Audio Book Review by Maggie Woods | Classic Radio Sci-Fi: A Fall of Moondust

Classic Radio Sci-Fi: A Fall of Moondust

“Having failed to make
her routine call, the
tourist-cruiser Selene
has disappeared off
the radar. With no clue
to her whereabouts,
the search is on...”

BASED ON A NOVEL BY ARTHUR C CLARKE, A Fall of Moondust was written in 1961 and was part of the Radio 4 Saturday Night Theatre plays in an occasional series that traced the writing of science fiction from the turn of the century to the present day. It was adapted for radio by Andrew Lynch and was first broadcast in 1981. A Fall of Moondust, directed by Glyn Dearman, is now available on CD as a BBC Audio Book.

In the 21st Century passengers board the Selene, a tourist-cruiser piloted by Captain Pat Harris (David Buck), on a trip to explore the moonscape. The only other crew member is Stewardess Sue Wilkins (Jane Knowles) who allays the fears of her passengers and assures them there have been rigorous safety checks. New Yorkers Myra and Irving Schuster (Libby Morris and Harry Towb) discuss Myra's dislike
of the heat and Irving dismisses his wife's recurring fear everywhere they go that they'll get stuck in the sea.

There are a number of catchy throw-away lines — one weight-conscious female passenger confesses: "I only came here because somebody told me I only weigh 20 kilos up here…"

Sue describes the trip to Crater Lake with its breathtaking view of
the Mountains of Inaccessibility, which have never been climbed, and across the vast Sea of Thirst made up of the driest dust imaginable. She explains that most of the Moon is covered in a thin layer of dust which is more liquid than sand and that flows quicker than syrup but just slower than water.

The craft sets off on its exciting journey, with the passengers — including Commodore Hanstein (Bill Simpson), who led the first exped-ition to Pluto — preparing to enjoy their vacation. But as they cross the Sea of Thirst there is a moonquake and the Selene sinks fifteen metres into the dust.

Can the Selene be found before it is too late? And, if she can be located, how do they beat the tremendous odds against her recovery? Because there has never been a rescue attempt mounted under such extraordinary conditions. Twenty-two lives are dependent upon the rescue team being able to pull off this highly-dangerous and untested operation.

Hope is fading fast as inside the Selene the temperature is getting hotter and hotter…

• Barry Foster, Saeed Jaffrey and James Aubrey are also among the creditable cast in the gripping radio drama A Fall Of Moondust. This classic radio Sci-Fi is available now on two CDs (duration 90 minutes) at an RRP of £12.99 and was released on 7 January (2008). ISBN CD: 9781405688048. A Fall Of Moondust is also available to download at
an RRP of £6.60 (ISBN: 9781405646277).

BBC Audio Books are available from all good bookshops, online at www.bbcshop.com or by BBC Audiobooks direct mail on 0800 136 919. These titles will also be available to purchase as a download from digital retailers such as www.bbcaudiozone.com, Audible, Audioville, Audio-Read, Overdrive, Mediabay, iTunes, 7Digital, Simply Audiobooks, Spoken Network, TuneTribe and Plays on the Net.

BBC Audio Books now has over 1,500 titles available digitally.

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