Speculative Audiobooks
Monday, March 15th, 2010
by H G Wells
23 minutes, 16 seconds
Unabridged Science & Philosophy Essay
1891
“Science is a match that man has just got alight.” An important early essay on science and philosophy, offering insight into the unfettered mind that would a few years later belong to “The Father of Science Fiction.” Read by Alex Wilson. Not licensed in the EU.
Originally for sale on March 15, 2005, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later (though please note restrictions based on internationally diverse copyright standards). See the Mission page for why.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 15-30 minutes, 1891, 19th Century AD, 2005 Release, Alex Wilson (reader), Essay, Free, H G Wells, Nonfiction, Podcast, Popular Author, Science, SF Related Nonfiction, Speculative
H G Wells, Podcast
Monday, February 15th, 2010
by Ambrose Bierce
8 minutes, 25 seconds
Two Unabridged Short Ghost Stories
1910
Two short, Civil War era ghost stories by one of the most mysterious authors in American history.
Read by Alex Wilson.
Originally for sale on February 15, 2005, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1-15 minutes, 1910, 2005 Release, 2010 Release, 20th Century AD, Alex Wilson (reader), Ambrose Bierce, Fantasy, Fiction, Ghosts, Horror, Popular Author, SF Story, Short Story, Speculative, War
Ambrose Bierce, Podcast
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
by L. Frank Baum
15 minutes
Unabridged Fairy Tale
1901
“An accomplished wizard once lived on the top floor of a tenement house and passed his time in thoughtful study and studious thought. What he didn’t know about wizardry was hardly worth knowing, for he possessed all the books and recipes of all the wizards who had lived before him; and, moreover, he had invented several wizardments himself. “
This humourous story by the author of the Wizard of Oz series, involves a wizard, a glass-blower and a lady of high-society. It was published in 1901 with eleven other fantastical stories in a volume entitled American Fairy Tales. In his introduction to the second publication of these stories in 1908, Baum wrote:
My friends, the children, will find these stories quite as astonishing as if they had been written hundreds of years ago, for ours is the age of astonishing things. They are not too serious in purpose, but aim to amuse and entertain, yet I trust the more thoughtful of my readers will find a wholesome lesson hidden beneath each extravagant notion and humorous incident.
This is the unabridged short story, read by J. Winter Collins.
Originally for sale on July 16, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919) was a New York-born author best known for the beloved classics of children's literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and 13 other books in the Oz universe.
J. Winter Collins is a teacher, artist, writer and performer who lives in north central Florida. She is involved in a wide range of creative projects, most of which relate to teaching and entertaining children of all ages.
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1-15 minutes, 15-30 minutes, 1901, 2004 Release, 2009 Release, Fables and Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Free, J Winter Collins (reader), L Frank Baum, Podcast, SF Story, Short Story, Speculative
L Frank Baum, Podcast
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
by H G Wells
5 hours, 53 minutes
Unabridged Science Fiction Novel
1898
“There’s a slightly old-fashioned quality to his speech that compliments Wells’ old-fashioned brand of science fiction … rises above the source material, making these audio editions a great way to experience these two classics.” – John Joseph Adams, Locus
“Worth buying.” – The New York Times
The classic alien invasion novel by “The Father of Science Fiction” H.G. Wells. Read by James Spencer and produced by Active Voicing. Note: the Spoken Alexandria podcast includes only the first chapter of WotW. The full book is included in the zipped download options.
“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own…”
Originally for sale on May 28, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later (though please note restrictions based on internationally diverse copyright standards). See the Mission page for why.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1898, 19th Century AD, 2004 Release, 2009 Release, Adventure, Fiction, Free, H G Wells, James Spencer (reader), Novel, Podcast, Popular Author, Science Fiction, SF Novel, Speculative
H G Wells, Podcast
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Download page follows PayPal payment.
Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
|
|
by Mary E Wilkins Freeman
32 minutes, 40 seconds
Unabridged Mystery/Ghost Story
1902
“David gave one stride toward the black veil, but it rose from the floor and moved away before him across the room at exactly the same height as if suspended from a woman’s head…”
First published in Everybody’s Magazine. Performed by Susie Berneis.
Freshwater Seas can be found online at freshwaterseas.com. [new window]
This recording will be released under the Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution License on May 27, 2014 or after 100,000 purchases, whichever comes first. Read more.
