Author Topic: Pseudopod 94: The Skull-Faced Boy (Read 33498 times)

Bdoomed · **on:** June 14, 2008, 01:01:53 AM

Pseudopod 94: The Skull-Faced Boy

By David Barr Kirtley

Read by Ralph Walters

He turned his eyes back to the road, and in the light of the high beams he saw a man stumble into the path of the car. Without thinking, Jack swerved.

The car bounced violently, and then its left front side smashed into a tree. The steering column surged forward, like an ocean wave, and crushed Jack’s stomach. Dustin wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. He flew face-first through the windshield, rolled across the hood, and tumbled off onto the ground.

This week’s episode sponsored by Audible.com, who has extended their generous offer of a free audiobook download of your choice from their selection of over 40,000 titles.

Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

Chivalrybean · **Reply #1 on:** June 14, 2008, 01:43:43 AM

If Land of Reeds was a 10, and it was, Skull-Faced Boy is a 9. It is only a 9 because I felt the story was a bit too short. Not because I wanted more of the same, but because I wanted to know what happened with the father and that house.

The whole smart zombie aspect was brilliant. Not done before as far as the extent that my zombie experiences reach.

Commanzomdos. How cool is that?

There is so many stories that could be told in this world.

Incidently, www.thetakeover.com is a great zombie/office audio drama.

Sylvan · **Reply #2 on:** June 14, 2008, 02:08:02 AM

This was perfect timing and I suspect it was planned. I mean, really, it came up just on my drive to work on "Blog Like It's The End Of The World" day!

The interpretation of the zombies' intellect was very well done as well as the differing viewpoints of the main characters as they slipped into what they saw as their "pre-defined" roles in the Zombie Uprising.

It was especially chilling to think of how it ended; that's the kind of stress and horror that's very personal.

Kudos; this was a keeper!

Yours,
Sylvan (Dave)

deflective · **Reply #3 on:** June 14, 2008, 02:34:04 AM

this story is everything pseudopod! a classic scenario with a twist. an action driven plot with the hint of meaning. just right for audio, well performed audio at that.

Yossarian's grandson · **Reply #4 on:** June 14, 2008, 08:25:00 AM

I didn't care for this one. Everything just sort of happened, without any of the characters exhibiting something like an ' inner life'. It was basically: he goes there, does that, then he goes somewhere else and does another thing. All very 2-D.

Also, I didn't get the sense of the world in which the story plays. What actually happened, to make the dead rise? Why doesn't anyone seem to wonder?

One thing about the reading, though: WHAT A VOICE!

Listener · **Reply #5 on:** June 14, 2008, 11:21:13 AM

The reader had a great voice for this story. Actually, he sounds a lot like our commercial producer at work, so much so that when I first heard him (on a Scott Sigler promo, I believe) I thought it WAS him.

Anyway, I don't know that I liked the story so much at first, but once we got past the "we're dead, now we're zombies, WTF is going on" phase, the telling was pretty good. I was able to get into it. And the ending, while somewhat predictable, was still strong.

petronivs · **Reply #6 on:** June 14, 2008, 05:27:01 PM

This was a good overall work. Unfortunately, none of the characters really popped out at me as sympathetic, but I don't think that detracted from the story much.

As someone else mentioned, there really needs to be more done on this. Maybe turn it into a novel, or a series of short. Of course, I felt the same way about The Postman (the novel, not the move. definitely not the movie).

Schreiber · **Reply #7 on:** June 16, 2008, 12:38:50 AM

I didn't feel this piecepacked the emotional punch that it should have. There were definitely strong moments, but I think the author got ahead of himself in the rush to tell the story he wanted to tell. I usually don't like making overly specific suggestions, but I think one major weakness was that we did not see enough of Ashley to make the ending hit home. It's not that we had to know all that much about her character, but we had to at least imagine her. What she looked like, the expressions on her face when she spoke, the way her lips formed words, and so on. I'm not saying that the author needed to give us those details, but he should have given us more of a chance to fill them in for ourselves, because it would have made the end all the more horrifying.

Cerebrilith · **Reply #8 on:** June 17, 2008, 12:22:51 AM

I liked this story very much. I felt for the main character and what he felt he had to do at the end. It felt sort of like those old romances where the guy goes off to join the foreign legion at the end just to get away from the love he can never have.

