(2416) Abarat by Clive Barker

Publisher's Summary

Candy Quackenbush's adventures in the amazing world of the Abarat are getting more strange by the hour. Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, has sent his henchman to capture her. "Why?" she wonders. What would Carrion want with a girl from Minnesota? And why is Candy beginning to feel that the world of Abarat is familiar to her? Why can she speak words of magic she doesn't even remember learning?
There is a mystery here. And Carrion, along with his fiendish grandmother, Mater Motley, suspects that whatever Candy is, she could spoil their plans to take control of the Abarat.
Now Candy's companions must race against time to save her from the clutches of Carrion, and she must solve the mystery of her past before the forces of Night and Day clash and Absolute Midnight descends upon the islands.
A final war is about to begin. And Candy is going to need to make some choices that will change her life forever.

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Abarat-1-Clive-Barker/dp/0060596376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257882874&sr=1-1

On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HARP_000949&BV_SessionID=@@@@1803213615.1257882841@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladeiklglmghcefecekjdffidfjo.0

(2415) Mack Bolan #080; A Dying Evil by Don Pendleton

Summary:

The deadly hunt began in the United States, as an escalating series of terrorist incidents were linked to neo-Nazi fanatics calling themselves Temple of the Nordic Covenant. It was more dangerous than other Nazi cliques because of its size and scope, and it's leader's apocalyptic tentacles of a war to end all wars reached across the Atlantic to Europe.

Each time, Mack Bolan had been there to thwart the temple's grisly agenda for global dominance and to minimalize the spill of innocent blood. But now the temple is going nuclear. Bolan races to preempt a bloodbath in racially charged South America and lock his sights on Gerhard Steuben's final target for the stolen tactical nuke. Endgame comes to the frozen frontier of the South Pole, where a storm of ice and fire will decide whose vision—Bolan's or a madman's—will prevail.

(2414) Free Fall by Kyle Mills

From Publishers Weekly

Mills turns his attention to the world of politics in his third thriller (after Storming Heaven) starring black sheep FBI Agent Mark Beamon, a man with an utter disregard for politicking of any kind, an attitude that has jeopardized his career. As the book opens, he faces not only dismissal from the FBI, but also possible criminal charges for his successful but politically inexpedient handling of a previous case. Anticipating an expensive legal battle to save his job, Beamon--against his better judgment--accepts $300,000 from an anonymous client to find a rock climber, Darby Moore, whose boyfriend was discovered chopped to pieces in the back of Moore's van. Everybody thinks Darby is guilty, despite the lack of a credible motive. Beamon tends to buy that theory, too, until he learns that the dead man had recently unearthed a secret FBI file detailing all sorts of sordid behavior committed years ago by many now-prominent political leaders. The file appears to be in Moore's hands, and it quickly becomes apparent that Beamon is not the only one looking for her. During his hair-raising search, one name keeps popping up over and over again: David Hallorin, the smooth yet devious senator from Maine who's in the midst of a heated run for the White House. Mills blends fine character work with a high-torque plot that splits time between the halls of power in Washington, D.C., the climbing peaks of Wyoming and the dank, smelly prisons of Thailand. Beamon, a wholly human figure nimbly engineered for maximum reader allegiance, is at his best--as is the story--while the hunt is on. The book loses some of its spark down the stretch when the thrill of the chase is replaced by the predictable machinations of politics. 75,000 first printing; regional author appearances; 25-city radio campaign. (Apr.)

Music Interlude:
Gatlin Brothers Greatest Hits Vol 2
Phil Gates, from multiple albums - downloaded from MP3.com 6 or 7 years ago

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Free-Fall-Kyle-Mills/dp/0340734248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257599265&sr=1-1

(2413) The Michael Crichton Collection: CD volume very low on The Lost World (abridged) so I skipped ahead to Timeline (abridged).

(2413) The Michael Crichton Collection. It was good listening to Airframe (abridged) again. Next in the collection, The Lost World.

(2413) The Michael Crichton Collection by Michael Crichton

Airframe
Three passengers are dead. Fifty-six are injured. The interior cabin is virtually destroyed but the pilot manages to land the plane… Airframe combines a realistic situation with heart-pounding suspense to keep the listener captivated until the very last word.

The Lost World
It is now six years since the secret disaster at Jurassic Park, six years since the extraordinary dream of science and imagination came to a crashing end–the dinosaurs destroyed, the park dismantled, the island indefinitely closed to the public.
There are rumors that something has survived. . . .

