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Judge Dredd Chronicles #1.1
Stranger Than Truth
Captured and imprisoned by Judge Dredd, author Truman Kaput has spent years in the Mega-City One iso-cubes, his work banned. His crime: writing lurid detective novels in which the fictitious Slick Dickens repeatedly outwits the cowardly bully Judge Dredd. Now a New Truman Kaput novel is being serialised, and each chapter predicts an imminent murder with chilling accuracy.
Has Slick Dickens escaped the page to commit real crimes in Mega-City One? Is a serial killer using the chapters as templates for their crime? Where does fiction end and the truth start? Can Dredd stop the plot before his nemesis fulfils the finale of Slick Dickens: I Killed Judge Dredd?
Has Slick Dickens escaped the page to commit real crimes in Mega-City One? Is a serial killer using the chapters as templates for their crime? Where does fiction end and the truth start? Can Dredd stop the plot before his nemesis fulfils the finale of Slick Dickens: I Killed Judge Dredd?
1 pages, Audio CD
First published October 1, 2009
24 people want to read
About the author
David Bishop
132 books39 followersDavid James Bishop is a New Zealand screenwriter and author. He was a UK comics editor during the 1990s, running such titles as the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD, the latter between 1996 and the summer of 2000.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
He has since become a prolific author and received his first drama scriptwriting credit when BBC Radio 4 broadcast his radio play Island Blue: Ronald in June 2006. In 2007, he won the PAGE International Screenwriting Award in the short film category for his script Danny's Toys, and was a finalist in the 2009 PAGE Awards with his script The Woman Who Screamed Butterflies.
In 2008, he appeared on 23 May edition of the BBC One quiz show The Weakest Link, beating eight other contestants to win more than £1500 in prize money.
In 2010, Bishop received his first TV drama credit on the BBC medical drama series Doctors, writing an episode called A Pill For Every Ill, broadcast on 10 February.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 14, 2016
This is a nice surprise. I can use the words 'literary rigor' and 'Judge Dredd' in the same sentence!
Enjoyable read.
Enjoyable read.
October 25, 2009
I was very happy to see Big Finish return to the Judge Dredd universe - their previous Judge Dredd full-cast audios were excellent plays that never really seemed to find an audience.
I wasn't entirely certain how Judge Dredd would adapt to the new "Crime Chronicles" format. Based on Big Finish's successful Doctor Who Companion Chronicles range, the format is kind of a hybrid of a conventional audiobook and a full-cast drama. There are two actors, and the bulk of the story is covered in narration, with sound-effects and dramatized sequences fleshing out the story. It works well for Doctor Who, particularly when written with awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the format, but how would it work for an action-packed series like Judge Dredd, with a hero who is infamously a man of few words?
It works brilliantly. Big Finish's Judge Dredd plays have always flirted with parody and pastiche, and with the stronger narrative voice allowed by this format, they indulge that to the fullest. In addition, with one of the two actors being the vocally versatile Toby Longworth, you get more than two distinct voices in the story.
The story itself follows Eliza Blunt, an academic who specializes in the pulp-crime novels of author Truman Kaput, which feature anti-hero Slick Dickens taking on and defeating his nemesis Judge Dredd. Blunt has arrived in Megacity One hoping to write an article on a rumored new Slick Dickens novel, only to discover that the fictional Slick Dickens has apparently come to life and started committing murders. Dredd thinks Blunt is involved, and the two of them have to make their way through the world of publishers, literary critics, slash fiction writers (the reaction of Dredd to being told that people writer Slick Dickens/Judge Dredd slash is priceless), and author Truman Kaput himself to catch the killer.
Well worth checking out, even if you've never read the comic (I've still never done more than glance at a few Judge Dredd comics) or heard any of the previous audios.
I wasn't entirely certain how Judge Dredd would adapt to the new "Crime Chronicles" format. Based on Big Finish's successful Doctor Who Companion Chronicles range, the format is kind of a hybrid of a conventional audiobook and a full-cast drama. There are two actors, and the bulk of the story is covered in narration, with sound-effects and dramatized sequences fleshing out the story. It works well for Doctor Who, particularly when written with awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the format, but how would it work for an action-packed series like Judge Dredd, with a hero who is infamously a man of few words?
It works brilliantly. Big Finish's Judge Dredd plays have always flirted with parody and pastiche, and with the stronger narrative voice allowed by this format, they indulge that to the fullest. In addition, with one of the two actors being the vocally versatile Toby Longworth, you get more than two distinct voices in the story.
The story itself follows Eliza Blunt, an academic who specializes in the pulp-crime novels of author Truman Kaput, which feature anti-hero Slick Dickens taking on and defeating his nemesis Judge Dredd. Blunt has arrived in Megacity One hoping to write an article on a rumored new Slick Dickens novel, only to discover that the fictional Slick Dickens has apparently come to life and started committing murders. Dredd thinks Blunt is involved, and the two of them have to make their way through the world of publishers, literary critics, slash fiction writers (the reaction of Dredd to being told that people writer Slick Dickens/Judge Dredd slash is priceless), and author Truman Kaput himself to catch the killer.
Well worth checking out, even if you've never read the comic (I've still never done more than glance at a few Judge Dredd comics) or heard any of the previous audios.
January 23, 2011
A very good comeback of Big Finish 2000AD audio books.
David Bishop has shitload of expierience of writing Judge Dredd (he being a former Tharg) and it shows. Story rolls on neatly and strainght forwardly. And as usual, Big Finish production is top notch.
I welcome back these warmly and look forward more.
David Bishop has shitload of expierience of writing Judge Dredd (he being a former Tharg) and it shows. Story rolls on neatly and strainght forwardly. And as usual, Big Finish production is top notch.
I welcome back these warmly and look forward more.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews