Wander Radio

I listen to a lot of Podiobooks. A podiobook is a serialized audio book (usually read by the author) delivered via RSS feed. I love Podiobooks because they allow me to start at the beginning of book without having to download the entire book first. It is great to plug in the rss feed and listen to chapters of books at my pace (usually 1 episode per week). Until recently, that has all changed. I was turned onto 2 books via twitter and the podiobook community forums. (also a great place to learn about new projects coming down the pipe. I learned of Rhonda Carpenter’s “Mark of the Druid” there (Hopefully I will have more on this later) I started The Fox on Monday and finished on Tuesday… yes that is 27 episode nearly 16 hours of listening pleasure (actual time 15 .6 hours and that includes all of the music that she included at the end of each episode) I can only say this about Nathan Lowell’s  Golden Clipper series which I am a huge fan of…and The Fox ranks right up there with that. I won’t spoil the story but suffice it to say that she melds to different times together effectively and maintains believability through out the story. I recommend this story, highly. What your still reading this… go here and get your own copy… This audio version is going next to my Solar Clipper series in the car.

From the Podiobook site:

Jahna and Lovern’s clan lay in the Romans’ path of destruction. The death of their people is a certainty, unless a bargain is made with the Gods, even if it means a human sacrifice. Will they trade the Druid Lovern, and his visionary wife, Jahna make with the Gods, save their family?

Two thousand years later, Aine MacRae is on their trail. She’s a struggling archaeologist, on the verge of uncovering the village were Jahna and Lovern lived. The farm where her site is located is for sale! But for a ghostly visit, greed almost triumphs leaving the truth and ancient stories buried forever and a lost love be rekindled.

The Album that Marc Gunn has released (Or soon to be released) either way – It is available here.
I found the album very relaxing. The sound of his voice and the autoharp together just melds together so well. The first song is an instrumental Silhoutte of Lost Love, I found to be a very moving piece. In fact all of the songs with the exception of one to me really flowed through many of the incarnations of love. So Marc well done.

Oh yeah my one complaint. track #6 “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” to me just did not fit. Now the flip side of this is he does a beautiful rendition of “Heart and Soul” (in fact I did not know there were words to that song).

On a whole, I recommend this album. It is easy listening for a quiet night at home with that special someone.

Disclosure: I am a fan of the Brobdingnagian Bards and have played their music on my show before as well as Marc Gunn’s She said her name was Saffron back on episode 19
(He won best filk song in that contest.)Hopefully I will get a song to play in the next show … we will see.

I would like to post a review of something that has kept me from doing the things that I really need to do. (I could not figure a way around work)
The Runestone of Teiwas was purchased when I recently went to a local convention (Conestoga). I do not normally do reviews, but apparently people want me to talk about these things and I may have a couple of things to say.

I met M.H. Bonham at said con. She was actually one of the reasons that I went. I have been listening to her podcasts (The Prophecy of Swords and the SciFi Traveling Road Show) which I enjoyed greatly although one was not quite done yet and the other has not had an episode since December. There are still good interviews there and readings from authors of the small press variety. I found it enlightening to listen to. So yes – this is coming from a fan. (does that handle the disclosure thing…)

Runestone I found was an easy read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It gripped me most unexpectedly and in my opinion is written better than her first book Prophecy of Swords. The characters were believable in that they are in a fantasy world. But the world is nicely detailed enough that it does not get in the way of the action… and boy is there action. Lots of it. I should also note here that this book stands alone. You do not need to read the first book to follow the second.

This book is a fun read and escape for a couple of hours at a time. (It took me a month to read) the chapters are shorter than I am use to but they are in logical places to break at and keep the story moving along. I am not a writer but I play one on a podcast. And I look forward to seeing this story done in podcast format .

4 out 5 bookmarks (also how many bookmarks I have lost do to the fact that they kept falling out of my book and my puppy would eat them.)