Author Topic: PC124: Squonk And The Horde Of Apprentices  (Read 39810 times)

Gamercow

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Reply #25 on: September 30, 2010, 01:31:37 AM
I have been sending this, and all the Squonk stories to everyone I know with children under 10.  Wonderful writing, and wonderful reading by WilsonFowlie.  While I enjoyed Steve's reading, and his voices for Squonk and the other characters, Anna Eley's voice was extremely grating on me. 

The story itself was more excellent Squonkness, and was full of excellent descriptions, and had about a dozen moments that made me go "BWAH!" in in laughter in my car on the way home.  The one that got me the most was Wendell putting his mouth in his pocket and having a fit.  I could picture it perfectly.  :D

The cow says "Mooooooooo"


Maestro-Orpheus

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Reply #26 on: September 30, 2010, 02:55:19 AM
just listened to "Squonk" and I agree, it wasn't quite the same without the Eleys reading.... but it is great to hear another Squonk story. Hope to hear many more in the future!



stePH

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Reply #27 on: September 30, 2010, 04:48:36 AM
My first Escape Artists story was The 43 Antarean Dynasties.

It was pretty much the first podcast of any kind I listened to, with the possible exception of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. And I now have a backlog of 218 podcasts on my player. Curse my anal need to always start at the beginning...

I think I started with the same story; it was current when I picked up on Escape Pod. And it was also the first podcast for me.

I have a huge backlog of four or five skeptical theme podcasts; I listen to the current ones as the come out while I work through the backlogs at the same time (when I run out of current episodes for the week.)

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Scattercat

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Reply #28 on: September 30, 2010, 05:28:10 AM
I would like to take a moment to thank the author for using the correct "horde" in the title, btw.  That one drives me absolutely bonkers.



magnusnorthlander

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Reply #29 on: September 30, 2010, 10:17:00 AM
This one was a good one to listen to while waiting in the emergency room yesterday light, fluffy and wholesome. I was glad to see the storyline continued from escapepod. as to which was the first episode I cannot remember although there has very rarely been one I disliked keep doing the good work.



Unblinking

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Reply #30 on: September 30, 2010, 01:34:27 PM
I would like to take a moment to thank the author for using the correct "horde" in the title, btw.  That one drives me absolutely bonkers.

Explain?  I didn't realize there was an incorrect horde.  (I'm not being sarcastic, I really don't know what mis-usage you're referring to)



montsamu

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Reply #31 on: September 30, 2010, 01:37:08 PM
Absolutely loved this lovely story, wonderfully read. Now I'm very much looking forward to the EscapePod episodes (70 and 109).

edit: on the "first story" thing, I am pretty sure it was "Carnival Park" by Greg Van Eekhout.



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Reply #32 on: September 30, 2010, 01:40:25 PM
Mostly, I liked the owls.  :)  Was the rolling "r" of Horrrrrrrrrrrrribly written into the manuscript or was that Wilson's embellishment?  (Either way, I liked it).  Almost every one of the owl's descriptions and lines were funny.  My particular favorite was the owl who "specializes in everything".    That's awesome!  It reminds me that at work it seems like a constant battle to get our customers to prioritize their demands, because their tendency is to class EVERYTHING as the highest priority.  I wonder if we could hire that owl?  It seems like someone who specializes in everything would be particularly suiting to working in a system where everything is the highest priority.   :D

Anyway, I still like the first Squonk best because then the concept was novel.  The 2nd one was okay.  I'm very picky about sequels (which is probably why I've never yet written one).  If it doesn't add something significant to the universe, I tend to wish I could've just had a new story in a new world instead.  The 2nd one fell into that category, but the owls totally made it for me on this one.  I understand what Ocicat says about "Wendel went from reluctantly teaching animals wizardry to actually wanting to - the end."  And I don't disagree, but the owls were so funny I didn't really mind.

I really enjoyed Wilson's reading, excellent overall, and I'd love to hear more from him.  But the Mrs. Tweedlechirp voice was physically painful coming out of my earbuds.  I'm not sure I can entirely blame Wilson for that one, because Anna's voicing of Mrs. Tweedlechirp was also physically painful.  I know she's a bird, but when the speaker is planted so close to my eardrum those shrill voices are very unpleasant.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2010, 01:42:29 PM by Unblinking »



Talia

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Reply #33 on: September 30, 2010, 01:53:30 PM
I would like to take a moment to thank the author for using the correct "horde" in the title, btw.  That one drives me absolutely bonkers.

Explain?  I didn't realize there was an incorrect horde.  (I'm not being sarcastic, I really don't know what mis-usage you're referring to)

I would reckon he means hoard vs. horde.



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Reply #34 on: September 30, 2010, 01:55:53 PM
I would like to take a moment to thank the author for using the correct "horde" in the title, btw.  That one drives me absolutely bonkers.

