First an apology. It was pointed out to me that I’ve been quite unfair to John Sandford. Poking fun at how his name is as big or bigger than the titles on his book. I failed to notice that on the cover of Next, Michael Crichton is much bigger than the title of the book. So, sorry Mr. Sandford aka. Mr. Camp.
Well I haven’t been reading many books lately. I’ve only had just enough free time to keep up with my magazine subscriptions. This really only leaves me with free time when I’m in my car. So I tried something new. Audio Drama. Now I’m a fan of audio dramas. I remember listening to them on AM radio when I was growing up. They came on Friday or Saturday night. Most of them I didn’t really get into. Cowboys and Indians. Variety shows, Jack Benny, (which didn’t really hold up to the test of time, esp. for a 12 year old kid. )
The one I really liked was The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Recorded starting in 1945 or there about. My Mom liked to watch the Sherlock Holmes movies with the same actors so it was an easy transition for me. (On a side note I found most of these broadcasts on the internet and downloaded them. This website has a handful of the shows. I still enjoy listening to them.)
Enter Severance by Andy Evans. It’s is more of an audio or podiobook. There is only one voice, a little music and no special effects. It is a fan fiction story that takes place in the Firefly universe. I have to say that I really enjoyed the story. It takes place on Hera, the planet where the Battle of Serenity Valley took place. If you have seen the TV show Firefly then this will mean more to you than if you haven’t. But even if you have never heard of the show Firefly you still might enjoy the story. There is really only a slight connection.
The book is divided into 10 chapters with the 10th and final being double the length. Each chapter you download contains only the story, no fluff. More on fluff later. Andy does a good job of reading. He even tries to change his voice for the different characters. He does a fair job of this until he tries to do a women’s voice. It sounds awful. But it didn’t take away from the story.
There is mystery, action, gunfights, all set in an old west type world. Albeit one that features spaceships. But hey that’s Firefly.
I didn’t know if I should count Severance as a book that I read. But I guess that because it’s really an audiobook and I’ve been using my free time to listen rather than read I will. Each chapter is a different length but they average around 22 minutes or so. Go to Andy’s website to download the story. It’s free.
Now about the fluff. Well I guess you’ll just have to wait until my next review, 7th Son.
