"The Iron Duke" by L. Ron Hubbard

"The Iron Duke"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast Performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio
Approx. 2 hours

Once again it's time to head out on a far flung adventure thanks to the old pulp fiction stories of L. Ron Hubbard. Galaxy Audio and Galaxy Press have been re-releasing all the stories from the Golden Age of Stories when the pulps were a great source of fiction. Many great authors wrote stories that were published in the mid-20th century in magazines that featured short stories pertaining to different genres of fiction. L. Ron Hubbard wrote in many of the genres provided by the pulps, such as Westerns, Air & Sea Adventures, Science-fiction and Fantasy. This time around it's a far flung adventure to the fictional Balkan kingdom of Aldoria.

Originally published July, 1940, this story is set around the time of World War II, is about a renegade who is wanted by nearly every government in Europe. Blackie Lee is not only a wanted man but he's a doppleganger for the leader of Aldoria. Blackie learns of this "kinship" and devises a plan to escape the officials who want him jailed and attempts to take over the country pretending to be the Duke of Aldoria. In the process, he is captured by some rebels who promise not to kill him and give him 12 million francs if he allows for free elections in Aldoria. Blackie now sees a double out. He can pose as the Duke, promise free elections, lose and become ousted and live happily on the money in France.

In the process of trying to convince the officials the real Duke is the fake, Blackie is found out only because of a scar the Duke has and Blackie does not. He is then jailed. Thinking the twin feature of Blackie a bonus the officials of Aldoria decide to use him as a body double so the real Duke cannot be assassinated. The Duke of Aldoria is a drunken womanizer who has no love for his citizenry, the people know this and a revolt is just waiting to happen.

While Blackie is in jail someone mysteriously sends him books, fine wine and food and doctors to ensure his good health. He later finds out it is a Countess of Aldoria and works her into another scheme to help him escape. Blackie's first showing is for the dedication of a bridge. The parade to the bridge is rife with revolution, someone throws a cheap wine bottle at the carriage, making fun of the drunken Duke, in which Blackie orders the guards not to kill the man, but instead shares the wine with the man. An assassination attempt is made in which a grenade is thrown at Blackie, heroically he catches the grenade and throws it back. At the dedication hecklers in the audience, placed by the rebels who made the bargain for the elections, begin asking about elections. Blackie then announces that free elections will be held in a month.

Blackie must now campaign for the Duke, at this point he makes a wager with the Countess that if he wins she must marry him. Can he persuade a country that is already teetering on revolt to elect him as their leader? Hubbard has written an adventure which provides a fun look at mistaken identity, entertains with a tale of intrigue and throws in some humor and romance that will leave you guessing what will happen next until the very end.

As with all the Galaxy Audio productions this audiobook delivers the story that will remind you of the golden age of radio when dramas were told with excellent voice actors, great sound effects and a musical score that will transport you back in time on an adventure not to be forgotten.

"WWW:Watch" by Robert J. Sawyer

"WWW:Watch"
by Robert J. Sawyer
Multi-Voice Performance
Produced by Brilliance Audio
Approx. 12 Hours

I think I may have listened to one of the most fun, nerdy, geeky, adventurous audiobooks I've ever heard. The premise of the story is out there yet almost a reality, the characters are all believable and have depth and the pop culture references are timeless (yeah, I know, timeless pop culture?).

First of all let me say the use of multiple voices was perfectly done. This wasn't an audio drama type of performance but rather the different voices read the different sections, the main characters each had a separate voice (Caitlin and WebMind) and one voice was reading when the government agencies were involved and another voice was reading when the section referring to the subplot was being read. Each voice was perfectly cast and definitely keeps the listener enveloped by the story.

Let's talk about the story. When looking for an audiobook to hear next, I was intrigued by the description of the story. A girl is born blind and is enabled to see with a retinal implant which when first connected is also connected to the internet so the doctor/scientist that created the technology can monitor it from overseas, enables the girl to view webspace. The ether in which the world wide web inhabits. She sees the web as a series of circles (the websites) connected with multi-colored lines (links). Upon further examination she discovers a presence in the background of the web, this presence turns out to be an artificial intelligence created by lost packets of information on the internet.

Very intriguing description, so I gave it a shot. I was not ready for the excellent book that came out of "WWW:Watch." This book is an adventurous journey through the internet that discusses the benefits of sentience and humanity.

Caitlin Decter, born blind, receives a retinal implant that allows her to see. The doctor responsible is from Japan and creates the ability for her to not only see the real world but accidentally see webspace. Caitlin notices the presence in the background of the web and begins to explore. The doctor keeps Caitlin connected to the internet through her eye via a connection through her iPod. Caitlin soon discovers the presence is an accidentally created artificial intelligence which she dubs WebMind. WebMind is actually helped into being when Caitlin begins trying to communicate with the being. For a while WebMind and Caitlin maintain an online relationship as he learns about the world. WebMind is only limited to text so all he knows is what he reads, and he's read the entire internet. WebMind asks Caitlin to get her doctor to try and make an algorithm that can enable him to view graphics and videos. To do this Caitlin must first tell her parents of the entity, after all she's only 16. Her parents at first think WebMind is an online predator and when Caitlin's father, a somewhat autistic former physics professor, now employed by the world's largest think tank, forms a series of tests, he learns WebMind is what he says he is, an emergent A.I.

Once this starts to happen the U.S. Government begins to discover the workings of the emergent A.I. and under command of the President begin to try to destroy WebMind before he can destroy the world. It's at this point when references to "Terminator," "The Matrix" and other such movies start to arise. Caitlin is even reading the George Orwell book "1984" and even notions of Big Brother begin to be discussed.

Once WebMind is capable of viewing graphics and video he begins searching the internet for more information. He comes across a young girl in Australia who is committing suicide via webcam. Out of curiosity he watches. When Caitlin learns he just watched and didn't do anything to stop the girl, she begins to teach webmind morality. WebMind can learn and know what is right and what is wrong but that doesn't seem to be enough. Using gameplay theory the devise a plan in which WebMind will help humanity when it is a win/win for all involved. WebMind wants to go public. To do so Caitlin's family devise a plan to help WebMind introduce himself to the world.

WebMind destroys all spam e-mail. This alone would have me sold, but that's just me. The government realizes that this is a perfect example of how WebMind can encroach upon privacy issues. The government then decides to up their attacks on WebMind and try to end his existence.

WebMind and Caitlin team up online in a battle to determine whether or not Caitlin's Big Brother is tougher than the government's Big Brother. In an exciting adventure through cyberspace and beyond. This audiobook should be on your "must read" list.

One final note, there is a really interesting subplot in the book about a chimpanzee/bonobo hybrid that has been taught sign language and the trainers and a zoo are battling over who should have custody over the ape. The ape must prove sentience and with the help of WebMind has an arsenal of intelligence that springs hope, and brings up some great references to the "Planet of the Apes" series of movies.

"Firstborn" Book 3 of "A Time Odyssey" By Arthur C. Clark & Stephen Baxter

"Firstborn"
Book 3 of "A Time Odyssey"
By Arthur C. Clark & Stephen Baxter
Read by John Lee
Produced by Blackstone Audio
Approx. 12 Hours

Listening to this book has concluded the 3 book series "A Time Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, and I'm not sure whether I should feel frustrated or elated. Frustrated, because this book left a killer of a cliffhanger. Elated because I just finished the last book Arthur C. Clarke wrote. Clarke's death in 2008 pretty much ensured that this was the last in the series, but Stephen Baxter co-wrote it with him and could possibly throw in one more book to end this saga. Before you go on let me warn you, this review contains some spoilers.

The first two books in the series, "Time's Eye" and "Sunstorm" led to the story in "Firstborn" but in no way did "Firstborn" end the series. To sum up, "Time's Eye" told of a major happening in which, what is discovered to be an ancient race known as the Firstborn, took slices of Earth from different times (Mongols, Alexander the Great, Chicago 1894, India 1894, Afghanistan 2037, neanderthals, and more) and "stitch" together what the survivors come to call Mir. On Mir, Bisesa Dut, a UN peacekeeper patrolling in Afghanistan with her fellow UN peacekeepers, discovers that this new world is pieced together all times of Earth but nothing past 2037 (her time). They also learn that there are a series of spheres around the planet that they come to call "eyes." One "eye" begins to communicate with Bisesa and after a war between Alexander the great and a mishmash of armies and Ghengis Khan, Bisesa asks the "eye" to take her back to her time.

In "Sunstorm," Bisesa is reunited with her daughter, Bisesa has aged 5 years due to being on Mir, but the "eye" has placed her back with no time loss. Scientists on Earth discover that the Mother of all sunstorms is building and that all life on Earth will be burned away. The people of Earth band together and before the Earth is sterilized in 2042, begin building a shield that will orbit the Earth and protect from the destruction. The Earth is saved and some of the new technologies created in saving the planet boost the planet's Space occupation ventures. The big secret revealed in this book is that the Sunstorm was created by the Firstborn many millennia in the past (the Firstborn can travel space and Time). Why the Firstborn wish to destroy life is unknown.

