In November of 2009, I decided to start reviewing works of podcast fiction. It is amazing to me how many more stories there are in the market place now than there was then. I’ve had a lot of fun doing these reviews, and I hope to do hundreds more.

However, I must admit, doing these reviews has changed my life, and not all in ways I would like.
Long before I discovered podcast fiction, I was an avid reader. I would read daily, sometimes for hours. Although, I doubt I could do that now with a four year old and a baby, I miss those hours of reading.

I miss it, because I have little opportunity to read anymore. This is partly due, no doubt, to the children, but it is also due to podcast fiction. These days, it is very difficult to find time to read because I’m constantly listening to podcast fiction. I enjoy it most of the time, but the motivation isn’t due to that enjoyment. It is because there is a review pending. Monday is coming after all.

So, I’ve decided to change a few things.
I need to read. I miss it too much. I also need to write. I need to write.

So, the change.

I am going to continue to write podcast reviews. However, they might not come along every Monday as they have for the past two years. I had considered taking a hiatus, and I still might, but for the time being, I’m simply going to release the pressure on myself and review when I’ve completed.

I’ve also decided to start doing something else I’ve been wanting to spend more time with.
Book reviews.

So, the second announcement is this: I’m going to open up View from Valhalla to authors and publishers looking for an honest review. I’ll continue to review books I’ve read, that I’ve chosen, however, if you’re an author or publisher that would like to have a reviewer read and review your book, here’s your chance.

Unlike my series of podcast reviews, I will read and provide a guaranteed review of your story if you provide me with a copy of it. Books submitted for review will need to be provided as professionally developed ePub or dead tree (address provided upon request).

All reviews will be reviewed in the order the books are received, with the exception of stories submitted prior to publishing, in anticipation of advanced reviews. I will provide these authors “next book in the queue” privileges. I promise to meet no deadlines.

I am not a fast reader. I have other obligations. I will review each book as I finish it. I will not “read faster” on request. I do not read erotica or pulp romance. I will not listen to the podcast of the same work and then write the review. I will not read as your friend, your buddy, your editor. I will read as your reviewer. I will be honest.

That said, if you’ve read any of the reviews on this site, you have a good idea of my review style, and how vitriolic I get, even when critical.

So, do you have something for me to read? I’m ready when you are. You can contact me at odin1eye at viewfromvalhalla.com or on twitter @odin1eye (protected account)

Be prepared dear listeners …. where they are going, they don’t need any roads.

You can download the audio here.

Or simply listen here:

Nathan Lowell’s sites: http://solarclipper.com/

The Podiobooks.com site for “Owner’s Share”: http://www.podiobooks.com/title/owners-share/

Promo for Pendant Audio at http://www.pendantaudio.com/

The Watchers:
Jack Hosley @WNDRWolf – http://wanderradio.com/

Odin1Eye @Odin1Eye – http://viewfromvalhalla.com/

Richard Green @Mainframe – http://geekoutwithmainframe.com/

Music courtesy of http://seraphicpanoplymusic.com/fr_index.cfm

As many of you are aware, and quite possibly participated in, there was an auction event earlier this year with the proceeds to benefit the daughter of podcasting legend and all around good guy, Tee Morris. The auction, known as The Boom Effect, named after the young lady known as Sonic Boom went off without a hitch. More money was raised than could have been hoped and has been reported to be in Trust for her. It truly was nice to see the community come together and in such a wonderful way.

As part of the auction, Richard Asplund Jr. (of Random Pimpage) and I submitted a lot where the lucky (courageous) bidder would be simultaneously ripped to shreds, I mean discussed, on both of our blogs. The Nifty Tech Blog was the winning bidder and both Rich and myself appreciate the generosity shown in taking a chance on us and helping in this cause.

