Author Topic: PC124: Squonk And The Horde Of Apprentices  (Read 39685 times)

Unblinking

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Reply #75 on: October 11, 2010, 05:03:56 PM
I liked the story well enough, but I have to admit I didn't really like the voice the mother bird was portrayed with, if only because it was pretty annoying.  Maybe that was the point though =).

I agree with you completely. And if that was the point, maybe a different point should have been made instead. That voice was almost too much to continue listening to the story at times.

To be fair, it matched Anna Eley's bird voice from previous versions quite well.



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Reply #76 on: October 12, 2010, 03:11:19 PM
I liked the story well enough, but I have to admit I didn't really like the voice the mother bird was portrayed with, if only because it was pretty annoying.  Maybe that was the point though =).

I agree with you completely. And if that was the point, maybe a different point should have been made instead. That voice was almost too much to continue listening to the story at times.

To be fair, it matched Anna Eley's bird voice from previous versions quite well.

That's fine, and to be equally fair, I would have said the same thing at the time of those stories had I been listening to the podcast when they had come out.



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Reply #77 on: October 13, 2010, 01:30:10 PM
I liked the story well enough, but I have to admit I didn't really like the voice the mother bird was portrayed with, if only because it was pretty annoying.  Maybe that was the point though =).

I agree with you completely. And if that was the point, maybe a different point should have been made instead. That voice was almost too much to continue listening to the story at times.

To be fair, it matched Anna Eley's bird voice from previous versions quite well.

That's fine, and to be equally fair, I would have said the same thing at the time of those stories had I been listening to the podcast when they had come out.

Yup, and I said it in that comment thread myself.  :P  I don't disagree, really.



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Reply #78 on: October 14, 2010, 10:30:58 AM
Much like Artemis, I was almost bored by this one until about the halfway point, until the story finally started to involve me.  That may have been excessive tiredness on my part (it was the end of a looooong day), or a lack of familiarity with the previous adventures of Squonk, but I'm not desperate to seek out the earlier stories.

Clearly it's the minority opinion, but I don't think this one was for me.



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Reply #79 on: October 16, 2010, 10:13:39 AM
I liked the story well enough, but I have to admit I didn't really like the voice the mother bird was portrayed with, if only because it was pretty annoying.  Maybe that was the point though =).

I agree with you completely. And if that was the point, maybe a different point should have been made instead. That voice was almost too much to continue listening to the story at times.

To be fair, it matched Anna Eley's bird voice from previous versions quite well.


I had the same reaction as kristofor.wilson. and motoyugota.
 
The voice of the mother bird in this version really grated on me.  This is not a negative comment on the narrator (he did a much better job than I would have!).  It’s just that he has a broad, sonorous, deep, and resonant masculine voice—like that of an announcer.   And it just didn't lend itself well to the high-pitched feminine and yet assertive voice required of the bluebird Mrs. Tweedlechirp.  It was straining against the comfortable boundaries of his natural register.  (Hope I’ve put that correctly).  She ended up sounding quite a bit more nagging than assertive  (or, perhaps, like a man portraying a nagging woman).

(Haha.  It’s funny to analyze the story so much.  But that character of Mrs. Tweedlechirp is kind of cool because she’s this very strong maternal character.  She has the heart of a dragon but squeezed into the tiny body of a bluebird.  You can imagine her squaring off against a lion –or a powerful wizard—to protect her son.  Somehow I think that Anna was able to capture that.)

 After I read Unblinking's comment that this one matched Anna Eley’s voice from the previous versions, I went back and listened again.  And I thought, ‘Nah. Not really.’  To my ears, the two portrayals sounded extremely different.

As for the story itself, again I agree with another poster’s comment:
I was almost bored by this one until about the halfway point, until the story finally started to involve me.  That may have been excessive tiredness on my part (it was the end of a looooong day), or a lack of familiarity with the previous adventures of Squonk, but I'm not desperate to seek out the earlier stories.
Clearly it's the minority opinion, but I don't think this one was for me.

For some reason, the story really started to grab me after the wizard returned to the clearing with renewed purpose--sometime like around 32 minutes or something.  For some reason, after that it really drew me in and started ‘to work’.  I ended up really liking and it wanting very much to hear what would come next for this unique band of apprentices and wizard. 

These three stories are really laying the groundwork for an entire world.  I can see this very easily as a comic book or cartoon or eventually a novel-length book or series of novels.  But I think the nature of the stories lends itself well to serialization.  It’s fun to let each episode digest a bit before the next one comes to move the action further along.  (Maybe because each episode ends with a kind of definite resolution of a problem (as well as the promise of another problem tentatively peeking out in the distance). 

Well, at any rate, thanks for yet another wonderful story and telling!  Really appreciate this.
Nigel



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Reply #80 on: October 23, 2010, 05:47:22 PM
This was my first Squonk encounter, and I just wanted to pop in and say that I enjoyed it very much.  I usually skip the more "light-hearted" stories, but was glad I didn't this time.   Bravo!



gateaux

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Reply #81 on: October 24, 2010, 10:05:09 PM
I so loved this story. It was adorable and endearing. I want to do an illustration based on this so bad...



