out, and GO KRAKENS, WOO!!!
Once you’re done with those three, plus Earthcore, I can guarantee you’ll be just like me: one more damn, dirty junkie jonesing for his Sigler fix. Can’t wait for the next one, Nocturnal.. and Earthcore 2 sounds like it’ll be a blast.
Here’s another author who’s work I thoroughly enjoy: Mur Lafferty. She has several podcasts going on, such as I Should Be Writing and Pseudopod (more on that one later), and she’s written a cool series of podiobooks:
- Heaven, Season One: What if Heaven wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be? Friends Kate and Daniel find that after their untimely deaths, Heaven leaves them dissatisfied and itching for something… else. So they’re off, with a passport to discover more afterlifes, heroes and gods. During their adventures, they find out that their travel isn’t a journey taken on a whim, but may be orchestrated, or even prophesied.
- Heaven, Season Two - Hell:Kate and Daniel are reunited at last, but they have to return to their duties in traveling the afterlife. There are stolen souls suffering without cause in Hell, and only they can help. Kate is back in her corporeal body, but keeping memories of her time as pure soul energy, recently touched by the divine. Daniel carries the magic of an old god
and the sword of a death goddess, as well a grudge against the deity who tricked him into losing nearly everything. As they search for the missing souls, Kate and Daniel have to come to terms with themselves and see if their friendship - not to mention the cosmos - can handle everything they’ve been through thus far.
I’m highly looking forward to the third book, ‘Earth’, once it comes out. Next in our list of authors: J.C. Hutchens, author of the amazing 7th Son trilogy:
- 7th Son, Book One - Descent: Three weeks ago, the U.S. president was murdered by a four-year-old boy.
Today, seven men stare at each other in a locked conference room. Kidnapped and brought to this underground facility, the strangers are sitting in silence, thunderstruck. Despite minor physical differences, they all appear to be the same man, with the same name … and the same childhood memories.
Unwitting participants in a secret human cloning experiment, these seven “John Michael Smiths” have been gathered by their creators for one reason — to capture the mastermind behind the president’s assassination.
Their target? The man they were cloned from; the original John Michael Smith, code-named John Alpha.
Soon our heroes — John, Jack, Michael, Kilroy2.0 and the others — realize the president’s murder was merely a prologue to Alpha’s plans. As the mystery deepens and the implications of Alpha’s scheme are slowly revealed, the clones decide to stand against John Alpha. The outcome will unearth a conspiracy larger than they could have ever imagined.
- 7th Son Book Two - Deceit: Two days ago, seven human clones — John, Michael, Father Thomas, Dr. Mike, Jonathan, Jack and Kilroy2.0 — were torn away from their “normal” lives to stop a ruthless plot created by their progenitor, a man code-named John Alpha. Their quest was a descent into conspiracy, violence and death.
The clones were successful in their mission, but victory was not without its price.
As 7th Son: Book Two - Deceit begins, the Beta clones are demoralized, reeling from their loss … and about to learn that John Alpha’s plans are far from over.
To prevent the next phase of Alpha’s plan, John, Kilroy2.0, and the others must unearth more dark secrets about the government project from which they were spawned. They will experience the horrors of betrayal, and race cross-country to track John Alpha.
And they will finally realize the scope of Alpha’s wrath — the bloodshed the clones have witnessed is merely a prelude to the world-rending destruction to come. Unless they can stop it first.
Book Three comes out on 07/07/07, and I cannot wait. This series is truly, truly excellent. Now, for a few more random books:
- The Failed Cities Monologues: In a hardboiled dystopian future, one major American city has been divided in two. Separated by much more than a river, one side is an unfinished technological marvel populated by mega-skyscrapers where the wealthy live, work, and play. The other is a forsaken wasteland where order is strictly maintained by a rogue group of cleric soldiers known as the street preachers. But this dichotomy is about to change. Slowly, quietly, clandestine forces are working to undermine the small piece of redemption the street preachers have brought to their concrete flocks. In the face of watching their second chance crumble to dust, some will fight to stop it. Others will kill to make it happen.