I agree with the sentiment that this story would have been better if it were longer and more fleshed out in some areas.

deflective · **Reply #9 on:** June 17, 2008, 12:54:20 AM

Quote from: Cerebrilith on June 17, 2008, 12:22:51 AM

I agree with the sentiment that this story would have been better if it were longer and more fleshed out in some areas.

there's something to be said for its terse, barefaced honesty.

Void Munashii · **Reply #10 on:** June 17, 2008, 03:01:12 PM

I am a sucker for zombie tales, and so I did enjoy this one. My enjoyment stems mostly from the ideas in it than the actual story itself. The smart zombie concept is not one seen too often in zombie fiction, so that was nice, but the story itself seemed a little flat, maybe too abbreviated.

Dustin seemed a little two dimensional to me, a little too eager to snuff out humanity. Maybe he was a complete and utter bastard before death, but there was not enough of that shown to establish it for me. I did like the bit with him spouting anti-living propaganda that the living want to exterminate the dead. The overall effect of his character was quite chilling, if a little underdeveloped.

While this was not the best zombie story ever, it was quite enjoyable, and I would love to hear more.

Bdoomed · **Reply #11 on:** June 17, 2008, 03:41:18 PM

Quote from: Cerebrilith on June 17, 2008, 12:22:51 AM

I agree with the sentiment that this story would have been better if it were longer and more fleshed out in some areas.

ha. flesh.

This story seems like it should be part of a miniseries or something, maybe one of the first. And then he can Tarantino it to how the outbreak started

I love the idea of smart zombies intermingled with the regular, instinctual ones. Imagine a zombie that can actually open a door or window instead of just slapping against it!
and zombies with guns! that's the worst!

DKT · **Reply #12 on:** June 17, 2008, 04:40:08 PM

Another winner from David Barr Kirtley, IMO. I loved a lot of what was going on in here, changing up the genre, the looming, haunting presence of the Skull-Faced Boy (just a kick ass image, really), and what happened to Ashley in the end. Terrible, great stuff.

I do also wonder what happened to Jack's father, but maybe that's another story.

I do have a complaint, though. Alasdair, how DARE you criticize 28 Days Later? Flawed? Geez, you probably like watching the Village!

Josh · **Reply #13 on:** June 17, 2008, 06:16:04 PM

Quote from: DKT on June 17, 2008, 04:40:08 PM

I do have a complaint, though. Alasdair, how DARE you criticize 28 Days Later? Flawed? Geez, you probably like watching the Village!

Yes, I had this same thought, destructomundo (great podcast if you're not familiar) said the same things about 28 days vs. weeks, so I have to say this somewhere. I don't understand why people liked weeks over days, 28 days later was acted incredibly, all reactions, I thought, were very genuine. I was looking forward to watching 28 weeks later, but was very disappointed; they are rebuilding an entire city and their big emergency plan was to stick everyone in a tiny room with no lights secured by zombie-breakable locks?? I would think they would have put a little more thought into a plan that important, so that a SINGLE zombie couldn't ruin the entire thing. You didn't get to know any of the characters so it didn't really matter when anyone got eaten and the only scare tactic they used was surprise and that is just cheep; I felt genuinely upset when, in 28 days, Frank gets infected and screams at his daughter to get away from him, now THAT is scary.

Please, I would like to know what people saw in 28 weeks later.

Oh ya, great story, I really enjoyed it; a fresh new way to look at a zombie invasion.

eytanz · **Reply #14 on:** June 17, 2008, 10:11:17 PM

My response to this story can be summed up in three words:

More zombies. Yawn.

Really, that's all there is to say. Sure, there was some nice character work, but adding interesting elements to a zombie story is like adding mustard to a McDonalds hamburger. It might make it a bit different on the surface, but underneath, it's really just more of the same mass-produced stuff it always is.

Listener · **Reply #15 on:** June 18, 2008, 08:38:17 PM

Quote from: eytanz on June 17, 2008, 10:11:17 PM

My response to this story can be summed up in three words:

More zombies. Yawn.

