To honour the passing of our dear friend and most glorious gentleman Dudley Sutton we are giving away the audiobook he so deliciously narrated for us in 2016…Stories From Other Worlds…

We miss you Dudley, and thanks for all the magic you gave us ?

 

“There are two joys inherent in early science fiction. The first is in seeing how we used to imagine the universe. The second is in seeing how far we’ve come. Those are two of the wonderful things about this reading of Griffith’s 19th century science fiction adventure. The third is the measured authority with which Dudley Sutton tells the stories. It manages to do that all but impossible thing for period narrations; call attention to the differences in language and style without parodying them.” – Sci-Fi Bulletin

i114For the very first time in audio, Dudley Sutton reads the pioneering science-fiction serial STORIES OF OTHER WORLDS: A HONEYMOON IN SPACE, written by George Griffith and originally published over 6 parts in Pearson Magazine at the end of the 19th Century in the UK. The adventures, here collected as one audio edition, see his newly married adventurers, exemplars of the “Race that Rules”, exploring planets in different stages of geological and Darwinian evolution on an educational odyssey drawing heavily on earlier cosmic voyages.  Very much a product of its time, the stories hold up well against greats such as HG Wells and Conan Doyle.

A truly fantastic piece of Victorian science fiction.

As an explorer of the real world Griffith shattered the existing record for voyaging around the world at the behest of Sir Arthur Pearson, completing his journey in just 65 days. He also helped discover the source of the Amazon river. He died of cirrhosis of the liver, at the age of 48, in 1906.

 

i266In this collection,  all six original short stories are brought together, and read by the legendary Dudley Sutton (know to so many as Tinker from the Lovejoy TV series):

Book 1: A Trip to the Moon

Book 2: The World of the War God

Book 3: A Glimpse of the Silent Star

Book 4: The World of the Crystal Cities

Book 5: In Saturn’s Realm

Book 6: Homeward Bound

 

Features cover artwork by DANNY DAVIES.

 


About The Narrator

Read by DUDLEY SUTTON. Actor, comedian, poet, best known for his role as Tinker in the Lovejoy TV series.

 


 

DOWNLOADING INFORMATION

Our audiobooks download as zipped files (due to their size and for your convenience). Once unzipped you will find all of the mp3 files for your audiobook named, and in correct file order.  Due to the way Apple has designed iOS, iPhones and iPads don’t recognise these zip files automatically (unlike Android devices).  So, if you buy one of our titles via your iPhone or iPad, there are two ways to find and listen to your files:

[1] Download for FREE iZip for iOS – then download the audiobook using the link provided either on the webpage or the email we sent you. After the file has downloaded click on the Open With option and choose iZip. The app will open and ask if you want it to unzip all the files, say yes. A minute or so later you will have a list of mp3 files in order, and you just need to tap on the one you want to play and it will start playing in the Audioplayer. You can easily play, pause, jump forward or back.

[2] Slightly easier – download the zip file to your PC or MAC, unzip it to a folder you know the location of (such as your Music or Documents folder), then use iTunes to transfer the files in the same way you would a music album.

We hope you enjoy your audiobook and come back for more soon!

 

Narrator

Dudley Sutton

Editor

Tanja Glittenberg

Producer/Director

Neil Gardner

Composer

Purple Planet Music

Released

2015

File Size/Quality

192kbps (better than CD), 256kbps (superb quality), 320kbps (highest quality)

1 review for Stories of Other Worlds

  1. SpokenworldBoss

    There are two joys inherent in early science fiction. The first is in seeing how we used to imagine the universe. The second is in seeing how far we’ve come.

    Those are two of the wonderful things about this reading of Griffith’s 19th century science fiction adventure. The third is the measured authority with which Dudley Sutton tells the stories. It manages to do that all but impossible thing for period narrations; call attention to the differences in language and style without parodying them.

    That calm, measured approach works all the better here because of precisely how lurid Griffith’s text can be. The story is simple; an upper class newly married couple (and their magnificently grumpy Yorkshire engineer) take a honeymoon on their newly constructed spacecraft. They travel the solar system, mimicking the ‘Grand tour’ that aristocrats used to take around Europe. Along the way they find wonders everywhere in the solar system and, on occasion, kill them.

    This is ‘The British the British the British are best’ writ large and given space suits. In the hands of a modern author it’d be repulsive and hopelessly naïve. With a gap of a century between Griffith and us it becomes oddly sweet. The leads are, for all their occasional bloodthirstiness genuinely awed by the solar system around them. They’re also very fond of one another and that affection, along with the endless competency of their engineer, is one of the driving forces of the stories.

    But it’s how alien they, as opposed to the people they encounter, are that stays with you. The Martian story is especially gripping and at times horrifying. They encounter a Martian air navy, decimate it and engage in peace talks spurred entirely by how intimidating they are. Those talks in turn become a pulp staple that takes in xenophobia, the adulation and isolation of women and what may be a subtle dig at communism,

    None of that stuff would play for a second in modern SF but here it’s fascinating. This is a journey as much around the mind and time of Griffith as it is around the wonderfully busy solar system he imagined. All conveyed with expert tact and precision by Sutton.

    Verdict: Charmingly arrogant, occasionally violent and shot through with real wonder this is a glorious reading of an overlooked treasure of British SF. Hop aboard and marvel not just at what you see but at your fellow passengers. And be relieved that you, at least, don’t have to live here. Recommended. 8/10

    Alasdair Stuart – Sci-Fi Bulletin
    http://scifibulletin.com/books/audiobooks/review-stories-of-other-worlds/

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Select your currency
GBP Pound sterling