Book Shelf

In a city where stage blood is a staple, it is never too early to think about Halloween, and there is almost no better way to spend that creepy holiday than shivering to scary stories.

You won’t fare better than the collection put together by Durkin Hayes Audio, “Hear the Fear,” edited by Marthayn Pelegrimas and Robert J. Randisi (four cassettes; 4 hours, 32 minutes; $24.99; read by John Glover and Cynthia Harris).

Eight authors wrote original, contemporary tales for this production, several of which promise goose bumps. These are quite graphic, and intended for mature listeners. The production has a lot going for it, as the stories were written to be heard aloud. Durkin Hayes chose two character actors as narrators, each of whom has an expressive manner and interesting voice. Glover creaks and crackles and goes a bit over the top, a style that works with such outlandish fiction. Harris convincingly adapts her voice to the different styles of the various writers, easily convincing us of the madness and malicious intent of her characters.

The downside to this collection is the packaging, which does not stay closed so the cassettes fall out, and the gruesome and sophomoric artwork of a skull sporting a headset, belying the sophistication of the stories inside.

Most audio books released into the retail market suffer from being abridged. Such is not the case for “Sole Survivor” by Dean Koontz, an audio that could have used a liberal trimming (Random House Audiobooks; unabridged fiction; eight cassettes; 12 hours; $39.95; read by David Birney). Excessively florid and verbose, this is not the author’s best work. Koontz does paint a cynical and apocalyptic view of Los Angeles that we have all shared at one time or another, but his overwrought imagery does not comfortably jibe with a tale of murder, mayhem and science. Birney was also not the best choice for this gloomy and paranoid fiction. He has a pleasing, mellifluous voice but sounds overly trained for such a nasty piece of work. One wants to hear him read Twain or Shakespeare, not the dark ramblings of a modern day horror meister. This is definitely a story that needed an actor with gravel in his voice and danger in his tone.

If you pack a fake laser gun on Halloween, then you should delight in the sounds of Douglas Adams reading his fantastic science fiction, “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency” (Dove Audio; unabridged fiction; four cassettes; 6 hours; $25; read by the author). Adams is one of those rare authors who should always read his work. His manner is friendly, his voice interesting and his timing perfect. His delivery is so enjoyable that this audio contains several laugh-out-loud moments. Adams is a writer who uses his imagination, thus forcing the listeners to use theirs. As an eccentric detective deals with ghosts, time travelers and missing cats, it’s a bit like hearing Monty Python do Raymond Chandler. Dove earns extra points for releasing this in its entirety and for also having published Adams reading all five volumes of “The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy.”

Since trick or treating is not as safe as it once was, you may want to gather your little ghosts and goblins around the stereo for a top-notch adaptation of Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (Simon & Schuster Audio; original material; two cassettes; 2 hours; $18; a full cast performance lead by Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie). A small Los Angeles-based company, Alien Voices, records adaptations of classic science fiction much in the style of old-fashioned radio plays. A true audio treat, “Journey” remains faithful to the original material and accessible to the entire family. An original score and inspired sound effects help this stand apart from other attempts at full dramatization. Nimoy, de Lancie and company provide a host of diversified characters. An added bonus is a short biography of Verne and background information about this adventure into the Earth’s core.

Serious science fiction devotees may have mixed feelings about the recent publication of Arthur C. Clarke’s fond farewell to his supercomputer, Hal, in “3001: The Final Odyssey” (Random House Audiobooks, abridged fiction; four cassettes; 4 hours; $24; read by John Glover). The original source is not lengthy, only 263 pages, so the abridgment leaves out little. Excised, however, is an entire section of Clarke’s sources and acknowledgments that detail, chapter by chapter, his impetus for the book. It was an odd decision to pair Glover with this book, material better suited to a narrator with a deeper timbre to his voice and a slightly darker edge to his manner. Not that Glover’s narration is in anyway inept. He does an able job, but always sounds ill-suited to the task. He also does not pause long enough between passages, leaving one wishing that the charming music at the beginning and end of the audio had also been used to delineate chapters.

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Rochelle O’Gorman Flynn reviews audio books every four weeks. Next week: Dick Lochte on mysteries.