Author Topic: EP253: Eugene  (Read 38265 times)

wakela

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 779
    • Mr. Wake
Reply #50 on: August 24, 2010, 12:34:04 AM
I was curious about the many of what I consider "dog traits" that were missing. No Chewing? No scratching? No tongue cleaning? No humping? Speaking of which, no discussion of whether Eugene was male or female, fixed or sterile? I wonder if Eugene was actually a canine hybrid or something else entirely.

Interesting point, but I think it makes sense for a police dog to not have those traits.  I doubt that a K9 unit that went around humping criminals' legs and peeing on their doorframes as they walk into the house would have much future as a cop.  Even a regular working dog has those behaviors trained out of him, and Eugene's more capable of understanding human social norms as evidenced by his restraint from licking people's faces.

I figured that any undesirable traits had been engineered or trained out of him.  But I think that makes the story too easy, the character is too perfect.  I would have enjoyed some dog-based character flaws.  Maybe he tears the throat of of the child molester, or said child molester is able to use his protective instinct towards the child against him ("who will die?  The girl or your partner?"), or humans could take advantage of his tendency to think hierarchically and have him to unpleasant or dangerous work. 



wakela

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 779
    • Mr. Wake
Reply #51 on: August 24, 2010, 12:42:51 AM
Off topic, but this story reminded me of a little experiment performed a few years ago by a wacky Japanese TV show.  They got a bear suit.  They even left it in the bear cage at the zoo so it would smell like a bear.  They arranged with dog owners to have the guy in the bear suit attack them while they walked their dogs in the park to see what their dogs would do.  A few of the dogs attacked the bear (the suit was padded), but almost all of the dogs ran away.  Nearly every owner said their dog would protect them, and most of them took off.  Wish I had video for you guys.

And yes, by Western standards this is a cruel trick to play on a dog.  Owning dogs in Japan has only gotten popular in the last decade or so, so in general there isn't the same level of empathy. 



Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #52 on: August 24, 2010, 02:36:09 PM
I figured that any undesirable traits had been engineered or trained out of him.  But I think that makes the story too easy, the character is too perfect.  I would have enjoyed some dog-based character flaws.  Maybe he tears the throat of of the child molester, or said child molester is able to use his protective instinct towards the child against him ("who will die?  The girl or your partner?"), or humans could take advantage of his tendency to think hierarchically and have him to unpleasant or dangerous work. 

I agree with that.  It would've added conflict if Eugene's first reaction to everything wasn't also clearly the best one.  That contributes to the comments that this is more slice-of-life than plot arc.



Talia

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 2682
  • Muahahahaha
Reply #53 on: August 24, 2010, 02:43:53 PM
Well, for me, I feel that adding such things would give the tone a darker piece, which for me would not have been as enjoyable for me. I liked the fact that this was somewhat fluffy.



eytanz

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 6109
Reply #54 on: August 25, 2010, 06:59:55 PM
Well, for me, I feel that adding such things would give the tone a darker piece, which for me would not have been as enjoyable for me. I liked the fact that this was somewhat fluffy.

Oh, I think the story could have retained its lightness while making Eugene a bit less perfect. It doesn't need angst - it just needed to add a bit of sense that he needs to work a bit towards finding the answers to everything. I mean, the story did actually have that, but only with regards to his partner's wife/girlfriend's pregnancy, which (as I said above) was where it made the least sense. Why introduce some conflict in a B-plot when all the A-plots get resolved more or less by Eugene stepping on the scene?



Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #55 on: August 26, 2010, 05:50:59 PM
What eytanz said.  Adding some kind of fault to Eugene doesn't mean it would have to be darker.  Let's say that when he finds the criminal who's been abusing the girl, he has an urge to kill.  He resists with great effort and thus maintains his status as Good Partner.  But the "great effort" means that his first reaction is not always the best reaction, so he has to work a little harder to get his goals.

Keep in mind, I do like it the way it is, but I think some tension could make it even better.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2010, 05:53:46 PM by Unblinking »



Max e^{i pi}

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1038
  • Have towel, will travel.
Reply #56 on: September 16, 2010, 09:10:36 PM
I signed up just to say how much I love this story.
It's excellent.
I've been listening to Escapepod and Podcastle for some time now, but I have never enjoyed a story so much as this.
The story content is new and unique. A standard cop tale, told from the point of view of the K9 operative.
Awesome.
The writing was also very good. Jacob really knows how to get inside a dog's brain. I have owned a few dogs (and still own a ridiculously behaved schnauzer) and you really can tell how a dog thinks. I especially like how we are never told that the author is an anthropomorphized dog, we just sort of know he is.
The reading was also very well done. The proper nuances of dog-thought and dog-emotion were carried across.
In fact, I liked this story so much I recommended it to someone (who like me) likes dogs but (not like me) doesn't like listening to audio stories/books.
He loved it.
And that made me like it even more. Sharing really does cost nothing, and only adds value to what you shared.

Now give me the bone... gimme.... GOOD DOG!