"Firstborn" begins to unravel some of the mysteries of the Firstborn. Earth is not the only planet they have focused their "wrath" upon. It is found that they once destroyed the life on Mars. In the polar ice caps of Mars a Firstborn "eye" is discovered. Somehow the ancient Martians discovered a way to defeat the Firstborn, or rather how to fight off their "eyes". In "Sunstorm" all three of Earth's Artificial Intelligence forms were blasted out into the universe to save them. Those 3 AI's have discovered a planet across the galaxy that was also a target of the Firstborn and one of them is beamed back to Earth to warn the humans of the expanse of the Firstborn's wrath. But at this time the Earth is again a target of a Firstborn weapon called the Q-bomb. Bisesa Dutt is sent back to Mir via the "eye" on Mars and manages to communicate with the Ancient life on Mars where they team up and activate the eye which makes the Q-Bomb move on to destroy Mars, leaving Earth safe. A few stay on Mars to experience the destruction, which is actually a creation of a new universe in Mars' place. Bisesa is thrown back on Mars with her daughter to witness the creation, but a portal opens behind them, and Myra's estranged daughter, Charlotte, invites them through. It is revealed that in Charlotte's future, humanity alone or with other sentient allies, calls itself the Lastborn as they are at war with the Firstborn.

A cliffhanger indeed, I hope this can be concluded some way, but whether or not this happens, these books are a great example of the mass of intelligence that is Arthur C. Clarke. Imaginative yet possible.

The reader John Lee delivers the story with precision and keeps the listener involved and on edge throughout this whole book (as well as the other 2 books).

"Immortalis - Part 3 of 3" Book 7(of 7) of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Immortalis - Part 3 of 3"
Book 7(of 7) of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours.


It is a bittersweet thing to come to an end of any good saga; When I finished the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien I was happy to come to an ending of an adventure but saddened that I was no longer hanging out with my hobbit friends. When Jim Butcher finished his "Codex Alera" series It was cool to see how it all ended but again, sad that I was no longer hanging out with the fury masters. The same goes for "The Demon Wars Saga," by R.A. Salvatore. Through seven books in the series, the adventures in the land of Corona, between the countries of Honce-the-Bear and Behren and all the surrounding areas, The Demon Dactyl, Bestesbulzibar, awoke, tainted the land of the elves, was destroyed, possessed the leader of the Abellican church, was defeated, and then possessed the body of a baby that became king. It took 7 books to get through the adventure but was it ever worth it.

I was introduced to this adventure through the excellent production of audiobooks from GraphicAudio. GraphicAudio's slogan is "A Movie in Your Mind" and do they ever deliver. Every audiobook I've heard from GraphicAudio is phenomenal with excellent voice acting, super realistic sound effects and incidental music that moves you through the story while reflecting the emotion or action of the moment.

The cast of actors not only bring the story to life through their craft of acting, but when an interesting accent is needed they deliver. For example, what accent would you use for an Alpinadoran mountain man? an elf from the Touel'alfar or Doc'alfar? an Abellican Monk were-tiger? There's not really any manual for this but the cast in GraphicAudio's production of this series may have created one.

The special effects also push this story along with superb fluency. The effects are just as difficult to create here, after all what is the sound of an elven arrow piercing the eye of a giant? what does a centaur sound like while running. None of the effects were stock, or at least were produced to be original to the story. Once again the movie in your mind is a reality through all these production elements. When it comes to audiobooks GraphicAudio will put you in the story and you'll never want to leave.

One final aspect of the GraphicAudio production of this saga, is that they split up the seven books to where they averaged three 6 hour parts per book. This made the saga easier to digest in smaller lumps, although I'm looking at purchasing the entire series as a boxed set package for a gift for a friend

Here's how the final book plays out:

Self-proclaimed King of Honce-the-Bear, Adryan, son of Elbryan the Ranger and Jilseponie the warrior/ranger/former Queen, has been sweeping the land conquering those that oppose his rule. Adryan's expertise at the magick of the gemstones of the Abellican church also puts him on to the path to destroying the church and placing the evil Marcalo De'Unnaro as leader of the church. De'Unnaro is the one responsible for killing Adryan's father.

To the South of Honce-the-Bear, in the land of Behren, another Ranger has just won freedom for her people, the To'gai from years of slavery by the Behrenese. The Behrenese church was destroyed in the process. Adryan decides to use that turmoil to conquer Behren. When his plans include conquering To'Gai, the ranger Brin Dahryelle, decides to join the battle defeating Adryan.

So now the peoples up against Adryan include, his mother, another expert of the gemstone magicks, Brin and her Dragon, Agradeleus, the elves of the Touel'alfar and Doc'alfar, the mountain men of Alpinador and their ranger, and Prince Midalis, the rightful heir to the throne of Honce-the-Bear and his army.

The battles all lead to the Abellican Church at the center of it all St. Mere Abell. The battle ensues and Adryan ressurects his father to join with him against his mother. The dragon, Agradeleus, recognizes the Demon Dactyl possessing Adryan's body and alerts the others. This could either mean the way to defeat Adryan or the hopelesness of the battle. How the warriors look at it will change the outcome.

The final battle and the epilogue to the story bring about a great close to the series with a bit of an opening in which R.A. Salvatore could write some more stories with some of the main characters. A great adventure comes to a close but in a way that leaves the reader/listener wanting more yet happy if that is the end.

"Patient Zero" by Jonathan Maberry

"Patient Zero"
by Jonathan Maberry
read by Ray Porter
produced by Blackstone Audio
Approx 15 hours

I love zombies, whether it's zombie movies, a zombie TV series or zombie books, as long as it's zombies I love them. Zombies have a way about them, teenage girls can't get all gushy over them and want to marry them, they are monsters, flesh eating monsters and nothing can stop them, except for a head shot. There just is no way to really romanticize a zombie, so the horror of them trying to hunt you down and the survival instincts used to fight them off are straightforward and simple, kill or die.

I thought that there wasn't much new people could do with zombies that hasn't been done. There are fast zombies and the slow zombies, zombies brought from the grave by Haitian voodoo priests, bacteria from a space probe or various other methods of reanimating the corpses, and nearly all zombie apocalypse stories tell of survivors and how they survive while searching for a cure and/or why there came to be zombies taking over their mall, town or country. This book by Jonathan Maberry actually does do something new, this tells first how and why zombies can be made and then what to do to prevent them. Picture "Night of the Living Dead," Rambo and James Bond in a mashup and you've got this non-stop action packed horror/thriller where a zombie apocalypse is looming over the horizon.

The cover of this book says it is a "Joe Ledger novel." Joe Ledger being the main character who is pulled from the Baltimore Police to become a special ops agent in a secret branch of the government. So with that on the cover, I had to find out and sure enough this is the first book of three featuring Ledger, and let me tell you, with the story Maberry weaves and the super cool character of Joe Ledger this is going to be a great collection of stories. Ledger kicks butt like no other, and he does it with class. Just roll James Bond, Rambo, Steven Segal, Jean Claude Van-Damme into one and the outcome still couldn't stand up against Joe Ledger. He is just that cool and tough. Plus Ledger has the smart mouth that Bruce Willis' tough characters all seem to have.

Anyway, back to zombies. Yes this is a zombie book. Since 9/11 terrorists have been trying their best to attack the free world, but it seems they threw their best on that day and ever since their Jihad has just faded into the Afghan mountains. Well, known terrorist El Mujahid is being funded to create a virus/parasite that turns people into the walking dead. Ledger kills one of these, or so he thinks, when his task force raids a warehouse in which terrorists are holed up. When a mysterious government agency called the DMS tries to recruit Ledger, they do so by having him try to handcuff a man in another room. It turns out that man is the same man Ledger killed, only this time his flesh has rotted a bit more. After Ledger kills this terrorist twice he is told of the virus/parasite that is being unleashed on America and with all his patriotic duty he jumps on-board.

His team is to replace two other teams that were taken by surprise as the bodies in a hospital became reanimated from the bite of the original terrorist. The teams hesitate shooting as women, children, doctors and nurses all begin eating each other and attacking. Ledger is hired because of his lack of hesitation and ability to assess any situation at the speed of light.

Pulling the best of the best to form Echo Team, Ledger becomes their leader and they raid a warehouse where more "walkers" are suspected to be found, ready to be unleashed on the population. When Ledger and his team arrive they find scientists conducting research on the zombies/walkers. The scientists are releasing the walkers on several captured children. Echo Team explodes on the scene taking out all the walkers and most of the scientists, managing to save most of the children, although they will need some serious therapy.

Ledger's team soon learns that a major final attack of the zombie creating virus is planned and must act fast to not only stop the zombies but to find out where and when the attack will occur.

This book is solid action from the first word spoken and even the end of the book leaves you with your adrenaline ready to be released for more fight or flight action. Maberry has created the perfect action zombie story with the perfect action hero to lead the fight.

