The Wondersmith by Fitz-James O'Brien

Source: Maria Lectrix (Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 )
Length: 1 hr, 32 min
Reader: Maureen O'Brien

The story: On a back street of 19th century New York stands an odd shop labeled simply "Wondersmith." No one is quite sure what is sold there, though beautiful toy figures are arranged in the shop window. Deep within the Wondersmith store, a secret meeting is held shortly before Christmas to devise a plan to use children's gifts to advance a nefarious plot.

"The Wondersmith" is the type of racist and formulaic tale that sold lurid dime novels in the mid 1800s. The villains are evil gypsies intent on murdering Christian children. The heroine is perfect and noble as she is beautiful. Yet, despite these tropes, the story is exciting and chilling. It's easy to see why such stories sold so well to a public in search of Christmas entertainment.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: As the host of the Maria Lectrix podcast, Maureen O'Brien has years of experience in telling stories. Her podcast is focused on Catholic religion, but she also reads stories and books only tangentially related to religion. The archive features large number of stories, novels and religious nonfiction. All this experience shows in her reading of this story. She has a warm, expressive voice that she modulates for the different characters. She slightly alters the text of the story to replace a misused word, but otherwise the story is complete and unabridged.

photo by geekygirlnyc via flickr. Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives. 

"Second Variety" by Phillip K. Dick

Source: Librivox (Part 1 | Part 2)
Length: 1 hour, 24 minutes
Reader: Greg Margarite

The story: In case you haven't noticed, I usually try to pair the stories I review with the book I've reviewed earlier in the week. I like the way that interesting comparisons sometimes result from the juxtaposition of two narratives. This week, the book was a science fiction novel that is no longer plausible because the basis in scientific fact has been overturned. In this science fiction story, the science aspect is still plausible, but the political situation it depicts is history.

In the story, a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the U.N. has turned Earth into a battlefield. American scientists left robots called "claws" to battle the Soviets, then fled Earth to the moonbase. When a U.N. General returns to Earth to negotiate a peace treaty, he discovers what the Russians already know -- that the robots have modified themselves into a human form to better trap unsuspecting soldiers. No one can be trusted - anyone could be a robot in disguise.

If you feel you've heard this before, it's because Dick's story has become hugely influencial in science fiction. The 1995 film Screamer's was directly based off the story. More significantly, both The Terminator and the newer version of Battlestar Galactica have elements of Dick's paranoid thriller.
Rating: 8 /10

The reader: I've reviewed Margarite's readings before on this blog, including his tendency to give a William Shatner-like delivery. The more I listen to him, though, the more I like him. It's a good thing that I 've grown to love his readings, since he has an extensive catalogue of science fiction stories that he's narrated for LibriVox.

The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 2 hours
Reader: Ethan Rampton

The book: For Halloween, here's a creepy story that influenced generations of horror writers. In the novella, a mysterious woman named Helen moves through London society, attracting those around her and leaving disaster in her wake. Who is she and what secret horrors does her beauty conceal?

Machen cleverly leaves it to the imagination most of the descriptions of what Helen actually does. This not only has the advantage of getting around Victorian censors, but also allows the reader to invent more heinous sins than any graphically presented misdeeds. Just like the threat of pain can be more frightening than pain itself, the phrase "as I expect you can guess" is a invitation to darkness.

Rating: 7 / 10

The reader: Rampton has a deep, brooding American accent that increases the atmosphere provided by Machen's words. He gives each character his own voice, allowing the fragments in the last chapter to be easily matched to their authors. The recording itself is well-made.

Happy Halloween!

(photo by Brookie via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons by Attribution Share-Alike)

The Salmon of Blackpool by Roger Gregg

Source: Radio Drama Revival (part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 )
Length: Approx. 2 hours
Readers: Crazy Dog Audio Theatre

The play: What is the purpose of art? Is it to reveal universal truths? Is it to help us understand other people? Is it to make us feel good and be able to cope with our lives? Is it to make money for the artists and others? Can it be all of these?

