I once laughed at the proliferation of audiobooks. I couldn’t imagine giving up the visceral experience that is “reading.” Now? I religiously carry my iPod and it’s chock full of great audio content. I’m older now, wiser, but most importantly, my time is precious. So much of my time is used in the pursuit of earning a living and enjoying my family that I struggle to find the time to read for even an hour many weeks.

What changed my mind was the realization that I had a bunch of downtime each day. During exercise certainly, but also when I commute to work. I considered reading while riding my bike, but quickly dismissed the idea. Unlike many, I ride a real bike on real roads and it’s often a game of chicken between me and the cars. They haven’t won yet, but I correctly surmised that reading while riding would astronomically increase their odds of winning the game. Ever wonder why Lance Armstrong is so fast? ‘Cause he has to ride faster than the maniacs driving in the cars.

But podcasts are mana from heaven. News, audio fiction, special interest – it’s all available and mostly free. Free is probably one of the primary reasons I have come to love my iPod and audio programming so much. Another of the reasons I dismissed the viability of audiobooks (for me) more than a decade ago was the insane pricing. I won’t pretend to understand the economics of audiobook production, but $20, $30, even $40 for a book that is often abridged is simply stupid. I can buy a shiny, new hardcover from Amazon for $14-$16 in many cases. I find it very hard to part with my stash of cash for a CD containing a portion of a novel.

Enter iTunes and my stealthy black iPod. iTunes has integrated a PodCast directory that makes it almost effortless to subscribe to great, free audio content. What’s available? Ignoring for a minute the hundreds of high-quality news podcasts, I will be sharing some sci-fi and speculative fiction podiobooks. A year ago you could count your fiction options of this sort on one hand. Today, there are dozens, if not hundreds of options! I provide author site links below.

7th Son – by JC Hutchins. From the site:

7th Son is the story of seven strangers who have been brought together after the recent assassination of the U.S. president. These men quickly discover they all appear to be the same man … with identical childhood memories.

Unwitting participants in a human cloning experiment, these “John Michael Smiths” have been assembled to catch the man who murdered the president. Their target? The man they were cloned from; the original John Michael Smith, code-named John Alpha.

Murder, puzzles, hackers, and nukes all combine for a rollicking ride through a potential near-future earth. JC is first-class and his writing and audio reflect this. He also has some pretty big names read the “Story So Far…” synopsis each week. JC is now five episodes into book 2 so you’ll have a pile of episodes to listen to.

The Rookie – Scott Sigler (author) is a maniac. Fortunately, his fiction bears the mania out. He has released EarthCore, Ancestor, and The Rookie to widespread commendation. Much like 7th Son, Scott’s works are set in current times with the exception of the Rookie which may just be his strongest work to date.

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