This just in, you crime fiction aficionados: HighBridge has acquired audio rights to the next Tom Thorne novel by celebrated British mystery writer Mark Billingham. It’s called The Bones Beneath (June, 2014), and it’s a rematch between Thorne and one of the most vile psychopaths he has ever faced (hint: it’s a villainous master manipulator from one of the early Tom Thorne novels that’s also available as a HighBridge audiobook). The Bones Beneath is deliciously creepy, more than a little terrifying, and involves Thorne making the most gut-wrenching decision of his career. In other words, you, Mr. and Ms. Detective Fiction Fanatic, definitely won’t want to miss it. It’s coming next June, which gives you plenty of time to listen to the previous four Billingham audiobooks from HighBridge: Sleepyhead, Scaredy Cat, From the Dead, and The Dying Hours. And while you’re in the midst of doing that, take a moment to check out the cover story on Billingham in the Fall 2013 issue of Mystery Scene magazine.
Billingham’s Sleepyhead: A First-in-Series That Will Keep You Awake
December 9th, 2013 by Kay Weiss · Uncategorized
Having listened to Mark Billingham’s Sleepyhead, read by Simon Prebble, I believe I may have discovered the perfect way to determine whether you’ve come across a truly outstanding mystery: Try to explain what you like about it to someone. If you realize you can’t without the explanation being a spoiler of some kind, you’ve got a great mystery.
It can be assumed, as always, that narrator Simon Prebble—a true professional—delivers on every word, character, and plot twist, even if I’m having trouble deciding which if any of these I can tell you more about.
But—other than outstanding narration—since I can’t say simply, “trust me, you’ll like it,” (although perhaps telling you American crime writers like Lee Child, Karin Slaughter, and Michael Connelly also say you should trust them, you’ll like Billingham, would do it?), I’ll try to dance around the spoilers and give a sense of what you have to look forward to if you start with this first in Billingham’s Tom Thorne series.
I’ll start with Billingham first: A Brit, Billingham began work as an actor and stand-up comic, eventually contributing to scripts in shows in which he appeared. While even he assumed the natural leap to mystery writing would be in the “comic caper” mode Donald Westlake and others made famous, what came out instead was a dark mystery, more in the style of P. D. James, although Billingham’s Tom Thorne is a more rumpled character than the suave Dagliesh, much more just-off-the-beat and seemingly ordinary—and consequently more relatable.
Thorne comes with a backstory: A case that haunts him for his self-assessed failure in preventing the horrific outcome to which he himself was the unlucky first witness. Thorne is known for having a seemingly intuitive sense of who the culprit is on cases, but that sense hasn’t always helped him (as in the aforementioned case) and it also can set him at odds with colleagues and superiors who tend to prefer to have a little more hard evidence before drawing conclusions.
Thorne’s adversary in Sleepyhead, as we learn early on, has two irregular characteristics for most murderers: First, he is not actually trying to kill his victims; he just wants to leave them in a state known by the name “locked-in syndrome,” where the mind appears to be completely conscious and active but the body cannot communicate except, in some instances, through the eyes. Second, he appears to want Thorne to catch him.
I will admit that, although being a P. D. James fan and many of her criminals are sadistic to say the least, I was somewhat put off listening to the Sleepyhead audiobook at first by the darkness of the criminal mind described in the book jacket copy and thus the potential gruesomeness of the novel. But Billingham is far, far too interested in the humanness of his characters to let the story degrade from a crime novel to a horror story. In fact I can say that in Sleepyhead I have encountered the first novel where my favorite character is actually the murder victim (kudos as well to Prebble, who gives her the sass and sauce Billingham clearly intends) and possibly also the first mystery novel that made me cry.
And Billingham also fooled me—not just with the criminal reveal but with the novel’s ultimate conclusion. It devolves in keeping with his apparent philosophy of keeping the story human: You can disagree with it, but you can’t say it rings false. It’s an ending that sticks with you and plays over in your mind. In fact, the only way to get it out might be to pick up the next Tom Thorne novel, Scaredy Cat, which fortunately for you and me both HighBridge also has available.