Explain?  I didn't realize there was an incorrect horde.  (I'm not being sarcastic, I really don't know what mis-usage you're referring to)

I would reckon he means hoard vs. horde.

Ah, gotcha.  Thanks!



DKT

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Reply #35 on: September 30, 2010, 03:53:02 PM
Mostly, I liked the owls.  :)  Was the rolling "r" of Horrrrrrrrrrrrribly written into the manuscript or was that Wilson's embellishment?  (Either way, I liked it).  

It was written into the manuscript like that and Wilson just nailed it.

I have to say - it's not as easy to do in audio as you'd imagine, and Wilson makes it sound so easy :)


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Reply #36 on: September 30, 2010, 06:34:42 PM
It was written into the manuscript like that and Wilson just nailed it.

I have to say - it's not as easy to do in audio as you'd imagine, and Wilson makes it sound so easy :)

I know I can't roll r's with anywhere near that degree of melodrama--hilarious!



tabman

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Reply #37 on: September 30, 2010, 10:06:47 PM
Well after so many weeks of listening to all the Podcastle episodes from 1 to 124, I finally feel like I can comment on an episode....

It was great to hear about Squonk again.  The only thing I needed to remember was to stifle my laughter while riding the bus to work as the story unfolded. 

As for my first, I can not tell which on was first but I think the one that hooked me included the quote "Fishy Bitches" PC93 The Mermaid's Tea Party....




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Reply #38 on: September 30, 2010, 10:24:27 PM
Oh, the other point I wanted to make is this: When will we see the collected Squonk in picture-book format for bedtime reading?

Love this idea!

I have not listened to any prior Squonk stories, but found this one light and funny on it's own.



ChristianB

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Reply #39 on: October 01, 2010, 03:49:10 AM
My first Escape Pod story was Craphound dropped into The craphound podcast rss feed. Hooked from then on.

I wanted to hear Anna read it, then with the outro I started wondering whats up with Steve, which lead me to twitter, which made me sad.




washer

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Reply #40 on: October 01, 2010, 01:25:21 PM
Squonk is a little too saccharine for me to love, but more than well-written enough for me to like and appreciate.  I wish I'd run into him earlier, but I got into this podcast game too late.

My first story was Exhalation, by Ted Chiang.



falconesse

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Reply #41 on: October 01, 2010, 02:54:11 PM
This was my first Squonk story.  Now I need to go back and find its predecessors.  I've been reading some pretty heavy stuff for work (good!  but still very heavy), so a lighthearted story was just what I needed.

I loved Wilson's reading.  I listened to this one at the gym, and people on neighboring machines kept glancing over at me every time I giggled.  Well done!

I'm not sure which Escape Artists story was my first.  My husband subscribes to several different podcasts and will play them on long car trips or while he's puttering around the house doing chores, so I know I've been listening to them for a good long while now, but I have no idea when exactly I started tuning in.  I started downloading them for myself when I got my shiny new smartphone, and  "Paper Cuts Scissors" was the first one on there.




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Reply #42 on: October 01, 2010, 03:48:09 PM
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!!!


Melsana

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Reply #43 on: October 01, 2010, 06:02:23 PM
This was a very sweet story.  I like these more innocent fun stories than the darker or more "full of meaning" type stories.

Now I need to go find the other Squonk stories to hear them.



Wilson Fowlie

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Reply #44 on: October 01, 2010, 06:49:10 PM
If anyone's interested in going back to the original two at EP:

I was wondering if it would be worth posting these links on the original story posts both here and at the blog.  Just an idea.

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alllie

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Reply #45 on: October 03, 2010, 01:39:02 PM
I think I liked the earlier Squonk stories better. Also, this time, I had a problem with some of the falsetto voices, they seemed louder than the other voices. Squonk's mother seemed more annoying and less endearing this time.



jrh

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Reply #46 on: October 03, 2010, 04:03:41 PM
Really liked this one.  After so many stories that foistered deep thought, introspection, extreme situations, etc., it was very nice to be able to just kick back, relax, and enjoy!  Please, Sir, may I have another?



Loz

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Reply #47 on: October 03, 2010, 05:08:38 PM
I was initially sad that the Eley's weren't back to read this story but it didn't take long for Wilson to win me over. However, I thought the story was a little weak, whereas the second story was both a progression from the first and added to the universe, this felt like it didn't go anywhere, if there were a fourth story in which Wendel is teaching a class then this story could be glossed over without anyone noticing.

That said, I'm not really the target audience for this am I?



Grayven

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Reply #48 on: October 04, 2010, 12:36:28 AM
This story was fun. It made a long commute with one of my kids into a short commute. I can't think of a higher praise.



Ephemera

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Reply #49 on: October 04, 2010, 01:02:05 AM
I enjoyed the story for (and with) my grandson, and appreciated the reminder of the life lesson reminders about know-it-alls, creativity in difficult situations, and the challenge of seemingly simple tasks.

Thanks for the story.