Audio Books

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia

Johnson, Samuel
In this enchanting fable (subtitled The Choice of Life), Rasselas and his retinue burrow their way out of the totalitarian paradise of the Happy Valley in search of that triad of eighteenth-century aspiration - life, liberty and happiness.
According to that quirky authority, James Boswell, Johnson penned his only work of prose fiction in a handful of days to cover the cost of his mother's funeral. The stylistic elegance of the book and its wide-ranging
philosophical concerns give no hint of haste or superficiality.
Among other still burning issues Johnson's characters pursue questions of education, colonialism, the nature of the soul and even climate alteration.
Johnson's profoundest concern, however, is with the alternating attractions of solitude and social participation, seen not only as the ultimate life-choice but as the arena in which are played out the deepest fears of the individual: "Of the uncertainties of our present state, the most dreadful and alarming is the uncertain continuance of Reason.”

First Men in the Moon (Version 2)

H. G. Wells
The novel tells the story of a journey to the Moon undertaken by the two protagonists: a businessman narrator, Mr. Bedford; and an eccentric scientist, Mr. Cavor. Bedford and Cavor discover that the Moon is inhabited by a sophisticated extraterrestrial civilisation of insect-like creatures they call "Selenites".

People of the Black Circle (version 2)

Robert E. Howard
The People of the Black Circle" is one of the original novellas about Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine in three parts over the September, October and November 1934 issues. Howard earned $250 for the publication of this story. It is set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan kidnapping a regal princess of Vendhya (pre-historical India) and foiling a nefarious plot of world domination by the Black Seers of Yimsha. Due to its epic scope and atypical Hindustan flavor, the story is considered an undisputed classic of Conan lore and is often cited by Howard scholars as one of his best tales. It is also one of the few Howard stories where the reader is treated a deeper insight on magic and magicians beyond the stereotypical Hyborian depiction as demon conjurer-illusionist-priests.

Weird Tales, Volume 1

E. T. A. Hoffmann
These stories form the first volume of the renowned Tales of Hoffman. They are fantasies with hints of the supernatural—quintessential Romanticism. Writers of the Romantic period typically seek to lift the spirit to awe, wonder, love, horror, or other extremes of emotion. Hoffmann is drawn to such experiences, particularly as they relate to the creative process. Although he occasionally arouses them in the reader, he more often examines them critically or, in the case of hysterical excesses, especially infatuation, satirizes them.

Well at the World's End, Book 2: The Road Unto Trouble

William Morris
In The Well at the World's End, Ralph of Upmeads, youngest son of the King of Upmeads, leaves home (where nothing exciting ever happens) without permission and sets out looking for adventure. When he hears rumors of a well that exudes water with magical properties, he is intrigued and begins his quest. Along the way, he travels through various towns and wildernesses and meets -- and is sometimes led astray by -- a host of interesting people including a mysterious knight, a beautiful woman who may be a goddess, a treacherous servant, a brave tavern wench, a barbarian warrior, a solitary sage, and a sadistic king. Book 2 continues this journey,

Well at the World's End: Book 3: The Road to The Well at the World's End

William Morris
In The Well at the World's End, Ralph of Upmeads, youngest son of the King of Upmeads, leaves home (where nothing exciting ever happens) without permission and sets out looking for adventure. When he hears rumors of a well that exudes water with magical properties, he is intrigued and begins his quest. Along the way, he travels through various towns and wildernesses and meets -- and is sometimes led astray by -- a host of interesting people including a mysterious knight, a beautiful woman who may be a goddess, a treacherous servant, a brave tavern wench, a barbarian warrior, a solitary sage, and a sadistic king. Book 3 continues this journey. ( kristingj)

Well at the World's End: Book 4: The Road Home

William Morris
In The Well at the World's End, Ralph of Upmeads, youngest son of the King of Upmeads, leaves home (where nothing exciting ever happens) without permission and sets out looking for adventure. When he hears rumors of a well that exudes water with magical properties, he is intrigued and begins his quest. Along the way, he travels through various towns and wildernesses and meets -- and is sometimes led astray by -- a host of interesting people including a mysterious knight, a beautiful woman who may be a goddess, a treacherous servant, a brave tavern wench, a barbarian warrior, a solitary sage, and a sadistic king. Book 4 finishes his adventure.

