W@L Blog

In Robert J. Sawyer's novel Rollback, aliens send us a message - but what does it mean?

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:00:00 -0500

In 2009, scientist Sarah Halifax decoded the first-ever radio message received from aliens. Now, almost four decades later, a second message has come. But at 87, Sarah may not have enough strength left to read it, let alone respond.

In Rollback, award-winning science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer explores the moral complexities of communicating with aliens and of extending human life. The story is told from the point of view of Sarah's husband, Don Halifax. He is beginning life anew in the body of a 25 year old, while his wife is staring death in the face and desperately trying to decipher a message from outer space in the time she has left.

This Between the Covers podcast of the book is read by Alessandro Juliani, fresh from the set of Battlestar Galactica.

Episode one: A second radio transmission comes from Sigma Draconis and Sarah, who decoded the first one more than 40 years ago, is now 87.

Episode two: The encoding of the alien transmission is unlike the first one, and no one has a clue how to decipher it.

Episode three: Billionaire Cody McGavin offers Sarah and Don a radical solution.

Episode four: If Sarah and Don can be rejuvenated, Sarah will be able to maintain a dialogue with Sigma Draconis.

Episode five: Sarah and Don undergo the rejuvenation, or "rollback."

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes. If you missed previous podcasts you can download them at the Between the Covers podcasts. If you’re interested in readings of other Canadian books, check out the Hear A Reading page on the Between the Covers site.

It’s the end of the line for Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Last Crossing

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:00:00 -0500

We’ve reached the final episodes of Guy Vanderhaeghe’s frontier tale The Last Crossing (McClelland & Stewart). At this point in the story, Charles is still in the British territories that will one day become the Canadian prairie provinces.

His elder brother Addington has died fighting a grizzly bear and Charles has fallen in love with a young widow, Lucy Stoveall. He still hasn’t found his missing twin, Simon, but there is one final clue.

Episode 19: Charles and Simon are reunited with startling results.

Episode 20: Charles finally discovers what Custis Straw has been trying to tell him.

Family, betrayal, glory, and madness —The Last Crossing has it all

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Guy Vanderhaeghe’s novel The Last Crossing (McClelland &Stewart) is full of eccentric characters. It’s set in the late 19th century in what will eventually become the Canadian West.

After months of searching for his missing twin, Charles Gaunt is almost at the end of his rope. His older brother Addington is behaving even more outrageously than usual, adopting a great hunter act that hides a vicious streak Charles does his best to avoid. Most of the other members of the search party are sure Simon is dead and Charles’s only comfort is Lucy Stoveall.

Episode 16: Charles and Lucy try to go to a ball at Fort Edmonton.

Episode 17: Addington Gaunt meets his grizzly bear.

Episode 18: Charles meets someone who knows what happened to Simon.

The fate of the search party hangs in the balance in this instalment of The Last Crossing

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Last Crossing (McClelland & Stewart) takes us into the wilds of the Canadian West as an odd assortment of characters link up to find a missing Englishman.

At this point in the story the search party has endured many hardships. Charles is at his wit’s end trying to keep people from each other’s throats so they can help him find his brother. Custis fears that Lucy Stoveall’s quest for vengeance might drive her to madness and Addington Gaunt is not quite ready to reveal his own agenda.

Episode 13: The search party comes across a clue to Simon’s whereabouts.

Episode 14: Lucy catches up to the Kelsos.

Episode 15: The expedition splits in two.

Rough terrain challenges the rescue party in Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Last Crossing

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Set in late 19th-century America, The Last Crossing (McClelland and Stewart) follows a mismatched band of travellers from the United States into the British Territories.

Charles and Addington Gaunt have been sent from England to find their brother, Simon. Lucy Stoveall joins the group on a private mission of revenge while Aloysius Dooley is chasing after his friend Custis Straw.

At this point in the story Custis catches up to the search party but falls afoul of the erratic Addington Gaunt.

Episode 10: Custis and Dooley join the search party.

Episode 11: The sandhills stir up fresh ghosts for the search party.

Episode 12: Charles fears he is responsible for pushing Simon into missionary life.

Some of Canada’s best actors read episodes seven to nine of The Last Crossing

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Betrayal, revenge and obsession drive Guy Vanderhaeghe’s novel The Last Crossing (McClelland &Stewart). Charles Gaunt is desperate to find his twin brother, Simon. Addington Gaunt is intrigued by another kind of hunt and their Métis guide Jerry Potts, is trying to reconcile the various parts of his heritage.

And that’s only a few members of their bizarre search party. With so many different agendas how will they ever get to the British territories?

Episode seven: Custis Straw decides to trail the search party.

Episode eight: Charles and Lucy form an unexpected alliance.

Episode nine: The search party finds a clue.

Frontier justice is a missed blessing in this week’s Between the Covers podcast

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500

A town outcast is blamed for a young girl’s murder in Guy Vanderhaeghe’s novel The Last Crossing (McClelland & Stewart).

Custis Straw is not the most popular guy in town plus he knows the murdered girl. When the body is found the local sheriff doesn’t think he has to look too far for the culprit. It’s a good thing that Custis has a friend in the town doctor or he might not have even made it to trial.

The victim’s sister has her own ideas about who the guilty party is and she’s won’t let the real culprit get away with it.

Meanwhile Charles Gaunt is looking for a guide to help him search for his missing brother.

At this point in the novel the various stories start to come together.

Episode four: Custis lends a helping hand while Lucy plots revenge.

Episode five: Custis meets Charles Gaunt.

Episode six: Charles finally meets Jerry Potts.

