First off, HAPPY 300TH, PODCASTLE!!! Is this a good place for us listeners to add our nostalgia to the party? I'll tuck it into a spoiler-wall so as not to derail the story feedback. :)
I started listening to Podcastle back in 2010 because I'd just taken up running as a hobby and needed something to keep my mind off the horrible, horrible agony. It was my first podcast. I found it by randomly clicking around iTunes until the awesome flying castle logo caught my eye. I thought, "What the hey?" and subscribed. By 2011, I'd gotten obsessed enough to start feeding episodes to my husband now and then. I think "Hart and Boot" was one of the first of these. That summer, I took a long road trip with my old college roommate, and I remember the vigorous conversation we had after hearing "A Hunter's Ode to His Bait" followed by 30 seconds' silence, and then, "Do you have any more of those?"
Yes. Yes, I did. ;)
So as a longtime fan, thank you to everyone who has a hand in making Podcastle happen every week. You guys are amazing, and your work has meant a lot to me. It's accompanied me on many a run, on long road trips, in hospital waiting rooms and drives home from funerals, on transatlantic flights and in my kitchen, during bouts of insomnia and those awful flu days when you can't sleep but even reading is too much work. I know I speak for all of your listeners when I say that your labor of love does not go unappreciated, and that I hope we'll see the 'Castle flying strong for many years to come. :D
As for the story, I liked it! Perfect classic fairytale vibe, completely with inexplicably horrific images (eyeballs getting carved out of their eye sockets! Eyeballs MELTING FROM THEIR EYE SOCKETS!) that never seem to degenerate all the way into horror. I have to admit that I kept thinking of that guy from "Pan's Labyrinth". I especially enjoyed how the ending didn't wrap up in typical fairytale fashion: Ilse has to work hard to learn the eye-making trade so she herself can restore sight to her village. Her sweetheart has moved on, but Ilse doesn't hold it against him. And Ilse herself is so changed by her adventure that she is ready to see the world voluntarily. It's basically a coming-of-age story. Well done.
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