→ No CommentsTags: Mark Billingham·mystery·Scaredy Cat·Simon Prebble·Sleepyhead·thomas thorne·Tom Thorne
The Unforgettable Tom Keith: Sound Effects Man
December 2nd, 2013 by Frank Randall · Uncategorized
With the second anniversary of Tom Keith’s unexpected passing retreating all too quietly as winter approaches, I’m reminded there’s one CD in our home that keeps both my eight year old son and my sixty-nine year old mother-in-law in stitches, consistently, and on any given listen. And by “in stitches” I mean unbridled laughter – the kind that makes you tap a headphoned individual on the shoulder and ask “What’s that you’re listening to?” It’s a lovingly curated collection of highlights from public radio’s A Prairie Home Companion called, simply, Tom Keith: Sound Effects Man.
A quick review of the contents suggests a delightful hour of APHC skits culled from the extensive archives: Tom busting out of the gate on track one, valiantly chasing Garrison Keillor’s evocative audio fantasy around the Gunflint Trail. The confounding Maurice, maître d’ of the Cafe Boeuf, exacting his revenge on the very same Mr. Keillor, the universal martyr of restaurant patrons everywhere. The kilt-wearing tenor celebrating St. Andrew’s Day. Every piece is charming, nuanced, and downright funny.
But the signature that Tom Keith leaves on each of these performances, and on his body of work in general, is that every sound he created wasn’t just a sound that filled a specific cue in a script that called for an audio effect. The sounds he created – no matter how fleeting or seemingly trivial to the comedic ensemble in question – had, surprisingly, a personality of its own. The noises he made had heart. They revealed character where character would not normally be found. This was his magic. The distressed caribou. The relentless water-drip. The underachieving automobile. The sober Swede. The deadly lutefisk. The carnivorous snow-bat. The bad loon. His work was delightful, and may be revisited at will and with great pleasure thanks to this terrific collection.
→ No CommentsTags: A Prairie Home Companion·garrison keillor·HighBridge·loon·public radio·sound effects·Tom Keith
Narrators Tap Into Their Darker Side for A Darker Shade of Sweden
November 27th, 2013 by Josh Brown · Author/Narrator News
HighBridge is excited to announce that the highly anticipated audio short-story collection, A Darker Shade of Sweden, will be read by a thrilling and impressive array of talent: Carol Monda, Scott Brick, Adam Grupper, Maggi-Meg Reed, Erik Bergmann, and Tavia Gilbert.
Containing seventeen stories, all never before published in English, A Darker Shade of Sweden illuminates the shadow side of this beguiling country as never before, and promises to be among the most highly anticipated crime fiction of the season.
The anthology includes short fiction from Sweden’s greatest crime writers, including Henning Mankell, Håkan Nesser, Åsa Larsson, Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö, Sara Stridsberg, and many more. But the big news is that it includes a never-before-published story by a seventeen-year-old Stieg Larsson, late author of The Millennium Trilogy.
To have these exciting stories paired with this caliber of narrators is certainly a recipe for an electrifying audiobook. Carol Monda is a two-time Audie Award-winner and recipient of the Audio Publishers Association Earphones Award; she has narrated over 100 audiobooks to date. Scott Brick has narrated more than 600 audiobooks, won over 50 Earphone Awards, two Audie Awards, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award. In addition to audiobook narration, Adam Grupper’s on-screen credits include appearances on Law and Order and The Sopranos and the film Music and Lyrics. Maggi-Meg Reed has a number of audiobooks to her credit, and also has an accomplished theater career in New York including stage, musical theater, and opera. Erik Bergmann began acting at an early age, and for nearly fifteen years now, he has built a thriving voice-over and audiobook career. Tavia Gilbert is an award-winning narrator with more than 150 audiobooks under her belt.
A Darker Shade of Sweden is edited and translated by John-Henri Holmberg, an Edgar-nominated co-author of the 2011 book Secrets of the Tattooed Girl, a book about the Millennium novels and their author, Stieg Larsson, who was a personal friend. For more than fifteen years, Holmberg reviewed crime fiction for southern Sweden’s largest daily newspaper, which gained him the Jan Broberg Excellence in Criticism award as well as election to the Swedish Crime Fiction Academy. He now works full-time as a writer, translator, and editor in Sweden.
