The Far Cry / The Screaming Mimi features a new introduction by Sci-Fi great Barry N. Reading a book is more than just reading a story. Fredric Brown double-novels are newly edited and presented in a format that gives these works the treatment they deserve. One novel takes place in an authentically rendered Chicago-nightclubs, press rooms and police precincts the other casts its drama in the forlorn deserts of New Mexico-a haunting, vast emptiness where ghosts don't have to be seen to be felt. The Far Cry is one of Brown's darkest stories-a serpent's tail that coils tighter and tighter around the narrator as attempts to unravel the knot of a young woman's murder. The Screaming Mimi is an early take on the serial killer sub-genera, written long before it became mystery mainstream. They wanted the gritty underbelly they couldn't get anywhere else. It's why people read potboilers in the first place. The novels are daring for their time, awash in taboo subjects and frank language that would never, ever make it into the mystery films of the same period.

Although the boozing never becomes the story, it keeps the protagonists constantly teetering on the edge of collapse. As with many of Brown's narratives, the main characters are fueled by an alcoholic haze and are never far from their next drink. Taken together we find Brown at the height of his powers. In reviewing the twentieth anniversary edition audiobook of Card’s Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, 'Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take.' Rudnicki is also a stage actor and director.The first in a new series of Fredric Brown double-novels, The Far Cry / The Screaming Mimi could very well have been subtitled 'The Way of the Knife.' And since this is Fredric Brown we're talking about, the razor's edge isn't limited to the blade itself it is a metaphor for the narrow ledge the characters navigate. He worked extensively with many other science fiction authors, including David Weber and Ben Bova. Along with a cast of other narrators, Rudnicki has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels. He received AudioFile’s award for 2008 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks and has participated in over a thousand as a writer, producer, or director. He was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. Stefan Rudnicki is an award winning audiobook narrator, director and producer.

The Screaming Mimi by Fredric Brown