Timeline
In a world of unforeseen technological advances, a group of historians finds its way to the medieval past. The journey, while ground-breaking, carries the listener also into a realm of unexpected suspense and terror, twisting our most basic ideas of reality.

Music Interlude:
Elvis Costello "My Flame Burns Blue (Disc 1)"
Various Artists "Super Star Collection Disc 2" pop and rock from the mid 1970s.

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Crichton-Collection-Airframe-Timeline/dp/0739340336/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257119423&sr=1-2

(2412) Sharpe's Fury by Cornwell, Bernard

Publisher's Summary

Richard Sharpe, a former private in His Majesty's army who now commands a company of riflemen, finds himself fighting his old enemies, the French, at the extraordinary battle of Barossa in 1811.
Sharpe has been sent by the Duke of Wellington on a mission to Cadiz, now the capital of Spain, to rescue the British ambassador, who happens to be Wellington's brother, from a spot of undiplomatic trouble. The city has been blockaded by the French but is supported by the British from the sea. It contains a rare mix of pro- and anti-British Spaniards, diplomats, courtiers, adventurers, and spies.
Sharpe's mission - complicated, undercover, and political -turns out to be completely different from the one on which he was sent. It brings him through the besieging enemy army to triumph in the battle of Barossa, where the British, deserted by their allies, defeat an overwhelmingly stronger French force.

On Audible:  http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HARP_001334&BV_SessionID=@@@@1743297099.1257085574@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladeikdkigjdcefecekjdffidfgo.0

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sharpes-Fury-Richard-Barrosa-Adventure/dp/B001FOR63Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257085753&sr=1-1

(2432) Planet of the Damned (Librivox) by Harry Harrison

Summary:

Once in a generation, a man is born with a heightened sense of empathy. Brion Brandd used this gift to win the Twenties, an annual physical and mental competition among the best and smartest people on Anvhar. But scarcely able to enjoy his victory, Brandd is swept off to the hellish planet Dis where he must use his heightened sense of empathy to help avert a global nuclear holocaust by negotiating with the blockading fleet, traversing the Disan underworld, and cracking the mystery of the savagely ruthless magter.
(Summary by Great Plains).

 On Librivox:  http://librivox.org/planet-of-the-damned-by-harry-harrison/

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Damned-Harry-Harrison/dp/0843960698/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257711337&sr=1-2

(2411) The Road by McCarthy, Cormac

Publisher's Summary

The Road follows a man and a boy, father and son, journeying together for many months across a desolate, post-apocalyptic landscape, some years after a great, unexplained cataclysm, possibly an impact event. Civilization has been destroyed and most species have become extinct. What has happened outside of North America is left unexplained. Humanity consists largely of bands of cannibals, their captives, and refugees who scavenge for canned food.

On Audible:http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_NAXO_000466&BV_SessionID=@@@@0330015361.1257024864@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccciadeijmkmfjmcefecekjdffidfhn.0

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/B002H40NH2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257024885&sr=1-4

(2410) OTR, Podcasts & Music by Various Performers

Music: Hey Good Lookin' Disc 5 various artists

Podcast: Le Jazz Affair show 359

Podcast: Prometheus Radio Theatre "Arbiter Chronicles- Playing Politics Pt 2"

Music: Ventures Greatest Hits

Podcast: Windows Weekly show 101-the Turbo Button

Old Time Radio Show: Boston Blackie, "Color Blind Accomplice" 03-12-1946

Old Time Radio Show: Gunsmoke, "Lee Dargan"

(2408) Meme by Rob Cummins. Narration & story improved and I was hooked on the book by the end of chapter 2.

(2409) Librivox Short Sci-fi Story Collection, Vol. 017 by Various Authors

Summary:
Science fiction (abbreviated SF or sci-fi with varying punctuation and case) is a broad genre of fiction that often involves sociological and technical speculations based on current or future science or technology. This is a reader-selected collection of short stories, first published between 1951 and 1962, that entered the US public domain when their copyright was not renewed.Summary by Cori Samuel, with Wikipedia input

