Author Topic: PseudoPod 605: The Town Manager  (Read 3151 times)

Bdoomed

  • Pseudopod Tiger
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5891
  • Mmm. Tiger.
on: August 05, 2018, 09:15:17 PM
PseudoPod 605: The Town Manager

by Thomas Ligotti
Narrated by Anson Mount
Hosted by Anson Mount

The Town Manager was first published in Weird Tales, September-October 2003



One gray morning not long before the onset of winter, some troubling news swiftly travelled among us: the town manager was not in his office and seemed nowhere to be found. We allowed this situation, or apparent situation, to remain tentative for as long as we could. This
was simply how we had handled such developments in the past.





Listen to this week's PseudoPod.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2018, 11:21:48 PM by Fenrix »

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


pammurphy

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Reply #1 on: August 07, 2018, 09:10:19 PM
Intriguing and fascinating tale, hosted and narrated by one of my favorite people, Anson Mount.  Definitely worth the listen. Anson makes you feel like you are there and part of the story.



harrietpodder

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 20
Reply #2 on: August 08, 2018, 09:04:15 PM
Found myself wondering after listening to the story, whether resistance to the trump administration will cease or continue once he is out of office. Is this era of political action and engagement of flash in the pan? Will we go back to acceptance without protest? Such a question assumes that there has been always someone accepting the status quo in the first place. But if instead people have always been fighting said status quo but something like the unknown powers that be with whom the town made the pact years ago, prevents change from occurring? Or what if it's all in your point of view could it have been possible for the residents of this so-called funny town to say well yes we will do what you want but we do not think this is funny because we still have civic pride? And if they did do this, what with that look like?



julkaz

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 13
  • folk horror dorkminx
Reply #3 on: August 09, 2018, 03:09:32 PM
There's a pretty cool Jeff VanderMeer story that I think must have been influenced by this--similar themes of evil, bullying bureaucracy, but with bioengineered monsters. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I'd really like to find it again.



Scuba Man

  • Lochage
  • *****
  • Posts: 353
  • Drabblecast, Pseudopod, Escapepod, Podcastle
    • Black Cat Bed And Breakfast (proposed start up 2024)
Reply #4 on: August 13, 2018, 01:14:52 AM
 This might be my first negative response to an Escape Pod story. >:(

It came across as a remake of a 1960s Twilight Zone episode. If I try to be charitable, I'll assume the story was about...
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ah, well. Fast forward to the next episode.  :-\ :-\ :-\

I'm a stand-up philosopher until 2024. Then, I move onto my next gig. I'm a gentleman forester and farmer. I also enjoy jumping into Lake Huron and panicking the fish.


Jon Padgett

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 36
Reply #5 on: August 23, 2018, 06:07:14 PM
Excellent narration by Mount.

Here's my recent take on Ligotti's classic story, which appears in Weird Fiction Review: "Absurd Degenerations and Totalitarian Decrepitude in 'The Town Manager'
« Last Edit: August 23, 2018, 06:15:38 PM by Jon Padgett »



Fenrix

  • Curmudgeonly Co-Editor of PseudoPod
  • Editor
  • *****
  • Posts: 3996
  • I always lock the door when I creep by daylight.
Reply #6 on: October 12, 2018, 03:27:38 AM
Quote

The mayor from Jaws is still the mayor in Jaws 2. It is so important to vote in your local elections.


All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”