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Narrator Spotlight: Jeffrey Kafer
Jeffrey Kafer is a full-time SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator and consultant. He has narrated over 700 books in almost every genre for such authors Clive Barker, Steve Alten, Maya Banks, Gregg Olsen, and many others.
HEAVY METAL ENTERTAINMENT AND PODIUM AUDIO JOIN FORCES TO CO-PRODUCE IMMERSIVE SCI-FI AUDIOBOOK
Created & Written by Matthew Medney and John Connelly, Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance Set to Release in bookstores and on Audible on November 11, 2020 LOS ANGELES, CA – Heavy Metal Entertainment, known for the world’s foremost illustrated science fiction and fantasy magazine, is teaming up with leading independent audiobook publisher Podium Audio, to co-produce an immersive audiobook created by Heavy Metal CEO Matthew Medney and Lockheed Martin Aerospace Engineer John Connelly, Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance. The book and audiobook are set to release on November 11, 2020. A thoughtful meditation on the human race’s place in the universe as well as an entertaining sci-fi adventure, Beyond Kuiper: The Galactic Star Alliance asks some important questions. Why hasn’t sentient life been discovered in our galaxy? If that life exists, why has no other life communicated with us? The answer is simple, no one wants to. Enter the Galactic Star Alliance, a union of species and planets that span the galaxy earth calls home. But while our galaxy has yet to speak to Earth there are some humans who believe it is out there. Not as science-fantasy but as science.
Alone Together Review on AudioFile! Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Times of COVID-19
More than 90 writers contributed essays, poems, and interviews to create this historical snapshot of how a group of authors are living through the current pandemic. The writing is diverse in sensibility and form and is enhanced by the performances of similarly diverse narrators, who also worked gratis so that income from the production can provide relief for independent booksellers who are economically affected by COVID. These intimate stories of people reacting to a variety of losses are served well by the efforts of these voice actors; their performances seem animated by a deep well of empathy for writers and audio listeners alike. With the pandemic still ravaging what all of us used to call our normal lives, this is an audio that will make a lot of traumatized and isolated listeners feel less alone.
‘Bleeding-Edge Science Fiction’ Book Beyond Kuiper has a Heavy Metal Edge
Before Star Wars there was Heavy Metal. In the spring of 1977, the adult-oriented science fiction and fantasy magazine changed genre — and the way fans perceived genre. Before the terms "grimdark" existed in the fan nomenclature or cyberpunk was really solidified as an aesthetic, the stories and art of Heavy Metal presented a side to science fiction that was anything but kids' stuff. Although the magazine is called Heavy Metal, the relationship that it had to the mainstream of sci-fi was probably closer to punk rock.
Last Breath Review on Literary Hub! A Gripping British Mystery
Host Jo Reed and AudioFIle’s Robin Whitten discuss Last Breath, a new British mystery from Sally Rigby, where an unlikely pair investigating a copycat serial killer discover an unconvicted murder suspect from thirty-five years earlier may have a role in the current case. This well-rendered step-by-step procedural with its gripping conclusion makes for an exceptional listen.
ExForce listed as Top Space Opera of 2020 | Den of Geek
From the page to the screen, here are all of the space operas, on-screen and on the page, we're consuming in 2020. Check out the Top Space Operas of 2020 by Den of Geek.
Nathan Fillion Narrates Sci-Fi Novel The Salvage Crew
Award-winning actor Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle, The Rookie) brings to life a snarky artificial intelligence you won't soon forget. Don't miss his hilarious performance in a story perfectly crafted for sci-fi fans of The Martian, Red Dwarf, and We Are Legion (We Are Bob).
Narrator Spotlight: Julia Whelan
She's won numerous awards for her work as a narrator, including AudioFile's Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Award. She's been a life-long actress, screenwriter and recently published her first novel, My Oxford Year, which she also narrated. Introducing the multi-talented, Julia Whelan.
Lou Diamond Phillips Gives an Old Fairy Tale a Sci-Fi Makeover in “The Tinderbox”
Actor Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba, Prodigal Son) has turned his attention to writing with The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira (Aethon), a science fantasy/space opera retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson tale of the same name. The book already is receiving high praise. Author Chris Vohalian calls it “a wonderful mashup of Stars Wars, Game of Thrones, and one of Hans Christian Andersen’s most complex fairy tales.”
