Author Topic: Heard any good podiobooks lately? :)  (Read 47197 times)

Talia

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on: March 06, 2007, 09:53:25 PM
I've really gotten into podiobooks over the past couple of months and have come across a few that are just absolutely wonderful. Well-produced, well-read and excellently written. I find there's a lot of different elements that go into the podiobooks I end up enjoying the most - the music utilized (if any), the reader's voice and style of reading, overall audio quality, etc. Actually it makes me curious to some degree if I'd enjoy reading some of these stories as much as I do listening to them :)

Anyway, I've come across a few that I just thought were really, really stellar, and wanted to share them and encourage you guys to check them out.

First,let me mention 'How To Dissapear Completely' by someone named Myke Bartlett, which is currently "in progress" but with a good chunk already available on the site (http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=44) Set in London, its about an alienated waitress who finds herself sucked into a sort of shadow world where she's pursued by sinister suited men and murderous shadows, accompanied by a happy-go-lucky criminal and his bitter, gambling-addicted sidekick - who drives a time-travelling car.

The writing's sharp, the characters are great and the music is well-chosen and adds atmosphere. Plus, the author has a great reading voice. This one is really, really, really, really, really good and I couldn't encourage you guys more to check it out.

'Brave Men Run' by Matthew Wayne Selznick has gotten some love on here before, but I thought I'd mention it again in case anyone hadn't heard it yet. Its about a teenager with a few special abilities who might be even more special than he thought. Another one you really shouldn't miss.

Not quite in the same caliber as the previous two, but I'm still really enjoying it, is 'The Corridor' by "Zan." (http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=118). Its also unfinished.
At its core its an exploration of multiple realities/multiple universes and the people who can transverse them, told through the viewpoint of an individual who one day finds himself being hunted down by interdimensional beings.The writing's a little uneven at times, and the musical introduction is waaaaay too long for the first bunch of episodes, but its a pretty fun story overall.

Anyone else heard any good ones they'd care to recommend?



fiveyearwinter

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Reply #1 on: March 07, 2007, 12:15:14 PM
When I subscribed to a Podiobooks feed, I found it to be of especially poor quality. Not the writing, of course, but after being spoiled by the great quality of Escape Artists, listening to hiss and echo and paper shuffling and the like was really distracting and I just couldn't do it.

Maybe they deserve a second try.



Talia

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Reply #2 on: March 07, 2007, 04:19:11 PM
Oh yeah, give it a second try. I've yet to have any of the podiobooks I've listened to have as poor a quality as you described, though I'm sure there are some out there. It sounds like you picked a particularly poorly put together one.

Most of them are better!

Heh, im not a shill for that particular site, it just happens to be where I found the podiobooks i'm currently obsessing over. :P



Russell Nash

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Reply #3 on: March 07, 2007, 07:17:11 PM
When I subscribed to a Podiobooks feed, I found it to be of especially poor quality. Not the writing, of course, but after being spoiled by the great quality of Escape Artists, listening to hiss and echo and paper shuffling and the like was really distracting and I just couldn't do it.

Maybe they deserve a second try.

The quality depends on the author. Podiobooks doesn't record. They just distribute. I got a couple that were bad, but most are quite good. On the first page of each book there's a customer revue. It has sound quality as one of the ratings.



DKT

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Reply #4 on: March 07, 2007, 11:56:55 PM
I started listening to Brave Men Run this week and am absolutely loving it.  It's definitely (at least thus far) got a John Hughes take on teenage superheroes.

James Patrick Kelly's Burn is awesome.  I read the novel first but got a lot from the podiobook.

I finished listening to Infection last week, which was the first Sigler novel I'd heard. The only other Sigler stuff I'd listened to was Bag Man and his stories here on Escape Pod.

I love The Failed Cities Monolgues although technically I've been listening to it via Variable Frequencies rather than podiobooks. That and Hell are really the only books I've kept up to date with.  The others I've waited until they're finished and then started listening to them.

