Rip-Off!

De: John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, Allen Steele, Lavie Tidhar, Nancy Kress, Gardner Dozois - editor

Narrado por: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, Jonathan Davis, Stefan Rudnicki, L. J. Ganser, Khristine Hvam

Audie Award Finalist, Original Work, 2014

In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.

In the world of Rip-Off!, "Call me Ishmael" introduces a tough-as-nails private eye - who carries a harpoon; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz inspires the tale of an aging female astronaut who’s being treated by a doctor named Dorothy Gale; and Huckleberry Finn leads to a wild ride with a foul-mouthed riverboat captain who plies the waters of Hell.

Once you listen to Rip-Off! you’ll agree: If Shakespeare or Dickens were alive today, they’d be ripping off the authors in this great collection.

The stories included in Rip-Off! are:

• "Fireborn" by Robert Charles Wilson
• "The Evening Line" by Mike Resnick
• "No Decent Patrimony" by Elizabeth Bear
• "The Big Whale" by Allen M. Steele
• "Begone" by Daryl Gregory
• "The Red Menace" by Lavie Tidhar
• "Muse of Fire" by John Scalzi
• "Writer’s Block" by Nancy Kress
• "Highland Reel" by Jack Campbell
• "Karin Coxswain or Death as She Is Truly Lived" by Paul Di Filippo
• "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" by Mary Robinette Kowal
• "Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air" by Tad Williams
• "Declaration" by James Patrick Kelly

As a bonus, the authors introduce their stories, explaining what they ripped-off - and why.

Rip-Off! was produced in partnership with SFWA - Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. Gardner Dozois served as project editor.

The full list of narrators includes: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, Jonathan Davis, Khristine Hvam, L.J. Ganser, Stefan Rudnicki, David Marantz, Nicola Barber, Dina Pearlman, Allyson Johnson, Marc Vietor, and Ilyana Kadushin.

©2012 Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Thirteen authors, eight narrators--this themed anthology has something for everyone…. Longtime narrators Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki rub elbows with Star Trek alum Wil Wheaton and five others. The varied narrators mean that there's no common delivery style, but it's safe to say that everyone involved was having fun." (AudioFile)

Good stories, good narrators, except one.

Very enjoyable all around, with the notable exception of the Resnick story. It was the same stupid gag over and over (Shrewish gold-digging women who beat up on gambling addicted men). It's like watching a cringy painfully outdated cartoon with no plot. Almost put me off the whole collection, but glad I continued because the rest are well written and well told.

Some great, others...

Interesting concept. Most of the stories were interesting, fun, and or witty. A couple were heart wrenching. And a couple had great twists. Most of the authors respected the works they were "ripping off" but one clearly had minimal familiarity with the source and seems to mistake abuse for humor.

Great short stories!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Rip-Off! to be better than the print version?

The narration by some of these narrators was great. The book introduced my to some new narrators I will seek out.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like the "Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air" story. I thought the concept was great and I had a great chuckle. Great job Tad Williams.

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed the opening story. The imagery of folks flying through the sky was done well. I enjoyed "Highland Reel", the concept was great with a good story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was taken by Wil Wheaton's narration, he surprised me. As I said previously, Tad Williams' story was a good touching story. The astronaut story was touching.

Any additional comments?

I truly enjoyed this book. Thank you.

Fantastic

I only read books that are part of a series, this is my first collection of short stories and I couldn't be happier with my purchase! I had previously read/listened to at least one book from every author that took part in Rip-Off! which is what caught my attention to begin with. Many of the stories leave you wanting more, which is a great thing to me, and all of them were narrated wonderfully. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in fantasy and/or sci-fi.

The SciFi is hit-or-miss, mainly miss

What did you like best about Rip-Off!? What did you like least?

The Concept. Most of the authors involved are well known and I like their other books. So they pick a first line of some other novel to base their short piece on. Sounded interesting with an interesting group of authors, and the narrators looked good, too. Only about half of the stories are SciFi. Well, written stories, but uninteresting to me. If I wanted to read about 1920's Chicago or prewar Germany, I would look in period fiction. I am not saying this is bad writing, just not Sci-Fi.

Would you ever listen to anything by the authors again?

I won't be buying any more with this format, but these are great authors, so yes. BTW, the listen button just gave too little information on this book to make a decision.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Narration was fine, though it was WIL WHEATON that mislead me. ("WIL WHEATON!" shouted like Sheldon on TBBT.) I love his narration and I probably wouldn't have bought it if his name hadn't been on there with Resnick and several others. WIL WHEATON!

Any additional comments?

I am a pretty hard core Sci-Fi reader. So these shorts that had fantasy, period fiction, with a touch of real science fiction just didn't do it for me. I can tell you that most of the writing was good, though I didn't make it all the way through the book. So take my rating stars based on your leanings.

A mixed bag

Most of the stories are amazing, but a few of them are really hard to get through.

An entertaining collection

I was looking for a collection of science fiction short stories, and much of this anthology fit the bill. That said, it was a bit of a mixed bag, with some very excellent sci fi mixed with some really good fantasy. I enjoy both genres, but I am a bit of a purist and found the wildly varying tones a little jumbled. The anthology hung together by its conceit of taking the first line of famous literature and writing a new story with it, but it was hard for me to get into the right listening “mood” as one setting whiplashed into another, even though as individual stories most were quite engaging and entertaining

Not that much

Some of the stories were a bit fun, but most were just weird. Did not enjoy, but also did not hate it.

Famous first lines launch all new stories!

Normally, I don't enjoy short stories because, well, they are short. However, I LOVED nine of these stories and really enjoyed the rest of them. These short stories I will listen to multiple times. Each is short, but complete. The narrators are perfect complements to each story. A collection not just for short story fans, but for all speculative fiction fans!

Some delightful must-reads(listens) on here!

Would you consider the audio edition of Rip-Off! to be better than the print version?

N/A

What other book might you compare Rip-Off! to and why?

None come to mind, other than compilations of short stories variously over time, but none with this particular take on the themes.

Which scene was your favorite?

The takeoff on the bewitched TV show was first rate and very humorous- as well as poignant, oddly enough...

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were several- but I wont spoil it for you! ;)

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend SCIFI fans to this book- but a warning: There is some fantasy here as well. For some that's a good thing, if you don't like fantasy then there are a few stories that will grate on you.