The Salmon of Blackpool asks these questions in a engrossing drama. Irish screenwriter Richie Ryan gets his first big break from a Hollywood studio: to write a biopic of dying action superstar Johnny Gallagher. As Richie gets to know Johnny, he strays from the studio's plans to write a feel-good Oscar bait. Instead he pens a script that more accurately, if pretentiously, reflects Johnny troubled personality. The production of this story teeters on the edge of being a Sunset Boulevard knock-off, but Gregg's skillful writing and the abilities of the actors keep the narrative grounded in reality. This is one of the better original audio dramas I've heard in the last few years of reviewing.

Rating: 8 / 10

The readers: One of the most interesting aspects of The Salmon of Blackpool is how the sound design matches the subject. This audio drama uses the conventions of film-making to capture the feel of a movie.  Sound effects are used not only to provide atmosphere and illustration, but to move the story along. Gregg allows the performances of the actors to tell much of the story that is left unsaid. David Murray, who has appeared in movies like G.I. Joe gets to show his acting chops as the complex character Johnny while Michael Sheehan brings to Richie a mixture of likableness and desperation that make his character's actions creditable. Kudos to Radio Drama Revival and Crazy Dog Theatre for this one.

(picture by Peteforsyth via Wikipedia. Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike)

"Queen of the Black Coast" by Robert E. Howard

Source: SFFaudio podcast (mp3)
Length: 1 hr, 20 min
Reader: Gary Kobler

The story: Long before the upcoming Conan the Barbarian movie or even the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Robert E. Howard created the character of Conan. This original Conan was an inversion of the classic primal vs. civilized conflict. While most stories champion civilization over red-toothed nature, Howard saw in the Wall Street collapses of his time that civilization could be the corrupt one and savagery be more noble. Conan is unashamedly barbaric in his drinking, womanizing, and violence, but the civilizations he is pitted against have rotted from their own decadence. Conan, at least, is strong enough to stand by his own warrior ethic.

In this classic story, Conan escapes a courtroom where he's asked to go against this personal code. He joins up with a merchant headed for Kush, who is overhauled by pirates. The notorious and beautiful pirate captain Belit lusts after Conan and spares his life. Together, they journey up a river to loot the treasures of a fallen empire and learn the story of its decay. Even if you're not a fan of medieval fantasy, this is a great introduction to the philosophy of Conan.

Note: This story contains adult themes and may not be suitable for children.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Kobler is a professional narrator who performs this story for the Audio Realms edition of People of the Dark: The Weird Works of R.E. Howard Vol 2. Thanks go out to the publisher and SFFaudio for making this full-length story available for free. Kobler does an excellent job of capturing the excitement and suspense of Howard's writing. His voicing of Conan is a bit cartoonish, but it fits the pulpy nature of the hero. One of the weaknesses of Howard's writing is his tendency to use stereotypes for minor characters; this is reflected in Kobler's broad accents for the supporting cast. The recording itself is well-produced and professionally made.

(Image copyright Marvel Comics. Incidental use for criticism falls under the Fair Use provision.)

"Eight Miles" by Sean McMullen

Source: StarShipSofa (mp3)
Length: 1 hr, 3 min (total episode is 1 hr, 47 min)
Reader: Simon Hildebrandt

The story: Like this week's audiobook review, this story harkens back to the 19th century, when balloons and steam engines were the cutting edge of technology. The "Eight Miles" in the title refers not to Eminem's movie, but the unheard-of distance into the air that a client wishes a balloonist to take him. Accompanying the two will be the client's unusual guest, Angelica.

You may have heard of the speculative fiction subgenre of Steampunk, or perhaps seen movies or comic books based on the genre. Steampunk combines science fiction with alternate history set in the Victorian Era, as in the works of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. "Eight Miles" is nominated for a 2011 Hugo Award in the "Best Novellette" category, so it makes for a great introduction to Steampunk.