Unfortunately, what happened next was a fumble. Yup, believe it or not, two vikings do not a genius make. We both ended up with issues that prevented us from providing the intentioned smashing of the winner’s content. So, you will get my take on it here, and Rich will be providing his “over there” when time allows.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: The Nifty Tech Blog is all about, you guessed it, nifty tech! Even before the auction I was a fan of the site, so it was easy for me to get excited about the prospect of reviewing the site.

Production: The production over at Nifty Tech is very nice. The red and cream colors and stenciled borders are particularly appealing. I have also always been a fan of “seriffed” fonts. Thankfully, Nifty Tech has foregone the use of a The Story So Far devise. On a blog, that would really be a mess.

Cast: The cast over at the Nifty Tech is a mixture of a one man show and an all star lineup! And what a lineup it is: Dropbox, the iPhone, Gelaskins, BluBridge Auto – Talk, Crash Plan, Google Voice,  Omnifocus, iPad, Grocery Gadget, and iTunes.

Story: At Nifty Tech, the story is the cast. Without fail I can say that all of these stars are top notch in their fields and I employ six of the ten myself. I especially adore Dropbox which I use daily. Another notable fact is Nifty Tech’s willingness to employ newbies and unknowns. As a matter of fact, the BluBridge Auto-Talk was written by some guy that goes by Odin. While the product is stellar, the writing style was rather subpar for the site [ed note - yes, that review was written by me].

Verdict: All kidding aside, The Nifty Tech Blog is a fantastic site and a great resource for all your technical interests. I highly recommend it and suggest you check it out. Not only that, but Nifty Tech is always looking for new products and willing guest reviewers are happily considered. Please run by there and see what they have to offer.

Disclosure: As mentioned above, this review is being provided in an effort to make good on payment rendered. I would like to state however, that I truly endorse The Nifty Tech Blog and label them as required reading.

Title:

One of the first author’s I found when I started listening to podio fiction was Scott Sigler. I’ve listened to all of his podcast fiction, some with a greater interest than others. The stuff of his I’ve liked, I’ve really really liked, the others, meh. (The plaid tanks will soon be rolling down my street, I know. Oh well, truth is truth.)

Having previously reviewed Tee Morris’s Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword, and Mark Jeffrey’s Max Quick The Pocket and the Pendant, I decided it was about time to include the third jewel in the triple crown of founding stories and let everyone know what I think about Scott Sigler’s Earthcore. I often forget that Earthcore was Sigler’s entry into podcasting, because I listened to Ancestor first. A fact which I have had to be corrected on more than once.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: Deep below a desolate Utah mountain lies the largest platinum deposit ever discovered. A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world’s record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company’s driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure.

But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting … and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out firsthand why this treasure has never been unearthed.

Production: if you have ever listened to a Sigler story, I’ll simply say this one, even though the first, really isn’t much different. He does a straight read while giving each character a unique voice and keeps everything very easy to listen to. I realized a while back that, for me, if you’re not going to do a full cast podcast audiodrama, Sigler is the man to emulate. (If you disagree, feel free to share your favorite.) I really believe Sigler captures the essence behind “less is more” with his production in Earthcore.

Cast: The cast is huge for this story, just as it is for all Scott Sigler novels. I can hear you now, “WAIT.. what are you talking about, Scott always does a straight read!” Yup, you’re right, and Earthcore is a straight read too with only Mr. Sigler behind the mic. However, I figure when you’re the FDO™, you are in actuality a cast of millions. Unfortunately, in Mr. Sigler’s world, all women sound remarkably similar and very manly (Still, better than I could do). Another realization for me. When I listen to a single voice podcast, I prefer characters to have as different of a sound as the author can give them naturally as opposed to electronically manipulating those same voices. Even if they do sound like Sigler’s women. (Don’t know FDO™? Give any of Mr. Sigler’s stories a listen, and you will.)

Story: Earthcore is by no means my favorite story. It isn’t even my favorite Sigler story. However, it is a decent story that kept me interested and and kept me guessing until the end. I will also say that if you’re an observant listener, you’ll definitely see some crossover among Mr. Sigler’s stories. Something I personally enjoy. Especially since you must be an observant listener.

