Author Topic: PodCastle Miniature 31: Down in the Flood  (Read 7120 times)

Heradel

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on: May 08, 2009, 01:57:13 AM
PodCastle Miniature 31 - Down in the Flood

by Nisi Shawl.
Read by Elizabeth Green Musselman.

The gods were at it again: giggling, babbling and running back and forth through the Abode of Heaven. Echoes rattled my drums and flutes against the walls where they were hung. A cymbal crashed to the floor.

“Quiet, kids!” I shouted out. “Settle down, or you’ll have to go play in the Void!”

Rated PG. Contains children with the powers of gods, or Gods with the temperaments of children.

Please note that The Missing Link podcast (formerly produced by Elizabeth Green Musselman) is, unfortunately, no longer running. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

I Twitter. I also occasionally blog on the Escape Pod blog, which if you're here you shouldn't have much trouble finding.


Anarquistador

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Reply #1 on: May 10, 2009, 05:05:17 AM
Meh. Once again, I just can't get into these miniatures. I mean, it was well read, but it just didn't hold my interest. Maybe it's just the form. I like to listen to a really good yarn, and these are too short for anything but a clever little story.

I also have issues with modern re-writing of ancient myths. It sticks in my craw as a classically-educated person. I mean, these evil creatures of myth and legend were evil for a reason! Tiamat was not a put-upon mother, Grendel was not misunderstood, and vampires don't look like Kate Beckinsale. Harumph.

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MacArthurBug

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Reply #2 on: May 11, 2009, 03:40:49 AM
yeee! A creation story! Very good!

Oh, great and mighty Alasdair, Orator Maleficent, He of the Silvered Tongue, guide this humble fangirl past jumping up and down and squeeing upon hearing the greatness of Thy voice.
Oh mighty Mur the Magnificent. I am not worthy.


SirJolt

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Reply #3 on: May 11, 2009, 05:26:20 PM
Again, classically educated person here, but I'm kind of the reverse in that I really enjoy re-imaginings of myth and folklore (probably the anthropologist in me just loving how much they tell you about the peoples that produce them).

That said, I just couldn't get into this. The reading was fine, but the content just felt humdrum and overwritten. I like the idea of the miniatures as a rule, but this is kind a dead end of a story. I really couldn't tell just what it was I was supposed to take from this and enjoy... so naturally I didn't take anything from it.



Talia

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Reply #4 on: May 15, 2009, 03:13:00 AM
Very much enjoyed this. Didn't find it humdrum at all. Though it did remind me strongly of another story I can't find now.. maybe it was even a drabblecast story. Of a child God who got into mischief left alone creating stuff. :)



MacArthurBug

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Reply #5 on: May 15, 2009, 02:11:44 PM
mmm I remember that one, Talia.
This actually reminded me of oneof the first creation stories, in parts. I had to read it for Religious philosophy class- in fact it reminds me of a lot of the creation stories I studied for my papers. I think that' why I liked it- it was like it took a commen thread and pieced together a few of the ones I liked.

Oh, great and mighty Alasdair, Orator Maleficent, He of the Silvered Tongue, guide this humble fangirl past jumping up and down and squeeing upon hearing the greatness of Thy voice.
Oh mighty Mur the Magnificent. I am not worthy.


stePH

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Reply #6 on: May 15, 2009, 03:40:35 PM
Story was okay, not bad like most miniatures have been.  One nitpick:  "Scientific objectivism?"  ITYM "Scientific objectivity".  "Objectivism" is Ayn Rand's crackpot political/economic philosophy, the application of which (abolish government control and regulations on businesses) has contributed to the mess we're currently in.

(Yes, I've read Atlas Shrugged.  Cover-to-cover, every word.  Even John Galt's overly long and repetitive speech.  Just so that I can say I did.)

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eytanz

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Reply #7 on: May 15, 2009, 05:53:18 PM
No, "scientific objectivism" (lower case o) is the correct term. It's not related to "Objectivism", with an upper-case O, which you correctly describe.

Compare:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivity_(philosophy)#Objectivism

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)



Wilson Fowlie

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Reply #8 on: May 15, 2009, 07:05:01 PM
... it did remind me strongly of another story I can't find now.. maybe it was even a drabblecast story. Of a child God who got into mischief left alone creating stuff. :)

That was Intelligent Design by Ellen Klages.

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Unblinking

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Reply #9 on: January 05, 2010, 08:38:01 PM
Cute.  I'm apparently not aware of the source myths, though it was clear there were source myths it was based on, so I think much of the effect was lost on me.  I think that Tiamat is a god of chaos, and in some Final Fantasy games takes the form of a dragon, but that's about all I know about it.



hautdesert

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Reply #10 on: January 05, 2010, 09:52:52 PM
Sort of.  It's a little more complicated than that, but "chaos" will do, more or less.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiamat


The source myth is a Babylonian creation myth, the Enuma Elish:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enuma_elish

The Enuma Elish seems very much to have been written in order to legitimize the ascendancy of Marduk, to put him at the head of the already existing pantheon and establish him as not a local upstart, but actually the supreme god.

Worth reading on its own account, but I also have reason to believe it's an area you'd find useful and interesting. ;)