Author Topic: PC152: The Hortlak (Read 33072 times)

Talia · **on:** April 12, 2011, 10:34:39 AM

PodCastle 152: The Hortlak

by Kelly Link.

Read by Eric Luke (of the Extruding America podcast).

Originally appeared in Ellen Datlow’s ghost story anthology The Dark.

Read the text here, or hear Kelly herself read this story.

Recently Batu had evolved past the need for more than two or three hours’ sleep, which was good in some ways and bad in others. Eric had a suspicion he might figure out how to talk to Charley if Batu were tucked away, back in the storage closet, dreaming his own sweet dreams, and not scheming schemes, doing all the flirting on Eric’s behalf, so that Eric never had to say a thing.

Eric had even rehearsed the start of a conversation. Charley would say, “Where’s Batu?” and Eric would say, “Asleep.” Or even, “Sleeping in the closet.”

Charley’s story: she worked night shifts at the animal shelter. Every night, when Charley got to work, she checked the list to see which dogs were on the schedule. She took the dogs—any that weren’t too ill, or too mean—out for one last drive around town. Then she drove them back and she put them to sleep. She did this with an injection. She sat on the floor and petted them until they weren’t breathing anymore.

When she was telling Batu this, Batu sitting far too close to her, Eric not close enough, Eric had this thought, which was what it would be like to lie down and put his head on Charley’s leg. But the longest conversation that he’d ever managed with Charley was with Charley on one side of the counter, him on the other, when he’d explained that they weren’t taking money anymore, at least not unless people wanted to give them money.

Rated R.

Editors’ Note: When this story was originally posted, somehow iTunes (and possibly other podcatchers) grabbed the wrong audio file. If the file you have is under 60 minutes, try re-downloading it. The correct file should be 70 minutes.

Void Munashii · **Reply #1 on:** April 12, 2011, 03:01:15 PM

Still listening, but there have been two lines I've really liked so far. One is:

"The customers is not always right, sometimes the customer is an asshole"

And the other inspired me to whip this up:

DKT · **Reply #2 on:** April 12, 2011, 03:54:03 PM

So, apparently whenever iTunes gets around a Kelly Link story at a PodCastle party, iTunes starts acting like a shy but sweet-spirited editor, tripping all over itself in excitement and awe. It can't even get the right words out of its mouth because: ZOMG KELLY LINK. And who wouldn't bumble about at that point, right?

So, when this episode was first posted, there was a link to Kelly Link reading this story (as Talia posted above). For some odd reason, iTunes grabbed that reading instead of the reading we posted. So if you downloaded a file that's under an hour long? Redownload this episode. It should be 70 minutes-ish in length.

Enjoy!

Wilson Fowlie · **Reply #3 on:** April 12, 2011, 04:00:57 PM

Quote from: DKT on April 12, 2011, 03:54:03 PM

So, when this episode was first posted, there was a link to Kelly Link reading this story (as Talia posted above). For some odd reason, iTunes grabbed that reading instead of the reading we posted. So if you downloaded a file that's under an hour long? Redownload this episode. It should be 70 minutes-ish in length.

Enjoy!

It wasn't just iTunes, actually. I use Juice, which doesn't use iTunes at all, and it picked up the extra file, too. Something about the way it was linked from the blog post must have made it look like an attachment to podcatchers.

Thanks for clearing that up - I was a little

about the extra file.

DKT · **Reply #4 on:** April 12, 2011, 04:10:23 PM

I wondered if it might be other podcatchers too. Thanks for the confirmation. I just updated the blog post (and the OP in this thread) with a note.

danooli · **Reply #5 on:** April 12, 2011, 05:29:09 PM

whew! i was all confused this morning when i started listening. i really missed Dave's intro! and the reading was...uninspired.

that plus the ad that ran...

ok, a re-download is called for.

Wilson Fowlie · **Reply #6 on:** April 12, 2011, 05:50:57 PM

I should clarify: Juice picked up both files.

kibitzer · **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2011, 08:26:15 AM

I'm halfway through the Kelly Link reading. I was very confused when there was no Dave or theme but at least I understand that.

The story itself: I have no idea what it's about or where it's going.