High adventure marks this Between the Covers podcast of The Last Crossing

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Award-winning author Guy Vanderhaeghe uses several points of view to tell the story of The Last Crossing (McClelland and Stewart).

It starts in the 1870s, when two Englishmen find themselves on a journey across the unknown landscape of the American and Canadian West in search of a missing brother.

During that journey they meet an assortment of characters who all have private reasons for joining the quest.

Some of Canada’s best performers bring to life this Canada Reads-winning story about love, revenge and boundaries crossed.

You’ll hear from Eric Peterson, Joseph Ziegler, Patrick Galligan, Hardee Lineham and Shauna Black.

Episode one: Charles is sent to America to find his twin brother, Simon.

Episode two: Brother Addington has a hidden agenda.

Episode three: In Fort Benton two new characters join the story.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 14 and 17 minutes. If you wish to catch up with previous episodes, click here. If you missed previous podcasts you can download them at the Between the Covers podcasts. If you’re interested in readings of other Canadian books, check out the Hear a Reading page on the Between the Covers site.

Between the Covers wraps up a road trip across Western Canada with Open Arms

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Bess Connelly and her grandmother have travelled up into northern Saskatchewan and down into the bars of Calgary in Marina Endicott’s novel Open Arms (Freehand Press).

They are looking for Bess’s mother but so far they are still one step behind Isabelle. Now the two women are back on the road picking up clues along the way.

Episode 13: Bess is delighted to find the new age spa actually works.

Episode 14: Back on the road Bess and her grandmother head for the top of the world.

Episode 15: The trip back to Saskatoon is full of surprises.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.

If you missed previous podcasts you can download them at the Between the Covers podcasts. If you’re interested in readings of other Canadian books, check out the Hear A Reading page on the Between the Covers site.

The latest episodes of Open Arms take us from a house with no windows to a down-home bar

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500

In this week’s Between the Covers podcast, Bess and her grandmother travel across Western Canada in search of Bess’s mother Isabelle.

Marina Endicott’s novel Open Arms (Freehand Press) explores the secrets that bind and divide families. Bess’s eccentric clan has plenty of those and Bess is happy to let them be.

Then one day she is surprised by a visit from her grandmother, who insists on tracking down Bess’s mother.

They set out in a borrowed car and find a house with no windows, but once there the two discover it’s only the beginning of a great adventure.

Episode 11: Bess and her grandmother follow a tip to Calgary.

Episode 12: One step behind Isabelle, they follow a lead to Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.

Listen to episodes 9 and 10 of Marina Endicott’s Open Arms

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Open Arms (Freehand Press) launches Bess Connelly on a bizarre road trip from Saskatoon to the far west.

In Marina Endicott’s novel, four years have passed since Bess and Irene helped welcome the twins into the world.

In this Between the Covers podcast of episodes nine and 10, Bess has been avoiding her family. Her life is starting to look uncomfortably like her mother’s and that’s the last comparison she wants anyone to make. Unfortunately it means she has no idea what’s happening with those most dear to her.

As we join the story Bess is hovering by the phone waiting to hear about some test results.

Episode nine: Bess’ past comes back to haunt her.

Episode 10: Bess and her grandmother head up north.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.

Events come to a boil in episodes seven and eight of Open Arms

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0500

The Between the Covers podcast continues with Marina Endicott’s novel Open Arms (Freehand Press).

Bess can’t decide whether she wants to kill her father or hug him, although it might be easier to decide if he was actually there.

His girlfriend is about to have twins and he hasn’t been seen for days.

Bess and sister Irene have called their mothers for advice and now Bess is thinking that may have been a mistake because Patrick’s ex-wives are on their way.

Episode seven: Doreen is livid when she hears that Patrick’s ex-wives are coming to help with the birth.

Episode eight: Bess’s and Irene’s mothers arrive and so do the twins.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.

It’s a mix of family feud and French farce in episodes five and six of Open Arms

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Two sisters, their missing father and his extremely pregnant girlfriend make for a lively mix in Marina Endicott’s novel Open Arms (Freehand Books).

The Between the Covers podcast is following the story of Bessie Connelly. She and her sister Irene are visiting the west coast to see their father and his current girlfriend. Unfortunately he’s not there but his girlfriend Doreen is, and she’s about to give birth.

She’s not too keen on seeing the girls under the circumstances but their return ticket doesn’t come due for more than a week.

Episode five: Bessie tries to make a truce with Doreen.

Episode six: When the girls call their mothers for advice it only adds fuel to the fire.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.

In the latest episodes of Open Arms, divorce seems like a better option even to the kids

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0500

The Between the Covers podcast follows teenager Bessie Connelly as she travels between a flaky mother and an absent-minded father in Open Arms (Freehand Books) by Marina Endicott.

Bessie certainly doesn’t want her parents to get together again but she despairs of getting either of them to grow up.

Her father is on his third wife and her mother is infatuated with a younger man. Most of the time Bessie doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Episode three: Bessie’s plans for her mother’s love life go awry.

Episode four: Bessie and her sister head off to visit their absent-minded father.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.

Rock ’n’ roll meets a teenage road show in Marina Endicott’s Open Arms

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0500

The Between the Covers podcast hitches a ride with a defiant teen in Marina Endicott’s novel Open Arms (Douglas and McIntyre).

Seventeen-year-old Bessie Connelly runs away from the Maritimes to join her mother, a former rock star, in Saskatchewan. Their lively home includes both her father’s former wives along with a stepsister.

So much for a stable, traditional home life. Welcome to hijinks central.

Episode one: Bessie’s reunion with her mother is full of surprises.

Episode two: Bessie has her own ideas about whom her mother should be dating.

Each episode of Between the Covers is between 15 and 17 minutes.