A Darker Shade of Sweden will be available February.
→ No CommentsTags: A Darker Shade of Sweden·Adam Grupper·audiobook·Carol Monda·crime·Erik Bergmann·John-Henri Holmberg·Maggi-Meg Reed·mysterious press·narrator·reader·scandinavia·scott brick·Stieg Larsson·Sweden·Tavia Gilbert
Artist-autographed copies of Star Wars: A New Hope Radio Drama auctioned for charity
November 15th, 2013 by Josh Brown · Uncategorized
HighBridge has teamed up with Knights’ Archive to offer a set of the new Star Wars: A New Hope – The Original Radio Drama Topps Collector’s Editions signed by the artists, Matt Busch and Randy Martinez. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
To view the auction or make a bid, please visit the eBay auction page. The auction ends November 21.
Each edition includes an exclusive Topps Star Wars Illustrated: A New Hope card that corresponds to the package cover art; 6 hours of the Star Wars Original Radio drama, plus 35 minutes of rare bonus audio: “The Making of the Radio Drama” audio documentary, interviews, and promo spots created for the original radio broadcast; and a 12-page booklet featuring images from the recording sessions and the Star Wars: A New Hope movie.
Each edition is signed by artists Matt Busch (Light Side edition) and Randy Martinez (Dark Side edition). 100% of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
For more information on Star Wars: A New Hope – The Original Radio Drama Topps Collector’s Editions, please visit starwarsradiodrama.com.
Please note that HighBridge Company and Knights’ Archive have arranged this auction. This auction is completely independent of Lucasfilm® and Topps®. Matt Busch and Randy Martinez have graciously signed these audios, but bear no responsibility for the outcome of this auction.
→ No CommentsTags: auction·charity·ebay·knights archive·make-a-wish·matt busch·radio·radio drama·randy martines·star wars·topps
Scott Brick to Narrate The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
November 13th, 2013 by Josh Brown · Author/Narrator News
HighBridge is proud to announce that award-winning narrator Scott Brick will be reading The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, a highly anticipated new title by author Gabrielle Zevin.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry follows irascible A. J. Fikry, the owner of independent book store Island Books. Fikry has already lost his wife, but now his most prized possession, a rare book, has been stolen from right under his nose. Things are turned even more upside-down when upon closing one night, he discovers an abandoned toddler in his children’s section. A search for the little girl’s mother, his rare book, and good childcare advice ensues, and soon the locals notice a transformation of both bookstore and owner.
Scott Brick is one of the most accomplished and celebrated narrators in the audiobook industry. He has narrated more than 600 audiobooks, won over 50 Earphone Awards, two Audie Awards, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award. His previous credits for HighBridge include Rendezvous and History Decoded.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry will be available on CD and digital download in April. Read more about Scott Brick at his website, Scott Brick Presents, or follow his Twitter at @ScottBrick.
→ No CommentsTags: algonquin·audiobook·bookstore·earphone·Fikry·Gabrielle Zevin·grammy·history decoded·narrator·reader·Rendezvous·scott brick·The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
Survival Lessons: A little gem…wise, witty and wonderful.
November 11th, 2013 by Gladys · Uncategorized
I was drawn to Survival Lessons, the little gem of a book by celebrated fiction author Alice Hoffman, as family members and friends of mine endured trauma and health challenges this past year. A cancer survivor herself, Hoffman’s impulse for writing this book was her need for a “guidebook” to help cope with long-term illness, to help see the “beauty of life…all too easy to overlook during the crisis of illness or loss…And to remind myself that, despite everything that was happening to me, there were still some choices I could make.”
Survival Lessons is beautifully and gracefully narrated by Xe Sands, who seems to channel Hoffman’s spirit in this reading. I was hooked after the first sentence. It is full of down-to-earth advice, endearing stories, and practical lessons for making choices that enrich one’s life and make each day an opportunity to thrive, not just survive; to experience beauty and joy along with the sorrow and pain. Hoffman says, “I forgot that our lives are made up of equal parts of sorrow and joy, and that it is impossible to have one without the other.”