Shadows in Zamboula (version 2)

Robert E. Howard
In the dark streets of Zamboula, huge ghouls stalk the night seeking victims for their ghastly rites and feasts. Conan is passing through this city and is almost a victim but escapes, only to rush to the aid of a beautiful, voluptuous maiden still in their horrible talons. Swords flash, thews are strained and the mighty Conan almost meets his match in the temple of the monkey god. Will he escape? Will he get the girl? Listen and marvel! Excellent story, well told as always by Howard. Summary by phil chenevert

Despoilers of the Golden Empire

Randall Garrett
A handful of men, and an incredible adventure—a few super-men, led by a fanatic, seeking to conquer a new world! The story appears to be about an expedition through space to a planet inhabited by a civilized but technologically backward people, whom the expedition conquer. However, in the last line it is revealed to be anything but that.[T]he story reads like a pulp magazine yarn mixing space travel and classic swashbuckling themes, to the point where the characters even fight with swords, bringing to mind the adventures of Flash Gordon, or the Barsoom stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Shadows in Zamboula

Robert E. Howard
Despite a warning received in the Suq by an elderly desert nomad, Conan stays the night in a cheap tavern in Zamboula, run by Aram Baksh. As night falls, a black Darfarian cannibal enters to drag him away to be eaten. All of the Darfar slaves in the city are cannibals who roam the streets at night. As they only prey on travellers, the people of the city tolerate this and stay locked securely in their homes, while nomads and beggars make sure to spend the night at a comfortable distance from its walls. This night, however, Conan finds a naked woman chasing through the streets after her deranged lover; Conan rescues them from an attack by the cannibals. She tells him that she tried to secure her lover's unending affection via a love potion which instead made a raving lunatic of him. Promising Conan "a reward" in return for his assistance, they attempt to kill the high priest responsible for the man's madness.

Urania

Camille Flammarion
Urania is a work of science fiction from the fine mind of French astronomer Camille Flammarion. Named for Urania, the muse of astronomy, this book in three parts delves into philosophy, astronomy, interplanetary travel, romance, Mars, and the nature of reality.

Dreamer's Tales

Lord Dunsany
"A Dreamer's Tales" is the fifth book by Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Moorcock and others.

"A Dreamer's Tales" is a collection of sixteen fantasy short stories, and varies from the wistfulness of "Blagdaross" to the horrors of "Poor Old Bill" and "Where the Tides Ebb and Flow" to the social satire of "The Day of the Poll."
(text from Wikipedia articles on Lord Dunsany and "A Dreamer's Tales")

City of the Sun

Tommaso Campanella
A dialogue between a Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitallers and a Genoese Sea-captain, about the latter's voyage to a utopian city.

Portent

George MacDonald
Overshadowed by the dark legend of the murderous rider of the horse with the loose shoe, Duncan Campbell sets out from his home in the Highlands to make his fortune in the world. When he finds the woman whose destiny is mingled with his, he must overcome first her indifference, then the malice of her family, then the forces of space and time. Will he ever put to rest the old curse?

George MacDonald was an influence on many famous fantasy writers, including C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. This fantasy romance derives from MacDonald's own Celtic tradition of the "Second Sight". It is a daydream, but one which holds up a mirror to human nature and shows us the truth of ourselves, as well as being a work of art in itself.

Six Stories

George MacDonald
Six short stories from the master of fantasy! George MacDonald was an influence on many famous fantasy writers, including C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. This fantasy story collection includes The Cruel Painter (a vampire story), The Castle, The Wow O'Riven (a love story), The Broken Swords (a tale of war and redemption), The Gray Wolf (a werewolf story) and Uncle Cornelius: His Story.

Lord Tedric

E. E. Smith
Time is the strangest of all mysteries. Relatively unimportant events, almost unnoticed as they occur, may, in hundreds of years, result in Ultimate Catastrophe. On Time Track Number One, that was the immutable result. But on Time Track Number Two there was one little event that could be used to avert it—the presence of a naked woman in public. So, Skandos One removed the clothing from the Lady Rhoann and after one look, Lord Tedric did the rest!

Lord Tedric (version 2)

E. E. Smith
The best of science fantasy meets the best of science fiction as Tedric battles his way through two universes of adventure:

In one universe...Tedric the Ironmaster wields the mightiest sword his world has ever seen - and swears to break the power of the evil god Sarpedion, or die in the attempt. This is the second in a series and takes place when Tedric, now a Lord, begins learning how to plan and observe instead of just rushing in to kill.

