Another release, or set of releases, which has taken me by surprise! Not because I'd forgotten about them, far from it; no, just that the first inkling I had of their release came late last night in a tweet form Fantom Films.
I think the release of six audio books in a day is a statistic I will never match again - a positive 'glut'! The artwork for these stories really seems appropriate to the period in which they were written, in my humble opinion and here, along with synopses and samples are the details:
Herbert
George Wells was a novelist, teacher, historian and journalist,
who has become known as the “father of science fiction.” His
works have been adapted countless times, and provided the basis
for many literary and theatrical productions.
A
Victorian scientist known only as the Time Traveller creates a
machine capable of moving through the fourth dimension. Using
it, he is transported to the year 802,701 and thrown into a life
and death adventure with the fearsome Morlocks.
A meteor-like alien object lands on Earth, spearheading an
apocalyptic chain of events. Earth has been watched, and now the
aliens have landed and their intent is conquest and war…
As a
result of an accident with an experiment, two unlikely friends
are propelled on a journey to the moon. But a whole new universe
of terrors await them there, including the insectoid Selenites.
Will they be able to overcome these perils, and find a safe way
home?
A
mysterious stranger in a long-sleeved coat, with a bandaged face
and wide-brimmed hat, arrives in a small English village. But
his incongruous appearance is nothing compared to the secret of
the clandestine experiments he is undertaking…
A
collection of twelve short stories and the transcript of a
dream. Included in this collection are Filmer, The Magic Shop,
The Valley of Spiders, The Truth About Pyecraft, Mr Skelmersdale
in Fairyland, The Inexperienced Ghost, Jimmy Goggles the God,
The New Accelerator, Mr Ledbetter’s Vacation, The Stolen Body,
Mr Brishner’s Treasure, Miss Winchelsea’s Heart and A Dream of
Armageddon.
A
collection of eight short stories exploring science fiction and
fantasy themes. Included in this collection are A Door in the
Wall, The Star, A Dream of Armageddon, The Cone, A Moonlight
Fable, The Diamond Maker, The Lord of the Dynamos and The
Country of the Blind.
* * * * *
I was thrilled and flattered to be asked to record these HG Wells stories. The longer novels were already familiar to me, having seen a number of versions made for television or the cinema; not to mention the legendary Mercury Theatre radio adaptation of 'The War of The Worlds', famously devised and directed by Orson Welles, which allegedly caused mass panic in the USA when it was first broadcast by CBS in 1938.
I confess to never having read the original books and I certainly didn't know the short stories. However familiar these stories might at first appear, I hope, should you listen to any of them, that you will discover new and unexpected aspects to each narrative.
In their differing ways, each one of these novels and short stories revealed something new to me and I was regularly surprised as to how Wells articulated his highly original and profoundly influential ideas.
...all for now, more just as soon as it happens!