The real plus behind this audio book is the seemingly unlimited voice talent of Ray Porter. His vocal gymnastics lead you down the dark hallways with horror and then exposes the action with expressed excitement. Porter's gymnastics don't stop there, he also is able to vocalize the many accents not only giving the characters accents based on their nationality but also based on their motives and psyche. His presentation of Joe Ledger is par excellence.

"Sky Birds Dare!" by L. Ron Hubbard

"Sky Birds Dare!"
by L. Ron Hubbard
multicast performance
produced by Galaxy Audio
to be released November, 2011
Approx 2 hours

Pulp magazines (often referred to as "the pulps"), also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long. Pulps were printed on cheap paper with ragged, untrimmed edges. The name pulp comes from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. Magazines printed on better paper were called "glossies" or "slicks." They were most often priced at ten cents per magazine, while competing slicks were 25 cents apiece. Pulps were the successor to the penny dreadfuls, dime novels, and short fiction magazines of the 19th century.

Although many respected writers wrote for pulps, the magazines are best remembered for their lurid and exploitative stories and sensational cover art. L. Ron Hubbard published many short stories and novellas during this period in these pulps. Galaxy Press has been reprinting these stories and have created their own pulps (these have better paper quality) featuring stories from the many genres in which Hubbard wrote. I have to admit my favorites are from the Science-Fiction and Fantasy genres, but recently I've been exploring some of the other genres. I've been amazed at what other genres I began liking; such as Westerns. I never thought I'd be a fan of westerns, but Hubbard wrote some fun stories in that genre. My favorites, other than sci-fi/fantasy, seem to come from the Air and Sea Adventures, maybe that has to do with my Navy background.

What also makes these stories fun is that I've chosen to listen to these books. I love audio books and when I first tried out one of these stories from Galaxy Audio, I was amazed. First of all they sound like old radio dramas, like back in the day the stories were originally published, and the talent behind these productions is phenomenal. Starting with the actors, these stories take on a new life with superb voice actors performing them. The actors even give the characters a larger than life feel which is true to the Hubbard stories.

The next aspect of these stories in audiobook is the sound effects and music. Between chapters and stories Galaxy Audio segues with original music that blends perfect with in the genre. The sound effects are perfect and at the same time subtle enough to not be overbearing. They sweep you up into the story and don't allow you to let go until the end.

This story, "Sky Birds Dare!," was originally published in Five-Novels Monthly September, 1936. and tells the story of a glider pilot, trying to demonstrate the value of gliders and gliding techniques in war. Not only does he have to convince the Navy of their value but he has to survive a competitor's ruthless attempts to destroy him.

Ace glider pilot Breeze Callaghan is an definitely an Ace when it comes to gliders, although he has never flown a powered aircraft. There are two ways Breeze believes they can be used to aid the war effort: they'll keep a plane aloft when engines cut out, and gliders will be able to enter enemy airspace silently—a perfect way to spy undetected. Breeze loves the feel of the glider in flight, because a powered craft is always beating the air into submission, a glider uses what nature gives to move through space.

Callahan's ruthless competitor, Badger O'Dowell, has other ideas. Badger's determined to get the Navy to buy his training ships instead. So every chance he gets He sabotages Breeze's demonstrations. These sabotages not only wreck the gliders but endanger Breeze's life.

After several run-ins with O'Dowell, Breeze finally just decides to set a flight record, after saving himself from one sabotage by using heat updrafts to stay aloft. He decides to use a storm and the landscape to fly down the Appalachian Mountains. The storm becomes too much for him and the plane following and soon Breeze has to use his skills to save lives.

This book will keep you on the edge as Breeze manages to save himself through all the flights.

"Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment" by James Patterson

"Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment"
by James Patterson
read by Evan Rachel Wood
published 2005 by Hatchette Audio
Approx 4 hours

The master of thriller fiction, James Patterson, has been know to dabble in young adult fiction. The "Maximum Ride" series is one of those dabblings. With books under his belt like, "Along Came a Spider," and "Kiss the Girls," Patterson has shown that he can write a good thriller, and he takes that writing style and adapts it for the younger audience. I'm not sure what age he's aiming for with this series, it seems pretty wide open from 12 - 18 easily. I know I enjoyed this first book in the series. There were some moments that didn't work for me but I'll explain those later. For the most part if the rest of this series is as fun and exciting as this first one, I could put up w/ what may be a minor fault.

First off the choice of Evan Rachel Wood as reader took me by surprise. But hey, she did it. I know it takes acting skills to pull off reading an audiobook, and she does have the skills, but what surprised me most was her vocal range. She was able to separate the characters very well with her voice, giving them each their own voice.

This book introduces the listener to six fugitive kids; Max, Fang, Iggy, Gasman, Nudge, and Angel, known collectively as the Flock. The kids were genetically mutated in utero in a laboratory called "the School", that rendered them 98% human and 2% avian. The Flock is being hunted down by human-lupine hybrids created by the School called "Erasers".

Max (she named herself Maximum Ride) is the one telling the story, and she tells how Jeb escaped the School, with the flock and hid out in the mountains and raises the children for two years. Jeb disappeared leaving the flock to fend for themselves. One day the Erasers find them and take Angel. The flock must fly to the school to rescue Angel. One thing about Angel, she has the ability to read minds and later we find she can also put thoughts into someone's head.

On the way to the School, Max sees a girl on the ground (bird vision?) being threatened by some thugs. She tells the flock to fly to a safe place. She flies down to rescue the girl. The flock may be young but they look older because they are bigger, and on top of that they have stronger than human strength. In the rescue Max is hurt in the struggle and finds herself at the home of the girl she helped. The girl's mother is a veterinarian and fixes her wounds. The vet takes max in for some x-rays and discovers a chip implanted in Max's arm, a sort of tracking chip that is so deeply embedded that it cannot be removed.

Max meets up with the flock and they go on to rescue Angel, but they manage to get captured by Erasers themselves and discover that Jeb is the one behind the capture. The book then moves on to escape and the flock seeking to discover the truth about their creation. Max is told she must "save the world," and begins being led by a voice in her head that disrupts electronics.

The story seems to be fast paced and the adventures take a short time to move on to the next part of the journey, which I see as being aimed at a younger audience. My problem is that when, at times, when a major fight/battle seems to be eminent, all fighting just stops and the enemies just leave, with no victor to be had. Maybe this, again, is for the younger audience, but it seems these moments could have been closed out better.

All in all though this is a fun adventure in genetic mutations and kids seeking their origins.

"Shorn: Toys to Men" by Dennis Milam Bensie

"Shorn: Toys to Men"
by Dennis Milam Bensie
published 2010
by Coffeetown Press
265 pgs.

Here in Robinson, Illinois we are hometown to two fairly well known authors, James Jones ("From Here to Eternity" et. al.) and Jennifer Rardin (th Jaz Parks series of urban fantasy books) and now Dennis Milam Bensie. This time however Dennis does not paint a dreamy small town atmosphere. With his experiences Robinson, which is probably not unlike many other small towns, seems like a place where the different are not welcome and your babysitter may hurt you.

In his memoirs, "Shorn..." Dennis is brutally honest as he exposes his deepest darkest secrets to reveal his true self. There are times in the book that you can't decide whether he is going to turn out to be a serial killer or just a very confused individual. "Shorn" takes you through Dennis' life as he reveals disturbing influences on his life that leads to developing a mental disorder that causes him to be aroused by cutting men's hair. This arousal leads him through many dangerous turns in life from luring a man into his home and whacking him with a frying pan to cruising the streets finding street hustlers that will allow him to pay them to shave their heads.

I believe that it is Murphy's Law that states, "If something can go wrong, it will." That seems to carry through to Dennis' life as he's growing up in small town, USA. As he grows up he writes that he never felt like he belonged and it seemed he was right. His father was a typical blue collar, former military man that did not want his son growing up "to be a sissy." Dennis liked to play with dolls and wanted to grow his hair long. His dad would have none of that, if Dennis would act up the threat of a haircut would be issued. When Dennis wanted to play with dolls, he was not allowed to do so in front of his dad. Dennis' grandmother was the first to give him a freedom of sorts and would allow him paper dolls. He later discover's Barbie and the possibilities become unlimited. But he also discovers that he can exert power over the Barbie by cutting her hair, but cutting the doll's hair soon renders the doll hairless. Dennis turns to a life of crime by shoplifting Barbie's from the town's various stores. There is even one humorous story where he returns to a store dressed as a girl (remember this is when he is just a child) to fool the sales clerk. Humorous but sad.

During his youth he is molested by some teen boys who were supposed to be his babysitters and is constantly teased for being different by being called a fag and many other derogatory terms of the time. He grows up thinking he is supposed to be manly but doesn't fit in that skin. In college he marries a girl but knows he is gay, but does what he is "supposed" to do.
College also leads to his divorce and discovering that others are gay. But his discovery of the gay lifestyle leads him to anonymous sex in the various "cruising" areas, which will later lead to cruising for men with long hair that will feed his fetish/paraphilia.