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Reply #82 on: October 25, 2010, 07:50:22 AM
I think my first EA podcast was "Niels Bohr and the Sleeping Dane," ep. 123 on Escape Pod.  It's the oldest one I've got on my computer, anyway -- I only save the files for the ones I really enjoy -- and looking at the list on Wikipedia, I don't recognize the titles that precede it.  What a good place to start: that ep just blew me away.

Anyway, it means I'm not familiar with the previous Squonk stories, and I did feel like I was missing something as a result, particularly where Mrs. Tweedlechirp was concerned.  Still, I enjoyed this a lot, and outright snorfled while listening to it on the plane (much to the confusion of the man sitting next to me), so clearly it was still doing something right.



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Reply #83 on: October 25, 2010, 02:46:45 PM
I so loved this story. It was adorable and endearing. I want to do an illustration based on this so bad...

So contact the author and and ask permission!

I've worked with an artist before who illustrated one of my stories with my permission.  It turned out great, and we have an agreement that she's totally free to sell the art or do whatever with it at no obligation to me.  I thought it was great to get to see my story illustrated, and hopefully she'll be able to sell the art somewhere and then everyone's happy!

In any case, it cannot hurt to ask.  If I were the author, and you'd sent that exact post to me, I would definitely say yes.



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Reply #84 on: October 25, 2010, 04:22:31 PM
I so loved this story. It was adorable and endearing. I want to do an illustration based on this so bad...

So contact the author and and ask permission!

I've worked with an artist before who illustrated one of my stories with my permission.  It turned out great, and we have an agreement that she's totally free to sell the art or do whatever with it at no obligation to me.  I thought it was great to get to see my story illustrated, and hopefully she'll be able to sell the art somewhere and then everyone's happy!

In any case, it cannot hurt to ask.  If I were the author, and you'd sent that exact post to me, I would definitely say yes.

We've had fan art posted on the forum before (Attar for Roses). FWIW, I imagine Mr. Butler would be pleased to see it :)


gateaux

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Reply #85 on: October 25, 2010, 05:23:10 PM
I so loved this story. It was adorable and endearing. I want to do an illustration based on this so bad...

So contact the author and and ask permission!

I've worked with an artist before who illustrated one of my stories with my permission.  It turned out great, and we have an agreement that she's totally free to sell the art or do whatever with it at no obligation to me.  I thought it was great to get to see my story illustrated, and hopefully she'll be able to sell the art somewhere and then everyone's happy!

In any case, it cannot hurt to ask.  If I were the author, and you'd sent that exact post to me, I would definitely say yes.

We've had fan art posted on the forum before (Attar for Roses). FWIW, I imagine Mr. Butler would be pleased to see it :)

Cool, thanks! If I get the time to do sometime for myself, I will sit down to do it!



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Reply #86 on: October 26, 2010, 09:00:37 PM
Great story.  Pulling off cute talking animals is a totally underrated skill, both for the author and the narrator.  Congrats to both.

I love the variety of stories that you folks put up over the three escape artist casts.  Sweet stories like this are wonderful for making the bitter, harrowing, despairing stories even more bitter, harrowing and despairing!  Sweet!

My entry into the escape artist realm was probably Kij Johnson's 'The Evolution Of Trickster Stories Among The Dogs Of North Park After The Change'.  Awwww, another animal story.  And according my theory they go perfectly together.



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Reply #87 on: November 01, 2010, 09:54:31 PM
Thank you all very much for the kind words.  It means a lot to me, and is good inspiration to have the next Squonk story finished that much sooner.

And for those who didn't care for it, I sincerely thank you for chiming in anyway.  Apathy is far more dispiriting than dislike; here's hoping the next story will be more to your taste.

Gateaux, if you can find the time to do fan art of the characters, I would be honored.  It would be the first time I know of anybody has tried to represent the big fella and his friends visually, and I would love to see it.

-- Pete Butler



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Reply #88 on: November 01, 2010, 10:43:21 PM
I don't think I chimed in for this one yet. I loved it; it had all the squonk charm I remembered. It was a bit more of a Wendel story than a Squonk story, but a good ensamble piece lets everyone get a moment in the spotlight.

And owls really made me laugh.... horribly!



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Reply #89 on: November 06, 2010, 03:58:29 PM
This is what happens when a new narrator takes hold of a story. All due respect to the narrator of "Squonk the Apprentice", who I have met in person and who was very nice, but Wilson is a MUCH better choice for a kids' story, what with his impressive range of characters -- and how he somehow managed to keep them straight in his head (I have trouble holding more than three-four voices in my mental RAM at a time).

I liked the language and comparisons used in the story (especially Squonk's appreciation for fire), and... Slowfingers? Is that his raccoon friend? Yeah, he's the Neville Longbottom to Squonk's Harry Potter. All in favor of a Slowfingers spinoff...?