Verdict: I enjoyed Earthcore enough to recommend it. Mr. Sigler was still very much an emerging author when he released Earthcore. That being said, I prefer it over the Infected books. (Yes, I said it. Disagree? Why?)

If I’m correct in my recollections, I believe Earthcore had initially been picked up to be published, but then through buy outs and consolidations missed it’s release. This is truly sad, because it is a much better story than most of books ive read in the genre. I know I’m not the first to make this comparrison, bu if you enjoy the works of Michael Crichton, I suggest you give Mr. Sigler’s Earthcore a try.

Disclosure: I do not follow Mr. Sigler on Twitter (@scottsigler), although I’m sure many of you would chastise me for this. I did not receive anything as recompense for this review, nor was I asked to make it.

Title:

I’ve mentioned before, although my choice of reading material trends towards fantasy, I will read almost anything. This is true of my listening choices as well. I realized recently that though I listen to much general fiction, even more science fiction and fantasy, horror is definitely underrepresented. I currently am trying to rectify this with three horror titles on my iPhone. Two happen to be zombie titles. I truthfully had not heard of Mr. Melzer until recently, but when I did, I was intrigued and happy to give him a listen.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: When an asteroid passes by our planet and leaves a trail of death in its wake, a quarter of the population have become the living dead.

Twenty-five years later the zombies are under the control of the government. Citizens are chosen to participate in Project Mirror, a cloning project in which their “mirrors” are used as food for the undead. When one man discovers that something in his blood is being used to create an army of super-zombies, he decides to help his mirror escape. In doing so he uncovers a secret so guarded that the powers that be will stop at nothing to eliminate him and all those that he loves.

The Zombie Chronicles: Escape is the first book is a series of edge-of-your-seat thrillers that will take you on an adventure beyond your wildest imagination and leave you wanting more with each episode.

Production: The production of Escape is pretty straight forward. It is not perfect, but it is far from poor. I read a piece of advise on Twitter recently from one author saying basically NEVER change a production element once a podcast has begun. This might be good advice, but I really don’t care if an author makes a change to try to improve something. Mr. Melzer, somewhere early on, changed his theme music. While normally this would probably pass without mention, I really think the newer theme was a much better choice. Although the original was fine, it was a bit “bright” for a zombie story in my attention. I’m also very pleased that Mr. Melzer chose NOT to use a The Story So Far device in his podcast.

Cast: This story is pretty much a straight read by Mr. Melzer and he does a fine job. Some of the characters are a bit similar sounding, and I think the story could have benefited by a bit slower pace, but these are minimal concerns. His accents aren’t that good (except for Yoda, which he nailed), but they would be better than mine if I were trying to do the same.

Story: I have a bias against first person narrative. I’ve never really worried about it, I just avoid many stories because of it. Maybe I’m doing myself a disservice, but in my experience it takes a really good author with strong characters to keep my interested in a first person narrative. Escape is written in first person. In fact, we don’t even learn the name of the protagonist until near the end of the story. The story is unique in a number of ways that I can’t explain because it would contain spoilers. However, I can state that the story was strong enough that I listened all the way through.

Verdict: Mr. Melzer has crafted a fine story in Escape. It might not be to everyone’s liking, but what is? I can honestly say it is unlike any zombie story I’ve ever seen or watched. It is lacking in the over the top violence usually inherent in this genre and much more effort has been made trying to create a situation where zombies make sense. Did Mr. Melzer succeed? For me, yes. I did enjoy Escape and would recommend it to anyone that enjoys non gruesome zombie horror. Escape is an excellent start to what I’m sure will be a very popular series. Remember, however, it IS only a start.