I never really got into zombie stories, but when I wrote my first horror story that I plan to sell, it was a zombie story. A very personal zombie story, but a zombie story nonetheless.

If PP ever buys it (I haven't submitted it yet, but I may someday), I hope you don't yawn at it too. *grin*

Cerebrilith · **Reply #16 on:** June 18, 2008, 11:08:56 PM

I'm not sure why there seems to be a strong opinion that there's anything new or unique about having intelligent zombies. I have no more then a casual interest in zombie related tales and I can think of two movies off the top of my head that involved them.

There's Romero's "Land of the Dead" movie from not too far back that included zombies becoming more intelligent over time and then there was this truly awful movie "Night of the Living Dorks" that included teenagers turned into zombies with no apparent change in their intellect. I'm sure others could come up with far more examples then I.

deflective · **Reply #17 on:** June 18, 2008, 11:40:58 PM

Quote from: Bdoomed on June 17, 2008, 03:41:18 PM

I love the idea of smart zombies intermingled with the regular, instinctual ones. Imagine a zombie that can actually open a door or window instead of just slapping against it!

ever read i am legend?
the book i mean, not the movie.

Edit: fixed link

DKT · **Reply #18 on:** June 19, 2008, 12:50:27 AM

Quote from: deflective on June 18, 2008, 11:40:58 PM

Quote from: Bdoomed on June 17, 2008, 03:41:18 PM
I love the idea of smart zombies intermingled with the regular, instinctual ones. Imagine a zombie that can actually open a door or window instead of just slapping against it!

ever read i am legend?
the book i mean, not the movie.

Weren't those vampires? Although maybe they were some kind of hyrbid. It's been a looooooong time.

deflective · **Reply #19 on:** June 19, 2008, 01:14:21 AM

yeah they're vampires, kinda the point of the title, but the difference between a smart zombie and a feral vampire gets pretty muddled. i don't want to talk about it openly since the ending makes the story (an ending that was completely ignored in the movie). this may have unwanted hints.

select below for spoiler discussion
you had living vampires and dead vampires. the living ones were typically powerful & smart. the dead ones acted more like zombies, swarming cities and acting solely on instinct.

Boggled Coriander · **Reply #20 on:** June 21, 2008, 03:40:18 AM

Awesome, awesome, awesome voicework from Ralph Walters. The accents of the secondary characters were a bit jarring given the Maine setting, but that's a really minor quibble.

I really like the idea of a zombie story told from the point of view of an intelligent, articulate zombie. Are there any others out there?

Ocicat · **Reply #21 on:** June 23, 2008, 08:15:49 AM

Okay, I'm not a horror fan. Half the time I turn off Pseudopod before it's done.

But that was a classic!

JoeFitz · **Reply #22 on:** July 03, 2008, 02:35:03 AM

It took a while to get into this, but then I was there. And then it ended. I thought the ending was a little abrupt and the "defacing" of the girl a little too lightly treated. I would have liked this story to be a little longer to flesh things out (as it were). Still a good PP, imho.

bolddeceiver · **Reply #23 on:** July 06, 2008, 05:08:43 AM

I don't care much for zombies. I liked this. Maybe the same reason a few zombie-fan commenters seem a little cold about it?

I'll disagree on the skull-faced boy image being powerful; I couldn't imagine any image that wasn't really cheezy and slapstick when it came to a skull with eyeballs.

Void Munashii · **Reply #24 on:** July 09, 2008, 12:36:22 AM

Quote from: bolddeceiver on July 06, 2008, 05:08:43 AM

I'll disagree on the skull-faced boy image being powerful; I couldn't imagine any image that wasn't really cheezy and slapstick when it came to a skull with eyeballs.

I pictured the poster for "Evil Dead 2", but not as dried out or old looking. More bright white bone and remaining red gore (which actually doesn't make much sense at the end of the story now that I think about it)

Sgarre1 · **Reply #25 on:** July 16, 2008, 12:45:27 AM

This didn't work for me. Intelligent zombies, check. Short-handing the start (they're killed and turned into zombies and understand that they're zombies quick, so we can get to how this is different). I don't know, just didn't click for me. As others have said, maybe if we knew more about them before they turned (is the friend a potential megalomaniac?).