Alice Hoffman‘s many suggestions are found in a series of short essays or lessons, beginning with Choose your Heroes, Choose to Enjoy Yourself, Choose Your Friends, and she encourages us to make the best brownies, boil the perfect egg, make time for an old friend, plan an interesting trip, carry on the work that we adore—these can all bring love into and enormously enrich our lives as we endure illness.
Although short in length, Survival Lessons is a generous road map that I will turn to again and again. I will share it with others in my life who could benefit from the gifts that it generously shares—caregivers, friends, co-workers, neighbors—anyone, really, who feels the impact of illness in their lives and want to thrive, not just survive.
“Love is complicated, love can be hidden, love, above all else, is loyalty.” ~AH
→ No CommentsTags: Alice Hoffman·cancer·health·illness·love·personal development·recovery·Survival Lessons·Xe Sands
Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama Topps Collector’s Editions
November 8th, 2013 by Josh Brown · Uncategorized
The Force is with us here at HighBridge.
This month marks something very exciting: the launch of our Topps Collector’s Editions of the Original Star Wars Radio Drama.
First hitting airwaves in 1981, the thirteen part, 6-hour drama was immensely popular. NPR replayed the drama a couple times, but the audio drama was otherwise unavailable to the masses of rabid Star Wars fans. More than ten years after originally airing on the radio, HighBridge Company was able to track down nearly everyone involved in the original production and secure the license from Lucasfilm to be able to offer the original radio drama (as well as the radio drama for The Empire Strikes Back) on cassette.
The original radio drama is truly a gem. The additional scenes, dialogue, and fleshing out of characters was expertly scripted by Brian Daley. Daley was truly a master of his craft, and very much on top of his game in the late 1970s and early 1980s, having penned his first Star Wars novel in 1979, Han Solo at Stars’ End, the first book in the Han Solo Adventures trilogy. There is a reason why the top writers of official Star Wars novels and fiction today often recognize Mr. Daley in their dedications and/or acknowledgments.
The additional material in Brian Daley’s script really digs far deeper into the personalities of the Star Wars characters, particularly Luke Skywalker. The radio drama opens up with Luke working on his speeder, and you really get a greater sense of the kind of pilot and mechanic he really is.
We also get a rendezvous between Princess Leia and her father on the planet Alderaan before she is kidnapped by the Empire. It’s interesting to note that this was long before anyone had decided to name Princess Leia’s father “Bail.” In the radio drama he actually never referred to by name, but is listed as “Prestor” in the closing credits. The late A. C. Crispin named the character “Bail Prestor Organa” in her 1997 novel The Paradise Snare, and he’s been known as “Bail” ever since. Another noteworthy additional scene with Princess Leia is Darth Vader’s interrogation of her. In the film, we simply see a droid with a long, menacing needle, then it cuts to the next scene. In the radio drama, we find out just what exactly happens when she is drugged by the needle, and we get the full, disturbing interrogation.
There are a number of additional scenes with the droids – we get the first meeting of R2-D2 and C-3PO. Also interesting is the additional scene of R2-D2 sabotaging the little red R5-D4 unit just before Luke Skywalker and his uncle purchase a handful of droids from the Jawas. The R5-D4 unit fizzles out after being picked out by Luke’s uncle, and Luke famously says, “This R2 unit has a bad motivator!” An exchange is quickly made for the crafty R2-D2, and the rest is history.
Han Solo and Wookiee sidekick, Chewbacca, also get a few additional scenes. It’s comforting to know that in the radio drama, Han always shoots first, and that will never change. After blasting Greedo, Han runs into Heater, a henchman of Jabba the Hutt. The smooth-talking Han somehow convinces Heater that he’s got the money, and he’ll be right back to pay Jabba. Of course, as we all know, Han gets sidetracked in a little thing called the Rebellion. We also get a sense of how Chewbacca acts as Han’s moral center, letting Han know that he thinks Obi-Wan and Luke aren’t all that bad.
Over the years, HighBridge has published numerous versions of the radio drama—cassettes, CDs, and various collector’s editions. These new Topps Collector’s editions stand out from the other versions, in my opinion. First, there is the art. The covers to these editions (and corresponding Topps card inside) are absolutely stunning. Matt Busch (Light Side) and Randy Martinez (Dark Side) completely knocked these out of the park. These two pieces rank among the best Star Wars art I have seen ever. Another thing that sets the Topps Collector’s Editions apart is the fact that for the first time, all thirteen episodes (and the bonus content) are being offered on one disc.