Rain · **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2011, 12:35:59 PM

It's been a while since we have had a really weird story on Podcastle. It was really strange, very odd and the ending made no sense. So basicly i loved it, it reminded me of The Ant King which is another of my favorite Podcastle stories.

Unblinking · **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2011, 03:13:15 PM

I listened about halfway through, and I didn't really get it. I liked the macabre novelty pajamas with guillotines and bear-sized cats carrying children, but other than that nothing really seemed to happen. Two guys never leaving a convenience store is an interesting idea, but by itself it doesn't keep me interested for more than 20 minutes, apparently. There were mentions of zombies, but they didn't actually seem to be different than the other people so it was never clear what actually defined them as zombies.

I must be missing some interesting subtext or something...

Spindaddy · **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2011, 08:40:15 PM

I liked the reading of the story, but the story itself... well it just wasn't for me. I forced myself to listen to the whole thing but in the end, I really just didn't like the story.

What bothers me most is I don't know specifically why I didn't like the story. I suspect it was due to the characters and the setting just not sparking any interest in me. I felt like I was trapped on a bus or in an elevator with the MC and he's rambling on and on about how he ended up here. In the end, I was only listening to find out whether Charley became a zombie or Charley killed the MC after driving to the local makeout spot and convinced the kid to put his head in her lap. The actual ending didn't wrap anything up for me and just confused me more. In the end, the story left me convinced whatever message was imbedded in it I just didn't get--like it was some sort of inside joke I'm not privy too.

There were parts of the story I did like. I liked the line about the customer's not being right, sometimes being an asshole--that made me laugh. I also liked how the zombies weren't evil monsters out to destroy the world, just some natural part of the cycle of life and death. Call the zombies hobos or crazy homeless people and you have roughly the same effect. The descriptions of the displays inside the allnighter also made me smile.

Overall, the story reminded me of the numerous personal anecdotes I've heard from random people which then all end with "and that's when I swore I'd never do acid again!"

ElectricPaladin · **Reply #11 on:** April 13, 2011, 09:30:16 PM

I'm beginning to think that I don't really like Kelly Link's work - Some Zombie Contingency Plans didn't do it for me, either. There's a style of fantasy - possibly just a style of fiction - of which Kelly Link feels like a prime example. These are the stories where the plot is a weird, dreamlike series of events that always seems just about to resolve into sense, but ultimately fails to connect, right at the end. These stories are usually beautifully written, and almost never do it for me. It takes a lot of beauty to supersede my attachment to sensical narrative.

I'm afraid I've got to give this one zero Zeppelins. I didn't like it at all. Better luck next time!

Grishny · **Reply #12 on:** April 14, 2011, 02:07:28 AM

Long time listener, first time poster. I recently (finally ) caught up to the present, listening through all the archives. Been current for about two weeks now.

So I apologize up front for my first post being negative. I have to agree with Spindaddy's assessment... It was just too rambling and non-linear for my tastes. There were definite elements and ideas within the story that piqued my interest, but at the end I felt unsatisfied.

I remember the last story by this author, and I think I liked it a little better, but still seem to recall thinking at the end something along the same lines. "What was that even about?"

Scattercat · **Reply #13 on:** April 14, 2011, 02:22:20 AM

I think Kelly Link and audio are two great tastes that do not taste great together. I love her books, but if I hadn't read the stories beforehand, I would have no way to follow the story at all.

kibitzer · **Reply #14 on:** April 14, 2011, 02:31:45 AM

Listened all the way through now. I'm afraid I still don't get it and that bothers me. I must have missed something somewhere.

Scattercat · **Reply #15 on:** April 14, 2011, 02:33:42 AM

Quote from: kibitzer on April 14, 2011, 02:31:45 AM

Listened all the way through now. I'm afraid I still don't get it and that bothers me. I must have missed something somewhere.

That's normal with a Kelly Link story. Don't worry about it.

Rain · **Reply #16 on:** April 14, 2011, 05:33:08 AM

This reminds me of the comments to the Escape Pod story 'The ’76 Goldwater Dime' which a lot of people dont like because it doesnt feel like a real story. For me its kinda like art, there doesnt nessecarily have to be something "to get"

Or maybe another way of explaining it is like a dream, dreams often make no sense when you wake up and can think back on them, but they can still be interesting.