Podium Audio Expands Board of Directors
Mary Yee, VP Global Marketing, Playstation, and Scott Bailey, President Opry Entertainment Group, to join Podium
Podium Audio and Heroic Books Partner to Release Sci-Fi Audiobooks, Starting with Davis Ashura Novel
A Testament of Steel (Instrument of Omens), narrated by Nick Podehl, is set to release on Audible on November 10, 2020.
Heavy Metal Launches New Shared Sci-Fi Universe in ‘Beyond Kuiper’
Screenrant does a deep-dive into the massive sci-fi universe created by Matthew Medney and John Connelly in their upcoming novel Beyond Kuiper. Get a glimpse at the series artwork and read about the upcoming audiobook complete with a 20 track score that hearkens back to the techno-punk beats of 1980s sci-fi cinema.
Firefly’s Nathan Fillion aims to misbehave in space again as AI narrator of ‘The Salvage Crew’
Nathan Fillion is voicing his very first audiobook narration for The Salvage Crew, a sci-fi novel written by Sri Lankan author and data Yudhanjaya Wijeratne (Numbercaste and The Inhuman Race), and published by Aethon Books. For the tale, the actor will embody the first-person narrative of a human-convict-turned-AI-overseer that is tasked with making sure that colonists meant to settle planets get there unscathed.
The Good Shepherd Review on AudioFile!
Narrator Edoardo Ballerini puts a little extra emphasis on details that are routine--savoring coffee or repeating orders down a chain. This emphasis adds to the tension of C.S. Forester's WWII story, soon to be a movie starring Tom Hanks as American escort commander George Krause, who protects ships bringing oil to the British navy.
Last Breath Review on AudioFile! Earphones Award Winner
Narrator Clare Corbett flawlessly creates the accents and setting of Lenchester, England, while introducing Detective Chief Inspector Whitney Walker and her polar opposite, psychologist Georgina Cavendish. Listeners will be intrigued by Corbett's portrayal of Walker, who is compassionate and skilled at questioning both timid witnesses and hardened suspects.
10 Editors’ Picks from September’s Best Audiobooks on BookTrib
BookTrib named Anni Taylor's "One Last Child" in their September's Top Audiobook picks 👏 This book is not only receiving rave reviews from fans & critics alike but also won an AudioFile Earphone Award for Caroline Lee's performance! Every month, AudioFile Magazine reviewers and editors select the best new audiobooks — from memoirs to satire, historical fiction to mystery and cultural commentary.
Podium Audio Featured in September’s Best Audiobooks from BookTrib
One Last Child from Anni Taylor made the BookTrib Editor's picks for September. Every month, AudioFile Magazine reviewers and editors select the best new audiobooks — from memoirs to satire, historical fiction to mystery and cultural commentary. These listening recommendations offer plenty of variety, inspiration and escape.
One Last Child review on the AudioFile! Earphones Award winner
By Anni Taylor | Read by Caroline Lee - Narrator Caroline Lee inhabits this mystery set in Katoomba, Australia. Teachers are setting up a picnic for 19 kindergarteners when five of them, including the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland, mysteriously vanish. Lee's delivery of both the narrative and the dialogue is flawless--diverse emotions and local, Indian, and Chinese accents are spot-on. Listeners will be as dismayed as Wakeland when she's forbidden to participate in the investigation because of the family connection, but she's kept up to date on the search. Wakeland's beloved hospice-bound mother, who provides a vital clue, is Lee's best creation. After more than three years, four of the children are returned, making the pursuit of the others even more desperate. The impeccably rendered conclusion fits the gripping story. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award
Brian’s Book Blog on Florida Man!
Florida Man by Mike Baron, Narrated by R.C. Bray - Mike Baron delivers a riotous, heartfelt, and ultimately uplifting story in Florida Man, brought to life by the inimitable R.C. Bray.
Alone Together Review on Washington Post!
Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19 is a collection of essays, poems, and interviews to serve as a lifeline for negotiating how to connect and thrive during this stressful time of isolation as well as a historical perspective that will remain relevant for years to come.
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