Disclosure: I’ve had one brief chat with Mr. Melzer on Twitter regarding the validity of how people are approaching the free model of distribution. (Seriously brief) At this time I do not follow him, but will more than likely rectify that soon. I have no idea whether he follows me or not. I was not offered any incentive to write this review.

I make no secret about loving great fantasy stories. When given a choice, good fantasy tops my reading list everytime. Most of the time this is true for podcasts as well. Back in mid 2008 I was looking for another podcast to add to my list and stumbled upon P.G. Holyfield’s Murder at Avedon Hill.

At the time, I had never heard of P.G. Holyfield and although I had used Podiobooks, I often found my podcasts at iTunes (I use both more equally now). I read the premise and decided this sounded interesting. It sounded a bit dark. A bit brooding. I like both of those. I downloaded the prologue and chapter one (same ep) and gave it a listen.

Which is why I’m reviewing it today.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: Lord Avedon has a problem. Generations of Avedons have watched over Avedon Hill and controlled the only pass through the Lantis Mountains. Traditions are important to the Avedon family, but one tradition has tragically come to an end. Gretta Platt, Housemistress of Avedon Manor, has been murdered. A member of the Platt family has always served the Avedons as Housemistress. until now. Only a handful of people live at Avedon Hill, and most are suspects. Arames Kragen, retired Aarronic Advisor and scholar of prophecy, arrives at the gates of Avedon Hill, hoping to gain access to the mountain pass. Lord Avedon is not in a giving mood, however.

This is the story of Arames Kragen and his attempt not only to discover who killed Gretta Platt, but also to uncover the truth about a town that apparently has more secrets than inhabitants.

The Land of Caern: It is a world where the gods, the Children of Az, can choose to be born as mortals to directly affect events in the world, and often do. It is a world where the Priests of Caern frantically search for the mortal incarnations of any of the Children, in order prevent the Prophecies of Iberian from coming to pass. (Synopsis stolen from iTunes.)

Production: Mr. Holyfield did a fine job with the production of the Murder at Avedon Hill. All the volume levels were adequate and consistent, and as I’ve said before, that is really all I really demand. I really enjoyed the theme music for MaAH and hearing the beginning strains of it always made me happy. The only issue I had with the production was the schedule (more later). Mr. Holyfield does a version of TSSF in which he provides a synopsis of the story. While I still don’t enjoy them, with MaAH, some might have found them necessary (foreshadowing).

Cast: MaAH boasts one of the largest casts of any podcast I have ever listened to. When I began it, I wasn’t expecting to hear voices that I was familiar with, but I did. Mr. Holyfield has nearly all of the major players in podcast fiction participating in his podcast, and to be truthful, with better success than I might have dared hope. Early on, I realized that with a podcast the author faces many difficulties with doing a full cast. Not only do you have to find people that have the right voice for the part, but they would need to be willing to provide you with audio week after week. Once you receive that audio, you as the author would have to make sure it was read with the right inflection to provide the next voice with an appropriate opening. Of course, each cast member would probably have substantially different equipment and the sound quality would widely vary. While this goes back to production, it is dealing with a large cast that makes this super-production necessary. Mr. Holyfield and his superlative cast not only did this, but did it so well you would have thought they were all in the same room standing in front of the same microphone. Well done indeed.

Story: Back in the 80′s when I was in HS, there was a movie with Sean Connery and Christian Slater entitled Name of the Rose (Ron Perlman too!) in which a monk does a Sherlock Holmes act and solves the mystery in the end (loved the movie). When I began listening to MaAH, this movie came to mind because it too features a crime solving monk. I soon ran through the episodes that were available and truthfully was surprised when I hit the last one in the queue and the story wasn’t finished. I checked my subscription and ran to podiobooks to make sure that something hadn’t happened. Well, I guess something had happened. Production halted or dramatically slowed down near the end of MaAH. Now, you might think I intend to lambast Mr. Holyfield at this point, but I’m not (although the way he cliffhangered me on more than one occasion tempts me too, LOL).