In another universe...only Tedric's strength and daring stand between the dwindling power of the Terran Empire and total alien conquest. Brought from his own distant world by the mysterious Scientists, working toward an end he cannot know, Tedric brings the war-wisdom of his own past into a universe of starships and alien powers. But that is for future books in the series. On Time Track Number Two however, there was one little event that could be used to avert it—the presence of a naked woman in public. So, Skandos One removed the clothing from the Lady Rhoann and after one look, Lord Tedric did the rest! - (Summary in part from Gutenberg text )

Tales of Wonder

Lord Dunsany
The Last Book of Wonder, originally published as Tales of Wonder, is the tenth book and sixth original short story collection of Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others.

The first edition, in hardcover, was published in London by Elkin Mathews in October 1916 as Tales of Wonder, followed by a Boston hardcover publication in November 1916, by John W. Luce & Co.. The title of the American edition, The Last Book of Wonder, was Dunsany's own preferred title. The British and American editions also differ in that they arrange the material slightly differently.

Weird Tales, Volume 2

E. T. A. Hoffmann
Paradoxically, it is variety that unites the tales you are about to read. They take place in widely separated countries and historical periods, and their outcomes—fortunate or tragic—cannot always be predicted with accuracy. The characters too speak with varied voices; even the narrative voice is not uniform, for the author often frames story within a story, using a character in one tale to narrate another.

The reader will sometimes feel as though the author is extending an invitation to enter his workshop to observe him at his trade and admire his craftsmanship. Narrative techniques, for instance, such as suspending the detailed account of events in order to summarize what follows or occasionally interrupting the story line to offer a bit of background or exposition, are introduced by referring to “the indulgent reader,” “my kindly reader,” or even (once) a direct address: “dear reader.” This device is common to much Romantic literature, but Hoffmann’s self-conscious use of it renders it satirical.

He frequently shifts from seriousness to mockery, characterized by an arch tone as he knowingly overworks Romantic clichés like apostrophes to absent or non-sentient entities and especially hyperbole, which he mercilessly burlesques. Yet his mercurial sensibility can then shift in a moment back into the serious use of Romantic conventions: overwrought descriptions, pathetic fallacies, sudden reversals of fortune, unlikely coincidences, gloomy intimations of the cruelty of destiny, dark secrets, and men fulsomely unburdening themselves of their inmost feelings, not without tears. He even takes up the age-old theme of friendship vs. romantic love and their rival claims to be the nobler sentiment. In short, although clearly an early Romantic himself, Hoffmann nevertheless shares Jane Austen’s rational criticism of the Romantic temperament, “sentimental” being a term of reproach in this volume.

Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice

James Branch Cabell
Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice is a fantasy book by James Branch Cabell, which gained fame (or notoriety) shortly after its publication in 1919. It is a humorous romp through a medieval cosmos, including a send-up of Arthurian legend, and excursions to Heaven and Hell as in The Divine Comedy. Cabell's work is recognized as a landmark in the creation of the comic fantasy novel, influencing Terry Pratchett and many others.

Lorelei of the Red Mist

Leigh Douglass Brackett
Ray Starke, a small time criminal, crashes his shuttle while trying to escape pursuit after robbing a payroll worth millions of credits. When he comes to there is an alien woman telling him he's dying but she will put his consciousness in another body and help him escape using telepathy.

Wallet of Kai Lung

Ernest Bramah
The Wallet of Kai Lung is a collection of fantasy stories by Ernest Bramah, all but the last of which feature Kai Lung, an itinerant story-teller of ancient China. The collection's importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by the anthologization of two of its tales in the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series.

Sea Lady (Version 2)

H. G. Wells
A mermaid contrives to have herself "rescued from drowning" and adopted by a respectable family on the English coast. Her motive, which she conceals for quite a while, is to win the heart of a handsome but irresponsible young man whom she glimpsed when he went swimming in the Pacific. Introduced into polite society as an invalid, she proves to be intelligent and charming, but as an immortal she regards the concerns of the English gentry with critical detachment. The young man, who is already engaged, falls under her spell and begins to doubt the importance of the political career into which his fiancée has been directing him. There are, after all, "other dreams." But does his new relationship offer him any real future? Summary by Thomas Copeland.

Dear Brutus (dramatic reading)

J. M. Barrie
At a house in the country 8 guests are invited to enter a magical wood to see what might have happened had they made a different choice in life. Even though they are warned away from the wood, they take a chance and enter. The title comes from Shakespeare: "The fault lies in our selves, dear Brutus, not in our stars...," and summarizes the theme of this play: given a second chance, will people still make the same mistakes?