I'd love to hear what other people are listening to and recommend.  I don't think Brave Men Run will last me for much longer :)


Swamp

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Reply #5 on: March 08, 2007, 12:17:31 AM
I am very surprized no one has mentioned 7th Son by J.C. Hutchins.  Best podiobook so far that I've listed to, for quality and content.  Book two: Deceit is just about finished.  Very cool stuff.

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slic

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Reply #6 on: March 08, 2007, 03:57:35 AM
Quote
I started listening to Brave Men Run this week and am absolutely loving it.  It's definitely (at least thus far) got a John Hughes take on teenage superheroes.
I heard the whole book, think it is really great!!  Though the story felt a little unfinished at the end.  I also heard the "director's commentary" 'cast - it was interesting to hear some of the back story and cleared up two major plot problems I had (won't tell you here because one of the "problems" is a major spoiler).

I can't recommend "A Different Point of View" enough - very very funny!  Though, I would recommend manually downloading the episodes from the original site http://www.adpov.net/adpov-archives/  because a) none of the podiobooks bookending, b)more than the 10 episodes listed at podiobooks.

The sonic fiction anthologies are about 50% - short stories from different authors
http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=70&link=search_title

And I enjoyed Spherical Tomi - not as much as Brave Men Run, but still exciting/interesting.
http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=31&link=search_title




slic

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Reply #7 on: March 08, 2007, 04:08:15 AM
I also wanted to plug Children of the Gods
http://www.childrenofthegods.net/

Stumbled across this and the prod qualities are fantastic.  The only problem is that it can be literally months in between episodes and it's no where near finished.

That is one really nice thing about podiobooks - you know if it is finished.  Other than COTG, I've never bothered starting an unfinished book - I hate waiting for the author.




lowky

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Reply #8 on: March 08, 2007, 10:53:49 AM
only issue I have really had with podiobooks.com is that for some reason, about every 3-4 weeks it seems like they loose their connection, and the feed stops updating for a few days, not sure if it's on my end or theirs.  I usually get frustrated at that point go find the authors site, and subscribe through that if I can.  Also means on authors I like I am more likely to get their next feed right away as well.  I also like the rants/author comments (can ya tell I am a scott sigler fan?).  While I enjoyed ancestor and earthcore, I kept thinking to myself they sound so sterile.  Probably because the first work of his I checked out was infection as it was his current podcast at the time.  J.C. Hutchins always sounds so geeked about his podcast and truly surprised at any praise/listener content he receives.  I definitely prefer the "raw" feed over the cleaned up versions on podiobooks YMMV.



DKT

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Reply #9 on: March 08, 2007, 05:06:20 PM
Quote
I started listening to Brave Men Run this week and am absolutely loving it.  It's definitely (at least thus far) got a John Hughes take on teenage superheroes.
I heard the whole book, think it is really great!!  Though the story felt a little unfinished at the end.  I also heard the "director's commentary" 'cast - it was interesting to hear some of the back story and cleared up two major plot problems I had (won't tell you here because one of the "problems" is a major spoiler).

I can't recommend "A Different Point of View" enough - very very funny!  Though, I would recommend manually downloading the episodes from the original site http://www.adpov.net/adpov-archives/  because a) none of the podiobooks bookending, b)more than the 10 episodes listed at podiobooks.

Ooooo.  That one does look like a lot of fun.  I'll have to check it out.  Thanks!


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Reply #10 on: March 13, 2007, 09:36:14 PM
Thumbs Up to...

A Differn't Point of View
Amber Page and the Legend of the Coral Stone
AmerIndian2192 ( poor recording, great story!)
Ancestor
At the Appointed Time
Brave Men Run
Daughter of the Sun
Doctor Janeways Plague
EarthCore ( 2 Thumbs up )
Echos
Great Moments in History
In the Service of Samurai
Infection
King Solomons Mines
Morevi
Nina Kimberly the Merciless
Nogglestones
Sparkling Death
Spherical Tomi ( Top Notch Sci Fi, Listen now fool-- )
The Pocket and the Pendant
The Red Panda Adventures
Tom Corven
Weavers Web


Thumbs down to...

