slaughterhouse 10

[deflective]

polls are polite, surveys are impersonal.  pseudopod deserves a slaughterhouse.*

kill off the stories that don't deserve to live so you can feed them to your favourites.  or maybe you just want to destroy something beautiful.

once a day, remove a point from one 2010 story and give it to another.  if a story drops to zero it is dead,** crushed prose paves the path for the ultimate champion.

trash talk is encouraged and hopefully the moderators will give us a little leeway if people want to enthusiastically support their opinions.

*  this is not official in any way.  it's just a way to talk about pseudopod while we wait for that which can eternal lie.
**no afterlife, resurrection (by any means), or undead will be tolerated.


[ 7] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
[ 5] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
[ 3] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
[ 3] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] Gretel by Camille Alexa (189)
[ 2] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
[ 1] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 1] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 1] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
[ 1] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
[ 1] Bed of Scorpions by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (193)
[ 1] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
[ 1] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
[ 1] Eye Spy by K. A. Dean (202)
[ 1] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 1] Gulls by Tim Pratt (205)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
[ 1] About 77 Degrees, West of Nassau by Don Norum (211)
[ 1] Wendigo by Micaela Morrissette (214)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)
[ 1] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)


edit, our final top ten:

 1) Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
 2) The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
 3) Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
 4) Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
 5) The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
 6) Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
 7) Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
 8) Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
 8) The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
10) Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)

[deflective]

i'm taking this chance to lovingly kill off Gretel before someone else makes it suffer.  it's out of its depth, i just mentioned it during the nomination process because of a couple deft analogies.  i do like me some metaphor.

[ 7] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
[ 5] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
+1[ 4] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
[ 3] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
-1[ 1] Gretel by Camille Alexa (189)
[ 1] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 1] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 1] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
[ 1] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
[ 1] Bed of Scorpions by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (193)
[ 1] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
[ 1] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
[ 1] Eye Spy by K. A. Dean (202)
[ 1] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 1] Gulls by Tim Pratt (205)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
[ 1] About 77 Degrees, West of Nassau by Don Norum (211)
[ 1] Wendigo by Micaela Morrissette (214)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)
[ 1] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)

[deflective]

good night Gretel (it's after midnight, so this is my vote for monday)

[ 7] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
[ 5] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
[ 4] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
+1[ 4] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
[ 1] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 1] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 1] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
[ 1] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
[ 1] Bed of Scorpions by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (193)
[ 1] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
[ 1] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
[ 1] Eye Spy by K. A. Dean (202)
[ 1] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 1] Gulls by Tim Pratt (205)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
[ 1] About 77 Degrees, West of Nassau by Don Norum (211)
[ 1] Wendigo by Micaela Morrissette (214)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)
[ 1] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)

-1[ 0] Gretel by Camille Alexa (189)

[Umbrageofsnow]

Well I don't know where your starting numbers came from, but okay, I'll play.

I'd like to drown About 77 Degrees, West of Nassau and feed it's dead body to the Aztec God in The Blessed Days.

I mourn the early loss of Gretel just a bit, although she wasn't the love of my life or anything.

[Scattercat]

[-1] to "Eye Spy"

[+1] to "Fading Light"

Might as well kill off the weak while we can.

[deflective]

the starting numbers come from the 2010 nominations.  every time a story came up (whether an official nomination or honorable mention) it earned a point.

the current standings:

[ 7] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
[ 5] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
[ 4] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
[ 4] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
+1[ 2] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
+1[ 2] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
[ 1] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
[ 1] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
[ 1] Bed of Scorpions by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (193)
[ 1] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
[ 1] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
[ 1] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 1] Gulls by Tim Pratt (205)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
[ 1] Wendigo by Micaela Morrissette (214)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)
[ 1] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)

-1[ 1] Eye Spy by K. A. Dean (202)
-1[ 1] About 77 Degrees, West of Nassau by Don Norum (211)

[stePH]

[ 7] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
[ 5] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
[ 4] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
[ 4] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
[ 2] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
[ 2] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
[ 1] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
[ 1] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
[ 1] Bed of Scorpions by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (193)
+1 [ 2] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
[ 1] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
[ 1] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 1] Gulls by Tim Pratt (205)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
-1 [ 0] Wendigo by Micaela Morrissette (214)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)
[ 1] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)

Goodbye, "Wendigo"; I recall being quite unimpressed with you. And I loved "The Hand You're Dealt". The rest, I don't really remember enough to judge.

[deflective]

i think wendigo actually wanted to be fed to another story, the hand you're dealt would have assimilated it nicely

[stePH]

i think wendigo actually wanted to be fed to another story, the hand you're dealt would have assimilated it nicely

Yeah, we can graft "Wendigo" onto "Hand"'s nutsac or something 

[Fenrix]

I feel that we should take Trixie from Wearing the Dead and drop her in a vat and render her into Oil of Dog.

[kibitzer]

"Acceptable Losses" squandered the chance to explore true, personal horror by introducing a ridiculous amorphous blob to hammer us with a moral conundrum none of us will ever face.