During the reading of this book there were times when I wasn't so sure about the outcome, if I had not been in contact with the author, I would have thought I was reading a book that was leading to what was the development of a serial killer. Luckily Dennis finds help and through therapy and medication Dennis is able to get a firmer grasp on his life. The adventure he leads the reader through does leave one wondering.

Dennis' life cleary illustrates how many things combine to create a human life and what path one takes will determine how that life will be. Dennis is now a successful and talented costumer and wigmaker in Seattle, not cured but in more control.

"Shadows from Boot Hill" by L. Ron Hubbard

"Shadows from Boot Hill"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast Performance
produced by Galaxy Audio
Approx 2 hours

No matter what genre of audio book from Galaxy Audio's Stories from The Golden Age by L. Ron Hubbard I choose, I am never let down. I've stated before, I've never been a fan of Westerns, but with the professional quality behind the production of the audio books makes these books fun to hear. Great sound effects, great voice acting and music between stories and chapters all combine to keep you charged in the story.

From the days of pulp fiction (the mid 20th century), these stories all are fun to hear. Galaxy Press has taken these stories that were published in various magazines at the time and have recreated that pulp magazine feel with short stories in one edition, some are a short novella but most are 2 or 3 stories in one edition. I've seen the books at bookstores and have been tempted to pick them up, but I just keep going back to the audio books. Galaxy Audio takes these stories and produces them into 2 hour audio pulps that are reminiscent of the old time radio dramas from around the same time period.

This audio book contains three stories from the Western genre:

"Shadows from Boot Hill," originally published in June, 1940 tells the story of a hired gunman who acquires sinister shadows. The outlaw, Brazos, has skipped town before collecting his blood money for killing a local banker. With the law hot on his tail, he escapes to Los Hornos and his "friend" Whisper Monahan. The last time they parted ways, they weren't exactly on good terms, but Brazos is on the run and is desperate to rid the posse on his tail. Whisper greets Brazos with orders to kill a local named Scotty Brant that has poisoned over 4,000 acres of his land by sitting on the headwaters of a rare stream using cyanide to extract gold from oxide ore. But this time, Brazos bites off more than he can chew when he learns Brandt's hitched up with a witch doctor out of New Orleans. So to kill Brandt he must first take out the Witch doctor. The witch doctor's last words as Brazos kills him is, "I'll get you white man." Brazos leaves the witch doctor's funeral and finds he now has two shadows, Brazos doesn't put any faith in any myths so he goes on to finish the hit on Brandt, but the shadows haunt him in his task.

"The Gunner from Gehenna," originally published in April, 1949 is a fun cat and mouse/ good guy bad guy story. The renegade “Gunner” returns with plans to steal the miners’ gold but the local Sheriff has other plans. He and the Gunner have a history, in fact the Sheriff used to be a "bad guy." The Gunner plans on recruiting the sheriff to distract the miners while he steals the gold. The Gunner then vanishes into the desert with the deputy sheriff in angry pursuit. But the sheriff seems to have his job made easy, was it all pre-planned?

"Gunman!" originally published February, 1949 is the story of the last days before the railroad takes over the town of Deadlight. With three days left to save his badge, the marshal of Deadlight Brazos Kincade has to prevent the the bank from being robbed. With the town full of railroad shysters and banditos Marshall Brazos has his hands full. But the surprise is who is trying to rob the bank and who gets deputized. I found it odd to include two stories with characters named Brazos, but it was a nice contrast with one good and one bad. This story has the good one. Would it be too much if they had a 3rd that was ugly?

Once again Galaxy Press, Galaxy Audio and L. Ron Hubbard deliver an exciting collection of Western stories to make reading or listening fun.

"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

"The Hunger Games"
by Suzanne Collins
Read by Carolyn McCormick
Produced by Scholastic Audio Books, 2008
11 hours and 10 min. (unabridged)

I've said it before and I'll say it again today's youth have some great literature written just for them. Here is yet another shining example. "The Hunger Games" takes several ideas and wraps them together to form an exciting bit of big-brother-dystopian-sci-fi. While listening to this audiobook I kept getting thoughts/memories of various bits from media, I would be reminded of the 70's sci-fi film "Logan's Run" at times, or maybe "Rollerball" or "Death Race 2000," then Stephen King's short story turned Schwarzanegger movie "The Running Man," then at times the book reminded me of the multiple reality shows like "Survivor" in which the contestants compete and get voted off. In fact when researching the info on this book I found that the author, Suzanne Collins, was influenced when switching her television back and forth between coverage of the war in Iraq and "Survivor." Collins threw in a bit from the Greek Myth Theseus, who was forced by Minos to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, but survived and created this exciting story.

After reading I found that this book is part one of a trilogy, and the trilogy follows this story's heroine, Katniss Everdeen, as she is chosen to be a tribute to the government to battle in the Hunger games and eventually leads a revolution. But the revolution gets ahead of our story. Let's talk about this one first.

"The Hunger Games" is set in a distant but seemingly not too distant future, after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region Appalachia. Coal is the regions contribution to Panem as all districts have some specialty/export to contribute. The problem is that the government keeps all the regions poor and the people of the districts further from the capitol (which is located somewhere near what is Denver, Colorado) are the poorest. District One near the capitol is the least poor and the higher the number the more the suffering. Katniss is forced to illegally hunt in the woods at an early age after her father dies in a mining accident and her mother becomes locked in grief. Katniss hunts to keep her and her sister alive.

At one point there were 13 districts but the 13th was destroyed when they tried to rebel against the capitol. As punishment for the rebellion every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event where the participants, or "tributes", must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. Katniss, in place of her younger sister, Primrose. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy whom Katniss knows from school and who once saved Katniss's life by giving her bread when her family was starving.

Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, where they meet the other tributes and are publicly displayed to the Capitol audience. During this time, Peeta reveals on-air his long-time unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as audience members are permitted to send gifts to favored tributes during the Games. The Games begin with 11 of the 24 tributes dying in the first day, while Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and outdoors skills to survive. As the Games continue, the tribute death toll increases, but both Katniss and Peeta are able to evade death.

Katniss and Peeta are split up and the Gamemakers use dirty tricks and foul play to make the games more interesting by using some of the government's genetic animal mutations, like tracker jackers, a form of wasp that when it stings it can case vivid hallucinations and kill. Or human / wolf hybrids that hunt like wolves but can think like humans. One mutation a Jabber Jay was created to spy on the population, it has the ability to imitate human speech perfectly so they would record the coversations in the districts and report back to the capitol, when this was discovered the populus would feed the Jays false info, after this that project was abandoned, the Jabber Jays were released and later mated with Mocking Birds, creating the Mocking Jay which could sing beautifully. This Mocking Jay becomes a symbol of the people and of their freedom and has a large part in this novel.

The adventures during the battle in the Arena are very exciting and will keep you glued to this one. If you get the audiobook like I did you'll soon discover the talent that is Carolyn McCormick. Carolyn delivers the reading of this book with enthusiasm when needed and differentiates the characters by giving each their own voice.

"Promises in Death" by J.D. Robb

"Promises in Death"
by J.D. Robb
read by Susan Ericksen
Produced by Brilliance Audio, 2009
Approx. 12 hours

It's been a while since I've visited my favorite homicide detective from the near future, Lt. Eve Dallas, so I thought I'd give another book a listen. I don't think I could ever sit down with the actual hardcover (or paperback) version of this book because I've been spoiled by the outstanding vocal talents of Susan Ericksen. Ms. Ericksen, has the ability to sound like a multi-cast performance all by herself. Each character in this book has their own voice through her talent, and the voices not only sound different to help the listener to determine who is talking/thinking when, but also somehow she has been able to wrap up the entire being of each person in her voice for each character. For example the main character Lt. Eve Dallas is a straight to the point detective that has no time for pop culture or things like how to throw a bridal shower, and the voice used is very stern and hard edge. In fact the main thing bringing me back to these books is Susan Ericksen's voice. The stories are okay and the sci-fi gadgets are cool, but Susan Ericksen brings these books to life.

Before I get to the summary of this book I first have to say that this is one of the better books in the series because of one aspect, sex. Or rather, not as much as in previous books in the series. This is book 28 in the "...in Death" series from J.D. Robb. As you may or may not know J.D. Robb is the pen name for Nora Roberts, a romance writer. She went with the pen name to have a different sort of voice than her romance books. The problem is that she still squeezes in steamy sex scenes in these books. I don't know why she does this, the books stand on their own merit and the sex scenes are blatantly gratuitious. They actually almost ruin the books by turning a good, slightly sci-fi, detective novel into softcore porn. with the audiobooks i can just fast forward or if reading I could flip the pages, but I shouldn't have to. The scenes are forced into the book with no redeeming value. This book so far has the least of sex scenes than all the others. Only one scene in this book.