Three Science Fiction Novellas by Leigh Brackett

Leigh Douglass Brackett
ENCHANTRESS OF VENUS: Laughing, she cast him down into the hideous depths, beneath the seas of flaming gas, to where dead blossoms swayed, whispering, over strangely jumbled ruins.... But there he found the secret of her power, and came surging back—up from the depths, up from the seas, the tortured swamps—to storm her forbidding shrine and seek her within, death like a gift in his hands.

SHANNACH—THE LAST: Even in this grip of alien horror a man could not throw away his lifetime goal ... not stand idly by as endless rows of alabaster shapes, seated in their chairs of stone, thought-ruled this gargoyle planet from the dead blackness of deep Mercurian caverns.

THE VANISHING VENUSIANS: For years they had wandered the eternal seas of Venus, seeking the home that was their birthright, death walking in their wake. And now they were making their final bid—three of them fighting toward the promised land, battling for a hopeless cause.

Human Chord

Algernon Blackwood
The following sets the tone for this work of weird fiction:"Numbers of strange people advertised in the newspapers, he knew, just as numbers of strange people wrote letters to them; and Spinny—so he was called by those who loved him—was a diligent student of the columns known as "Agony" and "Help wanted." Whereupon it came about that he was aged twenty-eight, and out of a job, when the threads of the following occurrence wove into the pattern of his life, and "led to something" of a kind that may well be cause for question and amazement.The advertisement that formed the bait read as follows:—"WANTED, by Retired Clergyman, Secretarial Assistant with courage and imagination. Tenor voice and some knowledge of Hebrew essential; single; unworldly. Apply Philip Skale,"—and the address."

Anthem (version 2)

Ayn Rand
Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in England. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age characterized by irrationality, collectivism, and socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the use of the word "I" is punishable by death).

At a Winter's Fire

Bernard Capes
This is a book of stories by Bernard Capes to entertain you if you should find yourself in a cozy chair by the fireplace during the short dark days of winter.

Mermaid

Lily Dougall
"'What a fool I was not to go where she beckoned!' mused Caius. 'Where? Anywhere into the heart of the ocean, out of this dull, sordid life into the land of dreams.'
For it must all have been a dream—a sweet, fantastic dream, imposed upon his senses by some influence, outward or inward; but it seemed to him that at the hour when he seemed to see the maid it might have been given him to enter the world of dreams, and go on in some existence which was a truer reality than the one in which he now was. In a deliberate way he thought that perhaps, if the truth were known, he, Dr. Caius Simpson, was going a little mad; but as he sat by the softly lapping sea he did not regret this madness: what he did regret was that he must go home… "

Lore of Proserpine

Maurice Henry Hewlett
If a thing is not sensibly true it may be morally so. If it is not phenomenally true it may be so substantially. And it is possible that one may see substance in the idiom, so to speak, of the senses. That, I take it, is how the Greeks saw thunder-storms and other huge convulsions; that is how they saw meadow, grove and stream—in terms of their own fair humanity. They saw such natural phenomena as shadows of spiritual conflict or of spiritual calm, and within the appearance apprehended the truth. So it may be that I have done. Some such may be the explanation of all fairy experience. Let it be so. It is a fact, I believe, that there is nothing revealed in this book which will not bear a spiritual, and a moral, interpretation; and I venture to say of some of it that the moral implications involved are exceedingly momentous, and timely too. I need not refer to such matters any further. If they don't speak for themselves they will get no help from a preface.

Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 1

Robert Paltock
This is a story about a Cornish man who becomes stranded on an island and survives much like Robinson Crusoe did. Although he finds enough to eat, he is still lonely. Eventually he is saved by a woman named Youwarkee who has wings and can fly. They marry, have children, and live happily ever after. But the listener is also treated to stories about the discovery of strange lands, and strange peoples not unlike the adventures found in Gulliver's Travels. In essence it becomes an exploration into the possibilities of a utopian world blended with fantasy and science fiction.

Freaks on the Fells: Three Months' Rustication, Story 2 (Dramatic Reading)

R. M. Ballantyne
Join us in a journey of two young men in search of adventure as they discover more than they bargained for.

Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 2

Robert Paltock
The imaginary voyage, from which a hero returns made wise through extraordinary experience, is at least as old as Odysseus. But the major inspiration for this 1750 iteration is Gulliver’s Travels (1726), with which it shares elements of early sci-fi. Wilkins’ new friends are a lens through which to contemplate the customs of his old English ones, as the Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians were for Lemuel Gulliver. (The Public Domain Review)

English Audio Books

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