Tales from the Radiation Age

De: Jason Sheehan

Narrado por: Nick Podehl

In a post-apocalyptic America that has shattered into 100 perpetually warring fiefdoms, anyone with a loud voice and a doomsday weapon can be king (and probably has been). Duncan Archer - con man, carpetbagger, survivor - has found a way to somehow successfully navigate the end of the world, with its giant killer robots, radioactive mutants, mad scientists, rampant nanotechnology, armed gangs, sea monsters, and 101 unpleasant ways to die.

But when he meets Captain James Barrow, a former OSS agent and the most wanted man in the world, Duncan finds himself a reluctant hero caught up in a whole new level of weird, rollicking adventure…

And the second most wanted man in the world.

Tales from the Radiation Age is a throwback to the pulp-origins of science fiction, painting a vision of the future that’s richly detailed, wildly imaginative - and altogether too easy to imagine.

©2013 Jason Sheehan (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Multi-Genre Multiverse in Multiple Episodes

The Wild West is resurrected -- in the future, after a technological apocalypse has shattered the nation. And a posse of Cold War era retro-spies is all that stands between a dystopian society and total disintegration. Except it's not that simple -- narrating in a voice borrowed from Little Big Man, our multi-named hero shows us a multiverse in turmoil through the lens a multi-genre kaleidoscope, his focus on a shady hero/anti-hero/mentor, The Captain.

Never mind the plot. That's not the point. The star here is Jason Sheehan, weaving a world that is a tapestry of mid-century pulp fiction, starting with 50s era sci-fi and encompassing the western, the spy novel, Edgar Rice Burroughs adventures, pirate stories -- the only thing missing is the gumshoe mystery. Maybe, being younger than me, his touchstones are not pulp fiction, more likely comic books, graphic novels, 70s era sci-fi and action films (the book references Mad Max, Star Wars, James Bond, even Pirates of the Caribbean (the Captain's name is James Barrow) and Brazil (his favorite movie)) (using nested parens on purpose).

Most importantly, Sheehan upholds the twin pillars of contemporary comic science fiction -- his book is fun, and it's funny. On a grand scale. Nick Podehl does a stellar job of bringing the characters to life. This is one of those novels that works best in audio, the narrative voice so idiosyncratic. Podehl nails it, maintains it across nearly 20 hours. That's a hefty chunk of listening time, but within the first hour, I already started wishing it was longer. My favorite line (out of dozens of eminently quotable lines): "The best thing about idiots is that you can count on them acting like idiots."

Sheehan is an interesting character in his own right. He is primarily a food critic and book reviewer. In one recent book review, he says, "For five minutes, I thought this was it — the novel that was going to kill the novel." He goes on to explain in his kitchen sink manner (too long and complex to quote in its entirety) that what he means by killing the novel is creating a new transcendent form of storytelling. He soon changes his mind -- no, it will not render Moby Dick obsolete (something to do with nested parentheses).

Tales of the Radiation Age felt like that to me for more than five minutes -- more like twelve hours. Along with Ready Player One, Mr. Penumbra, and the books of John Scalzi, Chris Moore, Lee Martinez, et.al., this is not just a sub-genre, this is a whole new movement of highbrow literary comic sc-fi and fantasy. I didn't see how Tales could falter like the book Sheehan reviewed.

Alas, Sheehan's tales do start to drag in the final hours -- the law of diminishing returns, going back to the well once too often (to mix metaphors). The reveals that tie it together, which I had been avidly anticipating, expecting a harmonic convergence of the otherwise disparate episodes, felt contrived, rushed, absent the wildly inventive quality of the preceding stories, mind numbing rather than mind blowing. I deducted a star under Story for the ending. Otherwise, a five star audiobook, instantly entering my all-time favorites list.

Umm… really out there!🤷🏻‍♀️

This book was confusing most of the time but I couldn’t stop listening. While I didn’t really connect with the storyline as a whole, there were so many laugh out loud moments. If I’m being honest, if it were for the outstanding performance of Nick Podehl, I most likely wouldn’t have finished this book. When he performed the Captain I loved how he called out “Duncan Archer” he does with so much character. I love his narration.
I can’t recommend this book but I see others have so you never know, this might be your thing.

Sisters Spotlight 💜

an excellent story. Discworld meets Fallout:NV

a phenomenal story as though rincewind was wondering around Mojave. program descriptions are vivid in a way that makes it quite easy to see the characters in the landscape they inhabit

this was a wonderful ride

I was so disappointed when it ended. Edgy, funny, great writing and great performance that really brought out the characters.

One of my go-to's

One of the few audiobooks I go back to every 6 months to a year. The writing style takes a little getting used to, but has decent world building. worth a second listen to pick up some of the smaller details.

An Epistle of Epic Fantasy

This book is the freaking Fish N Chips m8!!!! Idk what Jason is on but whatever it is it manifests as a 10th degree lesson in amazing storytelling. A bit of random elements artfully blended and weaved into a fantastic plot and baked together for 19 hrs gets served by a narrator equal to the task. This story is awesome. Do yourself a favor and try it out.

Well done

I don't usually do this, but this book was worth it! Kept hearing Mal from Firefly. Very well done.

Great Adventure

This story takes you for a wild and crazy ride into the possible future. This book may be long but it is worth all your time. I must say tho i did have to press repeat as you can get lost if you don't listen carefully to some of the chapters.

As has been said, I did hear some Firefly in the main characters voice. Nick Podehl did an awesome job with all the voices.

I found myself laughing and encouraging even the bad guys sometimes.

I'm gonna play it again Sam (Jason), cause I loved the ride that much.

Sucked in from the get go

Where does Tales from the Radiation Age rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Within the first 30 minutes I was telling people Tales from the Radiation Age was going to be in my top 10. After I finished, it's easily in my top 5.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of them. Duncan certainly has to be at the top of the list, but it would be insulting to exclude any of the others in this story. They're all perfect.

What does Nick Podehl bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I've never listened to anything Podehl's done, but I couldn't have chosen a more appropriate narrator for this book. He is spot on with Duncan's and the rest of the cast's voices. I can honestly say, that he IS Duncan to me. I will definitely be finding more narrated by Podehl.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I typically only listen to books while I'm at work, but this one made a habit of following me home at night.

Firstly Confusing but...

Any additional comments?

... in short order it hooked me... Its not so much an Apocalyptic story as an adventure story told by a rascally con artist... The the characters are hilarious, the central character's style of speaking is fascinating, and the reader's execution of the story was perfectly matched to the flavor and mood of the book... My only criticism was the random and unnecessary forays into off-the-wall philosophical theories about "life, the universe, and everything" - Aside from that, I highly recommend the book.