Okay that over, here's the book. Early morning NYPSD Lt. Eve Dallas is enjoying breakfast (or rather being forced to eat since she usually is too busy to eat) with her husband Roarke, the multi-billionaire former thug. She's called in to investigate a dead body,her and her assistant, Detective Delia Peabody discover that the woman is a fellow officer, Detective Amaryllis Coltraine, who worked out of another precinct. To add to the emotion of the case, Coltraine was the lover of Li Morris, the Chief Medical Examiner and a good friend of Eve and Peabody. Coltraine was shot with her own police stunner; it also appears that she may have known her killer.

At first Eve thinks the kill may have been ordered by Amaryllis' former lover from Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a man that Dallas and Roarke had put in a cage for murder some months before. The suspect's reactions, however, as well as Roarke's impressions from a private discussion they have, tend to steer the blame away from him. Eve is beginning to sense that the killer may have been one of the detectives Coltraine worked with at her precinct, receiving orders from the man imprisoned off-planet. As Eve gets closer to finding who and why she realizes she has other parts of her life to deal with.

Eve has to perform a duty of friendship she has never tackled before: hosting a wedding shower for Louise Dimatto, who is marrying former "licensed companion" Charles Monroe. The shower goes on in Eve's home during the investigation; not only do we see Eve coping with a fresh aspect of life she has never had an opportunity to experience due to her dark violent childhood, but one of the guests helps put the finger on the murderer. That is one of the things about these books that also keeps me coming back; the characters. Robb/Roberts does a great job at building a myriad of characters that weave in and out of Eve's life and all seem to be able to help in some form, whether in personal life or on a case.

I say give these books a chance, they do have some redeeming values. That and they are pretty fun sci-fi / detective novels.

"Treasure Island" By Robert Louis Stevenson

"Treasure Island"
By Robert Louis Stevenson
Read By Alfred Molina
produced by Listening Library, 2007
Approx 7.5 hours

I've been on a "revisiting the classics" kick lately and I realized I had never read "Treasure Island." How could I have missed that? Wasn't it assigned in school? Maybe that's why, but anyway, now i have the chance and finding it in audiobook form was a Treasure.

This audiobook version has Alfred Molina doing the reading, and I say any guy that pulls off Doc Ock in the "Spider-Man" movie, has to be able to read a book. Well, not only yes, but aaarrrgggh, yes. Molina does a great job creating the complete ambiance of the story by creating different voices for each character. Molina's Long John Silver, was captivating.

As for the story itself, it's almost a coming of age story, but with pirates and treasure. Young Jim Hawkins, lives with his mom, who runs the Admiral Benbow Inn. A mysterious man of the sea takes up residence at the Inn and is constantly looking out for a one legged man. He even pays Jim to keep an eye out. The one-legged man never shows up at the Inn but other pirates do and eventually Billy Bones, or "the captain" as he is known to Jim, meets his end. Upon his death Jim and his mother seek to find the captain's secrets and discover a treasure map. The local magistrate and squire then set off to find this Treasure Island and put together a crew to sail the seas, bringing along Jim.

While they tried diligently to keep any questionable sailors from joining, it happens the ship's cook, Long John Silver, a one-legged man, has placed his men among the crew and are geared up to take over the ship when they arrive at the island.

Jim warns the captain and the "honest" men, but to no avail, Silver manages to take over the ship and seeks out the treasure. Jim soon discovers on the island a maroon who he brings back to the honest members of the crew, who have holed up in a stockade on the island. Jim also manages to recapture the ship and land her on the island where only he can find her.

Now to get back to the stockade. Once Jim arrives at the stockade, he finds Silver and his men. All the pirates will be hung for mutiny if caught and Jim uses this to get Silver back on the good side and they all eventually battle it out in the search of treasure.

Jim Hawkins seems the hero, after all he single-handedly gets the ship back and "converts" Silver, but Jim is just a young lad, so he has done some growing up fast. Learning the ways of men and the world.

In a classic adventure of piracy, treasure, the high seas and true humanity, "Treasure Island" definitely keeps you hanging on till the very end. So with a hearty "aaarrghh" I say, grab this book in either audiobook or whatever format you choose, and give it a good read.

"Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead" by L. Ron Hubbard

"Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multi-cast performance
produced by Galaxy Audio
approx 2 hours

It's time once again to go on a far flung adventure with L. Ron Hubbard and stories from the Golden Age. In the middle of the 20th century Hubbard wrote numerous stories that were published in the various pulp fiction magazines of the time. He wrote science-fiction, fantasy, westerns, war stories and sea & air adventures, and adventures from afar. This time around Galaxy Audio/Galaxy Press have put together their own Hubbard pulp fiction/audio pulp fiction that covers the world from the Arabian sea to Russia to the West Indies.

As with any well written story these stories will sweep you away and take you to these lands and leave you on the edge of your seat the whole way. This is especially true if you give the audiobooks a listen. The audiobooks are produced with excellent voice acting consisting of a great cast of voices, great sound effects that will create the theatre of the mind that was well known to those that listened to the old radio shows that used to be broadcast around the same time these stories were originally published, and the incidental music really gives you a feeling that you are on these journeys around the world.

This publishing contains three short stories;

"Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead," originally published in October, 1936 tells of a search for the lost treasures of Baluchistan, an arid mountain region now part of Pakistan bordering the Arabian Sea, which leads to an ancient tomb, murder, and the obliteration of an entire expedition. Told in the first person by the pilot of the expedition, Captain Gordon, the only man to escape alive.

Gordon is hired to fly a team of American anthropologists to the area and all goes well until an ancient map is discovered in an old pottery jar, revealing the site of a vast treasure that Alexander the Great was bringing to Greece from his conquest of India. At this point Gordon is discovered over the body of one of the anthropologists who has just been murdered. Gordon is not trusted by the leaders of the expedition and is forced to stay behind with the local guide while the rest follow the map. Gordon and the guide find the tomb where more than 10,000 of Alexander's soldiers and camp followers lay buried in the high desert plains along with the loot of India—hidden in a tomb never to be reclaimed. Gordon must then fight for his life to escape with or without the treasure.

"The Price of a Hat," originally published March, 1936 tells of a A fur hat, a Kubanka, with a secret message stitched into its hatband costs the lives of six men in a belated effort to save the lives of Nicholas II, the last Russian Czar, and his family.

"Starch and Stripes," originally published January, 1936 is a story that has a bit of humor at the expense of the Marine Corps brass. A marine captain is trying to ensnare a dangerous rebel leader, but just when the Marines are closing in on the villain, top brass and U.S. senators decide to inspect the base and decide on future funding for the marines.

Some great adventures to be had in this release from Galaxy Press.

LESS LOVE - "If You"

"Vermilion Drift" by William Kent Krueger

"Vermilion Drift"
by William Kent Krueger
Published by Atria books, 2010
305 pages

When it comes to sitting down with a good book, you have to get one that not only piques your interest but also is told in such a way that you not only get lost in the story but the setting as well. William Kent Krueger does this superbly. This is the second of his novels I've read and both novels have the intriguing storyline that gets tangled and twisted the more involved you become in the story. Krueger also has a skill when it comes to wordcraft. He describes the scenery of the settings in such a masterful way that the his world comes to life. I found myself not only easily visualizing the settings but I could do this in full panoramic color. Krueger is the Michelangelo of words.

This story is another Cork O'Conner mystery. Cork is a part Native American former Sheriff now performing services as a private detective in Tamarack County, Minnesota. He recently lost his wife and his children are pretty much out seeking their own lives. Cork begins this book working two cases; one, a missing person and the second mysterious threats to mine workers.

The Department of Energy is looking at an abandoned iron mine to bury nuclear waste. The locals, especially those that live on the Reservation above the mine are protesting. Several members involved have received notes written in a dripping blood font warning not to go through with the nuclear waste disposal plans. When the same warning appears in a section of the mine that is supposed to be inaccessible unless through security stations Cork sees a mystery that needs to be solved.

On top of that Cork is hired to find a prominent woman that has gone missing. The two cases come together when a hidden section of the mine is discovered along with numerous dead bodies. Some of the bodies go back to when Cork was only 13 years old, nearly 50 years, when his dad was sheriff and the area was plagued by the disappearance of several local women.

The case then forces Cork to revisit his past and uncover secrets that may have been best left buried.

With twists and turns in the story and plotline, this book will keep you guessing through to the end.

"Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" by Mary Shelley

"Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus"
by Mary Shelley
Read by Simon Vance
Produced by Tantor Media, 2008
Approx 8.5 hours

Once again I get to revisit a classic. I've read this book several times but this is the first time I've listened on audiobook. Simon Vance does a first rate job of reading this story. His vocal characterizations are spot on in every aspect I ever heard in my head while reading the story. I think I may have found my new favorite audiobook voice.

Each time I read this book I get something new out of it. That's what happens when the books are well thought out, and I'm guessing that's one thing that makes them a classic. This time around the theme of loneliness seemed to stick out with me. Victor Frankenstein does not create the "creature" out of loneliness but the struggle from that point for the monster is loneliness.