In this collection:
Belly Laugh by Gordon Randall Garrett

Citadel by Algis Budrys

Cully by Jack Egan

the Defenders by Philip K. Dick

the Good Neighbors by Edgar Pangborn

in the Avu Observatory by H. G. Wells

Postmark Ganymede by Robert Silverberg

Toy Shop by Harry Harrison

Vital Ingredient by Gerald Vance

the Vortex Blaster by E. E. Doc Smith

On Librivox: http://librivox.org/short-science-fiction-collection-017/

(2408) Meme (Podiobooks) by Rob Cummins

Summary:

Molly is a thought, an idea who is born to do one thing, to communicate herself into as many other minds as possible. However, things are not as simple as they should be. Molly quickly discovers that the mind that has created her is in trouble. Wild storms and earthquakes are ravaging the City of the mind, threatening to tear it apart before Molly can ever be fully realised. Will Molly be able to get out in time ? And if so, what next ? What exactly is Molly, what is her purpose, and what effect could she have on humankind as a whole.

On Podiobooks: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/meme

(2407) The Longest Way Home by Robert Heinlein

Publisher's Summary

One of the most renowned and respected literary artists in the field of science fiction, Robert Silverberg transports us once again to a spectacular, deftly conceived world in transition and propels us on a remarkable odyssey of survival and self-discovery.
The Folk were first to arrive on this faraway planet, pushing aside the docile, intelligent aboriginal races they encountered. The Masters followed to subjugate the careless, complacent fellow humans who preceded them here.
Born to take over the reins of House Keilloran, Joseph Master Keilloran awakens one night in the Great House of distant relatives to the thunder of battle. Joseph escapes, but he is stranded and alone 10,000 miles from his home. Damned by his birth and class, surrounded by enemies who would kill him if they found him, Joseph must now embark on a journey of unimaginable distance toward a home that may already be in ruin.

On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_ALIT_000179&BV_SessionID=@@@@1822505092.1256957131@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadeijmhfjihcefecekjdffidfij.0

(2406) The Amber Spyglass by Pullman, Philip

Publisher's Summary

Lyra and Will, the two ordinary children whose extraordinary adventures begin in The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, are in unspeakable danger. With help from Iorek Byrnison the armored bear and two tiny Gallivespian spies, they must journey to a dank and gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone.
All the while, Dr. Mary Malone builds a magnificent amber spyglass. An assassin hunts her down. And Lord Asriel, with troops of shining angels, fights his mighty rebellion, a battle of strange allies and shocking sacrifice.
As war rages and dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living, and the dead, finally comes to depend on two children and the simple truth of one simple story. The Amber Spyglass reveals that story, bringing Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials to an astonishing conclusion.

On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_LILI_000025&BV_SessionID=@@@@1822505092.1256957131@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadeijmhfjihcefecekjdffidfij.0

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Spyglass-Dark-Materials-Book/dp/0440238153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256957240&sr=1-1

Starting book: (2405) Executioner #304; Soviet Spector by Don Pendleton. More details: http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

(2405) Executioner #304; Soviet Spector by Don Pendleton

Summary:

A customs bust in New York alerts Mack Bolan to a heroin smuggling operation run by Russian gangsters. His mission is three pronged: find the brain behind the enterprise, smash the network that stretches from New York to Moscow and protect the beautiful Russian witness from enforcers working around the clock to kill her.

Undercover—as a rogue cop on the take—Bolan penetrates the drug ring and finds tentacles reaching deep into the U.S. justice system. Shooting his way out of a blood bath at every turn, the Executioner winds his way through the maze of corruption and death, delivering the kind of payback these criminals have coming to them.

Approximate Running Time: 6 hours

ISBN: 1-933059-79-6

ISBN-13: 978-1-933059-79-2

Release Date: April 2005

On Graphic Audio: http://www.graphicaudio.net/p-138-304-soviet-specter.aspx

(2404) Librivox Short Sci-fi Story Collection, Vol. 016 By Various Authors

Summary:

Science fiction (abbreviated SF or sci-fi with varying punctuation and case) is a broad genre of fiction that often involves sociological and technical speculations based on current or future science or technology. This is a reader-selected collection of short stories, first published between 1951 and 1962, that entered the US public domain when their copyright was not renewed.Summary by Cori Samuel, with Wikipedia input.