You see, I look at it this way. I listen to HOURS of podcast fiction every week. I have listened to some of the best stories I’ve ever heard this way. And what have I been charged for it? Zilch. Nada. Nothing. I have to admit that I was worried that Mr. Holyfield wasn’t going to provide an ending, but he did, and it was well done, too. So what do I have to complain about? Again: nothing. In fact, I would like to say thanks again to Mr. Holyfield and to all the other podcast fiction authors that don’t give up. Life happens. I appreciate your dedication to a project that you do for the love of your creation. Thank you all.

Oh, and if you haven’t listened yet, no fear, Murder at Avedon Hill is complete! Mr. Holyfield’s current endeavors include the podcast Tales of the Children which takes place in the same universe as MaAH. He is also providing live readings of these stories on stickam.com.

Verdict: Murder at Avedon Hill might not be to the liking of everyone. It is a genre blending amalgamation of mystery and fantasy with mild horror elements thrown in. However, if you can appreciate a very good story told very well, than I definitely suggest that you subscribe to Murder at Avedon Hill. Strong recommendation.

Disclaimer: I currently follow Mr. Holyfield (@PGHolyfield) on Twitter. He is sardonic and sarcastic and has a rapiers wit (these are all good things in my book). He also likes big laptops. He did not, however, ask me (or provide any incentive) for this review.

Next week: Well, it depends on whether or not J.R. Murdock has finished V&A Shipping.

Greetings and welcome to the third Podcast Review.

Early summer 2009, I was beginning to run out of things to listen to so I posed to Twitter the very eloquent question, “What should I listen to?” and I wasn’t surprised at all when the answers I received were as diverse as they were copious. Without having received a definitive answer, I was about to begin trolling iTunes and Podiobooks for something new when I started hearing of something new having just been completed, and when I asked several people I trusted about it, I got an answer I had never heard before. And this answer intrigued me. The essence of what I was told was, “This is a great story, but it isn’t for the background. You have to be paying attention when you listen.” Wait. A thinking man’s science fiction? My decision was made.

The podcast in question was Predestination and Other Games of Chance, and the author J. Daniel Sawyer (@dsawyer on Twitter). As often happens on Twitter, when you start talking about someone, somehow they show up and join the conversation. (Truly one of the things that never ceases to delight me.) When Mr. Sawyer found out I was going to listen, the first, and only, thing he asked was, “Please tell me what you think.” (To which the delightful Philippa Jane Ballantine replied, “You won’t have to worry about that.” LOL) Well Dan, you might have waited a bit to get my full thoughts, but here they are.

One more item of notice. As you should be able to tell from the title, Predestination is the first in a series entitled The Antithesis Progression. The second book in the series, Free Will and Other Compulsions, is currently in production. Some reviewers would probably wait and review all the books in the series together. If that works for them, that is fine. I won’t do that however. Can you imagine if the Jaws franchise reviewed number 4 (remember number 4?) along with the original? Now, I can honestly say I expect no such disparity among the Antithesis stories, but I still feel that each book deserves it’s own review, and this is a rule I will adhere to (except when I don’t) throughout my podcast reviews.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: “In the Port of Call bar on Space Station Sidon a man sits at a card game. He’s ruthless, he’s unforgiving, and he almost never loses. His name is Alex Hart, and he is waiting for someone.

Reuben Briggs never could play nice with others. As a professor he couldn’t stay out of trouble. As the National Security Advisor he couldn’t resist using other people’s secrets to leverage his agenda. He always attracted the wrong kind of attention, and in 2125 that attention turned deadly. A Lunar judge wants his secrets, a corrupt senator wants him dead, the Green Lady wants his fealty, and Alex Hart wants to play cards with him.

Walking into the Port of Call, Briggs thinks he’s left all the bounty hunters behind him. But in the looking-glass world above the gravity well, he’s about to discover that survival, like poker, is just another sport.

