“Under the Black Ensign” by L. Ron Hubbard

“Under the Black Ensign”
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio (2008)
Approx 2 hours.

Back when I first started listening to these audio book productions of tales from the days of Pulp Fiction, or Stories from the Golden Age, I was only interested in the Science Fiction and Fantasy tales, but soon I was curious to hear some of the other genres because of the high quality of performance and production put into these books.

Galaxy Audio produces each story from the days of pulp fiction magazine into phenomenal performances that will remind you of the early days of radio.  The characters created by Hubbard are already well rounded and over the top and the voice actors bring each character to life, each one sounding like a character from the mid-20th century, just like the high drama and suspense stories that were on the radio at the time.   The vocalizations, the sound effects and the original music all come together to bring you a true theater of the mind performance.

Once I had listened to all the sci-fi and fantasy stories I started then listening to the back issues of these audio pulps, and no matter what genre I heard, I was entertained and enjoyed the great story.  Hubbard wrote many stories during the time of the pulp magazines and in many genres.  This time around we dive into a sea adventure, but even more exciting (I was especially looking forward to listening to this one) a pirate adventure.

Originally published in “Five Novels Monthly” August,  1935, “Under the Black Ensign” could be called the perfect swashbuckler romance.  Set in the Caribbean of the 17th century this story blends piracy, British men-of-war, a girl of aristocratic birth disguised as a boy, and an officer unjustly stripped of rank.

Tom Bristol’s career as first mate of the Maryland bark Randolph abruptly ends during shore leave when he is press-ganged into serving aboard the British HMS Terror.   Back in the day the crews of naval vessels were the underlings and treated as such.  One day onboard the Terror Bristol drops his marlin spike while working aloft and it nearly falls on a Lord who is on his way to take over a fort and prison in the Caribbean.  The Lord, being the hoity toity well-to-do royalty type, thinks Bristol was attempting to assassinate him orders Bristol to be given 100 lashes (a punishment that would bring death.

Just as Bristol is about to receive his lashes, the vessel is overtaken by pirates and after the melee Bristol is seen to be tied to the mast and given the opportunity to join the pirates.  Bristol is one of the valuable few that understand navigation on the high seas.

When Bristol is confronted by another pirate that wants to commit mutiny he kills the mutinous scalawag.   His new pirate mates desert him quickly after he’s found guilty of killing a mutinous pirate and unwittingly harboring a woman on board.   The woman was actually Lady Catherine who escaped the Spanish by disguising herself as a boy.   Bristol is then marooned on a deserted island, with nothing but a small supply of water, a gun and just enough bullets to kill himself.

The woman is put off toward more civilized confines but she steers her boat toward the island where Bristol is alone and they set up camp to decide what to do.  As fate would have it Bristol watches a Spanish ship battle a Dutch slave ship and abandon the Dutch ship and its cargo.  Bristol and the lady row out to the ship and free the slaves, who are sailing men themselves.   Bristol now has a crew and they manage to seize a ship through trickery and he sets out for revenge against the pirates and the British on his own vessel sailing under the black ensign.

Great swashbuckling, pirates, battles, and dames what more could you ask for.  This story beats any Pirates of the Caribbean story you’ll find.

“The Sky Crasher” by L. Ron Hubbard

“The Sky Crasher”
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multi-cast performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio (2009)

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 latest excursion for me was the book “The Sky-Crasher” which featured two stories in the air-adventures genre.

The first, “The Sky-Crasher,” was originally published in “Five Novels Monthly,” January 1936.
Caution Jones has taken the safe side of the air travel industry since watching his father risk his life as a stunt pilot, but the days of caution are over when the world’s airlines are to compete for a million dollar contract.  He knows it’s a risky venture to race around the world but when the rival airline tries to sabotage his every move, caution must be thrown into the wind and win the competition to save his airlines.

“Boomerang Bomber”  is the second story in the book and was originally published in “Sky Aces magazine” June, 1938.  Clint Ragen has been contracted to take a bomber to China.  The Japanese consider this an act of War and seize Ragen’s bomber (which is in crates, not yet assembled) and threaten to imprison Ragen.  The problem is Ragen is the only person that knows how to assemble the bomber.  Maybe he can work off his imprisonment by assembling the aircraft or maybe he has other plans.

Two great stories, both with some great air battles, one with guns and one with wits.

