Escape Artists
PodCastle => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Heradel on December 29, 2009, 05:26:20 AM
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PodCastle 84: Restless In My Hand (http://podcastle.org/2009/12/29/podcastle-84-restless-in-my-hand/)
By Tim Pratt (http://www.timpratt.org/)
Read by Steve Anderson (http://www.sgacreative.com/)
Originally published in Realms of Fantasy.
“It is an axe, Mr. Selfry,” the man said. He produced a prybar — from where, Richard wasn’t sure — and, with a great squealing and popping of nails, pried the lid off the crate. Richard left the safety of the doorway and went out onto the porch just as the man set the lid aside. Peering into the crate, Richard saw only darkness, as if the box were full of ink, but then something glinted silver, and — as if his eyes were adjusting to a moonlit night, instead of midafternoon sun — he saw the great silver crescent of an axehead, nestled among styrofoam packing peanuts that were, inexplicably, black instead of white. It was a double-bladed axe, with a long three-sided pyramidal spike emerging from the top.
“Workmanship,” the man said approvingly. “Look at the blood-gutters on that spike. It’s not as if the spike was ever likely to be used for stabbing, but the smith allowed for the possibility. Truly, they were giants on the earth in those days.”
“I don’t understand,” Richard said. “This thing is a family heirloom? From Great Grandma Melody? It doesn’t even look old.”
Rated R: contains a weapon smarter than average, and more purposeful.
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Meh.
Started out great. However this one ended up like an article from Parenting magazine.
It's not that I don't respect the noble art of child raising , but really it's not something I want to hear a FANTASY story about. As a childless woman, I'm a bit overwhelmed with such themes constantly around the water cooler at work. Because I'm female everyone expects me to offer an ear about their reckless teenagers or coo over a teething toddler. Kind of like how men who don't like sports sometimes can feel a bit isolated when male coworkers and friends go on about the 'big game'.
I enjoy unsung hero stories, but this one was a bit too much like mundane real life for me. The sequel will be about having to get the dry cleaning or the rewards and sacrifices of paying taxes.
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I honestly enjoyed this one myself - very different from what I usually listen too; I thought it'd go the tired old route of having him go into the other place, win the war, and return, changed by his experiences, etc, etc. This turn was unexpected by me, but it was enjoyable to listen too.
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I enjoyed this one. No surprise there, I've liked most of Pratt's work that I've come across. Since I'm not a parent, the principles didn't feel like something I'd been beaten over the head--but I can certainly see how that would be a pain. As a man who doesn't much care about sports I know how it is from that side.
I thought the story was quite good, the man's struggle against himself to give his son a chance to grow up with a father instead of following his impulses and going to get himself killed. I really liked that we just saw glimpses of the other world, and of the bloody-toothed enemy without ever going there, it lets the imagination sort the rest out.
I am a bit skeptical however that the enemy would deliver the axe right to him just because it was keening. I mean, I can understand why they wouldn't want it around (though perhaps they could have found some deaf folks to guard it), but they could've dropped it in a volcano or something. Doubtless it would've been found sooner or later, but delivering it right to the guy was only accelerating their own destruction.
This story had a few associative connections for me:
Warcraft III: similar to Frostmourne, the axe whispers to its holder and subverts their will.
The Subtle Knife: a blade so sharp it cuts holes into other worlds
And, most of all:
Chopper's Tale (in the Shadows of the Emerald City antho): Told from the POV of the Nick Chopper's cursed axe before he becomes the Tin Man, which can also subvert the will.
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I'm not a parent (and, frankly, don't care too much for children, period), and I am a man who cares nothing for sports or fast cars, so yeah...I know what that isolation feels like that lunastrixae spoke of.
But I still very much enjoyed this story. I liked it at least in part because it was a story about an ordinary, unheroic-in-the-conventional-sense guy who made a difficult decision...which I thought made him heroic because I get that he gave up a life of adventure to provide a good life for his son.