Ocicat · **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2011, 05:47:35 AM

Personally, I didn't like it, didn't dislike it. After awhile I stopped trying to make sense of it, and just let it roll over me. I don't think I got the central metaphor, if there was one - but then again I've never really worked retail. But some of the images were quite good. Many of the pajamas, certainly. But I think my favorite bit was this:

Quote

The zombies were like Canadians, in that they looked enough like real people at first, to fool you. But when you looked closer, you saw they were from some other place, where things were different: where even the same things, the things that went on everywhere, were just a little bit different.

Unblinking · **Reply #18 on:** April 14, 2011, 01:14:39 PM

Quote from: Rain on April 14, 2011, 05:33:08 AM

This reminds me of the comments to the Escape Pod story 'The ’76 Goldwater Dime' which a lot of people dont like because it doesnt feel like a real story. For me its kinda like art, there doesnt nessecarily have to be something "to get"

Or maybe another way of explaining it is like a dream, dreams often make no sense when you wake up and can think back on them, but they can still be interesting.

For me the two were very different. In "76 Goldwater Dime" I was never confused about what was supposed to be happening. It was a little slow, but the premise, the character, and the details were very clear in my mind. Very different from this one where after 20 minutes all I've gathered is that two guys live in an all night convenience store, and one of them has macabre pajamas. There was some mention of zombies, but they didn't seem to be dead nor flesh eating, so were actually indistinguishable from other customers.

bamugo · **Reply #19 on:** April 14, 2011, 01:30:56 PM

So - did ANYONE really GET this story? I like stories that make you think - but I don't like post-modernist mumbo-jumbo that sets out to confuse you.

I didn't like this one for the same reason I didn't like Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse.

Scattercat · **Reply #20 on:** April 14, 2011, 02:14:18 PM

*shrugs*

I got it. I liked it quite a lot. It was one of my favorites from the book. It's a little postmodern, but it's hardly "setting out to confuse" anyone.

danooli · **Reply #21 on:** April 15, 2011, 12:02:18 AM

Well, I didn't want the story to end, so I suppose that means I liked it?

I really did like the character of Eric. I felt badly for him as well. He seemed to have dreams that he didn't even realize that he had, and I am left wondering if he'll be ok...if he'll catch Charlie's truck or not.

And, even though I hate zombies (shudder,) this one goes in the "kinda liked it" category.

The reading was good too. I have a Turkish co-worker and I'm going to tell her about this

I'm not sure if this will be her cup of tea, but she might like Batu!

wuutsjwq · **Reply #22 on:** April 15, 2011, 01:08:47 AM

I heard Kelly Link's reading first, then Eric Luke's. I preferred Kelly's.

stePH · **Reply #23 on:** April 15, 2011, 03:14:45 AM

What the fuck was that?

This one was completely lost on me. I don't even know what was going on, much less what it was supposed to mean.

* * *
On a not-really-related note, back when I was in elementary school I learned to say something in Turkish. I still don't know what it means, but the person who taught me to say it warned me that if I ever said it to a Turk, I'd better be ready to die.

It sounds like "nasturos lefosh asheggebeh". Can anybody translate?

eytanz · **Reply #24 on:** April 15, 2011, 10:48:58 AM

Ok, I'm going against the general opinion here, because I absolutely loved this one. It's a story of growing up, learning that the world is more complicated that you want it to be, and that just because you want something or someone it isn't necessarily for you, and just because someone else truly cares about you doesn't mean they know what's best. Also, it's a story about non-threatening zombies and CIA pyjamas. Like Danooli, I didn't want it to end.

Sure, I don't know if I understood everything and I don't think I can explain the story very well, but emotionally, at least, I found it considerably less opaque than "Zombie contingency plans". I really need to pick up the collection this came from.

(Of course, "To the Lighthouse" is probably still my favourite novel ever, so I'm clearly not averse to "post-modernist mumbo-jumbo". Though I'd strongly argue that neither it nor this story set out to confuse anyone, though they probably don't see confusion as something to be particularly avoided, either)

Gamercow · **Reply #25 on:** April 15, 2011, 11:39:12 AM

That was definitely a Kelly Link story.

