Mini-Masterpieces Of Science Fiction
01/09/2008 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
CD: pub: AudioText. 3 CDs 228 minutes. Price: $16.99 (US). ISBN: 978-1-88461-279-4). . unabridged readings by Vanessa Hart and Tom Dheere. Buy Mini-Masterpieces Of Science Fiction in the USA - or Buy Mini-Masterpieces Of Science Fiction in the UK  check out website: www.audiotexttapes.net/minimasters.htm
A neat package of three CDs, relatively well presented, with nine Science Fiction short stories and an audio time of 228 minutes. Being sceptical, I surmised this was an odd collection of any old fiction thrown together to make a fast buck. I was totally wrong. Listening to these stories was a very enjoyable experience and I must commend the fiction editor on the selection.
The narrators did a really good job. I particularly liked Vanessa Hart's handling of Stephen Baxter's story, 'Last Contact', which tells of the end of the world and the entire universe for that matter from the point of view of a female astrophysicist and her mother living near Oxford, England. This was a rather sensitive and sad story. Dark energy was responsible for pulling the universe apart, not billions of years in the future but right now in the present. Everyone had to deal with the consequences in their own individual way. How would you cope if the universe were to end next week?
'Bright Red Star' written by Bud Sparhawk was very effectively narrated by Tom Dheere. In a short story, the entire history of conflict between Earth and an alien race became apparent from the point of view of a genetically and mechanically engineered soldier on a suicide mission to rescue a farming community on a world threatened by the aliens. However, the nature of this mission is not what we initially expect. There was no going back for any of them and the mission was to save their souls. Dheere would change accent from simple agricultural to stoical military effortlessly and without interruption of flow.
I listened to all nine stories and found none of them disappointing. They had varying themes but all were well-written and well-read. I haven't heard of this website company before. They produce quite a lot of material on CD, not just Science Fiction but textbooks and ordinary fiction as well. Maybe it is worth having a look.
What about value for money? Well, at the sale price of $16.99 I think it works out quite well but I wouldn't be sure about paying another seven dollars. Postage is $2 which isn't bad but this is only within North America, as far as I can see. Also, I think they only take payments by PayPal. I e-mailed the company to ask about postage to other parts of the world but didn't receive a reply which is not surprising considering all the junk mail filters in operation today. While these filters are great for keeping out junk, a lot of genuine mail doesn't get through.
These CDs would be great for playing in the car or anywhere else. It should also be possible to make personal copies in MP3 to make them even more portable. I'm not certain about the other material they have available but I would definitely recommend this short story collection.
Rod MacDonald |
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