The Hate Disease
Murray Leinster
Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012)
Dr. Calhoun and his pet tormal Murgatroyd work for the Interstellar Medical Service making routine public health inspections on far-flung colonial planets. When they reach Tallien Three they are greeted with a rocket attack by the Paras, a mutated form of human rapidly replacing the “normals”. The normals think it’s a pandemic of demonic possession but Calhoun has his doubts. If he can keep from turning into a Para, or being assassinated by them he just might figure this thing out. – The Hate Disease was first published in the August 1963 edition of Analog Science Fact and Fiction magazine. (Summary by Gregg Margarite) (2 hr 2 min)
Chapters
| 1 – The Hate Disease (Chapters 1 – 2) | 58:30 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 2 – The Hate Disease (Chapters 3 – 4) | 1:03:39 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
Reviews
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psichick
Once you hear Gregg Margarite's perfectly portrayed Murgatroyd - ch chee! ch chee! - he's simply not the same lovable little tormal who has you laughing every time he utters those magical words of his when listening to anyone else portray him. And they're all amazing readers. I love the work they do. They simply don't achieve Murgatroyd's full emotional range - he's stuck on a single setting and it's sad to hear. Gregg, Know that you're forever immortalized through all of incredible readings you volunteered your time for. All of us who know your voice through the books you've read for us will forever remember & be grateful for the joy you've brought us.
Another great Calhoun and Murgatroyd
CoolWhipKid
Another fun entry in Leinster's Med Ship Man series. This is classic sci-fi which revolves around a planet wide epidemic of madness and hatred, and the intelligent working out of the solution. Actually the solution wasn't really as intelligent in this outing as it is in others but it was still very satisfying. A nice mixture of medical and psychology are worked into this one. As always, the interactions between Calhoun and Murgatroyd are wonderfully portrayed and the amount of text given to Murgatroyd's same one word answers is quite comical. The reader is very good. He has a unique reading style (not unlike Shatner in some respects) that seems to fit the story nicely. Highly recommended for some classic sci-fi retro fun.
GOGgy at his best...
Tiffany-Louise Francis (Tiff)
Good Old Greg giving us his usual awesome narrative & a plot that's old school and surprisingly modern simultaneously. Gosh I wish he had been one of my grandfathers - storytime all the time! & How does that Father Time voice make Murgatroyd sound so utterly cute!?? GOGgy magic at work...
Swashbuckling in space
Akku
I do always enjoy these tales of the Medship Man and his furry friend. They are always good fun. Greg’s reading style suits these old sci-fi tales well. There’s always a relatable theme somewhere in Leinster’s stories although there are plot elements in this which seem to be too much about luck for 5 Stars…
Would be 4 stars if...
Juan Morris
If not for so-n-so, & this-n-that, & brick-n-brack, -- mostly so-n-so, I'd've given 4 stars. This, and the reader's Kirk-like diction cost it a half star. Besides which, the so-n-sos felt like 'so-much' writer's malaise.
★★★★★
EarWax
This is a great story but it's also sad and scary to think of how many parallels there are to things in modern society that hold us captive without any hope of escape or relief.
2 years in
Rob McRaf
2 years into COVID and stuff like this... little too close. Narrator is good but I think a little too low in pitch. His "Shatner-like" delivery is entertaining.
Different from other Sci Fi, but I like it
Bobby P.
His style is a bit different, but it held my attention, was imaginative and has an interesting ending. Ch-Eee!