Cogito ergo surf - I think therefore I network

Registered Linux user #481826 Get Counted!



Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #57 on: September 17, 2010, 02:40:20 PM
Welcome, Max!

By the way, there's a special forum promotion going on to get free exclusive stories:
1.  Register for the forums (liked you've already done)
2.  Comment on a story thread (like you've already done)
3.  Comment on the "I <3 Escape Artists Thread".  Say anything you like, and then you'll officially be on the list for some free exclusive stories by some great authors. 

:) 



Max e^{i pi}

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1038
  • Have towel, will travel.
Reply #58 on: September 18, 2010, 07:42:52 PM
Welcome, Max!

By the way, there's a special forum promotion going on to get free exclusive stories:
1.  Register for the forums (liked you've already done)
2.  Comment on a story thread (like you've already done)
3.  Comment on the "I <3 Escape Artists Thread".  Say anything you like, and then you'll officially be on the list for some free exclusive stories by some great authors. 

:) 

Actually, I PM'd DKT.
I heard him on Podcastle say that if you sign up, and post on a thread and send him a PM you'd get the special story.
And like I told him, I've always been meaning to sign up to the forum "some day" and after I heard Eugene and thoroughly enjoyed I knew I should "probably join the forum and say something about it" but I'm lazy.
So, thanks Dave for that final small push I needed.  ;D

Cogito ergo surf - I think therefore I network

Registered Linux user #481826 Get Counted!



Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #59 on: September 20, 2010, 06:48:40 PM
Actually, I PM'd DKT.
I heard him on Podcastle say that if you sign up, and post on a thread and send him a PM you'd get the special story.
And like I told him, I've always been meaning to sign up to the forum "some day" and after I heard Eugene and thoroughly enjoyed I knew I should "probably join the forum and say something about it" but I'm lazy.
So, thanks Dave for that final small push I needed.  ;D

Oh yeah, i forgot he had the PM instructions on the episode.  Good deal.  :D



stgurgel

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Reply #60 on: September 22, 2010, 07:29:26 AM
Eugene is a GOOD COP, yes he is!
Really enjoyed the excelent reading on this one by Tim ShoEboX, although I think that much of it was also due to the author as well, doing an excelent job of catching the voice of Eugene.

Great stuff!
/Gurgel



fear_no_more

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Reply #61 on: September 22, 2010, 10:59:03 PM
I loved this story, I've listened to it about three times now and my love for it just grows.  I made a copy and gave it to my sister as well, a first for me.



El Barto

  • Peltast
  • ***
  • Posts: 132
Reply #62 on: September 26, 2010, 11:56:04 PM
Writing a story about a dog is hard enough.   Writing it about a dog who is sentient and can communicate and is a cop takes real skill.   Well done all around.



LaShawn

  • Lochage
  • *****
  • Posts: 550
  • Writer Mommies Rule!
    • The Cafe in the Woods
Reply #63 on: September 28, 2010, 02:50:00 PM
Great story. Truly enjoyed it.

It did make me wonder, though--are there any good cat-POV stories? I know there is a lot in the fantasy realm (Tad Williams book comes to mind, though the title escapes me). But what about in science fiction?

I know there was a story on EscapePod earlier that did have an enhanced cat, but the story was still told from the dog's POV.

EDIT Of course, as soon as I posted this, I suddenly remembered a story "Cats in Victory" which just came out in Lightspeed.
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/cats-in-victory/
« Last Edit: September 28, 2010, 02:56:36 PM by LaShawn »

--
Visit LaShawn at The Cafe in the Woods:
http://tbonecafe.wordpress.com
Another writer's antiblog: In Touch With Yours Truly


TomG

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Reply #64 on: October 09, 2010, 12:05:51 AM
I like to tell myself that I enjoy science fiction stories for the thought provoking big ideas.  Then escape pod runs a story like Eugene.  Not really a big ideas story - just a whole lot of fun.  I enjoyed this one more than any story in quite a while.  Thanks!

Tom



Wildfire

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Reply #65 on: December 24, 2010, 11:22:02 PM
Just wanted to come and say how much I loved this story!

It was really good to hear a more light-hearted, amusing, story with a lovable main character. Definitely my favourite Escape pod so far! Didnt bother me not having a physical description as thinking about him having a dog's head or fangs or something would have rather spoilt it for me.

Hope there are more from this author in the future.

xx



Wildfire

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Reply #66 on: December 24, 2010, 11:22:38 PM
Just wanted to come and say how much I loved this story!

It was really good to hear a more light-hearted, amusing, story with a lovable main character. Definitely my favourite Escape pod so far! Didnt bother me not having a physical description as thinking about him having a dog's head or fangs or something would have rather spoilt it for me.

Hope there are more from this author in the future.

xx



luka datas

  • Guest
Reply #67 on: December 16, 2012, 12:30:11 PM
i liked it a lot



SonofSpermcube

  • Guest
Reply #68 on: March 29, 2013, 07:38:50 AM
A dog totally can sit on your shoulder.