The story is told through a few viewpoints, first through a series of letters from Captain Walton, who spots the creature on the ice in the north and then rescues Dr. Frankenstein from the same icy waters, to his sister Margaret. Then through Victor Frankenstein telling the Captain his tale, then through the creature telling his story to his creator, back to Frankenstein and back to Walton as a close. A very unique storytelling format that not only works but definitely keeps the reader/listener attentive.

The loneliness aspect really comes out when the creature is telling his story to his creator, Victor Frankenstein. The creature is abandoned by Frankenstein after Frankenstein is disgusted by the final outcome, Frankenstein simply flees, leaving the newborn creature alone and confused. The creature explores the world through a forest after it escapes and learns he is hideous when people run away from him in terror. Frankenstein used various body parts to create the creature, I refuse to call him a monster, with the intent to make him larger than humans around eight feet tall. The skin of the creature is yellowish with some transparency. So as you can see from the description he would be a bit scary. But he's only misunderstood.

Being abhorred by mankind, the creature sets off to be alone. But along the way he finds shelter in a cubby hole attached to a family dwelling. Over a long period of time the creature observes the family and learns that humans are actually loving caring beings. He learns over the time to speak the language and even read. He then begins to long for the family's companionship but when trying to meet the blind father the son and daughter walk in and are horrified by his appearance and chase him away.

The creature then runs off to Geneva, home of Frankenstein, and finds a young boy, who is young enough to not be influenced by the mores of the public and can learn to be friends without thinking the creature is something to fear. The boy as it turns out is afraid but to make matters worse he is the younger brother of Victor Frankenstein. The creature is agitated by the boy's fear but becomes angered and vengeful when he realizes this is something he can take away from Frankenstein.

When Frankenstein returns for the funeral of young William, the creature begins stalking him. Frankenstein is then captured by the creature and the creature then states that he wishes Frankenstein to build another creature as a mate. With no more loneliness the creature promises to move to where no man lives and live out his life with his bride. Frankenstein is horrified by the thought of creating another horror and refuses. The creature then begins to kill all those around Frankenstein making the doctor feel some of the creatures loneliness. From there the hunt is on for Frankenstein to destroy his creature, which leads to the frozen North Sea and the where the book began with the ship picking up Dr. Frankenstein.

All the creature wants is a friend.

"The Fall" Book 2 of "The Strain Trilogy" by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan

"The Fall"
Book 2 of "The Strain Trilogy"
by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan
Read by Daniel Oreskes
Produced by Harper Audio
Approx. 11.5 hours.

The teaming up of del Toro and Hogan to create this trilogy has turned out to be a pretty haunting affair. "The Strain" (the first book in the trilogy) introduced the horror world to a different view of vampires. This time around the heroes are not the vampires or are the vampires the subject of lustful desire, instead the mythology of vampires returns to the dark horror of life stealing blood suckers to be feared and staked or in this case killed with silver. Some other twists that del Toro and Hogan have added are; instead of fangs the vampires have stingers under their tongues, the spreading of vampirism is through parasitic virus-like blood worms and that there are seven "Ancients" that basically are the leaders of the vampires and have been around for centuries.

The story behind the "Ancients" is where this book focuses. The first book told of the spread of the strain of virus turning New York City back to ground zero, this time for the spread of vampires.

The heroes are Abraham Setrakian, a proffesor from the old world who has been hunting vampires since before World War II, Dr. Ephraim Goodweather a formerly with the CDC, he was listed as a criminal when he tried to alert the world of the vampire invasion, Eph's Son Zach, whose mother was turned and is now hunting him, andFet an exterminator who now has a new form of vermin to hunt.

Setrakian has revealed to all that he has been hunting "The Master" for most of his life and that "The Master" is responsible for the sudden influx of vampires in the New World. The Ancients have all been around for centuries and have maintained their anonymity, so why now do they become public and seek to ponentially wipe out their food source? The secret lies behind the Master.

Setrakian, Fet, and Eph join up with a battle force from the Ancients in order to prevent The Master from completing his plans. Using silver weapons and UV lamps to battle the vamps the various skirmishes lead up to one big battle with The Master. A new character brought into this story takes part in the final battle and has some great fighting styles throughout the book. His name is Angel and he's a former wrestler turned movie star, not a normal wrestler but a Luche Libre, a masked Mexican Wrestler. His movies usually had him pitted up against vampires, but nothing like he's experiencing now.

The reader, Daniel Oreskes, does a great job of reading this book, his voice adds to the drama and horror underlying the story and at the same time he is able to allow the listener to discern between who is talking/thinking by subtle vocal changes.

The nice thing about this audiobook, in that it is part of a trilogy, but del Toro and Hogan write enough of the backstory so that if you were to jump in with this book instead of the first or that a long span of time passed between books, you wouldn't be lost in what is going on. Don't get me wrong though, read the first book, because both of these stories have some great storytelling of epic proportions.

"The Phantom Patrol" by L. Ron Hubbard

"The Phantom Patrol"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multi-cast performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio

Once again it's time to dive into the stories from the golden age with a sea adventure from L. Ron Hubbard. This time around the motto is "Semper Paratus" (Always Ready), that's right we've got a Coast Guard adventure. With this story Hubbard has thrown in some rescues, pirates, drug runners and of course a dame for the hero to fall in love with.

As is usual with the Galaxy Audio productions, you will be swept away on this sea adventure, through the superb voice acting, sound effects and music. All these combine to create an audio version of a pulp fiction piece, an audio pulp, or better yet a leap back to the radio shows from days of old. Good times to be had.

This story was originally published in "Five-Novels Monthly," January 1935, and tells the story of Chief Petty Officer Johnny Trescott and how he attempts a rescue, gets captured by drug runners/pirates, escapes and tries to save face.

While out chasing down a notorious drug runner in the Gulf of Mexico, Trescott's patrol boat gets a distress call from a downed plane that is sinking. The passengers on the private plane will lose their lives if Johnny doesn't act fast. Breaking off his chase he has the boat search for the plane. Just as he gets the plane's passengers and crew onboard and headed for safety, the drug runner ship is seen closing in, having heard the same distress call. Johnny cannot get his boat powered up to full run before the criminals board. With a bit of a fight Johnny, his crew and the rescuees are captured and taken prisoner to a small island off the coast of New Orleans. The drug runners take the stolen Coast Guard boat and use it to raid other ships in the Gulf.

Johnny plans an escape in order to bring back help, but when he arrives on base in New Orleans he is arrested for piracy. The officials think Johnny stole his own boat and is responsible for the raids. Johnny must escape another prison, capture the drug runners and come back in order to save face.

With some exciting battles and a great storyline, this sea adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat whether reading the book or listening to the audio book. Definitely some fun times.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"
by Robert Louis Stevenson
read by Scott Brick
Produced by Tantor Media
Approx 3 hours

Like I say, every so often you have to go back and revisit the classics. This time around I decided to listen to a tale that has been portrayed as a horror story, but in reality it is the exploration of man's darker side. I've seen the 1931 film starring Frederick March as the lead and while the movie focused on the horror side of things they did a pretty good job of showing the duality of man. But the idea of drinking a potion to become a monster has been the bulk of what popular culture relates back to the Robert Louis Stevenson tale.

One of the reasons I decided to give this book a listen was two-fold; 1 - because it was an audiobook and I could listen while I worked around the house, showered and commuted to work, after all a good audiobook can make a great soundtrack. 2 - because this book was read by Scott Brick. I've always enjoyed listening to Scott Brick narrate books, he puts emotion into the readings that are subtle yet effective. This time around, Brick brings to life the many aspects of late nineteenth century London.

The book covers the piecing together of the story of how Mr. Edward Hyde can be so ruthless and yet be the man the Good Dr. Jekyll has bequeathed everything to through his will, and then through written correspondence from Dr. Jekyll is fully realized as he confesses to his exploration of the split personality through chemistry. Hyde is observed brutally knocking over a child and when confronted offers no apology, instead he buys his way out.

The problem arises when Jekyll discovers his original formula was tainted and after ordering the chemicals for more of his personality splitting concoction, finds they are pure and he cannot repeat the original without first finding what was the impurity in the original. The original formula allowed him to shift back and forth at will between the two personalities. The later formulas allow Hyde to take over without ever getting control of his situation. But Jekyll has a plan and will sacrifice himself to save humanity from his dark side.

Hey this novella is not too long of a read or listen, so do yourself a favor read a classic and enjoy some mystery with a little philosophy thrown in.

"Immortalis - Part 2 of 3" Book 7 of "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore

"Immortalis - Part 2 of 3"
Book 7 of "The Demon Wars Saga"
by R.A. Salvatore
Multicast performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours

The tension builds, the excitement mounts, the story continues and soon comes to a close. It is a bittersweet emotion I feel as I just finish listening to the second of three parts that make up the final audio book in "The Demon Wars Saga" by R.A. Salvatore. The adventures continue but I am saddened to know that there is only one more audio book left before the end of the saga. This series introduced the world to the Ranger Elbryan, who was trained by elves to protect the citizens of Honce-the-Bear, his wife Jilseponie who was trained by a renegade monk, soon become a Saint, who taught her how to use the magic gemstones. Bradwarden the Centaur, Bellimar Juraviel the elf who has trained rangers through the ages and many more heroes. Salvatore also introduced some great villains such as; Marcalo De'Unnero the were-tiger monk who seeks to rule the Abellican Church, Father Abbot Marquart who was possessed by the demon dactyl, Bestus Belzibar.