What I didn't like was the abruptness of the wife's death. To just say it like that, "She was killed a week later" caused me to back up the story to see what I'd missed. I think maybe that part would work better in print. :)
Oh, and although I didn't get any of the associative connections that Unblinking got, the one that I got was from the Joss Whedon series Angel. There was an arc with Angel's son that had to do with growing up in another dimension.
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I really like this one. I thought it brought across the message perfectly.
If you truly are dedicated to your family, you would do just what the MC did. Turn your back on the adventure. It's called sacrifice, and any truly honorable man (or woman) would do it gladly.
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I didn't get either why the enemy ran arms to the guy, keening or not. As for choosing between kids and adventure, well, I had my kids at age 26 and 31. I look forward to decades of adventuring once the little one's off to college. Though in my case, "adventure" will most likely be something like "teach archaeology in Norway" or "teach English in China".
"Sleep-scuba-diving" was a fun idea, though.
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second favorite i ever listened to on podcastle. (#1 Ostromancers son) they gave enough details about the other world to make it come alive but not to many that your brain overloaded and assumed it was like it was Tolkien. Personally the only flaw was it was the fathers worst fears were fixed very neatly. great podcast.
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Fabulous, on almost every level. Though I was hearing a much darker story than the one that apparently ended up being told; in my mind, the wife cheated because the AXE whispered to her and convinced her to do it, and then it also arranged her death when her disloyalty wasn't enough to subvert his wielder's will.
Mind you, I went through the whole story expecting him to finally give in and go to the other side, only to find that time hadn't stood still there for four centuries and the undefined inhuman race had developed guns and heavy armor which rendered the axe truly a pointless "antique." (This also explained in my head why they were so willing to hand it over in the end.) Instead, apparently the son actually saved the fantasy realm, which is still a subversion of a fantasy trope, it's just not the one I was expecting. (And also, a story about the futility of war comes to my mind more readily than a story about the joys of parenthood.)
Nonetheless, I loved this story, and not just because it twigged on my old fascination with sharpness.
Tim Pratt is pretty awesome.
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Scattercat, somehow that was the story I heard too ... Do you think there is something wrong with us :)
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Scattercat, somehow that was the story I heard too ... Do you think there is something wrong with us :)
no because i heard that story also.
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As someone who has sacrificed for my children-let me say this story moved me. There was something here in the son eventually "getting it" in the fathers denial of adventure that made me weep. Gorgous, deep and wonderous. A very well read well put to gether piece. I know I rarely complain at all about stories, and I rarely say more then "yay" I don't ever feel I can do justice to a story by commenting on it. This one- this one moved me as a parent. As a dreamer. Wonderous!!
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I must admit, every time I see Tim Pratt's name attached to a story, I go "ooh, this will be good!" before even giving a listen, so I am perhaps biased :p But I did very much enjoy this tale. I thought it was very sweet. And yes the ending was pat, but I confess I was rooting for it. After all this time and all his pain and suffering, he finally gets what he's been yearning for: both an adventure to a magical land, and reuniting with his family (although it was clear from the closing statement it was the family part that excited him more).
A real feel good ending, of which I heartily approve.
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I must admit, every time I see Tim Pratt's name attached to a story, I go "ooh, this will be good!" before even giving a listen, so I am perhaps biased
Oh! Total ditto on this. Pratt would have to do a lot to do me wrong.
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This left me wanting context of what was going on in the other world, even though that's not what the story's about and wouldn't have added anything.
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Loved it! Got to the dad in me as well. Truly explored the idea of who is the hero, the one who goes off for the adventure, or the one who lives by principles of responsibility and doing what's right therby making it possible for others to be slay the dragons. Outward vs. inward heroics. Kind of a George Bailey vibe there.
I loved that the temptation never left Richard; he always wanted to go, but choose his family priorities instead, especially after his wife cheated and he was set to leave until the son came home. How many of us have an axe in our shed nagging at us? I also liked how the axe twisted Richard's actions in the son's mind, but how the son understood when he had his own family. Isn't that the truth?
The enemy returning the weapon of it's own destruction? Yeah, you got me there. Maybe the "bloody man" was bound by some magical law/edict?