I did think the very last scene was nice, if I perceived it right (the brainy good guy zombie has to act dumb so as not to let onto zombie ex-girlfriend about his betrayal, right?).

And I really hope Alasdair was kidding about listeners sending "your little darlings" to Pseudopod.

Thanks for listening
“The face of the dead man was concealed, of course, our customs not being those of the south, where corpses are carried to the grave in open coffins, that they might – one last time before slipping into the pit – be warmed by the light of the sun.”
Jan Neruda, “Doctor Spoiler”

Stalinsays · **Reply #26 on:** July 25, 2008, 10:34:54 PM

Pretty gripping ending. My interest waxed and waned after the exposition, but it came around for sure.

Myrealana · **Reply #27 on:** August 04, 2008, 07:52:12 PM

Loved it -- from beginning to end.

I really enjoyed the zombie training sessions. Brilliant!

The dad, the housemates, the girl - all awesome. A Big thumbs up from me.

davekirtley · **Reply #28 on:** August 07, 2008, 05:33:29 PM

In the intro to this episode, Alasdair notes, "This week's piece was first published in Gothic.net, and will rise, hungry for brains, in September, as part of The Living Dead, an anthology from Night Shade Books. David should also, by the way, be applauded for generously sharing space in that anthology with promising-looking newcomers like Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and George R. R. Martin."

Well, here's the recently-released cover for that anthology, which looks awesome:

For more about the book, visit:
http://www.davidbarrkirtley.com/skull.html

davekirtley · **Reply #29 on:** August 27, 2008, 07:05:49 PM

Anyone here going to be in New York City on October 7th? If so, you should think about coming to the New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series at South Street Seaport. I'll be reading "The Skull-Faced Boy" and John Langan (author of the forthcoming collection Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters) will be reading his story "How the Day Runs Down." Then we'll all be going out to dinner. Hope to see some of you there. Here's the poster:

davekirtley · **Reply #30 on:** September 22, 2008, 03:32:11 PM

I just found out that the anthology The Living Dead (which includes my story "The Skull-Faced Boy") is "in contention" to be on the extended New York Times Best Seller List, so if anyone was thinking about picking up a copy, doing so this week might count toward pushing the book over the top. More details on this here:
http://www.davidbarrkirtley.com/blog/?p=655

Kevin David Anderson · **Reply #31 on:** January 05, 2009, 07:50:34 PM

Wish I'd listened to this one last summer. Great zombie episode. Loved the world the author created, and it left me wanting more. Also enjoyed the reading, very well voiced.

jqstave · **Reply #32 on:** January 23, 2009, 09:40:56 PM

Quote from: Ocicat on June 23, 2008, 08:15:49 AM

Okay, I'm not a horror fan. Half the time I turn off Pseudopod before it's done.

But that was a classic!

This sums up my thoughts on the story perfectly. Of Steve Eley's podcast trifecta, Pseudopod is my least favorite. I have a backlog of quite a few stories I haven't listened to. I was trying to catch up on that backlog (rather slowly I might add) when I stumbled upon this gem. Loved this story...found it just as I started to play Left 4 Dead, too!

davekirtley · **Reply #33 on:** August 28, 2009, 09:38:06 AM

I recently received this really cool piece of fan art for "The Skull-Faced Boy," and I thought I'd share it here:

Unblinking · **Reply #34 on:** October 20, 2009, 04:54:52 PM

I thought this was a great new spin on the zombie story. Those shambling stupid type aren't really monsters, they're just brain damaged! Although I did find it hard to believe that teeth were able to penetrate skulls, but whatever...

I do wish that someone had wondered in the story why all the dead were rising. It was taken so nonchalantly as to almost be comical. And the friend deciding as soon as he is dead that he wants to kill the living--why? It's not like you're switching sports teams. Maybe he was psychotic before he died, who knows. Or maybe only part of his brain is damaged, making him functional but sociopathic.

The main character was mostly sympathetic until he suddenly turned on his girlfriend, where the F did that come from? Why did he return to the army in the first place? He had to know that no good could come of it. And if he was going to divert him from his parents, who will surely be a target before long, then why not divert to some 3rd unimportant location? At that point I kind of stopped caring about him, so the ending didn't have as much impact as it could have.