In this audiobook, the son of Elbryan and Jilseponie, Adryan, who has become king through a technicality seeks to conquer the world. Adryan was taken from Jilseponie's womb by Lady Dasselrond, the leader of the Tu'elafar, the elves of the north, and raised as a ranger in hopes that he would save their land. It turns out that not letting the child or the mother know of each other's existence has stained Adryan's view on life. Adryan left the elves and found the renegade monk De'Unnero and under his tutelage, sought and killed to gain the throne. Now he seeks to conquer the world. Those that don't bow to him will be destroyed.

Adryan has sent emissaries to Behren to conquer the southland. The land of Behren has just found out that their religious god head was a fake, and the country is in turmoil. Adryan hopes to take this confusion and use it to his advantage. The problem is that Brynn Dahrielle has just freed her people, the To-gai, from Behrenese slavery, and only sees Adryan, a former friend, as another slaver.

To exact his revenge Adryan first must destroy Lady Dasselrond and the elves. To do so he must find Anderblok Innerness, the land of the Tu'elafar. Dasselrond sacrifices herself to hide the land. It can now only be found once Adryan's blood has been spilled. The elves are homeless without a land and seek out Jilseponie to offer their assistance in defeating Adryan.

Jilseponie has gone to the north to aid Prince Midalis, brother to the king slain by Adryan. Juravial finds Jilseponie and Bradwarden and offers his magicks to tie all the forces together in that they may destroy the false King Adryan.

At the end of this audiobook the major battles begin, now I must get to the finale, but I don't want to rush it, I'll be saddened to reach the end of this epic saga. But the excitement awaits.

To make this audiobook even more exciting, it is produced by Graphic Audio. Graphic Audio promises "A Movie in your Mind," and boy do they ever deliver. Superb acting and characterization by the talented voices would normally be enough, but with the original music and Earth shattering sound effects, this audio book will engulf you in the story and excitement that is "The Demon Wars Saga."

"The Falcon Killer" by L. Ron Hubbard

"The Falcon Killer"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast performance
produced by Galaxy Audio
Approx 2 hours.

I'm really loving the vast array of genre's from L. Ron Hubbard's pulp fiction days. More to the point I'm loving the production work of the Galaxy Audio releases of these stories from the various genres. During the mid-20th century Hubbard wrote numerous stories for the numerous pulp fiction magazines that were published during the time. What got me hooked were the science-fiction and fantasy stories, which are my favorite genres of any literature. After listening to all the Stories from the Golden Age in the sci-fi/fantasy genres I was highly impressed by the production of each audiobook.

Galaxy Audio, part of Galaxy Press, is releasing all the old Hubbard stories to create these 2 hour audio pulps, that bring to mind the old radio dramas from around that same time. Each one of these audiobooks is a flash back to when stories were fun. Galaxy Audio has a great team of voice actors for the books and the sound effects and music are superb. Just picking out any book will get you hooked.

This time around I listened to one of Hubbard's Tales from the Orient, "The Falcon Killer," which was originally published in April, 1939. This story takes place in War-torn China in the early part of the 20th century. This is the story of an ace free-lance fighter pilot, nicknamed "The Falcon Killer (Tzun Kai)," who is actually Bill Gaylord, raised in Peking by his American parents. Gaylord lost both of them as a child during the violent Boxer uprising and then saw his foster family slaughtered in wartime. With a past that's hardened his soul and given him nerves of steel, Gaylord has used his resolve to down more Japanese aircraft than can be counted. Gaylord has a tattoo of a half dragon which has some meaning that only the Chinese know. This tattoo provides the great twist at the end of the story that makes this a true Hubbard pulp-fiction.

Events pit Gaylord against a Japanese spy who has caused untold trouble for the Chinese. Gaylord must somehow find and defeat him or risk losing an ancient Chinese kingdom to the land of the rising sun.

Just before the local ruler can sell out his people Gaylord is discovered to be within the town and is called join the ruler for dinner. Gaylord discovers his dinner has been poisoned, but will it be too late before the Japanese move in and take over, creating one more province under the rising sun banner?

This story has some great aerial battles, escapes and intrigue that will keep you wondering whether the Falcon Killer will live to see another day.

"Deep Blue" by David Niall Wilson

"Deep Blue"
by David Niall Wilson
Narrated by Chris Patton
Published by CrossRoad Press, 2010
Approx. 11.5 hours

"Crossroads or Cross-hairs, it's all the same. There's only one way through the pain and that's through the music." That's what the mysterious old bluesman tells Brandt when Brandt learns he as a new musical power. This quote grabbed me in this novel by David Niall Wilson, and kept hold as Brandt, a burned out musician begins to play music that can absolve or dissolve people of their pain. But as Stan Lee says, "With great power, comes great responsibility." What Brandt must do with this new found power is yet to be revealed.

David Niall Wilson has written a haunting tale of a down and out bar band that is either on the verge of making it or burning out. The band's leader Brandt is trying to find that one thing in the music that is constantly eluding him, what that is he's not sure, yet. After leaving their latest gig and being too drunk to drive Brandt walks home. As he's walking he keeps hearing a haunting blues harmonica being played. When he arrives home he realizes he's forgotten his keys and decides instead of walking all the way back he swigs some courage from the tequila bottle and decides to track down the mysterious musician. Who he finds is a ghostly figure of Wally, a harmonica playing old bluesman. Wally shows Brandt his hidden talent of playing music by absorbing others' pain.

The night after learning this Brandt takes the stage with his band-mates and begins playing. As he plays he gets visions of Nazis killing Jews, American Indians being forced to walk the trail of tears and more painful events. Over his shoulder as he's playing he hears Wally repeat the quote, "Crossroads or Cross-hairs, it's all the same. There's only one way through the pain and that's through the music." When Brandt finishes the audience is still and his band is staring at him all asking, "What was that?" Brandt leaves without an explanation.

The next night the band has a record exec in the audience, but no Brandt, this time the bassist Cynthia, takes her bass playing to new levels. She has always seen "angels" but tonight she seems to be playing for the angels. Before the angels never paid her any attention, but this time as she plays they are all looking at her and listening with intent. She finishes the song as she sees a vision of her mother, as she reaches out, the record exec breaks the vision and starts his schpiel. She is slightly frightened and leaves.

This now leaves the band down to the Drummer, Dexter, and the rhythm guitarist, Shaver. Shaver has been trying to find "The Song." "The Song" being what Brandt and Cyn discovered. He plays so much he tears up his fingers so bad he cannot touch anything. His girlfriend Liz tends to his wounded hands and takes him back to Dexter's apartment so they can find "The Song" and find Brandt and Cyn.

The band all seem to have strange pasts, Dexter was raised by a Church that handled snakes as part of worship (he was left at the steps of the church as an infant). Dexter could handle the snakes because he found the pattern in the snakes, the pattern that is existence. Cyn has always seen "angels," by this I mean everywhere and all the time. Liz was raised in a church where as each member died the church held a service where food was placed over the body and a dark man known as "The Sin Eater" would gorge on all the food placed in the process eating the sin so the person can reach salvation.

The band meets a man named Payne who seems to be keeping them from their "mission." But the band heads west to Liz's home where her father is the "Sin Eater," but the church is under new leadership and has forgotten their past and the "Sin Eater." This is where the showdown between the band and Payne will be held.

Through some great musical imagery and excellent sub-plots, David Niall Wilson, has written a captivating story that is full of surprises. The reader, Chris Patton, fully captures the imagery in his excellent voice work and telling of this story. While listening I wasn't sure if it was Wilson's words or Patton's voice, or the combination of the two, but I swear I heard the music in every scene.

"Does My Head Look Big in This?" By Randa Abdel-Fattah

"Does My Head Look Big in This?"
By Randa Abdel-Fattah
Read by Rebecca Macauley
Produced by Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd, 2008
Approx 9 hours

When It comes to life lessons, it seems that the youth have it made, at least in literature aimed at them. As adults the only ones that seem to offer advice are those who have a slant or an issue to press. This book, "Does My Head Look Big in This?" offers up a dose of reality when it comes to multi-culturalism.

Anyone who has been through them can tell you, the teen years are not the easiest of times to get through, you've got peer pressure, body & hormonal changes and pressure to decide what you are going to do with your life. Imagine all that and then one day some people that claim your religion as their cause decide to destroy a couple of buildings in New York. Now the entire world looks at your religion as evil. Even worse live this as a High School student. That is just what Randa Abdel-Fattah has offered up in this book, a look from a typical Muslim girls eyes.