Thanks to today’s technology (a technology that in 1981 might have seemed to be a part of the Star Wars universe itself), HighBridge is able to deliver six-and-a-half hours of high-quality audio on a single CD in mp3 format. The quality is outstanding, and extremely faithful to the efforts put forth by the original producers and sound engineers.
I feel compelled to again mention the art on the new collector’s editions. Words can hardly describe how incredible it is. I can’t say enough how amazed I am at the skills of Matt Busch and Randy Martinez. The art and exclusive Topps cards in both editions are absolutely stunning.
Having grown up Star Wars myself, as well as collected a multitude of Topps cards over the years (Star Wars, baseball, and football) I truly feel blessed to be able to work on this amazing and special project. The folks at Lucasfilm and the folks at Topps are great people to work with. Star Wars fans young and old will be able to appreciate these new collector’s editions of the Original Radio Drama.
Before I wrap this blog up, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention HighBridge’s other Star Wars radio/audio dramas. We of course have The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but we also have a number of full-cast audio dramas based on Dark Horse graphic novels, including Crimson Empire, Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith, and the Dark Forces Collector’s Trilogy.
Star Wars: A New Hope Radio Drama Topps Light and Dark Side Editions are on sale now.
→ No CommentsTags: A. C. Crispin·art·dark·dark horse·jedi·light·matt busch·mp3·NPR·organa·radio·radio drama·randy martinez·skywalker·star wars·topps·wookie
Sweden behind the Shades
November 6th, 2013 by Steve Lehman · Acquisition News
There’s been a lot of excitement about the forthcoming collection of short stories, A Darker Shade of Sweden, which will be published in February 2014 by The Mysterious Press and, I’m here to say with no small measure of gratification, by HighBridge Audio as well. The brouhaha has largely focused on the fact that it includes a story by the seventeen-year-old Stieg Larsson, late author of The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, et al). Okay, fair enough, but focusing only on that story really misses the larger point of this extraordinary publishing event: Larsson is just one of an amazing assemblage of top crime fiction writers from Sweden, the crème de la crème, the sans pareil—you know, the best. Featured are the likes of Henning Mankell, Åsa Larsson, Per Wahlöö, Håkan Nesser and a host of other Swedish mystery luminaries, and that makes this a must-get for fans of Scandinavia’s unique take on the crime genre. In addition, it includes the fiction debut of Eva Gabrielsson, Stieg’s long-time partner. It’s all put together by John-Henri Holmberg, noted Swedish critic, publisher, author and translator and close friend of Larsson’s. Look for it!
→ No CommentsTags: A Darker Shade of Sweden·Åsa Larsson·Audiobooks·detective fiction·Eva Gabrielsson·Håkan Nesser·Henning Mankell·HighBridge·John-Henri Holmberg·mysterious press·mystery·Per Wahlöö·short stories·Stieg Larsson·Swedish crime fiction·thriller
Featured Audio Giveaway – Nov 2013 – Ties That Bind
November 6th, 2013 by Kay Weiss · Featured Audio Giveaways
 |
||
  |
Celebrating 10 years of StoryCorps
Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of StoryCorpshosted by Dave Isay; as told by StoryCorps participants They’ve made you laugh, cry, ponder, and muse: Stories from all walks of life about all manner of people and places. And it’s StoryCorps that’s made it possible for you to hear them.Now StoryCorps has curated a best-of collection to celebrate their first 10 years. |
|
________________________
How to Win This Audio CD
1. Send an email to newsletter@highbridgeaudio.com.
2. Put the words “StoryCorps” in the subject line.
Entries must be received by no later than 11/22/2013.
See the Program Details for more information.
________________________
Last Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to Caitlin Schesser (Dark) and Jason Sanchez (Light), winners of the last giveaway, Star Wars: A New Hope—Original Radio Drama, Topps Collector’s Editions.
Thanks to all who participated.
→ No CommentsTags: audiobook·Dave Isay·featured audio giveaway·StoryCorps·Ties That Bind