I liked the characters, I liked the setting, I liked everything about the story, but I'm not quite sure what it all meant. If there was some sort of deep meaning to this story, I missed it, but as is, I just enjoyed it as a slice of life story. A weird life, yes, but I liked looking in on this scene in the allnighter, and on AuSable chasm, and on Charley and her car of doomed dogs that nearly made me cry.

Liminal · **Reply #26 on:** April 15, 2011, 12:30:34 PM

Just to be clear - Virginia Woolf is, in no way shape or form, "post-modern."

I am partial to Kelly Link for the same reasons I like Borges - I get to experience the world through a totally unique perspective that manages to combine elements of humor, depth, fun, fear, desire and confusion in a way that is nearly unpredictable and so always surprising and challenging.

However, I do have to admit to reading both the ones we've run before hearing them and I can understand how, if listening is your first experience, they might not work all that well. Still, Link's stories work for me because they are unique and heartbreakingly human.

eytanz · **Reply #27 on:** April 15, 2011, 12:40:27 PM

Quote from: Liminal on April 15, 2011, 12:30:34 PM

Just to be clear - Virginia Woolf is, in no way shape or form, "post-modern."

Just to be clear as well - I know that, I was quoting the earlier post somewhat sarcastically (though I don't think it's easy to see that from my post).

This story, that (in some sense) idealises the retail experience while at the same time rejecting its values, on the other hand, can well be argued to be post-modern.

Wilson Fowlie · **Reply #28 on:** April 15, 2011, 10:59:53 PM

Quote from: Ocicat on April 14, 2011, 05:47:35 AM

I think my favorite bit was this:
Quote
The zombies were like Canadians, in that they looked enough like real people at first, to fool you. But when you looked closer, you saw they were from some other place, where things were different: where even the same things, the things that went on everywhere, were just a little bit different.

There were a couple of places where I was all, like, "Hey!" about the treatment of Canadians. I wasn't in high dudgeon or anything; just, y'know, "Hey!"

Grouchy Gnome · **Reply #29 on:** April 15, 2011, 11:41:21 PM

Am I the only one who got this story? APRIL FOOLS! The Castle jesters just didn't want to be too obvious and do it last week.

Anarquistador · **Reply #30 on:** April 16, 2011, 04:33:34 PM

Ack! Canadian zombies! I can just feel them feasting upon my brains, with a strange blend of politeness and smug self-satisfaction!

I was not a fan of this one. Once again, I just don't care for zombie stories. Zombies appear to be the go-to monsters for authors trying to make a statement about modern society, and once again we have a "They're US, Get it?!" type story. Read one, read them all.

Though I can't help but wonder if this was one of those mind-screw stories where it turns out there never WERE any zombies to begin with; it was all in the minds of two very disturbed individuals, working long tedious hours in an unhealthy environment...

danooli · **Reply #31 on:** April 16, 2011, 07:44:03 PM

Quote from: Anarquistador on April 16, 2011, 04:33:34 PM

once again we have a "They're US, Get it?!" type story. Read one, read them all.

I hate zombies. I mean I actively dislike and am terrified of them. I couldn't even watch Shaun of the Dead 'cause it scared me.

These zombies didn't scare me, though. And I don't think these were metaphorical zombies. I think these were real, dead yet animated people. It's 100% probable that I am wrong, that Kelly Link intended them to be metaphors for modern society as we know it, but that's not how I grokked it.

Grouchy Gnome · **Reply #32 on:** April 17, 2011, 02:26:09 AM

Although Occam’s razor would suggest my previous explanation of this story is the most plausible, I will offer a second interpretation: this story is not a story at all; it’s the text equivalent of a Rorschach ink-blot test. There are just enough patterns and structure present that you brain struggles to recognize and categorize them. But there is just no way in <insert overheated environment of you choosing> that a zombie who has barfed up experimental CIA pajamas that are covered with the text of a teenager’s secret diary and are worn by the clerk of a 24-hour convenience store who is intent on revolutionizing retail while mentoring a subordinate who is in love with a female who is surrounded by dog ghosts that you can smell but can’t see can be metaphorically mapped into anything in the real world – but since we know about zombies and the CIA and pajamas and secret teenage diaries and convenience stores, etc., our brains struggle heroically to somehow arrange this conglomeration into a meaningful cognitive structure. Unfortunately, somewhere towards the end of the story, the grey matter struggling between my ears hit a flipping point and just did a wholesale rejection of this fantasy in its entirety. So for those of you who just “didn’t get it”, don’t worry, you are probably have a firm grip on the real world and your brain just correctly refused to assign any significance to this exercise in metaphorical dissonance.

