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Scott Brick
Scott Brick (born January 30, 1966 in Santa Barbara, California) is an American actor, writer and award-winning narrator of over 800 audiobooks, including popular titles such as '' Washington: A Life'', '' Moneyball'', ''Cloud Atlas'', ''A Princess of Mars'', '' The Bourne Identity'', ''The Bourne Supremacy'', ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', ''Atlas Shrugged'', ''Sideways'', ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' (filmed as ''Blade Runner''), ''I, Robot'', ''Mystic River'', '' Helter Skelter'', ''Patriot Games'', ''Bid Time Return'' (filmed as '' Somewhere in Time)'', ''In Cold Blood'', the ''Dune'' series, ''Ender's Game'', and ''Fahrenheit 451''. He has narrated works for a number of high-profile authors, including Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Clive Cussler, Stephen J. Cannell, William Faulkner, Nelson DeMille, Brad Meltzer, Harlan Coben, Gregg Hurwitz, David Baldacci, Orson Scott Card, Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Joseph Finder, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santa Barbara's climate is often described as Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean, and the city has been dubbed "The American Riviera". According to the 2020 United States census, U.S. Census, the city's population was 88,665. In addition to being a popular tourist and resort destination, the city has a diverse economy that includes a large service sector, education, technology, health care, finance, agriculture, manufacturing, and local government. In 2004, the service sector accounted for 35% of local employment. Education in particular is well represented, with four institutions of higher learning nearby: the University of Calif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blade Runner
''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel ''Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'' The film is set in a dystopian future Los Angeles of 2019, in which synthetic humans known as '' replicants'' are bio-engineered by the powerful Tyrell Corporation to work on space colonies. When a fugitive group of advanced replicants led by Roy Batty (Hauer) escapes back to Earth, burnt-out cop Rick Deckard (Ford) reluctantly agrees to hunt them down. ''Blade Runner'' initially underperformed in North American theaters and polarized critics; some praised its thematic complexity and visuals, while others critiqued its slow pacing and lack of action. It later became a cult film, and has since come to be regarded as one of the all-time best science fiction films. Hailed for its pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature technology and are usually within the science fiction, techno-thriller, and medical fiction genres. His novels often explore technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and scientific background. Crichton received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969 but did not practice medicine, choosing to focus on his writing instead. Initially writing under a pseudonym, he eventually wrote 26 novels, including: ''The Andromeda Strain'' (1969), ''The Terminal Man'' (1972), '' The Great Train Robbery'' (1975), '' Congo'' (1980), ''Sphere'' (1987), '' Jurassic Park'' (1990), '' Rising Sun'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original '' The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated between 300 million and 500 million. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd. Life and career Early life and education Ludlum was born in New York City, the son of Margaret (née Wadsworth) and George Hartford Ludlum. He was educated at the Rectory School then Cheshire Academy and Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he earned a B.A. in Drama in 1951. Career Prior to becoming an author, he had been a United States Marine, a theatrical actor and producer. In the 1950s, he produced shows at the Grant Lee theater in Fort Lee, New Jersey. From 1960 to 1970, he managed and produced shows at the Playhouse on the Mall at Berg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have been bestsellers and more than 100 million copies of his books have been sold. His name was also used on movie scripts written by ghostwriters, nonfiction books on military subjects occasionally with co-authors, and video games. He was a part-owner of his hometown Major League Baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles of the American League, and vice-chairman of their community activities and public affairs committees. Originally an insurance agent, his literary career began in 1984 when he sold his first military thriller novel ''The Hunt for Red October'' for $5,000 published by the small academic Naval Institute Press of Annapolis, Maryland. His works ''The Hunt for Red October'' (1984), ''Patriot Games'' (1987), ''Clear and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fahrenheit 451
''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as one of his best works, ''Fahrenheit 451'' presents an American society where books have been personified and outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found. The novel follows Guy Montag, a fireman who becomes disillusioned with his role of censoring literature and destroying knowledge, eventually quitting his job and committing himself to the preservation of literary and cultural writings. ''Fahrenheit 451'' was written by Bradbury during the Second Red Scare and the McCarthy era, who was inspired by the book burnings in Nazi Germany and by ideological repression in the Soviet Union. Bradbury's claimed motivation for writing the novel has changed multiple times. In a 1956 radio interview, Bradbury said that he wrote the book because of his concerns about the threat of burning books in the United States. In later years, he described the book as a commentary on how mass media reduces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ender's Game
