Titanium Rain, Episode One (Dramatized)

By: Josh Finney, Kat Rocha

Narrated by: Lance Roger Axt, Elizabeth Knowelden, Carrington MacDuffie, Colin O'Leary, Christopher Price, Phil Wells, Richard McGonagle

In 2031 mankind's survival instinct is put to the test when a civil war in China spirals into a global conflict. Nations are torn apart. Millions are killed. And for many, like Air Force pilot Alec Killian, survival will mean shedding some of their flesh in exchange for biotech and machine. Is "Project Prometheus" the ultimate corruption of nature? Or the birth pains of a new chapter in human evolution?

Follow Killian's journey as the origins of the war are detailed, battles are waged... and lives are lost... in this first chapter of the Titanium Rain saga, adapted from the graphic novel by Josh Finney and Kat Rocha.

©2007 Josh Finney (P)2011 AudioComics

Critic reviews

• Nominated for Best Audio Drama, Audies
• Nominated for Best Original Work, Audies
• Earphones Award winner (AudioFile magazine)

"As a radio play, "Titanium Rain" could quite easily be listened to by someone unfamiliar with the source material and enjoyed as a gripping piece of audio drama on its own merits. However, I think it works best as complementary material to the book, adding an extra layer of insight and appreciation for its audience into this minutely detailed reality and the motivations of the characters that inhabit it. From that perspective questions of superfluity are easily dismissed. Fully realised and cleverly conceptualised fictional environments like this don't come around too often in comics. We need to appreciate them when they do." ( Broken Frontier)

"The entire production is phenomenal... absolutely nothing gets lost in translation. Even [in] the banter between a group of soldiers, the listener can still hear the radio playing in the background of their scene, or the white noise of traffic and computer bleeps among tech channel-surfing of one the spot journalists.... ( The Lottery Party)

"The AudioComics 'movie in sound', based on the bestselling graphic novel by Josh Finney and Kat Rocha, is a high-octane example of how visual a medium audio theatre really is. Starting with a pitched battle in a future war that is all too believable and creating a range of engaging characters whose stories intertwine, AudioComics' production values never fall below exceptional and the pace is full throttle. One of the best examples of immersive entertainment in a creative field undergoing a huge renaissance at the moment." (Dirk Maggs, award-winning audio director/producer of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Neverwhere)

Terrible Sound Production

Any additional comments?

Actually, this was a pretty good short. In the future, the US and its allies are embroiled against China, which has been taken over by a nationalist general called "The Emperor" after the terrorist assassination of the Chinese premier. The story focuses on the pilots of the planes being used to wage the battle in the skies -- cyborgs due to the taxing demands that the aircraft take on the human body. I think the real downfall of this audiobook is its sound production quality. It is poorly mixed -- the sound levels jump up and down and conversations are sometimes audible, sometimes not, especially when intermixed with the booming sounds of air combat. If the producers of this book choose to make a second volume, I hope that they switch production studios.

Edge of your seat view into an possible future.

I've been a fan of J. Ishiro Finney's work for some time and I must say this is by far his best work. His knowledge and research into the world of fighter planes and their pilots lends to the intricate realism of the story. Taking the story into a possible future, that seems to be getting closer by the minute, leaves the listener wondering if this is the world we are headed for. You can feel the intensity of the battle, in air and on the ground as the story progresses, especially the emotions of the main character Alex. You feel his anger, panic, desperation and elation during his dogfight with the Draco pilots. The story will leave you wanting more tales of the pilots and the war they are fighting in.

This is so great, I love it!

The Pilots are lovable and interesting Characters. They got me attached to them which is very rare for me. I felt their sorrow and their pain of their lose. I was rooting for their victories and triumphs. This is how a story should be. This should really be an anime or movie or even a TV Series, I would definitely watch it! I totally would recommend this book.

why the wow

I heard the author loved jet pilots. This series showed me why he finds them fascinating.

Intense Action and Speculative Fiction in the tradition of the pulps

The fast brief work is still a balanced character study and teased a greater political drama. The technical details stand out and the full voice cast delivers.
Give Finney's work a try!

Sounds settings were off

A typical mix of militant jargon mixed in with sound effects of explosions and gunfire. It was entertaining, but the sound setting were Way Way off, the dialogue was soft so I crank the volume, and the next scene opens with gunfire and yelling!