Another week closer to the move and we're starting to pull our hair out a little, but that's okay. A little stress is all part of the adventure, right?
In the meantime...
AUDIO DRAMA!!!
The Leviathan Chronicles is, simply put, the coolest fuckin' audio drama you're ever gonna hear. Which isn't to say that there aren't many equally worthy audio dramas out there for your listening enjoyment -- if there weren't, my Cheat Week grab bag would be drastically shortened. It's just that, of all the series out there, this one isn't just the most ambitious, it's the most ambitious and successfully executed.
Part audio book, part radio drama, The Leviathan Chronicles is an epic science fiction adventure, at times comparable to the best of Tom Clancy, James Bond, Nelson DeMille, The X-Files and The X-Men. It tells the story of a research scientist who discovers a secret family legacy that places her between two powerful factions of super-powered beings and the government agency sworn to bring them all down. Created and written by first time author Christoff Laputka, listening to this series is like experiencing a serialized big budget action adventure film of Michael Bay proportions (but much more intelligently written), all without needing to open your eyes.
I first discovered the series last year during my sophomore obsession with audio drama podcasts (a person needs SOMETHING to listen to during those boring work days). I was hesitant at first because I don't typically like audio dramas that tell their story through narration. I'd only heard it done right once, in the legendary Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy radio show, and no one since had managed to do it even close to that well. Leviathan surprised me, though. Its "production values" were impressive -- a full cast of professional actors, professionally mixed, and a damn good soundtrack -- and the story and characters were intriguing. I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. The narration only chimes in when necessary, and adds valuable detail and atmosphere to every scene.
(though they're also available on iTunes if you'd like to go that route)
The full 25 episode first season just recently wrapped up, and they've got a pretty ambitious interim season planned out while they record the rest. Of course, ambition is pretty much the name of the game with these people, so it's no surprise. I would suggest giving it at least two episodes, as it's obvious they were still finding their feet and figuring out what works and what doesn't in the first episode. After that, I'm sure you'll find yourself as enraptured as I did.
Hope you enjoy!