Rating: 7 / 10


The reader: Simon Hildebrant has a marvelous voice for narration. He performs English and French accents with great skill. StarShipSofa's podcast is envisioned as an audio magazine, usually with multiple short articles and fiction leading up to the main fiction for the episode. The whole Hugo-Award winning podcast is hosted by the cheerful Scottish host Tony C. Smith. For this episode, the main fiction, "Eight Mile" starts at 43 minutes, following a few author interviews and an article on romance and speculative fiction author Ella Scrymsour.

"Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 1 hr, 13 minutes
Readers: Brett and Theresa Downey

The story: In the Italian city of Padua, medical student Giovanni takes up residence overlooking a garden. The garden is owned by the scientist Dr. Rappaccini who has bred the plants to produce the most deadly poisons known to man. Tending this deadly garden is the doctor's beautiful daughter, Beatrice, with whom Giovanni inevitably falls in love.

The garden in this story has clear allusions to the Garden of Eden. Beatrice, then, is both Eve and tempting fruit. But the Creator of this garden is not a righteous deity, but a cunning scientist. So, in addition to being a romance about forbidden love, this is also a fable about man's desire to embrace dangerous scientific knowledge, and the consequences of that act.

Rating: 8 / 10

The readers: Although two separate readers team up for this story, the recording is an unabridged reading, not a radio-style adaptation. Brett reads the narration and most of the voices, while Theresa reads the part of Beatrice. Brett is an expressive amateur reader, but his narration is handicapped by several glaring mispronunciations. His voices for the characters are appropriate and allow for easy identification of the speakers. Unlike many male readers, he knows his limitations and allows Theresa to perform the part of Beatrice, at which she does a fine job.

(Painting Lady Lilith (1868) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. No copyright restrictions.)

"Booktaker" by Bill Pronzini

Source: AudioGo (part 1 | 2)
Length: 1 hour, 40 min
Reader: Nick Sullivan

The story: The "Nameless Detective" is the protagonist of Bill Pronzini's long-running hardboiled crime series. In this short story the anonymous gumshoe is hired by the owner of a used and antique bookstore. Some valuable maps and etchings have been stolen from the store, despite the installation of an antitheft system, and suspicion has fallen upon the bookstore's employees.

This is the first of the Nameless Detective stories I've read, and I really enjoyed it as a light read. Besides providing a interesting setting for the mystery, the bookstore locale gives Pronzini a fun chance to pay homage to his antecedents by namedropping some of the the detective novel pulp magazines.  Pronzini doesn't break any molds with this story, but he does hit all the right genre notes with an intriguing locked-room setup, a cast of equally plausible suspects, and enough clues to figure out the solution a step before the protagonist, though I didn't.

Rating: 7 /10

The reader: Nick Sullivan is a professional narrator with excellent acting chops. At first, I thought his reading pace was too slow and deliberate, but when he started voicing the characters, he really was able to shine. This audiobook is being released by AudioGo, which was formerly BBC America. They also released another Nameless Detective story for free at their website. I'm not sure how long these stories will be kept posted, so go ahead and get them if you're interested. (Thanks to Jesse Willis of SFFaudio.com for pointing out these stories).

"The Dead" by James Joyce

Source: ThoughtAudio.com (part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 )
Length: Approx 1 hrs, 30 min
Reader: Michael Scott

The story: As part of the week of St. Patrick's Day, I'm celebrating Irish Short Story Week, hosted by The Reading Life. If you don't already subscribe to The Reading Life, hop on over and check out reviews of other Irish writers' short stories. I'll be reviewing two stories by Irish authors, but in keeping with my blog format of reviewing one free audiobook and one free audio story each week, I'll start with a story that could also be considered a novella.

Joyce is the paragon of Irish literature. Whenever I think of his writing, I think of dense, melancholy stories that require the use of a commentary and a dictionary of symbolism to wade through. "The Dead" has all those qualities, but it is also by turns humorous and romantic. In the story, Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta visit his aunts' house for a Christmas party. While there, Gabriel blunders his way through a few conversations with other women, then is struck by the beauty of his wife as she listens to a song that brings back old memories for her.