In this Collection:
All Day September by Roger Kuykendall
Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick
Blessed Are the Meek by G. C. Edmondson
the Calm Man by Frank Belknap Long
the Crystal Crypt by Philip K. Dick
the Gift Bearer by Charles L Fontenay
Out of This World Convention by Forrest James Ackerman
a Scientist Rises by Desmond Winter Hall
Texas Week by Albert Hemhuter
Year of the Big Thaw = Marion Zimmer Bradley

 On Librivox: http://librivox.org/short-science-fiction-collection-vol-016/

(2403) The Secret Society of Seven Sorcerers (Podiobooks) by J. A. Areces

Summary:

The Secret Society of Seven Sorcerers begins where Interview for a Wizard ends. Nicholas Fidgewidge returns to claim Lord Bane's crystal ball causing Jesse to seek the wizard Ch-U-Ch’s aid. Meanwhile, the remaining sorcerer’s are being scared to death, and with Raven Claw out of jail the chase begins. However, things quickly become very complicated when the wizard’s two teenage boys get involved. On Halloween night, Lord Alex will become the next Dark Sorcerer even if it means destroying everyone who knows of his initiation. Follow the wizard Ch-U-Ch, his cousin Ana and Jesse into the dark world of the Society as they try to prevent Lord Alex from joining the Circle of Seven and achieving a greater goal, to obtain the secret’s of Lord Bane’s crystal ball. On Halloween night, everything must remain a secret at any price.

 On Padiobooks: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-secret-society-of-seven-sorcerers

(2402) Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

Publisher's Summary

Christopher Moore is a New York Times best-selling author whose offbeat novels combine comedy and the supernatural.
A striking red-head, 20-something Jody is attacked and transformed into a vampire while walking home one night in downtown San Francisco. Befriending 19-year-old Tommy, Jody tries to understand her new undead life, but trouble finds her when the cops start suspecting Tommy of being a local bloodsucking serial killer.

 On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_RECO_002182&BV_SessionID=@@@@1792250760.1256952528@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadeijmhfjihcefecekjdffidfij.0

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bloodsucking-Fiends-Story-Christopher-Moore/dp/1416558497/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256953709&sr=1-1

(2401) Drood by Simmons, Dan

Publisher's Summary

On June 9, 1865, while traveling by train to London with his secret mistress, 53-year-old Charles Dickens - at the height of his powers and popularity, the most famous and successful novelist in the world and perhaps in the history of the world - hurtled into a disaster that changed his life forever.
Did Dickens begin living a dark double life after the accident? Were his nightly forays into the worst slums of London and his deepening obsession with corpses, crypts, murder, opium dens, the use of lime pits to dissolve bodies, and a hidden subterranean London mere research or something more terrifying?
Just as he did in The Terror, Dan Simmons draws impeccably from history to create a gloriously engaging and terrifying narrative. Based on the historical details of Charles Dickens' life and narrated by Wilkie Collins (Dickens' friend, frequent collaborator, and Salieri-style secret rival), Drood explores the still-unsolved mysteries of the famous author's last years and may provide the key to Dickens's final, unfinished work: The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Chilling, haunting, and utterly original, Drood is Dan Simmons at his powerful best.

On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HACH_000225&BV_SessionID=@@@@1792250760.1256952528@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadeijmhfjihcefecekjdffidfij.0

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Drood-Novel-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316007021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256953640&sr=1-1

(2400) OTR, Podcasts & Music by Various Performers

Music: Dolly Pardon, "Best Little Whore House In Texas"

Old Time Radio Show: Boston Blackie, "Hypnotic Murder" 1945.08.06

Music: Boston, Boston's Greatest Hits

Podcast: Children of the Gods, "Chapter 9 - Mindgame"

Old Time Radio Show: Dimension X, "the Lost Race"

Podcast: Le Jazz Affair show 358

Podcast: Prometheus Radio Theatre, "Playing Politics Pt 1"

Podcast: This Week in Tech, Show 188-Judge Mental

(2399) Famous Sea Fights (Librivox) by John R. Hale

Summary:

I propose to tell in non-technical and popular language the story of some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of sea power. I shall begin with the first sea-fight of which we have a detailed history—the Battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), the victory by which Themistocles the Athenian proved the soundness of his maxim that “he who commands the sea commands all.” I shall end with the last and greatest of naval engagements, the Battle of Tsu-shima, an event that reversed the long experience of victory won by West over East, which began with Salamis more than two thousand years ago.
I shall have to tell of British triumphs on the sea from Sluys to Trafalgar; but I shall take instances from the history of other countries also, for it is well that we should remember that the skill, enterprise, and courage of admirals and seamen is no exclusive possession of our own people.
I shall incidentally describe the gradual evolution of the warship from the wooden, oar-driven galleys that fought in the Straits of Salamis to the steel-built, steam-propelled giants that met in battle in the Straits of Tsu-shima. I shall have something to say of old seafaring ways, and much to tell of the brave deeds done by men of many nations. These true stories of the sea will, I trust, have not only the interest that belongs to all records of courage, danger, and adventure, but also some practical lessons of their own. (From the Introduction of the Book)

