Because of a resurgence of interest in the golden age of the pulp fiction stories, various publishers such as Galaxy Press, Adventure House, Sanctum Books and Black Dog Books, have taken to task republishing numerous writers from the 30s and 40s and 50s.The era of the pulps is unique, a renaissance of sorts that produced a rocket ride for many authors and a thrilling array of stories for the eager public.Much like the color wheel has primary colors that produce secondary colors, the pulps developed genres within genres.The detective pulps like "Sherlock Holmes", is a classic whodunit but the pulps also created hard-boiled detective stories with characters like "Sam Spade".These characters had to be as tough and unyielding as the gangsters they relentlessly pursued.Within science fiction and fantasy came horror and dark fantasy that focused on the supernatural and weird tales.Westerns, air and sea adventures, mystery and spicy pulps were all published in monthly magazines.The pulps were also the birthplace of our much-loved super heroes!Old-time live radio shows had much of its material from the golden age of pulp fiction.Families would gather in their daily ritual to enjoy an after dinner story told by charismatic voice actors with creative and unusual sound effects.At the precise moment one would hear the crack of the whip, bells ringing, stomping feet and a multitude of other sounds.It must have absolutely joyous to work on these productions.With the advent of television and movies, the radio era ended as did the pulps.However, the pulps did not completely die out.The story lines and characters appeared in many TV shows and movies.From the pulps came Zorro, Tarzan, Spider-man and Batman, superman, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, to name a few.Many well-known authors broke into the market and were very successful writers, such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Dashiell Hammett, L.Ron Hubbard, Isaac Asimov, H.P.Lovecraft and many more.Audiobooks have become a popular medium for recreating the flavor of old-time radio.When you listen to one of these stories, you really get a sense of the epic and far-flung adventures in exotic lands, the super natural settings, damsels in distress and how life may have been viewed back in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.It creates a theater of the mind and unlike watching a movie in the theater or a TV at home; audiobooks can be listened to anywhere, anytime, even while multi-tasking.Publishers like Galaxy Press have been recreating pulp fiction in print and audiobooks with cinema quality sound effects and talented voice actors which bring you right into the heart of the action.If you have not availed yourself of these great stories, I highly recommend it.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Audio Books Pay Homage to Pulp Fiction's Classics
Because of a resurgence of interest in the golden age of the pulp fiction stories, various publishers such as Galaxy Press, Adventure House, Sanctum Books and Black Dog Books, have taken to task republishing numerous writers from the 30s and 40s and 50s.The era of the pulps is unique, a renaissance of sorts that produced a rocket ride for many authors and a thrilling array of stories for the eager public.Much like the color wheel has primary colors that produce secondary colors, the pulps developed genres within genres.The detective pulps like "Sherlock Holmes", is a classic whodunit but the pulps also created hard-boiled detective stories with characters like "Sam Spade".These characters had to be as tough and unyielding as the gangsters they relentlessly pursued.Within science fiction and fantasy came horror and dark fantasy that focused on the supernatural and weird tales.Westerns, air and sea adventures, mystery and spicy pulps were all published in monthly magazines.The pulps were also the birthplace of our much-loved super heroes!Old-time live radio shows had much of its material from the golden age of pulp fiction.Families would gather in their daily ritual to enjoy an after dinner story told by charismatic voice actors with creative and unusual sound effects.At the precise moment one would hear the crack of the whip, bells ringing, stomping feet and a multitude of other sounds.It must have absolutely joyous to work on these productions.With the advent of television and movies, the radio era ended as did the pulps.However, the pulps did not completely die out.The story lines and characters appeared in many TV shows and movies.From the pulps came Zorro, Tarzan, Spider-man and Batman, superman, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, to name a few.Many well-known authors broke into the market and were very successful writers, such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Dashiell Hammett, L.Ron Hubbard, Isaac Asimov, H.P.Lovecraft and many more.Audiobooks have become a popular medium for recreating the flavor of old-time radio.When you listen to one of these stories, you really get a sense of the epic and far-flung adventures in exotic lands, the super natural settings, damsels in distress and how life may have been viewed back in the 30s, 40s, and 50s.It creates a theater of the mind and unlike watching a movie in the theater or a TV at home; audiobooks can be listened to anywhere, anytime, even while multi-tasking.Publishers like Galaxy Press have been recreating pulp fiction in print and audiobooks with cinema quality sound effects and talented voice actors which bring you right into the heart of the action.If you have not availed yourself of these great stories, I highly recommend it.
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