Joyce explores what it means to belong: to belong to a family, to belong to Irish nationality, and to belong to another person. Gabriel is a man who doesn't quite feel like he belongs. His education has removed him from those around him and his taste in culture tends toward England and Europe rather than Ireland. Catching his wife in a moment of reflection he is overjoyed to belong to her. And of course, her love belongs to him, right?

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Scott has a radio-announcer's voice that is extremely polished. His American accent is nondescript, and while it does not add the authenticity that an Irish accent would, it does not detract either. The recording is clear and well-made. In fact the only complaint I have about this reading is that it may be a little too polished; I didn't feel a strong sense of character from the reader. Most listeners will probably feel that this recording is perfectly fine, but if you want a second option, the always wonderful Elizabeth Klett has read "The Dead" for Librivox. I haven't listened to her entire recording, but from what I've heard, it's very good.

"The Seven of Hearts" by Maurice Leblanc

Source: LibriVox (mp3)
Length: 1 hour, 5 minutes
Reader: Tim Bulkeley

The story: Maurice Leblanc, a contemporary of Arthur Conan Doyle, created the character of Arsene Lupin, a character as popular in France as Sherlock Holmes is in the English-speaking world. In many ways Lupin is the anti-Holmes: where Holmes is English, analytical, and dedicated to catching criminals, Lupin is French, emotional, and is a criminal himself. Yet like Holmes, Lupin usually ends up on the side of good, stealing from the rich and unscrupulous with a style that is dashing and charming.

In this story, Leblanc, who is both the real-life author and the in-story character chronicalling the exploits of Monsieur Lupin, explains how he first met the Gentleman Thief. The tale, which begins with an unusual robbery and involves a hole-punched seven of hearts as a calling card, is as much a baffling mystery as any of Conan Doyle's creations. When we finally get to meet Lupin, the brains behind all the machinations, we are introduced to one of the great characters of fiction with many more stories to come.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Bulkeley has a rich, pleasing British accent that gives this reading a sense of style. He performs each character with his or her distinctive voice, even doing a decent falsetto for the lone female character. Bulkeley does stumble a few times and seem caught off guard by the structure of a sentence here and there, but overall, this is an outstanding reading.

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Source: Archive.org (mp3 or m4a)
Length: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Reader: Alan Davis Drake

The story: This story, made famous by the movie starring Brad Pitt, follows the life of Benjamin Button, a man who for unknown reasons, lives his life in reverse. Benjamin is born as an old man and then, as time passes, becomes younger and younger. Fitzgerald skirts the practical questions of how or why Benjamin grows younger with time and instead focuses on the character.

The power of speculative fiction (a catchall term for fantasy, science fiction, alternate history, and any fiction that departs from reality) is that it allows us to see what could be in order to better understand what is. In this story, Benjamin's condition causes misunderstandings, both hilarious and tragic, that highlight how his apparent age affects both how people treat him and his own desires and needs. Even though Benjamin's actual situation is nothing I could remotely relate to, I could understand him because I myself have felt the frustration of viewing myself as younger than I actually am or conversely being young and wanting to be seen as mature.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: If you've been following this blog, you've already read my high opinion of Alan Davis Drake. His interpretations of this work of literature makes clear both the humor and sadness of Benjamin's life. He gives his characters distinct and appropriate voices that fill out their written descriptions and make them more three-dimensional. There are other recordings of this story, many of them quite good, but this one, I think, is my favorite.

"Firstborn" by Brandon Sanderson

Source: Tor.com (mp3)
Length: 1 hour, 13 minutes
Reader: Brandon Sanderson and Emily Sanderson

The story: If you keep up with fantasy literature, you probably know Brandon Sanderson from his own large fantasy novels, such as the excellent Mistborn, the juvenile fantasy Alcatraz series  or as the writer called in from the bullpen to finish the late Robert Jordan's sprawling Wheel of Time fantasy series. So for Sanderson to be writing space opera science fiction and a short story is two unusual situations at once. He's so successful, at least in this story, that I wonder why he doesn't write more short science fiction.