And in this contest, it’s not whether you win or lose. It’s how you rig the game.”

As a reminder, I don’t do synopses. The above was pulled from the Podiobooks site. As far as a synopsis goes, it is about as good as you could hope for for this book. It also isn’t even close. More about that later.

Production: Well, to put it simply, production doesn’t really get any better than this. Mr. Sawyer states in his bio that he has a decades worth of experience in audio production, and from the first episode (which really isn’t the beginning of the story) you can tell he speaks the truth. The audio is simply lavish. Through some sort of compulsion (personally, I’m suspecting blackmail and/or ninjas), Sawyer obtained the services of composer Danny Schade, meaning all of the music for Predestination is original and spot on.

I do remember early on Sawyer switching out equipment and mentioning it in the outro. Truthfully, I don’t really remember it making a difference, but what I DO remember is thinking, my God, he sure is putting a lot of effort into this podcast’s sound. And it shows.

For those of you who plan on regularly following this series of reviews, I will try to start preparing a key to let you know to skip this paragraph. I mean how many times do you want to hear me complain about The Story So Far? (That’s your clue, you can skip down now.) I mentioned this in my review of Brand Gamblin’s Tumbler, and I will probably be mentioning it many more times. Suffice it to say, I’m not a fan of the device. I’m not the author, and definitely not trying to tell anyone what to do. I’ve been told it is necessary to remind the listener of current events when producing serialized fiction. All I can say is, I routinely skip them. In less time than it takes for me to listen to TSSF, I have remembered the details just by jumping into the latest ep.

Cast: This is a podcast with an amazing cast. I have no idea how Sawyer can coordinate and mix this amount of voice talent. It is amazing. You will forget that he does not have all the players sitting in a studio with him. It is seamless.

Story: I’ve always been told that if you want to keep out of controversy, don’t discuss politics, religion or sex. Sawyer obviously wants to stir controversy.

Before I delve in too far, I would recommend to anyone that has not previously listened to Predestination, that you instead start with The Prequel: Man in the Rain before you listen to the first episode. It is labeled as such, but is actually dropped in the feed AFTER episode one.

Going back to the statement, “You have to be paying attention when you listen.” Yes. There is no other way to state it. You MUST be paying attention. I consider this a good thing. I love all types of stories. I love light hearted humorous tales. I love (well done) comic romance. I’ll read almost anything. BUT, to my chagrin, I find “thinking man’s” science fiction greatly missing in podcast fiction (hold on, don’t flame me yet). What I’m calling thinking man’s science fiction is scifi that challenges your psyche in a number of ways. That makes you uncomfortable but won’t allow you to disagree with the motivation of the character. Characters that would probably never be your friends, but that you would respect. From a distance.

Predestination is this.

This story has more twists than Chubby Checker could have anticipated, but they all have a direction and a purpose. This story will not be for everyone. I don’t think Mr. Sawyer anticipated it being so. But it is a very well written story and beautifully crafted. It contains mature themes: sex, violence, religious intolerance, and POKER.

Verdict: If you are easily offended with any of the things mentioned in the preceding sentence you might want to give this one a pass. If you are not, and you enjoy a well written, lovingly detailed stay up listening story, you’ll find this a must listen.

I have never met J.D. Sawyer, but have followed him on Twitter since beginning the Predestination podcast. He is not what I would call verbose in that setting, but will talk to you if you have something to say that interests him. I have not received anything from him in return for this review.

[ed. note 26 April, 2011] Further Disclosure: You will find a quote from this review adorning the cover of the dead tree cover of this book, while I am honored, it still would not affect anything contained in this review.

NEXT: Harvey by Phil Rossi

I’ll begin this review by stating I’m all ready breaking my own rules. As I stated in the previous post, “And Now for Something Completely Different” I will be focusing my reviews on podcasts that are complete. So, why am I all ready going against the stated intent? Meh, because  I want to. And because Tumbler’s author, Brand Gamblin (@brandg on Twitter), asked earlier this week (late last week?) if anyone would be interested in reviewing his podcast in return for a free .pdf of the story.

