Lewis Shiner
Lewis Shiner lives in North Carolina, where he works as a computer programmer by day and writes some of the most imaginative fiction we’ve read in a long while in his free time. From the 60s-era, rock-inspired GLIMPSES to the powerful skate-punk tale SLAM to the suspenseful, Argentinian setting in DARK TANGOS, it seems there’s no kind of story that Shiner cannot tackle. Lucky for us, we’ve got Golden Voice Stefan Rudnicki in the Skyboat Studios, tackling the audio to bring some of these fantastic stories to new life.
Most recently, Stefan was joined by Gabrielle de Cuir to voice Shiner’s science fiction debut, FRONTERA. A debut which was a 1985 Philip K. Dick Award Finalist and Nebula Award Finalist, mind you.
After the world’s governments collapsed, the corporations took control. Houston’s Pulsystems has sent an expedition to the lost Martian colony of Frontera to search for survivors, but the colonists are not only alive; they have discovered a secret so devastating that the new rulers of Earth will stop at nothing to own it. But none of them have reckoned with Kane, whose hallucinatory voices are urging him to complete an ancient cycle of heroism and alter the destiny of the human race. –downpour.com
“Rudnicki and de Cuir take separate chapters, each imbuing the strongly written characters with engaging personalities. It’s a powerful story that challenges the listener’s ideas about right and wrong, humanity and science. Not portraying only male and female characters respectively, Rudnicki and de Cuir allow listeners the chance to hear the same characters speak through different voices.” —AudioFile Magazine
For GLIMPSES: A NOVEL, published in 1993, Stefan adeptly inhabited protagonist Roy Shackleford, a man struggling with divorce and death who suddenly realizes that he can hear music no one else can—music that could change the world.
Listen to a sample here!
“I have just finished listening to it and I was holding back tears by the end. Rudnicki gave a beautiful performance, full of passion and understanding for the text, and the source material is just so good.” –Cory Doctorow, excerpted from blog post “Glimpses: amazing audiobook of one of the all-time-great rock-n-roll novels“
Stefan returned to the studio to narrate SLAM, a strange and suspenseful story deeply entrenched in the slacker culture and seedy underbelly of Texas. SLAM was written in 1990, but the audio is fresh off the presses courtesy of Blackstone Audio.
“A clear-eyed journey though a brilliantly observed parcel of the new American weirdness. Funny, moving, and admirably human.” –William Gibson, New York Times bestselling author
This is followed by Shiner’s career-spanning COLLECTED STORIES, produced for Blackstone Audio by Skyboat Media, which Stefan narrated along with a few others. Oh, you know just David Birney, Scott Brick, Gabrielle de Cuir, Kimberly Farr, Karen Joy Fowler, Roxanne Hernandez, Janis Ian, Rex Linn, Arthur Morey, John Rubinstein, and Kristoffer Tabori. No biggie.
“These forty-one powerful stories cover Shiner’s career across three decades and multiple genres, showcasing hard-edged, often political genre fiction at its finest. The oft-reprinted ‘The War at Home,’ ‘The Circle,’ and ‘Till Human Voices Wake Us’ remain worth reading, but the less familiar tales really make this collection stand out…Shiner never fails to astound, and this collection highlights everything that makes him one of today’s best storytellers.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Contents include:
Introduction, read by Karen Joy Fowler
“Perfidia,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Stuff of Dreams,” read by John Rubinstein
“The War at Home,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Straws,” read by Scott Brick
“Nine Hard Questions,” read by Kimberly Farr
“White City,” read by Gabrielle de Cuir
“Primes,” read by Arthur Morey
“The Long Ride Out,” read by Rex Linn
“Sitcom,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“The Death of Che Guevara,” read by Roxanne Hernandez and Stefan Rudnicki
“His Girlfriend’s Dog,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Deep without Pity,” read by Rex Linn
“The Circle,” read by Kimberly Farr
“Twilight Time,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Jeff Beck,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Wild for You,” read by Kristoffer Tabori
“Till Human Voices Wake Us,” read by John Rubinstein
“Flagstaff,” read by Scott Brick
“Tommy and the Talking Dog,” read by Janis Ian
“Oz,” read by Kristoffer Tabori
“Love in Vain,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Steam Engine Time,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Kings of the Afternoon,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Sticks,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“The Tale of Mark the Bunny,” read by Janis Ian
“The Killing Season,” read by Rex Linn
“Scales,” read by Gabrielle de Cuir
“Snowbirds,” read by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki
“Match,” read by Kristoffer Tabori
“Relay,” read by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki
“Castles Made of Sand,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Prodigal Son,” read by Rex Linn
“Mozart in Mirrorshades,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Kidding Around,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Mystery Train,” read by John Rubinstein
“Secrets,” read by Roxanne Hernandez
“Golfing Vietnam,” read by Gabrielle de Cuir
“Stompin’ at the Savoy,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Gold,” read by Arthur Morey
“Dirty Work,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
“Lizard Men of Los Angeles,” read by David Birney
We love Lewis. Now, if only we could get him to quit his day job and write full-time! Thankfully there is plenty to explore in the meantime; hop over to downpour.com and get started listening today.
Lew hardly lives in the woods; he lives in a very nice little house in Raleigh with his long-time partner (whose name I omit for reasons of privacy). He cannot quit his day job because, although by any measure he must be considered a major writer of fiction, he cannot make a living from his writing. This says more about the American publishing industry than Lew’s ability as a writer. Perhaps his forthcoming book will generate millions in royalties, but he can’t count on it.