[-1]

"The Tamga" deserves more credit. A classic tale of what happens in the corners of the world in communities small and far away, where magic and gods and demons still exist. Plus -- Cheyenne Wright!!

[+1]

[Umbrageofsnow]

As it is now past midnight, which seemed to be the turnover point before, I'm going to cast my second vote.

I believe that Tim Pratt's Gulls are prone to flying too high [-1] and shall be consumed by The Horror of the Heights [+1].

[deflective]

bed of scorpions was one of the few pseudopod stories i actively disliked last year, there's some satisfaction in killing it off.  set down this gets the point, it's performing much better than i expected it to.

the list after the last changes:

-1[ 6] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
+1[ 6] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
+1[ 5] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
[ 4] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
[ 2] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
+1[ 2] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 2] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
+1[ 2] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
-1[ 1] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 1] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
[ 1] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)
[ 1] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)


-1[ 0] Bed of Scorpions by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (193)
-1[ 0] Gulls by Tim Pratt (205)

[Fenrix]

I'm going to take one from The Mother and the Worm [-1] and give it to The Dreaming Way [+1]. I find Jim Biyeh's connected stories more compelling than Tim Burke's.

[eytanz]

I'll take one away from Hoofprints in the snow, a story I have no memory of whatsoever, and give it to Her Collection of Intimacy, just because I don't want that one to go just yet.

[deflective]

a point is taken away from the radejastians (interesting premise but ultimately forgetable execution) and given to the nimble men (wasn't sure where to put the point but the simple, character driven ghost story appeals to me).

after the last day:

[ 6] Acceptable Losses by Simon Wood (191)
[ 6] Set Down This by Lavie Tidhar (197)
[ 5] Spirit of Nationalism by Richard Marsden (181)
[ 5] Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce (200)
[ 5] Is This a Horror Story? by Scott Edelman (206)
+1[ 5] The Nimble Men by Glen Hirshberg (210)
+1[ 4] The Dreaming Way by Jim Bihyeh (182)
[ 3] Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage by John Alfred Taylor (175)
[ 3] The Dark Level by John F.D. Taff (188)
[ 3] The Engine of Desire by Livia Llewellyn (195)
[ 2] The Blessed Days by Mike Allen (176)
[ 2] Turning the Apples by Tina Connolly (177)
[ 2] The Tamga by Maura McHugh (178)
[ 2] Fading Light by Simon Strantzas (179)
[ 2] The Getalong Gang by Barrie Darke (180)
[ 2] Charlie Harmer Looks Back by Brendan Detzner (185)
[ 2] The Hand You're Dealt by Frank Oreto (196)
[ 2] The Horror of the Heights by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (200)
+1[ 2] Her Collection of Intimacy by Paul Haines (204)
[ 2] The Evil-Eater by Peadar Ó Guilín (208)
[ 2] Papa Was a Gypsy by Shannon Celebi (207)
[ 2] Man, You Gotta See This! by Tony Richards (215)
[ 2] The Moon and the Mesa by Daniel Braum (219)
[ 1] Learning to Fly by Garth Upshaw (183)
[ 1] Ankor Sabat by C. Deskin Rink (186)
[ 1] Wearing the Dead by Alan Smale (190)
[ 1] Broken Bough by Daniel I. Russell (199)
[ 1] Corvus Curse by Barry J. Northern (209)
[ 1] The Snow-White Heart by Marie Brennan (218)


-1[ 0] The Radejastians by David Nickle (192)
-1[ 0] The Mother and the Worm by Tim W. Burke (198)
-1[ 0] Hoofprints in the Snow by Nathaniel Tapley (218)

[Umbrageofsnow]

Well if things keep going this way, I think we can finish off killing or promoting all the 1's today and get into the real point of this game.

I'll break up the Broken Bough [-1] and put it into building Ankor Sabat[+1].  I don't love Ankor Sabat, but I like it enough I don't want to see it die in the first round.  Although I'll probably be the one to kill it off later.

[Fenrix]

I would like to remove people oozing blood because of trans-dream-cycle-dimensional parasites in Blessed Days [-1] and add it to being rendered down completely into ooze by trans-dimensional predators in Fading Light [+1].

[stePH]

In the same spirit, I would take those damn useless blackbirds from "Corvus Curse" [-1] and graft them to the taint of "The Hand You're Dealt" [+1]

[Umbrageofsnow]

As you've moved to the taint from the nutsack, may I extrapolate that the story you feed to Hand tomorrow shall be grafted onto its asshole?

I like the pattern.

[kibitzer]

OK. Not sure I'm allowed to do this, but I'd like to save Corvus Curse from an early demise by giving it +1, to the detriment of Wearing The Dead.

[deflective]

sorry, dead's dead.
there ain't no coming back.

[Umbrageofsnow]

Yeah, what is this, horror or something?

[Umbrageofsnow]

Okay, new day.  I'd like to take one from The Moon and the Mesa [-1]
and add one to The Blessed Days [+1].

I can't let one of the few stories that actually had me creeped out die so easily.

[Fenrix]

We're going to take from a rat in Learning to Fly and give to a Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage. Kids do love their pets.