“Under the Diehard Brand” by L. Ron Hubbard

“Under the Diehard Brand”
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multi-cast performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio
Approx 2 hours

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; I never thought I’d enjoy reading a Western novel or story.  In the past these just never interested me, actually I’m still not all that interested in just any old Western story.  A friend once tried to get me to read some Louis L’Amour, but I just couldn’t get past 10 pages without becoming utterly bored.  But here I am reading yet another Western story from L. Ron Hubbard.

I think, no wait, I know  what it is that keeps me interested.  It’s the great production that goes into these Stories from the Golden Age produced by Galaxy Audio.  The sound effects are perfect and keep you trapped in the story.  The incidental music, between chapters and stories, just screams the “old west.” But most important are the actors.  The characters in the stories by L. Ron Hubbard are always super real and over the top and the characterizations provided by the voice actors in these productions represent them perfectly.  Whether it’s an outlaw named Holy George who speaks as though from a pulpit or a cantankerous gold prospector left alone in a ghost town, the actors let you know every aspect of the characters in these stories by superb acting and vocal expertise.

Galaxy Audio and Galaxy Press have been releasing the short stories from the master storyteller, L. Ron Hubbard for a few years now and continue to do so.  These releases are from the mid-20th century writings which were originally published in the “pulp” magazines of the time.  These works of “pulp-fiction” proved some great escapism fiction for the American readers and the pulps represented almost every genre of fiction.  Hubbard wrote stories for nearly every genre and this time around I jumped into another collection of Western stories from the Stories from the Golden Age.  Each release from Galaxy Audio and Galaxy Press are issued to closely resemble the pulps of the time.  This release contains the following three stories.

“Under the Diehard Brand” was originally published March, 1938  in “Western Aces” magazine and tells the tale of the Lee Thompson, son of the sheriff of Wolf River, coming back to his father after being away to help his father.  When he arrives in town his father, Sheriff “Diehard” Thompson, doesn’t recognize him and tells the young boy to keep on drifting or get a job.  The  son finds his father has gotten older and some local ruffians and cattle rustlers have over run the town of Wolf River.  Lee then comes up with a plan to build back up his father’s reputation and rid the town of the criminal element by joining up with the rustlers.

“Hoss Tamer” was originally published January, 1950 in “Thrilling Western” magazine.
An ex-circus horse trainer finds himself out of a job when the circus folds and sells off all its property in a foreclosure.   The trainer tries to find a job as a bronc buster, after all he could “train” horses.   But he gets injured and maimed the first time he tries and is forced to work for the town’s livery stable.   The Gopher Hole gang, the band responsible for his bronc busting disaster attempts to rob the Wells Fargo Train , can a circus horse trainer foil the Gopher Hole Gang’s attempt to rob the Wells Fargo train through their horses?

“The Ghost Town Gun-Ghost” originally published August, 1938, in “Western Action” magazine is a humorous story of an old prospector that seems to have lost his wits after being abandoned in a town when the gold ran out.  A young fellow arrives in town and is shown about the town by the prospector who acts out the role of everyone in town from the mayor, to sheriff down to the the man running the Wells Fargo.  When a few unsavory characters arrive in town it seems the prospector and young man may meet their end in a battle over stolen money hidden in town.

 

“Full Dark, No Stars” by Stephen King

“Full Dark, No Stars”
by Stephen King
Read by Craig Wasson and Jessica Hecht
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio (2010)
Approx 15 hours

Okay, off the top here I’ve gotta admit, I’m a HUGE Stephen King fan, I would read a grocery list if he wrote it.  That’s the big reason I picked up this audiobook.  Stephen King is the master of horror, and can always bring me to dark places and allow me to leave unscathed.  This collection of novellas was no different.  In fact this collection will take the reader/listener to some pretty dark places, but you will come out ok, trust me.

“Full Dark, No Stars” is a collection of four novellas  dealing with the theme of retribution.  In all cases someone gets retribution, in one case I’m not so sure if the retribution was steered toward the rightful person but it was there.  This collection also explores the human psyche in its darkest corners.   King always asks the question “What if..?” and can create some startling stories.  Sometimes in King’s novels the what if may be “What if an alien landed? What if a giant spider/clown thing lived underground and fed on children?”  This time around, however, he takes on a trek through some dark realities; What if you were married to a serial killer?  What if you dumped your wife down the well?  What if you escaped a serial killer? What if you could be cured of cancer?

The four novellas are tell of murders of some sort, two of which from a male point of view and two from a female point of view.  This is why there are two different narrators, one male and one female, both do a superb job of presenting these dark stories.  I think Craig Wasson shines best in his presentation of the first story “1922,”  he creates the down home feel in his vocal presentation, making it sound as if we are listening to Wilfred James actually talk out his confession.