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 150 cents, 1902, 2009 Release, 30-60 minutes, Fiction, Ghosts, Mary E Wilkins Freeman, Mystery, SF Story, Short Story, Speculative, Susie Berneis and Robert Bethune (readers)
Mary E Wilkins Freeman
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
by Mark Twain
27 minutes
Unabridged Short Story
1904
“This new creature with the long hair is a good deal in the way. It is always hanging around and following me about. I don’t like this; I am not used to company. I wish it would stay with the other animals…”
The battle of the sexes begins in the Garden of Eden, as humourously told by Mark Twain, who “translated a portion” of “Adam’s hieroglyphics.” Note that the word “Extracts” is actually part of the title; this is the full, unabridged short story. Read by Alex Wilson.
Originally for sale on May 14, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 15-30 minutes, 1904, 2004 Release, 2009 Release, 20th Century AD, Alex Wilson (reader), Fables and Fairy Tales, Fiction, Free, Humor, Mark Twain, Podcast, Relationships, Religion, SF Story, Short Story, Speculative
Mark Twain, Podcast
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
by Edgar Allan Poe
8 minutes, 29 seconds
Unabridged Formal Poetry
1845
The archetype of dark poetry by the master of macabre.
Read by Alex Wilson.
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious
volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping,
suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered,
“tapping at my chamber door–
Only this, and nothing more…”
Originally for sale on April 23, 2004, and released free with a Creative Commons Attribution License five years later. See the Mission page for why.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1-15 minutes, 1845, 19th Century AD, 2009 Release, Alex Wilson (reader), Edgar Allan Poe, Fantasy, Fiction, Formal Verse, Free, Horror, Lyrical Verse, Mystery, Podcast, Poetry, SF Poetry, Speculative
Edgar Allan Poe, Podcast
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Download page follows PayPal payment.
Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
|
|
by Rudyard Kipling
1 hour, 14 minutes
Unabridged Story Collection
1894, 1895
Two classic Rudyard Kipling stories of the Indian jungle:
The King’s Ankus (1895)
The python Kaa takes the manchild Mowgli to the ruined city of Cold Lairs, seeking treasure but finding something far worse.
“These are the Four that are never content,
that have never been filled since the Dews began:
Jacala’s mouth, and the glut of the Kite,
and the hands of the Ape, and the Eyes of Man.”
The Miracle of Purun Bhagat (1894)
A rich man casts away all possessions in the quest for (or from?) his true identity.
“The night we felt the earth would move
We stole and plucked him by the hand,
Because we loved him with the love
That knows but cannot understand.”
Performed by Robert Bethune.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1-2 hours, 1894, 1895, 2009 Release, 20th Century AD, 300 cents, Adventure, Class, Fables and Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Popular Author, Rudyard Kipling, SF Story, Speculative, Susie Berneis and Robert Bethune (readers), The Longer Stuff
Rudyard Kipling
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
by Clement Clarke Moore (or Henry Livingston Jr.)
3 minutes, 18 seconds
Unabridged Christmas Verse
1823
“A Visit from St Nicholas” (or “The Night Before Christmas”), since first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel, widely introduced the modern concept of Santa Claus to the Western world.
The classic verse was later attributed to both Clement Clarke Moore and Henry Livingston, Jr., depending on who you ask.
Alex Wilson is a writer and actor from northern Ohio and now based in Carrboro, North Carolina. His stories and comics have appeared/will appear in Asimov's Science Fiction, The Rambler, Outlaw Territory II (Image Comics), Weird Tales, Futurismic, LCRW and elsewhere. Locus has called him a "promising new writer," and Publishers Weekly also has nice things to say. Website)
Alex has performed lead roles in the North American premiere of (Richard Taylor's musical) Whistle Down the Wind and (Emmy-nominated director Jack Lucido's film) The Third Cord. He has recently appeared in the Deep Dish Theater productions of Hedda Gabler and Moon for the Misbegotten, and recorded narrations for Escape Pod and Night Shade Books. (Acting Resume/Reel) On early Telltale recordings, Alex is sometimes credited as "Alexander Wilson." He founded Telltale in 2004.
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1-15 minutes, 1823, 18th Century AD, 2008 Release, Alex Wilson (reader), Christmas, Clement Clarke Moore, Fables and Fairy Tales, Free, Henry Livingston Jr, Lyrical Verse, Podcast, Poetry, Speculative
Clement Clarke Moore, Podcast
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Download page follows PayPal payment.
Learn more about file formats. If unsure,
Choose MP3.
|
|
by F Scott Fitzgerald
55 minutes, 44 seconds
Unabridged Short Story
1921
Benjamin Button is born as a grown man of seventy years. He spends the rest of his life growing ever younger.
Read more, listen to a sample, etc…
Share/Bookmark this thing:
Tags: 1921, 200 cents, 2008 Release, 20th Century AD, 30-60 minutes, Alex Wilson (reader), F Scott Fitzgerald, Fables and Fairy Tales, Fiction, SF Story, Short Story, Speculative
F Scott Fitzgerald