On Librivox: http://librivox.org/famous-sea-fights-by-john-r-hale/

(2398) Friday by Robert Heinlein

Publisher's Summary

Friday, a secret courier, is thrown into an assignment under the command of her employer, a man she knows only as "Boss." She operates from and over a near-future Earth in North America, a vulgar and chaotic land comprised of dozens of independent states. In America's disunion, Friday keeps her balance nimbly with quick, expeditious solutions as she conquers one calamity and scrape after another.
This program includes adult content and themes.

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Friday-Robert-Heinlein/dp/034530988X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256484902&sr=1-1

On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HEIN_000009&BV_SessionID=@@@@1135039033.1256482411@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadeijhemglicefecekjdffidfij.0

On Michigan eLibrary: http://elibrary.mel.org/record=b19517727~S15

Starting book: (2397) Black Monday by Reiss, R. Scott. More details: http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

Finished book: (2396) American Empire; Blood & Iron. Skipped book from disc 4. Book boring.

Next book in my queue: (2397) Black Monday by Reiss, R. Scott. More details: http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

(2397) Black Monday by Reiss, R. Scott

Publisher's Summary

When a Muslim cleric predicts planes will fall from the sky, America braces for a terrorist attack. But when the prediction proves true, the real cause is far more terrifying: a microbe that eats oil, effectively destroying all gas-operated mechanisms. Gillette, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control, understands the devastation that the microbe could wreak. But his far-more-chilling theory is that the microbe is synthetic and the work of terrorists. When no one will listen, Gillette must take it upon himself to stop the epidemic only he can foresee. As the world's economy grinds to a crashing halt, Gillette races against the clock to find the source of the microbe and its antidote.
This gripping, high-concept thriller about a virus that is eating the world's oil supply is reminiscent of Michael Crichton's best.

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Monday-R-Scott-Reiss/dp/354826851X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256484715&sr=1-2

On Audible: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BLAK_002099&BV_SessionID=@@@@1135039033.1256482411@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadeijhemglicefecekjdffidfij.0

Michigan eLibrary:http://elibrary.mel.org/record=b19734053~S15

Starting book: (2396) American Empire; Blood & Iron by Harry Turtledove. More details: http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

Finished book: (2395) The Destroyer #099; The Color of Fear. Another stupid book in the series.

Next book in my queue: (2396) American Empire; Blood & Iron by Harry Turtledove. More details: http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

Starting book: (2395) The Destroyer #099; The Color of Fear by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir. http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

Finished book: (2394) Futility, Or the Wreck of the Titan. Book wasn't that good.

Next book in my queue: (2395) The Destroyer #099; The Color of Fear by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir. http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com

(2395) The Destroyer #099; The Color of Fear by Warren Murphy & Richard Sapir

Summary:

When a diabolical superfoe acquires a superlaser that uses hypercolor to control emotion, he throws the world into a kaleidoscope of deadly mood swings. CURE goes on red alert. And if things aren't black enough, a rival nation has seen the mind-blowing potential of beaming mood-altering color form satellites... and rendering entire nations defenseless. Color them crazy, but Remo and Chiun know they've got to thwart this bizarre color scheme. More than ever before they must rely on their sensory skills honed to a razor sharpness—because the Destroyer is going to catch the enemy blindfolded.

On Graphic Audio: http://www.graphicaudio.net/p-110-99-the-color-of-fear.aspx

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-99-Color-Fear/dp/1599501740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256484157&sr=1-1

Michigan eLibary: http://elibrary.mel.org/record=b18608917~S15

Starting book: (2394) Futility, Or the Wreck of the Titan (Librivox) by Morgan Robertson. http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

Finished book: (2393) The Saboteurs. A great world war 2 spy thriller.

Next book in my queue: (2394) Futility, Or the Wreck of the Titan (Librivox) by Morgan Robertson. http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.

Starting book: (2393) The Saboteurs by Griffin, W.E.B & William E. Butterworth IV. More details: http://audiobookaddit.blogspot.com.