BTW, for some reason, I really dug the geneology thing at the beginning.
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I must admit, every time I see Tim Pratt's name attached to a story, I go "ooh, this will be good!" before even giving a listen, so I am perhaps biased
Oh! Total ditto on this. Pratt would have to do a lot to do me wrong.
Me too! The Pratt stories that I've liked the least have still been pretty darn good. His choice of topics and characters really appeals to me for some reason.
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How many of us have an axe in our shed nagging at us?
The way you said this reminded me of the slang "battle axe" to use to describe a nagging spouse. Not that that has to do with anything, but it made me laugh. :)
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I must admit, every time I see Tim Pratt's name attached to a story, I go "ooh, this will be good!" before even giving a listen,
I've forgotten... who's the guy that writes all the sentimental robot stories? It isn't Tim Pratt, is it?
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Lovely story, and the intro worked well for me too. I'm not sure I would have thought about all that hero's journey stuff on my own, and it gave me an extra appreciation for the work. Also, kudos to the narrator.
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How many of us have an axe in our shed nagging at us?
The way you said this reminded me of the slang "battle axe" to use to describe a nagging spouse. Not that that has to do with anything, but it made me laugh. :)
:D Haha. Oops. That was not the metaphor I was going for.
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I must admit, every time I see Tim Pratt's name attached to a story, I go "ooh, this will be good!" before even giving a listen,
I've forgotten... who's the guy that writes all the sentimental robot stories? It isn't Tim Pratt, is it?
Tim Pratt may have written about sentimental robots, but I believe you are thinking of Mike Resnick.
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He's only written two sentimental robot stories as far as I know :p
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Tim Pratt may have written about sentimental robots, but I believe you are thinking of Mike Resnick.
That's the guy. And I meant "sentimental stories about robots" not "stories about sentimental robots" (though some have been both)... but you already knew that, didn't you? :P
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I usually love Tim Pratt stories but this was just ok to me. I dont have kids, nor do i want them so i probably appreciate the adventure more than i do staying home with the family, especially considering the kid turned out to be really ungrateful during the end.
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the kid turned out to be really ungrateful during the end.
Did you listen all the way to the end? The kid got it in the end, and sent his dad a sword to enable him to join him in the other world.
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I whooped out loud when I realized this was one of my all-time favorite stories from RoF, and, frankly, from any publication ever. I've been waiting for my eldritch heirloom weapon to arrive in the mail for my entire life... maybe this week?
I think the point of this story is that Richard is the hero of the story, in a very real sense. I don't have children, and don't plan to; but that didn't stop me enjoying this story. I don't plan to race starships through an asteroid field or hunt pixies in a forest of sentient trees, but I've enjoyed stories about those things, too. Anyway, Richard consistently forsakes the typical "heroic" path in favor of the TRULY heroic path- consistently sacrifices his own desires to give his all to his family. And moreover, he spends the entire story wishing he could be "a man of purpose", a man who did something meaningful; while never realizing himself that this is EXACTLY what he IS doing. I'm self absorbed- I would have gone. Yet I can appreciate that Richard chose the harder path, not the safer one. Parenthood is fraught with far more peril than any fantasy war.
Also I'd point out that the story doesn't make it clear that Tyler won the war. I imagine that he, in fact, rekindled a war that had long been forgotten, and that it was still ongoing when his father comes to join him. But that's just my take.
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Also I'd point out that the story doesn't make it clear that Tyler won the war. I imagine that he, in fact, rekindled a war that had long been forgotten, and that it was still ongoing when his father comes to join him. But that's just my take.
Well, the "hematite fortress" was in ruins when Richard came through at the end, and it was summer/spring instead of rainy fall, and Tyler had settled down to have a child instead of being all warrior-y and going off to fight. Seems to be a lot of indicators that the War is Over.
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the kid turned out to be really ungrateful during the end.
Did you listen all the way to the end? The kid got it in the end, and sent his dad a sword to enable him to join him in the other world.