"Firstborn" is set in a galactic empire where space navies do battle with rebel forces, complete with space fighters dogfights. Dennison Crestmar, a young nobleman in the Imperial Navy, is struggling as an unsuccessful officer who is constantly compared to his older brother, the famed admiral Varion Crestmar, who has never lost a battle. The setting, plot, and characters seem ripe for a series of clichés, but somehow Sanderson crafts these parts into an engaging and inventive story.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Sanderson, as he freely admits, is not a professional voice actor. He doesn't have the richness of sound that the pros have and the recording quality has a bit of hiss. Yet, Sanderson is a very good amateur reader. He is expressive and seems to be enjoying reading his own work. When his wife checks in to read some of the middle portion of the story, she does an equally fine job. Although he does a good job here, I don't think I'd like to see Sanderson narrate those fantasy novels he's best known for; those things are long and I'd rather have him writing sequels than reading!

"The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol

Source: Archive.org (part 1 | part 2)
Length: 1 hr, 28 min
Reader: Alan Davis Drake

The story:  This classic tale, also translated as "The Cloak", is one of the most revered stories in Russian literature. Akaky Akakievich is a poor clerk in a government office who is the butt of many jokes from his colleagues as much for his social ineptitude as for his threadbare overcoat.  Many of the themes that would be common to the greats of Russian literature trace their heritage to this story: the hopelessness of poverty, the striving to move up in a class-striated society, government indifference and arrogance, and injustice for the powerless. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov would continue these themes in their own literature, building great works from common starting material. 

Despite the heavy themes, this is a story with plenty of humor. Gogol even pokes fun at the conventions of storytelling by breaking the fourth wall. Part of the genius of this story is the tension between the listener's tendency to sympathize with the plight of Akaky Akakievich or laugh at his awkwardness and eagerness to impress his colleagues.

Rating: 9/10

The reader: This may be a free recording, but that doesn't make Alan Davis Drake any less of a professional. His voice is smooth and expressive in his narration, bringing out the sometimes subtle humor in this piece. His intonations for the dialogue bring out the pattern of Russian speech without doing a broad accent. The short musical pieces at the beginning and end of each part do not distract from the reading and are not played over the narration.

"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang

Source: StarShipSofa (mp3)
Length: 1 hr, 10 min (story is about 45 min)
Reader: James Campanella

The story: This time travel story, winner of the 2008 Hugo Award for best novellette, is set in caliphate Baghdad. This unusual setting for science fiction gives the story its unique flavor and allows it to feature an unusual approach to the old trope of a time travel story.  Chiang gives a nod to Arabian Nights by writing several stories within a framing story. Unlike Arabian Nights, where the framing story was simply an excuse to tell a diverse mix of unrelated stories, here the stories intertwine and touch one another.

Like many time travel stories, this one focuses on the consequences of our actions in life. Unusually for this genre, Chiang explores the uses of forgiveness and repentance on how we view the past. Interestingly, this echoes St. Augustine's views on the nature of time and forgiveness. We cannot travel through time in our own world, but by asking forgiveness we can try to change how we and others see our past.

Rating: 8 /10

The reader: Every time I listen to Campanella narrate a story, I come away more impressed. The man is a master of voices. In this story, he mimics the melody of a Middle Eastern accent, then shifts it to create different characters. He is a middle-aged man, a young man, an old man, and an evil thief. He even reasonably impersonates a young woman and an old woman, a feat that I consider the pinnacle of achievement for a male narrator. The Starship Sofa podcast is a reliable source of good science fiction audio, winning a Hugo Award itself this year. This story fills the first half of the episode linked to above.