Now, let’s talk a bit about the four stories:

“1922″
Wilfred James, the story’s narrator, writes a lengthy confession for the murder of his wife, Arlette, in Hemingford Home, Nebraska, in 1922.  (King fans will recognize the town as being the center of the psychic magnet for the “good guys” in “The Stand.”)  Wilfred owns 80 acres of farmland that have been in his family for generations. His wife owns an adjoining 100 acres willed to her by her father. Wilfred loves his farm and scorns the thought of living in a city, but Arlette is hates the farm life and wants to move to Omaha, (Insert “Green Acres” theme song here.) She wants to sell her land to a livestock company for use as a pig farm and slaughterhouse. But if she does so,  Wilfred’s farm will smell like pig shit and the water will become disgusting, as he lives downstream from it. Arlette wants Wilf to sell his land to the farmers as well so they can all move to Omaha, while Wilf wants her to use the land to farm crops. They cannot agree, so Arlette decides to sell her land, divorce Wilf, and move to Omaha herself. Wilfred, who is very attached to his land, can’t stand to have it be laid to waste in this way, and manipulates his reluctant 14-year-old son, Henry/Hank, into helping him murder his own mother, by convincing him of how awful and selfish she is, and how terrible their life in Omaha will be, particularly since it will take Henry away from the girl he likes.

They do the deed and then dump her body down the well, at first this seems like the deed is done, but soon the rats come.  The rats used to live in the well and seem to have become Arlette’s minions.  Haunting and torturing Wilf and his cattle.  To top it off Hank gets a neighbor girl pregnant and soon his doom is unveiled.  Wilf does not come out on top like he hoped and the rats follow him everywhere.

“Big Driver”
I’ve always heard that when you write for a living write about what you know best, I’ve noticed King takes this to heart in that a lot of his main characters are writers, this story is about yet another writer.  Tess is a successful mystery writer who appears at a speaking engagement for the group Books & Brownbaggers at the Chicopee Public Library in Chicopee, Massachusetts. After the event, the head librarian, Ramona Norville, who had invited Tess to the library for the event, tells Tess to avoid Interstate 84, which she believes to be dangerous. Instead, she gives Tess the directions to Stagg Road, a presumably safer shortcut to Tess’ home in Connecticut.  However, as Tess takes the shortcut, her Ford Expedition rolls over pieces of wood with nails that lie across the road, giving her a flat tire. The place where the incident happens is by an abandoned store/gas station.

Shortly afterwards, an enormous man in a pickup drives by and offers to assist Tess. However, when Tess looks in the truck’s bed and notices pieces of wood similar to those that punched out her tires, the hulking man knocks her out. She returns to consciousness as the man is raping her inside the abandoned store. This begins a horrific ordeal in which Tess is repeatedly assaulted, both sexually and physically, finally being choked to unconsciousness. Tess plays dead while the man dumps her into a culvert, where she sees the rotting corpses of several previous victims, indicating that she has encountered a serial killer.  Tess manages to find her way home but is a changed person and seeks revenge.  King says he got the idea for this story while going to a book signing himself and stopping at a rest stop and seeing a woman with a flat tire getting help from a friendly truck driver.  Of course, King turns this into a darker story with a darker ending than what probably happened with the good samaritan at the rest stop.

“Fair Extension”
On his way home, Dave Streeter sees a man with a roadside stand by the road to the Derry airport (here King brings back the town of Derry, Maine, which has gone through all sorts of different hells). Street goes out and talks with the man, George Elvid, who tells Streeter that he sells extensions of various types. Streeter, who is dying of lung cancer, thinks Elvid might be a mental patient escapee after he claims to have existed for centuries. Elvid offers Streeter a chance to live for approximately 15 years if he pays 15 percent of his salary for every one of those years… and transfers the “weight” of his misfortune onto someone he knows, but not just someone he knows, it has to be someone he hates.

Streeter selects Tom Goodhugh, his best friend since childhood, whom he has secretly hated for years. Streeter has done everything for Goodhugh, including doing his homework. Later, Goodhugh stole Streeter’s girlfriend in college and married her. Goodhugh founded a successful million-dollar waste removal business with Streeter’s assistance and now lives a lavish lifestyle, has three children on the fast track to great lives, and doesn’t look like age has caught up with him, unlike Streeter.