I read that, but since the kid had a family of his own towards the end his first priority obviously wasnt to contact his dad, who had sacrificed everything for his family. Made the kid come off as very selfish in my opinion
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Made the kid come off as very selfish in my opinion
...which I think is one of the defining characteristics of being a teenager. :)
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the kid turned out to be really ungrateful during the end.
Did you listen all the way to the end? The kid got it in the end, and sent his dad a sword to enable him to join him in the other world.
I read that, but since the kid had a family of his own towards the end his first priority obviously wasnt to contact his dad, who had sacrificed everything for his family. Made the kid come off as very selfish in my opinion
I think you are right, his dad wasn't his first priority, but then when Tyler had his own family, he understood the truth about his dad's actions
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Made the kid come off as very selfish in my opinion
...which I think is one of the defining characteristics of being a teenager. :)
exactly. teenagers and selfish behavior go hand in hand.
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Also I'd point out that the story doesn't make it clear that Tyler won the war. I imagine that he, in fact, rekindled a war that had long been forgotten, and that it was still ongoing when his father comes to join him. But that's just my take.
Well, the "hematite fortress" was in ruins when Richard came through at the end, and it was summer/spring instead of rainy fall, and Tyler had settled down to have a child instead of being all warrior-y and going off to fight. Seems to be a lot of indicators that the War is Over.
It's a fair conclusion to draw. I just got the impression it was more the sort of war that lasts generations. The wormhair guy at the beginning said as much. But who knows, maybe the unexpected return of the Unnatural Axe in the hands of a True Heir was enough to catch the Ancient Enemy off guard once and for all.
Ow, I think I bruised my Shift finger...
Oh, and Kaa, selfishness if one of the defining characteristics of being a human being.
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Awesome story (from a Dad who could really relate to the hero)
Does anyone else find all the "don't have kids, don't want kids" comments a bit sad?
Most people you meet who love fantasy are exactly the type of people who would make fantastic parents - am I wrong in thinking that few of us are breeding the next generation of imaginative youngsters? It was my mothers love of fantasy and science fiction that sparked my love also.
Maybe those who made the comments are just too young to think about familys yet - I guess ten years ago had you asked me I would have said the same thing.
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Overall, I really liked this story, and I didn't mind the ending - fatherhood/family life was the main theme of the story, after all. But, as someone else pointed out above, it seemed like Tim Pratt sort of wrote himself into a corner with the mother. Basically, he needed her to have the affair to make the parallelism about the desire for adventure, and chosing family over it, but he also didn't want to keep her around - or otherwise the son would be abandoning two parents, one who had nothing to do with the axe, and that would change the meaning of that scene - so he had to kill her off in a totally unrelated way immediately after. Like Scattercat, my first inclination was to think she was somehow being manipulated by the axe, but the story never acknowledged that possiblity. So, either the axe did it but this was too subtle, or it was just a total coincidence and thus broke the internal believability of the story.
This isn't a big enough problem to seriously diminish my enjoyment of the story, but it felt like a misstep, and I think Pratt is a good enough writer to have avoided it.
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Does anyone else find all the "don't have kids, don't want kids" comments a bit sad?
Most people you meet who love fantasy are exactly the type of people who would make fantastic parents - am I wrong in thinking that few of us are breeding the next generation of imaginative youngsters? It was my mothers love of fantasy and science fiction that sparked my love also.
Matt, have you heard of these strange creatures called Aunts, Uncles, Godparents or Family Friends? They can take part too. My parents encouraged me to read and took me to the library but, other than perhaps my Dad giving me his old copy of 'The Hobbit' when I was around six or seven (IIRC) I think they weren't particularly influential in my tastes as I grew up, though I've had some success in getting my Mum into Terry Pratchett in the last few years. And amongst my childfree friends, when the time came, they all seemed happy to step up and be kickass Aunts and Uncles.
Anyway... I did like this story, except for the penultimate scene when Tigh takes the axe and leaves Richard. There's too much interior dialogue that never escapes Richard's head about his feelings of responsibility that stopped him from taking up the battle himself. It took strength of will to choose his family responsibilities over the call of adventure, it took strength of will to choose to look after his son rather than the call of vengeance and, while the story made clear that Richard had regrets over his choices, I don't think it would have derailed the story to have him actually make the point that there are different types of strength and bravery. After all, in his letter at the end, Tigh recognises this himself.