''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they dub "the buggers". In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, Earth's international military force recruits young children, including the novel's protagonist, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, to be trained as elite officers. The children learn military strategy and leadership by playing increasingly difficult war games, including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed. The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact''. The novel was published on January 15, 1985. Later, by elaborating on characters and plotlines depicted in the novel, Card wrote additional books in the ''Ender's Game'' series. Card released an updated version of ''Ender's G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dune (franchise)
''Dune'', also known as the ''Dune Chronicles'', is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel '' Dune'' by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. ''Dune'' is frequently described as the best selling science fiction novel in history. It won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966, and was later adapted into a 1984 film, a 2000 television miniseries, and a 2021 film. The latter will be followed by a 2023 direct sequel. Herbert wrote five sequels, the first two of which were adapted as a miniseries called ''Frank Herbert's Children of Dune'' in 2003. ''Dune'' has also inspired some traditional games and a series of video games. Since 2009, the names of planets from the ''Dune'' novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan. Frank Herbert died in 1986. Beginning in 1999, his son Brian Herbert and science fiction author Kevin J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Cold Blood
''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder before the killers were captured, and he traveled to Kansas to write about the crime. He was accompanied by his childhood friend and fellow author Harper Lee, and they interviewed residents and investigators assigned to the case and took thousands of pages of notes. Killers Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were arrested six weeks after the murders and later executed by the state of Kansas. Capote ultimately spent six years working on the book. ''In Cold Blood'' was an instant success and is the second-best-selling true crime book in history, behind Vincent Bugliosi's ''Helter Skelter'' (1974) about the Charles Manson murders. Some critics consider Capote's work the original non-fiction novel, although other writers had alr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somewhere In Time (film)
''Somewhere in Time'' is a 1980 American romantic fantasy drama film from Universal Pictures, directed by Jeannot Szwarc, and starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel '' Bid Time Return'' by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay. Reeve plays Richard Collier, a playwright who becomes obsessed with a photograph of a young woman at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. Through self-hypnosis, he wishes himself back in time to the year 1912 to find love with actress Elise McKenna (portrayed by Seymour), but comes into conflict with Elise's manager, William Fawcett Robinson (portrayed by Plummer), who fears that romance will derail her career, and resolves to stop him. The film is known for its musical score composed by John Barry, featuring pianist Roger Williams. The 18th variation of Sergei Rachmaninoff's ''Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini'' is also used several times. Plot In 1972, college thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bid Time Return
''Bid Time Return'' is a 1975 science fiction novel by Richard Matheson. It concerns a man from the 1970s who travels back in time to court a 19th-century stage actress whose photograph has captivated him. In 1980, it was made into the classic sci-fi film '' Somewhere in Time'', the title of which was used for subsequent editions of the book. Matheson has stated, "''Somewhere in Time'' is the story of a love which transcends time, '' What Dreams May Come'' is the story of a love which transcends death.... I feel that they represent the best writing I have done in the novel form." Background While traveling with his family, Matheson was entranced by the portrait of American actress Maude Adams in Piper's Opera House in Nevada. "It was such a great photograph," Matheson reports, "that creatively I fell in love with her. What if some guy did the same thing and could go back in time?" Then Matheson researched her life and was struck by her reclusiveness. To create the novel, he re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patriot Games
''Patriot Games'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published in July 1987. ''Without Remorse'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character in most of Clancy's novels. The novel focuses on Ryan being the target of Irish terrorist group Ulster Liberation Army for thwarting their kidnapping attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales in London. It debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list. A film adaptation, starring Harrison Ford as Ryan, premiered on June 5, 1992. Plot summary A kidnapping attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales and their infant son occurs at the Mall in London. The attack is orchestrated by members of the Ulster Liberation Army, a splinter group of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. However, Jack Ryan intervenes, incapacitating one of the attackers, Sean Miller. During the gun battle however, Ryan is shot in the shoulder by one of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