A couple of days later, Streeter goes to his doctor, who tells him his tumors are shrinking. Four months later, Streeter is declared cancer-free, which perplexes his doctor. The good luck continues in subsequent years, as Streeter is promoted several times at work and his marriage becomes joyous and rich with lavish lifestyle improvements. His children begin a long line of career successes: his son creates two bestselling video games and his daughter gets her dream job as a journalist at the Boston Globe right out of college after graduating from the Columbia School of Journalism.

At the same time, Goodhugh’s wife develops breast cancer, one son has a heart attack and lives but suffers brain damage, his daughter’s husband dies, she gives birth to a stillborn baby (due to same heart defect that caused the heart attack in his other son).  Streeter wins a longer life but at what cost.

“A Good Marriage”
Darcy Anderson has been married to Bob, a partner at a Portland, Maine accounting firm, for 27 years. They have two children, Donnie and Petra, who have left home for college. They also have a mail order business selling and appraising rare coins. But one night, while Bob is away on a business trip, Darcy goes into the garage to search for batteries. When she rummages through Bob’s belongings, she stumbles across a pornographic magazine showing images of sadomasochism. Unnerved by the magazine—and the fact that it is in Bob’s possession—Darcy finds a secret compartment behind the garage’s baseboard and makes a more horrific discovery: a small box containing the ID cards of Marjorie Duvall, a victim of a serial killer called “Beadie.”  Once Darcy has discovered this and then she researches and finds that all of Bob’s out of town trips correspond to other murders by “Beadie.”  What will Darcy do with this information?  If she tells the cops what will the neighbors think?  She and her children’s reputations will be ruined, after all, how could she be married to him and not know?  What she does may surprise even the most avid fan of King’s work.  Stephen King wrote this after hearing the news reports of the “BTK” murderer caught in Kansas a few years back, and his exploration of how the wife of BTK could not know is what makes this story so realistic.

Definitely a good dive into the dark side from Stephen King.

“The Lottery and Seven Other Stories” by Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery and Seven Other Stories”
by Shirley Jackson
Read by Carol Jordan Stewart
Published by BBC Audiobooks America (2010)
Approx 3.5 hours

Shirley Jackson has been called one of the best short story authors, but when she first released her story, “The Lottery,” many people did not appreciate the story and she was ridiculed.  Luckily we still have the chance to read these stories and be better off for it.  I will admit these short stories go against the grain in both the story content and delivery.

On the delivery, I was always taught that good fiction has a beginning and and end with tension building to a release.  Jackson doesn’t follow that line and that the end of the stories don’t release any tension, instead they leave the reader/listener with even more questions and a big void wondering what happened?  Whether wanting to know what happened to the character or the events, you are just left on edge with no promise of easing that tension.  When writing reviews I don’t like to talk about the end of the story because I want to leave that up to the reader.  I still won’t break that policy with myself, but I will tell you that really the ending of each of these stories will only leave you wanting to know more and even to the point of frustration.  Yes, I was frustrated at the end of some of the stories, but after I got over that tension and frustration I realizid I had just been taken on a journey and while the ending is somewhat pessimistic it was definitely an escape, which is all I ask from good literature.

The stories included in this audiobook are:

“The Lottery”
In a small village of about 300 residents, the locals are in a strange and nervous mood on 27 June. Children gather stones as the adult townsfolk assemble for their annual event, that in the local tradition has been practiced to ensure a good harvest. In the first round of the lottery, the head of each family draws a small slip of paper; One man gets the one slip with a black spot, meaning that his family has been chosen. In the next round, each Hutchinson family member draws a slip, andhis wife gets the marked slip. In keeping with tradition, which has been abandoned in at least some other neighboring communities, she must meet the fate of the lottery.

“Flower Garden”
A woman comes from New York City and purchases a cottage in a small town.  When the New York woman asks a young African-American boy to help with her garden the town begins to shun the newcomer.

“Come Dance with Me in Ireland”
Three women are visiting and watching baby at home and indulging in gossip, when the doorbell rings. An elderly man, who looks extremely poor if not homeless, attempts to sell one of the women old shoelaces. Suddenly he nearly faints, and the women all try to help the man.    The feed him and help him out and see him on his way, all the while criticizing him.  This may not seem to intriguing as a summary but the story has more including the response the man has at the end, pretty interesting.

“Men with Their Big Shoes”
Mrs. Anderson, who works in Mrs. Hart’s home, engineers a conversation where she leads Mrs. Hart to believe that the neighborhood is gossiping about her relationship with her husband, and that to protect herself from further gossip she needs to let Mrs. Anderson live in her home.