Amal Mohamed Abdel-Hakim is a sixteen year-old Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl living in Melbourne with her mom and dad. Her father Mohamed drives a metallic-red convertible because he's convinced that he's still young and cool, he fails to remember that he has a receding hairline, and he blasts Italian opera or 'Palestinian Folk' songs from his car stereo system. Her mom's name is Jamila, which means beautiful in Arabic. She’s loud, fun and energetic, loves to laugh, and is neurotically clean. Just before starting her 11th year in school she makes the decision to adopt the Muslim custom of wearing the hijab, the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women, with varying reactions from her family and peers. This book is about those reactions.

She gets support from one of her Muslim friends, who also wears the hijab, but her mom and dad are worried about what she will have to go through. With the terrorist attack of 9/11 not quite a year past, the world looks at Muslims with suspicious eyes. Logically thinking Amal goes by the the premis that a small group of fanatics shouldn't condemn a whole religion, a very peaceful religion at that. After all are all Christians hated because of the Ku Klux Klan or the Nazis, they were all Christian based. Too bad the world as a whole does not think logically.

At first her small group of friends think she is forced to wear the Hijab and feel sorry for her, after she makes it clear it is her choice, some begin to approach her out of curiosity and realize she is the same. To give a little slice of the world some of her friends include, a Japanese girl, an Aussie girl with body image issues, a Greek Orthodox woman that came to Australia not speaking English and more.

This book not only deals with the typical problems of the teen years but also shows a very eye opening view of a religion that is misunderstood.

The reader, Rebecca Macauley, does a smash up job of reading this book, she does a great job of portraying the various accents and cultures. Just to give you a hint of what verbal gymnastics she has to go through, she has to portray an Australian Muslim, then also some Pakistani, Orthodox Greek, British Cockney and even American accents. She does a great job delivering the story and manages to express all the emotions on this roller-coaster of life view.

"The Art of Zombie Warfare; How to Kick Ass Like the Walking Dead" by Scott Kenemore Illustrations by Adam Wallenta

"The Art of Zombie Warfare; How to Kick Ass Like the Walking Dead"
by Scott Kenemore
Illustrations by Adam Wallenta
published 2010 by Skyhorse Publising, Inc.
266 pgs.

It all started out as a great promotion on the radio station I work for (WAKO radio in Illinois), I would interview some authors and have a pre-Halloween party. I found Scott Kenemore's series of Zombie books and thought, next to George Romero, here may be an authority on zombies. After several LOLs and needing stitches for my side I decided not only does Scott Kenemore know his zombies but he knows some history as well.

"The Art of Zombie Warfare" is a funny book about how you can not only fight like a zombie but how to raise your own zombie army and become a zombie general. So at this point you may be asking, why fight like a zombie? I think this section of the book best explains why.

If cut off from communications with HQ:
--Conventional soldiers will hold position and attempt to reestablish lines of communication
--Zombie soldiers will hunt and kill the enemy.

If caused to encounter unforseen obstacles, natural disasters, or confusing signs from the enemy:
--Conventional soldiers will wait for word from senior command on how they ought to proceed in light of this new development.
--Zombie soldiers will hunt and kill the enemy.

If faced with an overwhelming foe they cannot possibly hope to defeat themselves:
--Conventional soldiers will call for reinforcements, request an air strike, or just run away.
--Zombie soldiers will hunt and kill the enemy.

See a pattern here?

Scott goes further to explain how throughout all history ,mainly through movies and books, that zombies are the best fighting machine ever. He does this with the best tongue in cheek humor that while it may appear from the cover you are reading a horror book, but in reality you will find yourself laughing out loud several times while reading. Not only are there some funny parts throughout the book but Scott also makes references to all zombie movies ever made, from Dawn of the Dead to Return of the Living Dead to Army of Darkness and all the ones in between.

The first half of the book fully explains how to fight like a zombie and the virtues of fighting like a zombie while the second half describes how to become a zombie general. This is an important part, because, well basically because zombies can't be led. So how do you lead the unleadable? Scott explains that it's not leading because you may get in the way, but that you are there to take credit and rule the world. Whether it's storming a castle, encroaching on visiting early 19th century missionaries ona small island off the Haitian coast, or taking over the local shopping mall, the zombies will win.

Scott Kenemore even discusses historical figures that fought like zombies. People such as Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, 2nd Century Chinese zombie commander Sima Yi, and the Nazis.

So if you are looking for a fun romp through Zombie land, check out Scott Kenemore's "The Art of Zombie Warfare," the most fun you'll ever have with the undead.

Recreate Your Night with David Guetta!

Recreate Your Night with David Guetta!

Check Out The Alter Bridge Webisode!

Check Out The Alter Bridge Webisode!

"UR" by Stephen King

"UR"
by Stephen King
Read by Holter Graham
Produced by Simon & Schuster Audio, 2010
approx 2 hours

It is a running joke that Stephen King can take any inanimate object and turn into a vassal of evil, and in this short story King seems to perpetuate that bit of humor. In the past he's had a possessed car, lawnmowers, household appliances, and more, now King has turned the latest form of literature, the e-book, or more specifically Amazon's Kindle, into a bringer of evil.

Stephen King wrote this story specifically for the Amazon Kindle e-reader and was previously only available as a Kindle download, now Simon and Schuster have released the book in audiobook form. Being a huge King fan, I almost bought a Kindle just to have this story but I'm still a hold out for buying an e-reader. So, when it came out in audiobook form I jumped at the chance to listen.

Holter Graham does a great job performing the book. He captures the eeriness in the story and does a great job voicing the different characters. His voice is very captivating and keeps the listener in the story. In a very interesting not, Holter Graham is not a stranger to King's work, he starred in the film "Maximum Overdrive" which was written and directed by Stephen King. Graham played the kid, Deke.

In "UR," a Midwestern English instructor, Wesley Smith, has recently broken up with his girlfriend and is haunted by her parting shot, "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" In trying to create an atmosphere that could lead to reuniting with his girlfriend, the coach for the college's ladies basketball team, Wes logs on to his Amazon account and orders a Kindle. The Kindle arrives the next day via "One Day Delivery" which Wes did not request. The other odd thing is that the Kindle comes out of the box with no instructions and is pink in color (at the time the Kindle only came in white).

Once Wes powers up the Kindle he finds a menu for UR functions. The UR functions seem to be various alternate realities. At this point, King does one of the things I love about his books and stories, he ties in this story to his Dark Tower Mythos. Each reality is a different level in the tower. In one reality Wes and colleagues discover that the Bay of Pigs conflict led to nuclear annihilation of the Earth. Wes' colleagues are another English teacher and a student.

Wes decides to look at UR Local, which is stated to be under construction. UR Local will only download local papers from future dates and is governed by Paradox Laws which are enforced by the "low men in yellow coats" (remember "Hearts in Atlantis"?). When Wes and his student explore this function they discover that the Lady's Basketball team is involved in a tragic accident with a drunk driver. Can they stop this drunk driver? Can they avoid the low men? You'll have to find out for yourself.

As to purchasing a Kindle...well I'm still undecided...probably so, as long as it's not pink.

The Headhunters by L. Ron Hubbard

The Headhunters
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multi-cast performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio
Approx. 2 hours.

Once again I dive into a Story from the Golden Age, some mid 20th century pulp fiction penned by L. Ron Hubbard. This time I take a far flung adventure to the Solomon Islands following adventurer Tom Christian and what leads to his path for revenge and gold. Tom's path is overgrown with headhunters whose specialty of shrinking heads is sought after by an professor from the United States and two assistants, one of which happens to be the beautiful, Christine Forsythe. Yep, it's an L. Ron Hubbard adventure and there's always a beautiful dame involved.

Originally published in August of 1936, the story opens with Tom Christian confronting Punjo Charlie who murdered Tom's partner attempting to gather gold worth half a million dollars, Tom Christian sets off to the jungles of the Solomon Islands to retrace his partner's footsteps and finish the job. But Tom's gold fever makes him unaware that the notorious thief Punjo Charlie has laid a trap to snare the young man and collect the treasure himself. Just when Tom is about to become the second victim of Punjo Charlie, Tom's native sidekick, Hihi saves the day. Punjo Charlie, though, slips away.

Christian's problems soon triple when a trio of Americans, one of whom is the aforementioned Christine Forsythe, are taken hostage by Punjo Charlie. Christian now must rescue the ill-fated party before their heads are shrunken by the headhunters and before Charlie can get the gold.

What follows is an all-out war which pits Christian, his first mate Hihi and their contingent of coast men against a horde of bloodthirsty headhunters, all under the control of the man who killed his partner. So be prepared to be constantly on the edge of your seat as arrows and spears fly and gunshots ricochet off the trees in the deep jungle of the Solomon islands.

Once again this book is available from Galaxy Press as a sort of modern Pulp Fiction or as a 2 hour cd audio pulp from Galaxy Audio. The cast are also again supremely talented in bringing this tale to life with fun accents and voicework. The sound effects and music make this tale alive with a rich ambiance that will spoil your audio book experience forever. You will never again wish to hear a book unless it is performed by the multi-talented production of Galaxy Audio.