AYE.

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Reply #90 on: November 08, 2010, 03:29:30 PM
I loved this one HORRRIIIIIIBBBBBBLLLLLLYYYYYY!!   ;D

While I'll always enjoy Steve and Anna's earlier readings, Wilson Fowlie blow them out of the water.  The various voices had me giggling maniacally during my morning commute.

I especially like the moral of the story: e.g. some things take lots and lots of hard work, but are very much worth it.  It seems like a lot of media directed at children/young-adults gloss or skip over the part that includes hard work and goes straight to the fun rewardy part.  Heroes these days are either just born with "special powers" (e.g. Harry Potter) or they just go through a training montage a la Karate Kid and gain Awesome Kung Fu Powers in the span of 30 seconds.  It's refreshing to see a sane message in the mix that says "hey kids, what you're trying to do will probably be a whole lot of work, that will take lots of time, and you might fail at it once or twice, but you keep going you just might get there."



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Reply #91 on: November 08, 2010, 06:38:40 PM
or they just go through a training montage a la Karate Kid and gain Awesome Kung Fu Powers in the span of 30 seconds. 

I would pay good money to get one of those training montages for myself.



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Reply #92 on: November 09, 2010, 04:03:15 PM
or they just go through a training montage a la Karate Kid and gain Awesome Kung Fu Powers in the span of 30 seconds. 

I would pay good money to get one of those training montages for myself.

Wouldn't we all?  But that's the whole point, isn't it?  Some things (hard work) money really can't buy.  *Queue the Rocky Theme*



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Reply #93 on: November 10, 2010, 08:57:40 PM
I don't remember my first EA story, but i know it was Escape Pod and it was probably some time in 2006. The earliest i have on this computer is Ep. 90, but i'm certain i started before Jan. of '07. I do remember enjoying whatever the story was and going back to iTunes to download whatever was on the backlog there. I didn't get the ones that were archived on the site.

I wished i could remember how i stumbled onto EscapePod to begin with. It was one of the first podcasts i started listening to. I think the official Lost podcast is what got me addicted to podcasts. I hardly ever use the iPod for music now. And as for my commute to work, it's almost always podcasts. I didn't start listening to Psuedopod until much later, because i didn't figure i would enjoy it. As it turns out, i enjoy it better than Escape Pod. Podcastle is probably my favorite of the three, though (probably because it's just my genre of choice).

I think i missed the first Squonk story and went back and listened to it after Squonk the Apprentice aired. I liked this one, but i wasn't real crazy about the way it was read (so sorry, Wilson!!  :'( ). But, as i recall, they were all read with that same patronizing, 'read-as-if-to-preschoolers' voice. I've never been a fan of that voice, even when i was a preschooler. So, i really don't blame the reader as much as, IIRC, that's how it was done in the past. I understand WHY it was read that way, though, and it didn't keep me from listening to it and enjoying it.



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Reply #94 on: December 15, 2010, 07:31:48 PM
I don't know if I've heard the Squonk stories, which makes sense because the first EA story I heard was a Podcastle story (I want to say it was a Peter Beagle story, but I can't remember which). But I absolutely loved it. Wilson's reading was hilarious and had me grinning all throughout the day. Definitely a story to have my son listen to.

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Reply #95 on: November 19, 2011, 05:28:04 PM
This was my first exposure to Squonk. I have dutifully downloaded the first two and have added them to the queue.

My first story was "Waiting Up for Father" the first PseudoPod flash piece. I consider everyone that worked on that one a close friend, and I wanted to see what they had made. That was the first push of the stone off the crest of the hill. It rolled slowly, but now that it's gotten momentum, it's not stopping until I hit the bottom of the archives.

Thank you all very much for the kind words.  It means a lot to me, and is good inspiration to have the next Squonk story finished that much sooner.

And for those who didn't care for it, I sincerely thank you for chiming in anyway.  Apathy is far more dispiriting than dislike; here's hoping the next story will be more to your taste.

Gateaux, if you can find the time to do fan art of the characters, I would be honored.  It would be the first time I know of anybody has tried to represent the big fella and his friends visually, and I would love to see it.

-- Pete Butler

Here's a nudge and a reminder that it's been a year since you said this. Time for another Squonk story. And the following bears repeating.

It's especially awesome to hear from all the people who hadn't listened to the other Squonk stories and still really enjoyed this one!

If anyone's interested in going back to the original two at EP:

EP 70: Squonk the Dragon

EP109: Squonk the Apprentice

Enjoy!!!

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


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Reply #96 on: January 16, 2012, 09:20:36 PM
I've yet to hear the former Spuonk Stories, but this one was lighthearted enough to make me clamer for more. It is definitly a good classic bed time story, complete with moral and happy ending. Being a teacher I thank my lucky stars to have never had a class such as this one. but I have had my share of good intensioned but annoyingly right students, that are just as loveable as this big dragon. The narraration was perfect.