Come Let Me Whisper
How to Disapear Completely ( too long )
Singularity

I'm listening to a few others, but am reserving my mighty judgement until they end.


Bdoomed

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Reply #11 on: March 16, 2007, 04:48:40 AM
i recently finished Brave Men Run, twas great, wish there was more.
currently listening to the first 7th Son, pretty awesome stuff!

ive listened to Ancestor (loved it) and The Pocket and the Pendant (loved it!)
ive also listened to deep thoughts, voices: new media fiction, and.... Heaven (but i subscribe to Geek Fu so im good for Hell)

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


DKT

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Reply #12 on: March 16, 2007, 04:31:11 PM
Both Hell and the Failed Cities Monologues have now finished and they both rock.  I'm sad they're over.  :(


CastGauge

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Reply #13 on: July 17, 2007, 07:52:28 PM
If you enjoy podiobooks, you may also enjoy my podcast PodioBooks Chat, http://podiobookchat.chrismoody.net. Here I interview authors who have released their books via podcasts.

Chris



Planish

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Reply #14 on: October 11, 2007, 02:08:46 AM
'Brave Men Run' by Matthew Wayne Selznick has gotten some love on here before, but I thought I'd mention it again in case anyone hadn't heard it yet. Its about a teenager with a few special abilities who might be even more special than he thought. Another one you really shouldn't miss.
That was the first recently-written SF that I'd ever listened to, and it was quite engaging.

I just finished Singularity by Bill DeSmedt. It moved along quite nicely even with some fairly painless exposition about black holes and quantum physics.
Looking forward to the sequel Dualism.

Next up will be Scott Sigler's EarthCore, after I catch up on a few more episodes from the Escape Archive.

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BrandtPileggi

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Reply #15 on: October 12, 2007, 02:23:28 AM
Favorites:
The Failed Cities Monologues - Rediculously good. His short stories are just as good and his upcoming movie, Devil's Kitchen looks great.
The Immortals - I was prepared to be underwhelmed by it. Very well done. The only thing I disliked was that the moments meant to ellicit an emotional response couldn't have been more obvious than if he had Keenan Ivory Wayan walk through and announce it every time.
Heaven 2 - Like all the Heavens, just a flat out freaking good time. The difference between the two for me was that I was literally giddy at the end of this one. I think my exact words were "Oh shit! That is AWESOME!"
7th son 1 - Everything is pretty obvious but you're still gonna love it. Just get over it and enjoy.
Earthcore - IMPOSSIBLY wonderful suspense. IMPOSSIBLY better voices. This one was IMPOSSIBLY good. Except for the overuse of a particular adverb. Care to guess which?

Great:
Shadowmagic - Had a hard time not moving this one up higher. Pretty fun world and great characters. It's okay to want to smack the shit out of the protagonist. I think the predictability was probably the only thing that kept this lower for me.
Heaven 1
7th son 2
Ancestor 
Heaven 3
Crescent (in progress)
Eastern Standard Tribe (in progress) - I'm almost certain this may move into the top tier upon completion.


Infection - Couldn't get past any more Sigler female voices. I finally got through the Chinese girl's from Ancestor to be met withthe spanish girlin this one. Couldn't do it. PS. I told him this at DragonCon and he's QUITE aware. PPS. Awesome cat.
Singularity - I like Bill. I fancy myself to be a pretty smart gentleman. I love the concept. I felt like a moron listening to some of the descriptions. Especially the epic machine near the end. The characterization of the female bugged me a bit. His Russian and other voices are great. I'll still look forward to his next one.
The Arwen - I was shocked when it won out over Heaven in the parsecs. I was even more shocked when I heard it. It's not bad by any means. But... it's episodic, and the first episode was... meh. Again, I believe in second chances and will listen to the second one.



Planish

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Reply #16 on: November 18, 2007, 03:54:50 AM
I recently finished listening to Nathan Lowell's series Quarter Share, Half Share, and Full Share.
Told in the first person, and they have some fairly engaging characters.
The blurb for Quarter Share:
Quote
The 1st Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper...