And I second Scattercats 'darker story' idea, I was thinking that the driver was going to be a sleep-driving Richard himself.
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Does anyone else find all the "don't have kids, don't want kids" comments a bit sad?
Well, since I pretty much have the same feelings, not really. :P It's not that I think children are inherently bad or anything, but I don't think I'd make a particularly good parent, and with the world as overpopulated as it is already I don't think it's a bad thing for some people to choose not to reproduce. I have a lovely niece born last year that I intend to give some fantasy books to when she's older though. :)
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"...how are we going to keep him away from this thing?!"
"The same way we keep him from your porn and my vibrator. We *lock the door*."
And with that little exchange, Tim Pratt has skyrocketed up my list of favorite writers. Finally! A mother who knows what she's talking about. Love, love, love the story so far!
Okay, going back to listening to it now.
Edit: And I'm done. Wow. This story had everything! Humor, drama, sadness, angst, ennui, and an awesome ending that made me tear up. I had expected this to be a tale of lost chances and the regret that comes from it, but I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't turn out that way. Great story and great narration!
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This probably doesn't need to be said, since the "To Parent, or Not To Parent" conversation seems relatively civil. But I'd like to suggest that pointing at other commenters and calling their views "a bit sad" or whatever is territory I'd prefer we Not Go.
The topic itself is fine and I'd be happy to set up another thread for it somewhere (like Gallimaufry) but I'd prefer this thread be for the story (which for the most part, everyone's done. I just want it to continue that way).
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Awesome story (from a Dad who could really relate to the hero)
Does anyone else find all the "don't have kids, don't want kids" comments a bit sad?
No.
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Just catching up on missed episodes.
I loved this one. I'm still child-less myself (by choice), but I think those of my friends who do have children would love this one as well.
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Finally got around to this story and am not afraid to say I loved it. What the main character got at the end was an awesome present - both the verbal stuff and the physical stuff. This story tapped into my sometimes subconscious desire to chuck my job and go do something more fun and more interesting than what I do, but not doing so because I have a wife and kids that rely on me to be an adult and not give in to irresponsible impulses. Ah to be free to slice the air and step into another world. But then I wouldn't change a thing about my life now, so like our main character, I'd still be bound to stick around our world!
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I really liked this, which is not unexpected since it's by Tim Pratt, but I loved the reading, too! Steve Anderson's voice has some quality about it that I can't really define, but I really enjoy hearing it.
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Tim Pratt is one of my favorite authors and this story doesn't disappoint! A story which is humorous and serious at the same time, and always entertaining.
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Just a great story. First one I listened to three days in a row. I am a father of two and can relate to that part of it but that's not that important, I just thought it was excellant. A parent is not a "hero" for putting the needs of their kids first. That is what parenting is all about. Doing what you should do doesn't make you a hero, just a decent person.
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Definitely a good listen, and I didn't really expect what happened at the end. Maybe I've been listening to too many downer EP episodes. :) You could really see the madness setting in, and the real struggle that he went through. I did wonder, however if the axe was responsible for his wife's cheating and then her death, seeing her as an obstacle to its own mission. I tended to interpret it as such, but maybe I'm wrong.
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"...how are we going to keep him away from this thing?!"
"The same way we keep him from your porn and my vibrator. We *lock the door*."
Indeed. I really liked that part.
I echo everyone who had positive comments about the story.
I did feel the intro (Richard & weird dude on the front stoop) went on a TAD too long.
I didn't see what Scattercat et al did about the Axe possibly forcing the wife to have an affair; there was no historical evidence that female axe-holders were affected, and nothing related to that was mentioned anywhere in the story, so to me only the male heir could hear the axe.
I didn't realize that the Axe was going to talk to Tyler but in retrospect I should have because in the beginning they did say 15 years old = manhood, to the Axe. Good moment there. And I did like the ending.
