Otto is Richard Krugg’s only son and heir to the Shaman’s gift. The only problem is Otto doesn’t want it. He wants to be a fisherman. When company policies force unwelcome changes onto his life and threaten even the security of the village, Otto discovers that being a shaman isn’t optional.Jimmy Pirano is caught between the devil and the deep green sea when new production quotas are handed down from corporate headquarters. Locked into a century of existing practice, Jimmy is forced to find new ways to fish and new places to do it in or face the very real possibility that Pirano Fisheries will lose the St. Cloud franchise.Join Otto, Richard, and Rachel Krugg as they struggle with what it means to be the son of a shaman. Cast off with Jimmy, Tony, and Casey as they navigate the shoals and shallows of corporate fishery along the South Coast.

Quarter Share

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 1
When Ishmael Wang is orphaned by a flitter crash, he must make some hard decisions about how to survive in a Company-owned universe. With limited time and fewer options, he lands a job as the newest hand on the Solar Clipper Lois McKendrick and learns there’s more to life than making coffee. Join Ish, Pip, Big Bad Bev, and the rest of the Lois McKendrick’s crew as they sail the galaxy in search of profitable trade.

Half Share

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 2
After Ishmael Wang is promoted to the environmental section, he’s caught in a swirl of mystery, doubt, belief, lust and a really nice fitting pair of jeans. He has to come to grips with what it means to be a spacer while he’s still trying to figure out what it means to be a man. Join Ishmael, Brillo, Pip, and the rest of the crew of the Lois McKendrick as they help the newest member of the crew adjust to life in the Deep Dark.

Full Share

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 3
The Lois McKendrick runs headlong into trouble when a routine in-system transit goes bad. Ishmael and the rest of the crew must scramble to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it in order to keep the ship alive. Learn more about the officers and crew of the Lois McKendrick as they struggle to keep their ship and discover how Ishmael finds out how wrong he’s been about what it means to be a spacer in this latest Trader’s Tale.

Double Share

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 4
When he graduates from the Academy at Port Newmar, Ishmael Horatio Wang reports for duty in his first assignment as an officer. When he gets to his new ship, he finds things are not exactly the way he’d learned in school. The coffee tastes like used engine oil, the ship has no heart, and the nearest decent tailor is two quadrants away. What’s a new Third Mate to do? Will he be able to trust Billy?

Captains Share

A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 5
A shuffling of cabins puts Ishmael Horatio Wang in command of the worst ship in the fleet. He learns that being Captain doesn’t make you infallible and that life in the Captain’s Cabin is filled with new kinds of challenge as he tries to keep the ship moving, the crew out of trouble, and turn a profit to earn his Captain’s Share. In a ship where the officers outnumber the crew, how can he manage to keep everybody happy? Welcome to the SC Agamemnon.

Max Quick 1: The Pocket and the Pendant is available as a Podiobook. It was available in paperback, hardcover, Kindle edition, and in PDF, but due to the bizarre nature of the publishing world those have all been pulled.  HarperCollins bought the book, and in their infinite wisdom they have decided to stop selling it until 2011.   But you can still download it free from Podiobooks.  Whatever.

Max Quick 2: The Two Travelers is also on Podiobooks, and just like Max Quick 1 the print editions have been pulled.  It’s a shame because the cover has a picture of my favorite building. The story really picks up in The Two Travelers.  In both books Mark Jeffrey has done a great job of moving the story along and never falling in to the trap of relying on a simple mechanism (like a magical power) to fill pages (or minutes, as the case may be.)

Max Quick 3: The Bane of the Bondsman is currently being written.  No word yet if it will be made in to a Podiobook, but I certainly hope so – especially since HarperCollins doesn’t want to sell books.

The author reads the podiobook himself, which I normally don’t care for, but Mark Jeffrey has done a great job with these productions.

I’m calling this “Part 1″ because I’m only listing Completed books, I haven’t listened to all of the Podiobooks, and because they add new content every day.  I’ve mentioned most of these before but I wanted to get them all together in one place.

Singularity by Bill DeSmedt – Science Fiction
One of my all-time favorite books, a fictional exploration of the Tunguska explosion of 1908.  Great physics, great story.  This book has it all, and it’s a excellent production.

Doctor Jack’s Soapbox Seminars by John C. Adler, Ph.D., as told to Bill DeSmedt – Non-Fiction
If you enjoy Singularity you should listen to this, too.  It will help you understand some of the physics of Singularity, and kill some time while you wait for Bill DeSmedt to finish Dualism.

7th Son: Book One – Descent by J.C. Hutchins – Science Fiction
7th Son: Book Two – Deceit by J.C. Hutchins – Science Fiction
7th Son: Book Three – Destruction by J. C. Hutchins – Science Fiction
This is one amazing trilogy. I’ve ranted before about how great it is, so I won’t go on and on again.  Just listen to it.  It moves at a frantic pace.

Infected by Scott Sigler – Horror/Dark Fantasy
Contagious by Scott Sigler – Horror/Dark Fantasy
This is a really cool story. I listen to or read everything by Scott Sigler, which is pretty amazing because horror is not my thing.  I can’t wait for Pandemic!

BloodCast, Season 1 by Scott Sigler – Horror/Dark Fantasy
BloodCast, Season 2 by Scott Sigler – Horror/Dark Fantasy
Two collections of short stories by Scott Sigler.  Be sure to check out “Chuckles Mulrooney, Attorney for the Damned.”

The Rookie by Scott Sigler – Science Fiction
I’m sorry to keep recommending books with forthcoming sequels, but after you listen to this story about football 700 years in the future you’re going to find yourself waiting for Sigler to release The Starter.

Earthcore by Scott Sigler – Science Fiction
Mark your calendar for February of 2012, when Mt. Fitzroy, the follow-up to Earthcore comes out.  Okay, sorry, that’s the last time I’ll do that in this post.

Kronos by Jeremy Robinson – Science Fiction
I thought I blogged about this but I can’t find an entry.  Any way, it’s a good story, even if a bit odd.

Number One with a Bullet by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff – Fiction
A sort of modern-day Highlander story that I had a hard time taking seriously, but plenty of violence and a fairly interesting story kept me in it until the end.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - by Cory Doctorow – Science Fiction
If you like this (I did) you might want to check out Little Brother.  You can read it free in a bunch of different formats. The unabridged audio edition is $20.

Hunting Elf by Dave Donelson – Humor
I mentioned this one here recently.

Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena by Brian Dunning – Non-Fiction
Skeptoid podcaster Brian Dunning explores topics from Bigfoot to bible codes.

The Silk Code by Paul Levinson – Science Fiction
This is quite a ride. It treats DNA the way Singularity handled physics.  Several interesting stories weave together. I’d like to see more from Paul Levinson.

If you enjoy these books support the author and keep a good thing going by donating through the Podiobooks page. The author gets 75%.

As a break before tackling That Hideous Strength I listened to the Podiobooks version of Hunting Elf.  I guess I didn’t remember the description properly, because I went in expecting a juvenile.  It wasn’t until after a couple of murders and some sex that it occurred to me that this was not at all a juvenile.  The Podiobook version is read by the author, and it’s a great production.  It’s a fantastic story,  and was a well timed diversion from the sci-fi bender I’ve been on.

Anyone who has spent any time around the dog show and / or dog training scene will really appreciate this.  Really anyone who has or has had a dog will probably appreciate it, in fact.

In addition to the free podiobook it’s available in print from Lulu.

Just as the Eastern Standard Tribe Podiobook introduced me to Cory Doctorow, Hunting Elf has introduced me to Dave Donelson. I’m adding Heart Of Diamonds to my Goodreads list.