A good virtual friend of mine Richard Asplund Jr. (@rasplundjr), and a wonderful blogger, all ready presented his take on the story over at Random Pimpage. He does a nice comparison with another podcast that will eventually end up here as well, namely, The Gearheart. (Apples and forks.. LOL)

Back in May of this year, another good friend of mine on Twitter (Tee Morris – @teemonster) recommended a podcast to everyone: Tumbler. Trusting Tee, I decided to give it a shot. At the time there was only one episode out so I downloaded it and gave it a shot. Ever since I’ve been waiting anxiously for my regular dose of Libby & Co.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: I don’t do synopses, they feel to0 much like a sixth grade book report, but I understand that if you’re not currently listening to the podcast, you might need a little background. With that in mind, here is what the author has to say about his story: Libby Carter wanted to get away from it all, so she took a job mining asteroids as far out into the inky blackness as possible. However, her escape turned into a trap, leaving her stuck in indentured servitude, living on a tiny rock in space. As she tries to dig herself out, she gains friends and finds adventure. (BTW, I personally like Richard Asplund Jr’s synopsis from Random Pimpage just as well: Tumbler is a gripping tale of a young woman trying to make it on her own in space after she’s lost everything.)

Production: You know, I have listened to podcasts where the cast was simply stunning and the story was top notch only to be ruined by the production. That always kills me because when the story is good, I am FORCED to listen regardless of anything else, and when either the production or the cast are subpar, it makes it extremely painful. Thankfully, that is NOT the case with Tumbler.

Tumbler is a straight forward affair with little in the way of sound effects or music. And that suits me just fine. As this series of Podcast Reviews continues, this is something that will be continually brought up. I would MUCH rather have a straight forward reading by a competent reader then to be annoyed by over the top but interfering production. All the audio is at an appropriate level and each episode can be heard above the sounds of my cars engine. That is all I ask for.

The only issue I have with Tumbler’s production is one I have with many podcast novels. The Story So Far. I’ve always hated them. Always will. For a long time I believed they were a necessary evil. Lately though, I’ve listened to a few podcasts that are NOT providing a TSSF intro. I much prefer option B. It is the author’s choice of course, and one I’ll respect as it doesn’t annoy me for long before the story begins. (Additional note, as long as we’re on my preferences if you must include a TSSF, I much prefer the author doing it themselves or editing a compilation of previous scenes.)

Cast: This one is easy. There is only one member, and her name is S.V. Allie (@svallie on Twitter). I don’t know if you’ll ever read this Ms. Allie, but kudos. You are awesome. Your voice embodies Libby Carter for me.

When I first listened to episode one, I was unsure whether this pairing was going to work. It does. Finer than frog hair.

Again, I love a straight forward reading with a single voice when done right. Tumbler is that, done very right.

Story: Mr. Gamblin has done his job well (to this point). I have never found him predictable. Rather he has thrown a curve or two taking the story in a direction I would have never anticipated while remaining true to the character and her motivations. Excellent job.

Verdict: with the story being unfinished, I cannot give it an unqualified “Must Listen”, but I can say that even if ends terribly (which I doubt) I can say that I have greatly enjoyed it to this point and that I am comfortable with: Give it a shot, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I have never met Mr. Gamblin, nor Ms. Allie. I just recently started following them on Twitter. I plan on not excepting the proffered .pdf as I prefer to wait to find out what is happening to Libby by hearing Ms. Allie inform me. I will buy the book when it is published.

NEXT REVIEW: Antithesis Book One: Predestination and Other Games of Chance, by J.D. Sawyer — Just a note: I started this week with two Podcast Reviews, I anticipate that schedule will greatly slow down to maybe one a week. Look for Antithesis early next week.