Fenrix · **Reply #35 on:** February 25, 2010, 10:00:32 PM

Quote from: Unblinking on October 20, 2009, 04:54:52 PM

I do wish that someone had wondered in the story why all the dead were rising. It was taken so nonchalantly as to almost be comical.

I think this is a MacGuffin issue. Why zombies exist is irrelevant. It it radiation to reflect the cold war paranoia of one era? Is it a disease? Retribution from God? It doesn't matter. Justifications for the occurrence have always seemed like throwaways in zombie movies and literature. What matters is they're trying to eat our brains, and to aim for the head.

The real story was dealing with acceptance and rejection by family, friends, and society. I was able to move past the difficulty of forming words without lips and accept the imagery in the story for what it was. Good reading. Nice smart zombie concept. Not my favorite zombie story on PP so far, but worth the listen.

Unblinking · **Reply #36 on:** February 26, 2010, 04:25:20 PM

Quote from: Fenrix on February 25, 2010, 10:00:32 PM

Quote from: Unblinking on October 20, 2009, 04:54:52 PM
I do wish that someone had wondered in the story why all the dead were rising. It was taken so nonchalantly as to almost be comical.

I think this is a MacGuffin issue. Why zombies exist is irrelevant. It it radiation to reflect the cold war paranoia of one era? Is it a disease? Retribution from God? It doesn't matter. Justifications for the occurrence have always seemed like throwaways in zombie movies and literature. What matters is they're trying to eat our brains, and to aim for the head.

The real story was dealing with acceptance and rejection by family, friends, and society. I was able to move past the difficulty of forming words without lips and accept the imagery in the story for what it was. Good reading. Nice smart zombie concept. Not my favorite zombie story on PP so far, but worth the listen.

Explaining why there were zombies would've been a digression, since it wasn't the point of the story. But it was still weird that no one really seemed to care.

Millenium_King · **Reply #37 on:** July 15, 2010, 11:36:04 PM

Just wanted to write an initial impressions post (I'll follow up with a complete review later). I wanted to say, without knowing just how the story ends, that I loved the beginning. Straight and to the point - it's even flatly said that the two boys were arguing about a girl. Loved it. Then, the car-crash. You can't go wrong with an unexpected car-crash as an opening. Opened with a bang. Very refreshing.

Millenium_King · **Reply #38 on:** July 16, 2010, 07:43:12 PM

I listened to the whole thing this morning. Loved it. A wonderfully original take on the Z-Apocalypse. Just when I thought there was nothing left to wring out of that idea, I am pleasantly surprised by this. It was directly told, fast, interesting and remained gripping throughout. I don't really have any gripes with this one - except perhaps that, although the language was good, none of it stood out.

FANTASTIC reading.

And FANTASTIC outro by Al. I especially loved his last few lines about not "killing your darlings." The timing could not have been more serindipidous for me: one thing I have begun to learn is that you should not distance yourself from what you are good at simply for the sake of distancing yourself - or, to bring it back to Al's outro, you shouldn't "kill your darlings" - you should embrace them.

davekirtley · **Reply #39 on:** August 30, 2010, 02:50:57 AM

Hey guys. Just wanted to mention that I wrote a sequel to "The Skull-Faced Boy," called "The Skull-Faced City." Here's a synopsis:

The zombie army of Dustin the skull-faced boy has grown legion, and has constructed a grim necropolis for him to rule over alongside his reluctant bride, Ashley. His followers are urged to carve off their faces, and bounty hunters are sent out from the city to bring back living prisoners, for purposes unknown. Can anyone put an end to Dustin's mad, paranoid reign?

The story just came out in the anthology The Living Dead 2, edited by John Joseph Adams. More about the book here.

davekirtley · **Reply #40 on:** August 30, 2010, 03:34:41 AM

Oh, I forgot, the story's also available for free online at the Living Dead 2 website:

http://www.johnjosephadams.com/the-living-dead-2/free-fiction/the-skull-faced-city-david-barr-kirtley/

DKT · **Reply #41 on:** August 30, 2010, 08:47:36 PM

Congrats, Dave! Looking forward to checking it out.