I didn't like this particular choice of narrator; while he is a good narrator, his voice didn't work for me in this story. The voice he chose for the narration and Richard made the character seem wishy-washy.
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I can't decide whether to like this story as a fun romp, or love it as an father-as-hero metaphor. It reminds of my favorite Neil Stephenson quote that (paraphrasing) "Every man up until about 35 secretly thinks that if he just works at it hard enough, he can be the most awesome bad-ass in the world". I do martial arts so I suppose that's my own way of venting my "be-a-bad-ass" tendencies. Part of that training is also to continually bring your martial arts training into everyday life, so it's not all just about punching, kicking and throwing other people in a dojo. I have a daughter she's already starting to imitate the stuff she sees me doing. There's no prouder feeling than seeing your 4 year old try to smack a heavy-bag with her little punches. Having said that, I do think that the father was a bit on the wimpy or at least passive side. It felt like when he wasn't thinking about going off into "magical world of warcraft" he was just pretty much letting life go by him.
The closest real-life analogy to what happens in this story is maybe father and son joining a military (or being a policeman). But even then, most of the stuff you actually do 95% of the time is pretty boring (guarding trucks, doing paper work, talking to people, settling petty squabbles, etc), and the heroic stuff is probably the stuff that'll give you PTSD and send you to the psychiatrist for years afterwards.
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This probably doesn't need to be said, since the "To Parent, or Not To Parent" conversation seems relatively civil. But I'd like to suggest that pointing at other commenters and calling their views "a bit sad" or whatever is territory I'd prefer we Not Go.
My apologies, it was not my intention to pass judgement on peoples life decisions, of course parenting is not for everyone - I just look at some of the people in my home country who are having kids who perhaps should not be (child abuse is a huge problem here in NZ, and it does seem to cause a cycle of abuse thats hard to break), and some of the people who chose not to have kids, as is their right, but who I believe would make fantastic parents and raise amazing kids, grandkids etc, and it just makes me feel a little sad.
Anyway as you stated, off topic, so I'll leave it at that.
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This probably doesn't need to be said, since the "To Parent, or Not To Parent" conversation seems relatively civil. But I'd like to suggest that pointing at other commenters and calling their views "a bit sad" or whatever is territory I'd prefer we Not Go.
My apologies, it was not my intention to pass judgement on peoples life decisions, of course parenting is not for everyone - I just look at some of the people in my home country who are having kids who perhaps should not be (child abuse is a huge problem here in NZ, and it does seem to cause a cycle of abuse thats hard to break), and some of the people who chose not to have kids, as is their right, but who I believe would make fantastic parents and raise amazing kids, grandkids etc, and it just makes me feel a little sad.
Anyway as you stated, off topic, so I'll leave it at that.
As a "not a parent" person, I thank you for clarifying that it is a "that's too bad, you'd make a great parent" situation rather than a "people who don't breed live poor lives" situation. And I'll leave it at that for my part.
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I have been catching up on PodCastle, after giving it a second (ok maybe a third) chance. This is one of the best stories I have heard in a long time. Since I am still single, kids of my own are not an issue but I feel the same about some of my friends children. I plan on passing this episode on to some of them. I have tried unsuccessfully to interest them in Escape Artists before, mostly because they have so many other podcasts already they listen to than because they don't like the stories, but this episode seems almost like a must listen to for any father (or parent really not meaning to sound sexist just the father in the story so analog irl).
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So, this is my post for I <3 Escape Artists month. Probably won't be the last I make here (nor is it the first), but this one is special.
I loved this story. As an acne-scarred teenager who is incredibly stubborn and quick to anger, it made me rethink my relationship with my parents personally. It's amazing what you can begin to take for granted. I was able to calm down a bit, work to get them to stop hyperventilating and eventually we all were able to compromise.
Of course, it's also amazing taken on it's own. The story of man who sacrifices everything for his kid, even things beyond this world. It's brilliant, and reminds me of why I love Tim Pratt's work. Voice acting for this piece (by Steve Anderson) is also good - not the best narration on Escape Artists, but certainly very, very good.