Anthology of Science Fiction, the Surreal, and the Other-Worldly (Dramatization)

By: Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Troy Cardines, more

Narrated by: Third Ear Radio Theater

Strange and chilling tales of horror, science fiction, fantasy, and the surreal. A unique blend of short stories for fans of all audio genres!

Includes:

Master of the Crabs by Clarke Ashton Smith: Zothique is a dark world of mystery where luxurious ventures across dim landscapes abound, pitting strength and wisdom against powerful wizards and alien gods under a dying sun.

Black God's Kiss by C.L. Moore: Castle Joiry has been taken, and its commander brought before the conqueror. Jirel of Joiry refuses to surrender her home, and vows that her enemy's victory will cost him his life. She bids farewell to the world of treacherous men and walks of her own will into hell in search of revenge.

Dark Angel by Troy Cardines: Vampires lurk in dark places including the black space between the planets! An Interstellar Enforcer chases a vampire across the solar system, only to find the traditional methods of killing a vampire are not quite the same on the outskirts of Saturn!

Venus Cursed by Cindy Reed: Manifest Destiny in the solar system is accomplished with genetically-engineered people. Androids are developing an attitude, and humans are leaving their bodies. Enter Special Agent Dunn to sort it all out.

Taurus Horn by Ken Nolan: If you commit a crime in the future, your conviction is a one-way ticket to the most hostile world in the universe. Your host is Neptune-10. Try to stay on his good side.

Frozen in Time by Gary Gillett: Cryogenics seems like a good idea, but don't count on the world being a better place when you thaw out!

Quirt's Dream by David Burke: Sound with no source of meaning, sight without comprehension, shriveled cities with teams of human caricatures moving rapidly but nowhere at all... Visit the indescribable world within Quirt's dream.

Radio 2000: A unique collection of radio snippets providing a sneak peak into the warped side of radio's future.

Production and Music ©2002 by Bob E. Flick

A mixed bag

Most short-fiction anthologies contain stories you love and stories you hate, but this audiobook puts a slight twist into that formula. By and large, the stories are mediocre, but the performances are good enough (and occasionally over-the-top enough) to draw you in.

"Master of the Crabs" and "Taurus Horn" are highlights, while "Venus Cursed" had excellent potential but was spoiled by a slightly rushed ending. On the other hand, "Black God's Kiss" doesn't adapt well to audio, and "Frozen in Time" is a particularly dull version of an old sci-fi cliche.

Curious combination of stories.

The Smith and Moore aren't really "dramatized"...more like read with sound-effects. They're interesting, Smith more than Moore. The others are original radio plays that are much less compelling. I'm not sorry I bought it...but, it could have been better.

I only enjoyed Master of Crabs.

The audiobook has an old retro feel of 80's movies left on in the background which is charming in some aspects. Some of the stories are trash tho and there is random music in here? I was kind of on the fence then I heard them and was like why would anyone throw musical numbers into here. The Master of Crabs chapter 6 in the book is the only one I enjoyed props to them for that it was great really sucked me in and had just a great overall narration of foreboding tone that made me want to learn more and listen intently. If they would do more of the old school fantasy horror/Lovecraftian with great narrators I'd 100% buy The production company Ziggurat productions does have some stories from lovecraft and they are mostly great but yea stick with that not these weird scifi musical oddities.

Uhuh!

This has to be the worst audio I have ever listened to. Some of the stories would have been interesting if there had been any cohesivness to thier presentation and if the awful music had been left out.

No Visionary Work Here

The stories were at best disjointed. The voice performances were at best average. I am a long term listener of voice dramas and this one misses the mark. The stories would build you and then lose all sense and go somewhere else. I measure voice dramas against the standard set by the BBC with Pet Cemetary or even the Hitchhikers Guide. They are/ was the pinacle which all should work towards. Enthusiastic readings with substandard content don't cut it.

I don't see them here, but the Deathlands series is well done, even though it is one person covering all the characters.