“Trial by Combat”
An older woman is stealing things from Emily Johnson and is thus stealing her identity. When Emily realizes that they have parallel lives, she feels enough empathy for the thief that she does not react with any antagonism.  I found this to be a very intriguing story especially in the twist at the end.

“Pillar of Salt”
A woman trying to cope with the change of visiting New York City after living her life in rural America.  At first the sights and sounds are exhilarating but soon become overwhelming after witnessing a house on fire, a human leg washing up onshore and the death-defying feat of crossing the street in the middle of the day.

“Like Mother Used to Make”
A man is very meticulous with his apartment from the type and color of drapes to the look of the silverware, but his girlfriend seems to be, well in short, a slob.  His passiveness is his downfall after he invites her over for dinner and she seems to have invited someone else.

“Colloquy”
A woman goes to the doctor to inquire about her husband’s possible insanity. The doctor’s response is so confusing that she becomes hysterical and might be the crazy one herself, though she thinks she might be the only sane person around.  This one was definitely fun to hear.

“A Touch of Dead” Short stories from the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

“A Touch of Dead”
Short stories from the Southern Vampire Mysteries
by Charlaine Harris
read by Johanna Parker
Produced by Recorded Books (2009)
Approx 3 hours

“A Touch of Dead” is a collection of short stories from Charlaine Harris’s series “The Southern Vampire Mysteries.”  For those of you that are fans of the HBO series, “True Blood” this is the series that started it all.   This title was released on October 6, 2009.  and only contains the short stories Harris has published in which Sookie Stackhouse is present.  Harris has written other stories in the Sookie Stackhouse world that don’t include Sookie and are worth checking out.

The first story is “Fairy Dust” from the book “Powers of Detection” (October 2004). It introduces Sookie’s  fairy cousins Claudine, Claude, and the deceased third triplet Claudette. Claude and Claudine are recurring characters in later books of the series.    “In Fairy Dust,” Sookie is working at Merlottes when Claudine the fairy comes in and asks Sookie to read the minds of some human guests of her brother Claude. When Sookie arrives at Claude and Claudine’s home in Monroe, she finds three people tied up in the house. Everyone involved (except Claudine) is associated with Hooligans, an exotic dancing establishment. Claude, who dances, tells Sookie that they believe that one of the people murdered their triplet Claudette while she was working at the club earlier that night. Claude explains that Claudette came to her siblings in spirit form to tell them of her death. Using her telepathy, Sookie interviews each suspect to discover the guilty party.  If only Sherlock Holmes had Sookie’s talent (or “disability” as Sookie calls it).

“One Word Answer” from the book “Bite” (2005), introduces the topic of Hadley’s death, which kicks off the events in the sixth Vampire Mysteries book, “Definitely Dead.”  The mysterious Mr. Cataliades shows up in a limousine at Sookie’s home bringing the news of her cousin Hadley’s death. The rebellious Hadley had not been in touch with the family in years, so they did not know she had become a vampire several years ago. Nor did they know that she was the lover of the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq. It seems that Waldo, a former lackey of the Queen, was jealous of Hadley’s position, so he lured her to a cemetery and killed her. Mr. Cataliades informs Sookie that Waldo has been caught, and that his punishment is in Sookie’s hands – she must decide. Her answer surprises him, and Sookie notices that it also surprises the hidden occupant of the limousine: the Queen.  In this one there were some continuity problems that were incongruent with how the story played out in the series, but this is definitely a story worth hearing or reading, especially since it’s another one involving the dimwitted vampire, Bubba, who is a famous King of rock and roll turned vampire.

“Dracula Night” is from “Many Bloody Returns” (September 2007) and is just a fun story from the southern vampire mysteries series and occurs some time after Sookie’s tryst with Eric sans memories.   Eric’s vampire bar, Fangtasia, throws a party each year for the vampire observance of Dracula Night, in honor of the infamous Count Dracula. According to legend, the Count will choose one lucky party from all over the world to grace with his presence. The book characters are amused by Eric’s childlike hope that the Count will appear at his party, just like Linus of the Peanuts comic hopes in vain to greet the Great Pumpkin.  This was a funny story due to the references to the Great Pumpkin.

