Some folks at work went to a screening of the American film version of the vampire novel, Let Me In.*

“It left people speechless,” my boss said.

“Speechless?”

“Apparently some people couldn’t talk for a bit after they saw it…and when they could, they said it was awesome. It was surprisingly tender and super-gory.”

Surprisingly tender and super-gory. “That’s not a combination you see very often,” I said.

“Gorier than the Swedish version,” he added, rather gleefully.

While that sounds charming, I’d prefer to have John Lindqvist describe it in his own glorious words than watch blood spurting out of someone’s neck for two non-Swedish hours. (For those of you who are squarely in favor of blood-spurting-out-of-someone’s-neck-for-two-hours, I believe a review of the film is coming Monday.)

Thanks to narrator Steven Pacey, you can have your gore without seeing it too. Here’s an excerpt from the audiobook version of John Lindqvist’s Let Me In:

*Titled Let the Right One In in Sweden

Liz is...irrationally excited over the glittery D&D dice she got for her birthday.

Why should pen & ink have all the fun? Audioslice stretches the Hugo celebration to the max, turning the dial to 11 with this round-up of audiobook excerpts from 2010’s science fiction and fantasy rockstars.

Listening to these titles rather than reading them does beg the question... if you’d judged these same titles on audiobook instead of in print, so you think your vote have been different?

[Click through for free audio excerpts of the Hugo winners!]

The only thing author Mary Robinette Kowal probably can’t do these days is sleep. She penned a debut fantasy novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, narrated the audiobook version, filmed the book trailer and staged the shadow puppet play described in the story. An interpretive dance and a smoothie recipe should be right around the corner.

Today’s Audioslice features a cut from Shades, described as an intimate portrait of a woman and her quest for love in a world where the manipulation of glamour is considered an essential skill for a lady of quality. Suffice it to say, if you like your Jane with a little magic, this Austen-esque tale will do the trick.

Oh, and if you don’t believe me about the shadow puppets, check out this snap from Mary’s 8/18 reading and performance at New York’s legendary KGB Fantastic Fiction gathering. The red hair peeking up from behind the screen? Yup. That’s Mary.

Liz is... brandonsandergeeking, trying on her Way of Kings conference backpack and a pair of glow-in-the-dark Way of Kings wristbands all at the same time.

What’s funnier than Olivia Munn’s new book, Suck It, Wonder Woman!? Olivia Munn narrating the audio version herself. Here’s a snippet:

(Er, you might want to lower your sound before you press play. Trust me. No, really. TRUST ME.)

Feeling dubious? Unsure whether that could actually be Her Royal Geekness? Luckily, Olivia shot behind-the-scenes video at the recording studio:

Just curious...does it make a difference to you whether it’s a professional voice actor or the author narrating his/her own work?

Liz is...very, very busy poking around the new Audible iPhone app.

Audioslice picks up where print left off, featuring an exclusive excerpt of Chapters 4, 5, & 6 from the audiobook release of The Way of Kings. This first volume of Brandon Sanderson’s new series marks the return of the beloved narrator team of Kate Reading & Michael Kramer. 

It boggles the mind to think about what the recording entails.  The general rule of thumb estimates that two hours of recording reaps one hour of finished material. The production team tells me they’ve got something like 40 finished hours and counting for The Way of Kings. Which means the pair spent at least two solid work weeks in the studio. That’s a lot of throat lozenges and some pretty tricky tongue-twisters. (I’d love to get my hands and ears on the pronunciation guide Sanderson sent, wouldn’t you?) 

So make the jump and listen to the next installment from the upcoming audiobook release of The Way of Kings. This excerpt is available only on Tor.com—and you must be a member to access it! If you’re already a registered user, simply log in. If you haven’t registered yet, we’d love to have you—as you can see, there are perks to membership. Signing up is free and only takes a minute, and you can still start at the beginning and read the prelude, the prologue, and chapters 1-3. Don’t forget to share your thoughts with others in the comments when you’re done.

Liz is probably the last person to discover the faux reviews on Amazon.com for the non-existent 2006 version of Sanderson’s The Way of Kings.  It’s still hilarious.

Today’s feature is a custom audioslice of Boneshaker from Nebula award finalist Cherie Priest.  And it’s not just because I wanted an excuse to contact her for inside scoop on her follow-up, Dreadnought.  

*clears throat* 

Which I admit I did.  And she generously provided the following tease:

“The number one piece of begging-disguised-as-feedback I received after Boneshaker was that people wanted to see more of this world-setting. Seattle as a zombie-plagued wasteland was cool and all, but what about this big fat war going on back east? What about the wild, wild west? So I gave it a lot of thought, and concluded that the best way to share the most real estate would be to have a character travel from east to west—all the way to Seattle. But who would want to visit Seattle? It’s a mess.

The answer came to me in the form of someone’s long lost daughter undertaking a quest to escape the war and join her father. But she’d have to be one hell of a lady to undertake a journey like that, in the 19th century, through war-torn borders states. Young, widowed, determined Red Cross nurse Vinita May Swakhammer Lynch fit the bill damn near perfectly.”

Jealous. I’ve always wanted a nickname like “Swakhammer.”

Well, Dreadnought won’t be out until September, but you can get your steampunk on post-haste via Priest’s June novella, Clementine, from Subterranean Press.  (Yes, it’s set in the same world.  Bonus!)

Without further ado, here’s narrator Wil Wheaton from a special cut of the digital audio version of Boneshaker:

Liz is...trying to figure out how to get a key for the Cataclysm beta.

A tremendous amount of science fiction and fantasy material is available on audiobook these days.  Every nominee up for this year’s Hugo awards has an audio version, and it’s amazing what a great narrator can bring to the reading experience.  Now that we have the technology to hold something like a 700-page David Weber novel without the device exploding from overload, there’s no reason not to indulge.

So, welcome to the Audioslice feature on Tor.com.  I'll be bringing you samples of aural sunshine (or doom, as appropriate) from the genre’s finest.  Why shouldn't you hear your cake and read it too?

From David Weber’s New York Times bestseller, A Mighty Fortress:

Liz is currently going old-school, toting that Sony CD-player on the subway on the way to work at Macmillan Audio, watching the tweens wonder what the hell that round thing is...