The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Source: Wired for Books (Act 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 )
Length: 1 hr 48 min
Readers: Actor's Theater of Columbus, Ohio

The book: Macbeth is a good subject of the Scottish King Duncan until some witches show up to suggest Macbeth will be king. With his wife's heavy persuasion, Macbeth murders Duncan and becomes King of Scotland himself. For a while, everything is fine. But if you've ever seen a Coen brothers film, you know that these kind of criminal enterprises tend to go horribly wrong. Soon, Macbeth is murdering everyone around him and Lady Macbeth has gone insane.

Although I first read Macbeth in high school, it took until I saw the play live at the  Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta until I really enjoyed it. Like many great works of art, I have to see, hear, or read Shakespeare's plays several times before I can really appreciate them. The first time through, I'm just trying to puzzle out the language. It takes until the third or fourth time I encounter the play, usually in different formats, before I can really appreciate the depth of the work. Even if you've already read or seen this play, do yourself a favor and listen to it one more time.


Rating: 8/10

The readers: The reason I rarely review audio plays is because there's just so much going on that it's hard to encompass everything in a short review. I'll be brief by saying the actors here do a fine job of bringing the play to audio. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to follow what they're saying, but that's more because of the complexity of the language than the actors' voices or the recording quality. I'd recommend following along with a printed text rather than trying to listen to this one in your car.

"Red Shadows" by Robert E. Howard

Source: LibriVox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 1 hr, 2 min
Reader: Paul Siegel

The story: Robert E. Howard is probably best known for his muscular barbarian, Conan the Cimmerian. This story introduces one of Howard's other great action-adventure characters, Solomon Kane. While Conan is hedonistic anti-hero, Kane is a Puritan and a righteous avenger of God. With his adventures set in the early 1600s, Kane pursues his enemies with rapier and flintlock, exacting divine vengeance with a dour visage.

In this story, Kane finds a young woman, raped and dying and vows to kill the leader of the bandits that murdered her and looted her village. Kane's pursuit ranges across continents and into the heart of dark Africa. This is a story full of slashing swords and purple prose. Howard is one of the better pulp fiction magazine writers and his stories crackle with action. This story, and those like it, are one of my favorite literary guilty pleasures.

Rating: 8/10

The reader: Siegel's expressive narration adds to the atmosphere of dark adventure. He adopts a variety of accents that sound as if they came from 1920s radio villains, as befits this type of pulpy story. The recording has a bit of hiss that I could detect, but nothing distracting.

(Cover image from SFFaudio)

The Man Who Would Be King by Rudyard Kipling

Source: Librivox (zipped mp3s)
Length: 1 hr, 30 min
Reader: Phillipa

The story: In British-ruled India, the narrator, a correspondent for a colonial newspaper, meets a pair of con-men while riding on the train. Several months later, the two con-men show up at the newspaper office with a wild scheme. They plan to sneak into the border region of Afghanistan with 20 Martini rifles, raise small army of natives, and become kings of the region.

This story enjoyed great admiration when it was first published in the 1890's, but now it is difficult to read without recognizing the racist and colonialist overtones. The view of non-Europeans as so simple as to be swayed by a few Masonic rites and the authority of a white man is a bit difficult to buy. However, these are professional con artists and well-educated Europeans have been taken in by less. What really struck me was the colonialist goal of the story and how it compares to modern news. That one could, with modern weaponry and tactical know-how, train a local army to take over the Afghan mountains seems to be a persistent idea. In fact, I could see this story being adapted to modern times, with only a few adjustments.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Phillipa has a beautiful British accent. She reads with a steady pacing, slow enough to take in the words easily, though some people may wish for a faster read. Her dialect for the two con-artists' voices adds character to the recording, though at first I found it hard to understand. The recording is as crisp and clear as one could ask for.

"The Absent Minded Coterie" by Robert Barr

Source: Librivox (Part 1) (Part 2)
Length: 1 hr, 27 min
Reader: Czechchris

The story: French detective Eugene Valmont is approached by Spenser Hale of Scotland Yard concerning a case which is frustrating the London police. Because of a decline in the price of silver, a band of counterfeiters have begun producing British silver coins in actual silver, making the phonies difficult to identify (historical note: because Britain at the time was on the gold standard, the value of the silver in a coin did not equal its face value). Suspicion falls on a Mr. Summertree who appears to be the one distributing the false coins, but the police need Valmont, as a Frenchman not under English police procedure, to perform a warrantless search to find out who is actually making the coinage. Valmont agrees to take the case, but finds a much more ingenious conspiracy than counterfeiting.