“Lucky” is from the book “Unusual Suspects” (December 2008) and spotlights one of the many supernatural yet not vampire characters from Sookie’s hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana.  Insurance agent Greg Aubert asks Sookie (and her witch friend Amelia) to investigate a break-in at his office. He is concerned that someone will discover that he uses magic spells to protect his property and his clients. Amelia and Sookie discover that the break-in was just Greg’s daughter and her secretive boyfriend, who is actually a newly-turned vampire. However, Sookie learns that two other agents in town have had break-ins, and all are getting excessive amounts of claims which may drive them out of business. It seems that Greg’s spells have been using up all the luck in town.

“Gift Wrap” is from “Wolfsbane and Mistletoe” (October 2008) and finds Sookie alone for Christmas. Her brother and closest friends each have their own plans, and she perversely chose not to ask other friends for an invitation. She recalls that she heard a noise in the woods the night before, so she trudges out to investigate. She finds Preston, a naked, muddy and bloody man, who is nevertheless very attractive. To save him from further injury, she brings Preston back to her house and shields him from the Weres who come looking for him. When he starts kissing her, he tells her to pretend she found him gift-wrapped under the tree, and she succumbs to his charm. On Christmas Day, she is relieved to find a note saying he is gone. Her great-grandfather Niall Brigant turns up on her doorstep, surprising her with his company. In the woods behind the house, Preston and a Were chat about Niall hiring them to give Sookie a pleasant Christmas Eve, tailoring the scenario to her personality, and using a bit of fairy magic to attract her.  This to me was a dull story in that there was no real mystery to solve, just a fling with a werewolf/fairy or whatever.

If you’re a fan of “True Blood” or of the Sookie Stackhouse books, this may not be a “must-read” but it is a fun one to pick up while waiting for that next book from Charlaine Harris.

“Side Jobs” by Jim Butcher

“Side Jobs”
by Jim Butcher
read by James Marsters
Produced by Penguin Audio
approx. 13 hours

While still rushing with adrenaline from the huge cliff-hanger at the end of the last Dresden book, “Changes, ” I’m looking everywhere I can for my Harry Dresden fix.  If you haven’t read any of Jim Butcher’s series, “The Dresden Files,” you are seriously lacking in your fun, exciting detective story romp through the supernatural reading.

Harry Dresden is a wizard and a private detective protecting the city of Chicago.  His adventures have taken him through the land of the Faeries, off fighting werewolves and vampires and even Gruffs (you’ll have to read about that one).  His support staff consists of some college students who spend their evenings as werewolves protecting their neighborhood, Karrin Murphy at first a lieutenant for Chicago P.D. Special Investigations, but later demoted to Sargeant,  Thomas his half-brother and White Court vampire, Bob a spirit of a wizard locked within a skull (the wizarding world version of a computer), Mouse a giant Temple Dog, Mister an oversized cat, and on occasion, Gentleman John Marcone Chicago’s biggest mob boss.

With that team you’d think Harry would be able to take on anything, well in general he can, but for the most part it’s his luck that doesn’t hold out.

“Side Jobs” is an anthology book set in Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files series.  Most of the stories were published in other anthologies but finally here they are in one book, in chronological order of appearance in the time stream of the Dresden Files books.   I had read many of these before because seeing a Jim Butcher story in an anthology, I had to read them at the time of release.  There are a couple of stories that were only available on the website and a new one that takes place just after the previous book in the series.  This collection contains the following short stories:

“Restoration of Faith,” takes place before “Storm Front and originally published on Jim-Butcher.com. This story tells a little of a backstory on Dresden as he was working to get his private investigator’s license.  Harry rescues a little girl from a troll under a bridge.

“Vignette” takes place between Death Masks and Blood Rites and was originally published on Jim-Butcher.com.  This one is a very short  fun story about Bob and Harry trying to write the perfect yellow pages ad.

“Something Borrowed” was originally published in “My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding,” and takes place between “Dead Beat” and “Proven Guilty,” is about Billy and Georgia’s (werewolves that help Harry from time to time) wedding day.  Harry saves Georgia from a faerie and in doing so wrecks their wedding day, but they do live happily ever after.

“It’s My Birthday Too” was originally published in “Many Bloody Returns” and takes place between “White Night” and “Small Favor” and depicts a day when Harry is trying to give his vampire half-brother, Thomas, a birthday gift but ends up saving Thomas and some “larpers” from a Black Court Vampire.

“Heorot” was originally published in “My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon” takes place between “White Night” and “Small Favor” and is the story of Harry rescuing a missing bride with the help of Miss Gard, a Valkyrie and agent of Gentleman Johnny Marcone.  This one mixes in some Norse Mythology into the Dresden world.

