It's been a few weeks since I went looking for new podcasts -- I've settled into a pretty good groove listening to my current favorites, and between those and some audio books I've been absorbed in, there hasn't been much time for new audio. So I was surprised and pleased to find a whole bunch of new science fiction/geek podcasts when I went searching, even though -- given the growth of the genre and the medium -- I should have expected it.

The latest trend in sci-fi podcasting circles seems to be the rise of the fiction podcast: genre podcasts that incorporate short stories or novel excerpts, either as the entire content of the podcast or to supplement news and reviews. Reviews have also seen an impressive rise, with far more book-centric podcasts than I've seen to date.

I should note that I haven't listened to any of these podcasts yet; I'm going entirely based on what the Web sites for each of the show says they're about, as well as the ubiquitous show notes.

I'll start things off with a podcast that's actually been around for a while -- I have no idea how I missed it. It's Drooling Fanboy, and based on the site its been podcasting since February. The fanboy's clearly had an impressive run of shows -- he's up to #34 -- that focus primarily on televised and cinematic science fiction and fantasy. Recent shows have discussed the Star Wars, Enterprise, Harry Potter, Dr. Who, Battlestar Galactica and Batman. It looks interesting particularly the bits where it "mashes up" different shows -- whether those are conceptual mash ups, or actual audio ones, I don't know.

Next up is Escape Pod which describes itself as a "Science Fiction Podcast Magazine". It's a weekly show featuring original fiction, and looks to mix in book reviews provided by listeners via a call-in line. It's at Show #4, and it looks like their shows are predominantly fiction based, but its still young so who knows how it will evolve?

The Rev Up Review is an England-based podcast that appears to offer an intriguing mix of podcast, book, and movie reviews, with some podsafe music and fiction thrown into the mix. The podcast has an interesting approach to show notes; rather than just giving an outline of what was discussed, each of the show's topics is listed along with the time it appears on the podcast.

Venerable science fiction webzine SF Site brings its science fiction and fantasy book reviews to audio form with its new podcast. Each podcast -- there have been four so far -- focuses on one genre audio book.

SciFiDig is a new podcast (only one show has been posted) is dedicated to "scifi, fantasy and everything in between." The first show talked about Dr. Who.

Freak'n'Bitches is a mature, adult-oriented podcast that delves into all manner of geekiness, It's broadcast by three friends who talk about "fantasy and science fiction, anime, gaming, weird websites, sex, porn, and other topics as they see fit" and yeah, it's definitely not kid-safe (a fact they make abundantly clear with a warning splash page on their Web site).

Finally there's World of Warcraft Radio, which isn't actually a podcast (though it should be) but features three weekly radio shows about Blizzard's massively-multiplayer online game.