- Crescent: The past never dies, it only sleeps. — In a solitary station, on the fringe of known space, the past is beginning to stir. — And when it awakens, Crescent Station will be as the belly of the beast… — There are some places far darker than deep space…
- Come, Let Me Whisper: Macabre fiction. Horror fiction. Dark fiction. Whatever you choose to call it, that is what is contained within this collection of short stories. But other than that, these tales are as varied as can be. Ghost stories… they’re in there. Lovecraftian monsters… certainly. Twist endings… got it. Psychological terror… of course. Sunny, happy endings… not so much. Oh, and one other thing these stories have in common: they are intended for a mature audience- one who is not easily offended, I might add.
- Brave Men Run: “Brave Men Run” is the story of Nate Charters. Born different, unsure of his origins, he’s an outcast at Abbeque Valley High School, a self-proclaimed “boy freak” with few friends and low self-esteem. When the Sovereign Era dramatically dawns, Nate finds himself in quest to discover the truth: is he more than he seems, a misfit in a miraculous and powerful new minority… or something else entirely?
And now, for the radio dramas: a different experience, but no less excellent for all of that:
- Shadow Falls- Season One: When a second young girl goes missing and two mysterious strangers arrive in town, there are some locals who believe the 150 year cycle of violence that has plagued the town of Shadow Falls has started anew.
- Shadow Falls - Badlands: One hundred and fifty years before the tragic events of Season One, an ex-soldier’s nightmarish visions of the future, and a town he’s never heard of, leads him on a cross-country journey to unlock the secrets hidden inside his nightmares. What this tired gunfighter believes to be a quest for his own redemption, may only serve to open the door to a darkness far beyond his control.
- Silent Universe: With a style of drama that mixes elements of “24” and the new “Battlestar Galactica,” each episode of the Silent Universe reveals layers of suspense and intrigue that leaves audiences guessing at what twists its plot will take next. Its motley cast of characters includes weapons specialists, a computer hacker, an ex-mercenary and even a casino tycoon, all forced to go to extreme lengths to prevent tragedy from striking the solar system. In a world where nuclear weapons are common to even the poorest countries and the United Nations is nothing but a quaint historical footnote, even the smallest conflict between powers can threaten to plunge mankind into Armageddon.
- Children of the Gods: We barely survived the first Tarthet assault on our planet. Afterward, it didn’t take long for us to realize that our world was too devastated to provide for us any longer. In a bid to allow the planet to recover, we left our homes behind to live among the stars. Five centuries later, science has shown us many wonderful things, and we have finally begun to accept the fact that it may be many generations more before we can return to our homeworld. Now, the Tarthet have returned to claim our birthright for their own. The odds are against us, but we will not give up this battle. We will not simply concede defeat and fade away. We will fight them with every last breath. WE WILL SURVIVE!
And, finally, last but most certainly not least, the short story podcasts, every week putting out brand new short stories:
- Escape Pod: The Science Fiction Podcast magazine, they’ve run stories of all shapes and sizes, many by Hugo and nebula award winning authors.
- Pseudopod: sister podcast to Escape Pod, and the world’s premier horror fiction podcast. If you’re a fan of horror fiction, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
- Variant Frequencies: Variant Frequencies is a monthly podcast of original fiction. Stories blending gothic horror with space adventure, dark fantasy with sci-fi, recalling the reality-bending vibes of The Twilight Zone, and offering something wholly unique that fits inbetween and outside. Our podcasts are fully produced, including talented voice actors and original music scores. Subscription is free. Entertainment and escapism are guaranteed.
So, I think that should be more than enough to get anyone started. Enjoy listening, and if you have any questions, hit me up in the comments. Best part? All of these are free, so download and enjoy, free of charge!
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