When Ishmael Wang is orphaned by a flitter crash, he must make some hard decisions about how to survive in a Company-owned universe. With limited time and fewer options, he lands a job as the newest hand on the Solar Clipper Lois McKendrick and learns there's more to life than making coffee. Join Ish, Pip, Big Bad Bev, and the rest of the Lois McKendrick's crew as they sail the galaxy in search of profitable trade.

Before that I enjoyed to Paul S. Jenkins' The Plitone Revisionist. Something of a fun space opera.

Both were definitely agents of reduction in workplace productivity for me.

Quote
i recently finished Brave Men Run, twas great, wish there was more.
Didn't the author say in the last episode (not part of the actual story) something about another story in the same 'verse, but with different characters?
Oh, wait ... on http://www.podiobooks.com/title/brave-men-run he says "Are questions left unanswered about the larger world? Sure... but this book is about Nate Charter's journey of self-discovery, and the story question is answered by the end. Give it a shot --- and get ready for Pilgrimage, the next novel of the Sovereign Era, coming in early 2008."
Also there's his blog about it, with a "progress bar": http://www.mattselznick.com/writing/pilgrimage/
That's good news.

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DDog

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Reply #17 on: November 26, 2007, 08:29:50 PM
I'm enjoying Playing for Keeps. :D

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gelee

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Reply #18 on: November 27, 2007, 08:10:49 PM
Has anyone heard "The Sagan Diaries" by John Scalzi?  I've enjoyed his written material, so I thought I'd give it a go. 



Planish

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Reply #19 on: November 28, 2007, 02:50:43 AM
I'm halfway through Phil Rossi's Crescent
Quote
This podcast is part Babylon 5, part Firefly, and part Blade Runner... only darker." -- Tee Morris
That sounds about right.

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Russell Nash

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Reply #20 on: December 05, 2007, 01:36:50 PM
I've finished the first 13 chapters of Tracy Higkman's The Immortals.  I like the idea, but the story isn't thrilling me yet.  Does it get better or should I dump it?  I have so much other stuff to listen to.



goatkeeper

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Reply #21 on: December 06, 2007, 03:03:26 AM
Dump it.  It gets worse.  Trust me.



Russell Nash

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Reply #22 on: December 06, 2007, 09:32:02 AM
Dump it.  It gets worse.  Trust me.

That's what I was thinking.  I'll wait for a few more comments before I erase it, but I'm not going to listen to anymore unless someone gives me a very good reason.



timprov

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Reply #23 on: December 08, 2007, 05:34:08 AM
Quote
The Arwen - I was shocked when it won out over Heaven in the parsecs. I was even more shocked when I heard it. It's not bad by any means. But... it's episodic, and the first episode was... meh. Again, I believe in second chances and will listen to the second one.

You're not the only one, when I found out I won, I nearly fell out of my chair (I was in a hotel room on a business trip at the time.)

I had a very long, 11 hour drive a few weeks ago and I was able to listen to book one of the Secret World Chronicle series, if you like superhero stories, alien invasion and Nazi's in superarmor attacking cities, you'll look this book.  Some of the chapters are very, very long and could be broken up but, since I was in the middle of a long drive it didn't bother me at all.

I also found Number one with a bullet pretty entertaining in an 80's action movie sort of way, don't listen too it thinking you'll be hearing anything that's even remotely set in a believable world but I can't deny it was extremely entertaining.

Listened to most of the other stuff that was mentioned so yeah, I'd recommend most of them as well.

BrandtPileggi, when you get done listening to the second one I'd be interested to know what you think.



« Last Edit: December 08, 2007, 05:35:41 AM by timprov »

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Planish

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Reply #24 on: December 08, 2007, 07:39:41 AM
Finished Phil Rossi's Crescent
It was okay enough for me to want to finish it. It had its moments, but I kept waiting for revelations that never happened. I did not find it scary like some reviewers said, but then I find very few works scary.



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