“Day Off ” was originally published in “Blood Lite” and takes place between “Small Favor” and “Turn Coat”.  This is a very funny story in which Jim Butcher explores the bad luck Dresden faces when trying to take a day off.  Harry’s apprentice is blowing up lab, the werewolves have fleas and a wannabe wizard is bombing the house.  “It’s my day off!”

“Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files” (Mike Mignola illustrations from the first edition not included)  novelette from Harry’s brother, Thomas’ POV, originally published by Subterranean Press, takes place between “Small Favor” and “Turn Coat.”  Harry is being used by an ancient evil, and Thomas must put a stop to it without him noticing.  This story explores more of the “Oblivion Wars” which have only been mentioned in  earlier books.

“The Warrior” was originally published in “Mean Streets” and takes place between “Small Favor” and “Turn Coat” reveals what happens to the Carpenter family after the events of “Small Favor.”  Michael Carpenter was a Knight of the cross, weilding the sword Amoracchius to battle for God.  At the end of “Small Favor” Michael was battered to the point where he lost function of one of his eyes and some limbs.  Michael will still battle when his family is threatened but will the take up the sword again?

“Last Call” was originally published in “Strange Brew” takes place between “Small Favor” and “Turn Coat” and tells when Harry takes on the darkest of dark powers–the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.  Someone is lacing Mac’s Home brew with a psycho-control drug, and Harry must stop them.

“Love Hurts” was originally published in “Songs of Love and Death: Tales of Star-Crossed Love” and  takes place between “Turn Coat” and “Changes.”  Harry and Murphy investigate a series of love spells with deadly consequences.  This also shows another side to the Harry / Murphy relationship.

And finally a new novelette exclusive to the anthology: “Aftermath” which takes place 45 minutes after “Changes” and is told from Karrin Murphy’s point of view. She must help find a kidnapped werewolf.  All through this story Murphy is using what she has learned from Harry while at the same time mourning his “possible” death.

If you haven’t read any Dresden novels you may want to pick this one up, as it is a great introduction to the fun to be had.   While I’m recommending, if you are into audiobooks, I highly recommend this in audiobook form.  As are all the Dresden Files audiobooks, it is read by James Marsters (you know, Spike from the Buffy the Vampire Hunter Series).  Marsters voice captures the wit and wisdom of Harry Dresden, and being that all the novels are told in first person you feel as though Harry is talking directly to you.  If the Sci-Fi channel would have cast Marsters as the lead in the short lived Dresden Files series, I think they series would have done much better….just sayin’.

“The Baron of Coyote River” by L. Ron Hubbard

“The Baron of Coyote River”
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast performance
Produced 2010 by Galaxy Audio
approx. 2 hours

Once again I listen to a genre I never thought I would even look for, Westerns.  These audiobooks by Galaxy Audio have a little extra oomph that keep me coming back.  Galaxy Audio have been re-releasing the early works of L. Ron Hubbard, specifically his stories that were originally published in the pulp fiction magazines of the mid-20th century.  Galaxy Press and Galaxy Audio have taken extra care to keep that pulp fiction feel of these stories.  Many of the short stories fit 2 or 3 per audio book but some are short novellas that fill a Galaxy Press pulp or a Galaxy Audio audio pulp.  With the audio books you feel as though you are listening to an old radio drama from around the same time period.

This book contains two stories from the pulps by Hubbard;  “The Baron of Coyote River,” originally published published in “All Western” in September 1936 and “The Reign of the Gila Monster,” originally published in “Western Aces” in September 1937.  Both of these stories are fun westerns that contain the little Hubbard twists that keep the listener / reader on the edge of their seats or anxious to turn the page to find out what happens next.

What gives these audio books the radio drama sound is a combination of the excellent voice acting, the realistic sound effects and exclusively written music.  During the stampede scene in the first story you feel as though you have been thrown on a horse and thrown in the middle of the story, the sound effects were very well done.  The casts for all these stories always create characters that are fun to hear and Jim Meskimen narrates the stories with such professionalism the listener just slides into the story.  In the second story of this book the narrator is not Meskimen but they have placed in his place (hard shoes to fill) the actor Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5, The Scarecrow & Mrs. King).  Boxleitner does a superb job as guest narrator, giving the listener the feel of sitting around a campfire hearing the tale.

Before I get into the separate stories I feel I need to express something.  Many people’s first response when seeing Hubbard’s name is to immediately have some remark about Scientology.  But what needs to be remembered or learned is that before that Hubbard was a master storyteller.  These Golden Age stories prove that point in that they are all fantastic and fun short stories that within just a  few pages create such enthralling characters and settings.  So before you have anything to say about the religion aspect of Hubbard’s life, put that out of your mind and just listen to or read a great story.