The mystery presented here is both interesting and surprising, with plenty of plot twists that left me shaking my head and chuckling. The entertainment is magnified by the confident figure of Eugene Valmont as a slyly funny narrator. Although the story is set in 1896, modern readers will recognize some features of the story are current in the news: warrantless searches, the use of foreign operatives to avoid national laws, and the election of a new American President in a time of economic crisis.

Rating: 8 / 10

The reader: Czechchris, despite his Slavic username, has a British accent that sounds wonderful, though it jars somewhat with the French identity of the narrator of this particular story. I, however, am not of the opinion that a reader's accent must match the character, since it would be a pity to deny such a good reader as this one the chance to perform this story. The reader does not "do voices" but his reading of the different characters lines are true to the emotions that the characters are expressing. The sound quality of this recording is superb.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

Source: Librivox
Length: 1 hr, 23 min
Reader: Chip

The story: In Sleepy Hollow, a small New York town in the 1790s, village schoolteacher Ichabod Crane is in love. He visits the home of his beloved, Katrina Van Tassel and stays for his other great love, food. While there, he hears the tale of the Headless Horseman, a Hessian mercenary whose head was taken off by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War and supposedly still haunts the region. Brom Bones, Crane's competitor for the hand of Katrina, embellishes the story with his own tale of a midnight race between the spirit and himself. As Crane finally leaves the feast late at night, he hears mysterious sounds all around him and is shadowed by eerie hoof-beats.

Irving writes with all the long-winded embellishments that plague early 19th century writing. It seemed like he wrote an entire book about what was served for dinner at the Van Tassel's house. Beneath this wordiness, though, hides a great writing talent. Irving hilariously praises Crane while all the time making fun of him. The last few minutes of the story, when Crane is pursued by the shadowy figure, are some of the most terrifying in all literature.

Rating: 7/10

The Reader: Chip has a sonorous voice that would work well as professional radio host or announcer. He lends a sense of the melodramatic, which is exactly perfect for the story. He pauses for humorous effect, adds just a hint of sarcasm when needed, and generally makes this an enjoyable story to listen to. His telling of the pursuit of Ichabod Crane left my heart racing.

"Gawayne and the Green Knight" by Charles Miner Lewis

Source: Librivox
Length: 1 hr, 17 min
Reader: Jerome Lawsen

The story: As King Arthur and his court at Camelot feast on Christmas Day, they hear the haunting sound of a fairy horn. Into their midst rides the Green Knight, an unearthly giant whose skin, beard, armor and horse are all green. He challenges the knights of the Round Table: any of them may hit him once with his green battle-ax, then one year later they will meet again and the Green Knight will deliver the same blow to the Arthurian warrior. Sir Gawayne initially avoids the challenge, but egged on by his potential love, the Lady Elfenheart, he accepts the challenge.

This is a 20th century retelling of an ancient legend. Lewis writes in rhyming couplets, a form of poetry more connected in my mind to playground taunts than to epic poetry. Yet, Lewis doesn't take his epic entirely seriously either. He adds in humorous asides and anachronistic commentary on the events, but he also seems to be quite earnest about the themes of true love and heroism. The tone keeps the story from becoming completely sappy, but the story keeps the tone from becoming overly cynical. It's the tension between the two that keeps this story interesting.

Rating: 7/10

The reader: Lawsen is an amazing reader. His narrating voice is an everyman American accent, pleasant and friendly-sounding. When he switches to character voices, he undergoes a magical transformation. His voices for Arthur, the Green Knight, and Gawayne had me wishing there was more dialog. He even has convincing female voices, something that few men can do well. The recording is crisp and allows Lawsen's voices to shine.