The first story is the title story, “The Baron of Coyote River.”  Lance Gordon is an outlaw that is wanted for killing a deputy marshall, but when he arrives in Santos in the territory of Arizona, he ends up working for the other side of the law.  It is well known around Santos, that the Baron is a cattle thief and that he hires only the best gunmen to protect his ill gotten cattle.  Even the cavalry won’t ride into his territory.  A local gunman and former cattleman rescues Lance as the sheriff attempts to haul him off to jail.  The reason being is the stranger sees in Lance a chance to get his beloved cows back.  At this point I have to tell you Hubbard can throw humor into a story that will surprise you.  In this story the humor comes from the strangers affection toward his cows, each time he would describe his stolen cows I found myself laughing out loud, yep, I LOL’d.  Anyway, back to the story.  The stranger and Lance infiltrate the Baron’s land and set out to stop this man who is making a mockery of the Territory of Arizona and keeping it from becoming a state.  All the way to the very end you will keep trying to guess what will happen next but the end will still surprise you.

The second story, “The Reign of the Gila Monster,” is a very funny western story in which Howdy Johnson has set out to create the roughest, toughest town in the west, Powderville.  As he gets the town rolling, he leaves to recruit the cowboys that are herding their stock to Chicago to stop in Powderville, thus giving the cowboys a rest on the way and creating an economic boon for the town.  While he is a way a man named Gilman (the Gila Monster) comes to town and seems to be rougher and tougher than the town itself, makes himself the Marshall and imposes taxes on everything possible and even the impossible.  When Howdy hears of this he has to return to the town to take back what is his.  This story has so many funny moments and great dialogue that it should be read over and over to catch it all.  Some of the funniest lines are in the description of Gilman, “His hat … looked bigger than an umbrella.” “He had once stepped on [a] hound dog, and … not even an inch of the animal’s tail was visible.” “He could take a bottle of whiskey in his hand, close his finger, and say, ‘Which one have I got it in?’”

Both great stories that will keep you entertained and help escape whatever you need to escape.

“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.

“The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” edited by John Joseph Adams

“The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”
edited by John Joseph Adams
Performed by Simon Vance and Anne Flosnik
produced by Brilliance Audio
Approx 21.5 hours

If you are a constant reader of my postings, you may be wondering what I’m doing listening to a Sherlock Holmes audio book.  I know, it sounds weird and most of my readings are in the Sci-fi, Horror and Fantasy realms, but once in a while I dive into the classics, but this time I’m not straying away from my favorite genres.  This collection of short stories takes the world’s most famous “Consulting Detective” into some very interesting adventures.

The defining quote Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote for Holmes, “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth,” is what guides this collection.  This collection explores the improbable and bends the limits on improbability.  There are 28 stories in this collection written by authors whose specialties range throughout the sci-fi, horror and fantasy realms.  Just a few of the authors are; Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Laurie R. King, Anthony Burgess, Stephen Baxter.

Some of the stories in this collection are rewrites of original Holmes adventures, such as “A Study in Emerald” by Neil Gaiman.  Gaiman takes the introductory story to Holmes’ adventures , “A Study in Scarlet,” and places Holmes and Watson in an alternate universe in which Lovecraftian creatures have invaded the Earth and rule the contintents.  In the original story Scarlet referred to the color of the blood of the murder victim, in this story Emerald refers to the alien’s greenish blood color.   I found this story to be the most fun, in that having known the original story, how the aliens created a strange turn to the clues Holmes had to decipher.

In the other stories you have Holmes traveling through time, meeting with the authors, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells, explaining his 3 years of missing time when Watson believed him to be dead at the hands of Professor Moriarty.

Whether you are a Sherlock Holmes fan or a fan of the strange genres of fiction you will have fun when listening to this collection.  There is a bit of something for everyone here.  Even some normal Holmes Adventures that just don’t seem to be solvable by Holmes.

The readers, Simon Vance and Anne Flosnik swap the reading depending on whether the story is told from a woman’s point of view or a man’s.  Anne Flosnik reads the stories using various accents and emotions perfectly.  The gem in this audio book, in my opinion, is Simon Vance, throughout the book Vance captures the characters of Holmes and Watson flawlessly.  No matter where the adventure takes them he is consistent with their vocal qualities and that keeps the listener tuned in to the adventure.  I know there were several times I couldn’t stop listening until Holmes solved the crime.