Liminal · **Reply #33 on:** April 17, 2011, 02:59:21 AM

Quote from: Grouchy Gnome on April 17, 2011, 02:26:09 AM

But there is just no way in <insert overheated environment of you choosing> that a zombie who has barfed up experimental CIA pajamas that are covered with the text of a teenager’s secret diary and are worn by the clerk of a 24-hour convenience store who is intent on revolutionizing retail while mentoring a subordinate who is in love with a female who is surrounded by dog ghosts that you can smell but can’t see can be metaphorically mapped into anything in the real world . . .

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Grouchy Gnome,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Scattercat · **Reply #34 on:** April 17, 2011, 03:44:28 AM

"He who cannot dance places the blame upon the floor."

As long as we're quoting, y'know.

kibitzer · **Reply #35 on:** April 17, 2011, 04:11:08 AM

Dunno quite why but I feel a little bad for my reaction to this story. I understand that not all stories have a "meaning" or a "goal" as such -- sometimes the journey is as important, or more so, than the goal. In fact I've enjoyed many stories where stuff just seems to happen and the journet rolls along and that's absolutely fine. I guess I felt this one was making some point I missed.

Grouchy Gnome · **Reply #36 on:** April 17, 2011, 03:38:44 PM

To Liminal and Scattercat:

Ok, since I my philosopy can't dance, please enlighten me by posting how your gray matter managed to metaphorically map a zombie who has barfed up experimental CIA pajamas that are covered with the text of a teenager’s secret diary and are worn by the clerk of a 24-hour convenience store who is intent on revolutionizing retail while mentoring a subordinate who is in love with a female who is surrounded by dog ghosts that you can smell but can’t see into the real world.

I don't have anything a priori against story-form Rorschach ink-blot tests. Just for me, personally, the author pushed the envelope a litte too far for my congnitive reference system to be able to lock on and track this mellage. OTOH, the philosophy embedded in my grey matter had no problem dancing along with the Ant King (which, for the sake of this discussion, I will consider to be another ink-blot). And in the interest of full disclosure, I can't really metaphorically map the Ant King into the real world either. But that story did not drive my brain to a total-rejection flipping point as did the Hortlak. So, for me personally, the Ant King's author succeeded in this genre while Link did not. We could do a 2x2 matrix of people who followed/were lost by the Ant King and who followed/were lost by the Horlak and be able to find people who fall into all four cells - although I would bet that the number of people in the "lost by the Ant King, followed the Horlak" would be proportionally much smaller that the numbers in the other cells.

eytanz · **Reply #37 on:** April 17, 2011, 03:40:01 PM

Fantasy - and, indeed, literature as a whole - would be a very poor artform if it only aimed to give us stuff that can be mapped - directly or metaphorically - to the real world. This is by no means a surrealist story, but it is a story of very human people existing in a reality which is in many ways ours and in other ways not. I'm not saying it should appeal to anyone or that it's easy to understand - far from it - but just that I feel anyone who gives up on it just because they can't directly map it onto their experience is doing themselves a disservice.

eytanz · **Reply #38 on:** April 17, 2011, 03:47:31 PM

you posted as I was writing the above, so it's not written in direct response to your latest post though I think it addresses it partially. I should first say that the Ant King is a story I found a lot harder to understand; it *was* at least partially surreal, rather than just unreal. I think I would definitely fit most comfortably in the "lost by the Ant King, followed the Horlak" cell.

For me, this story is about a set of very realistically written people existing in a world which is unrealistic, where the afterlife is located a gorge near the Canadian border and the CIA developed mind-reading/altering pyjamas. In such a world, just like the real one, all night convenience stores need to be staffed. This is a story of a pretty aimless but otherwise normal young man, who inadvertently works in a store that happens to be the focus of an experiment by the CIA on how to interact with the dead, and has a crush on a woman that he doesn't really understand. Everything else that happens follows from these premises pretty naturally, I think.

Scattercat · **Reply #39 on:** April 17, 2011, 06:38:46 PM

I don't metaphorically map it. It's not a one-to-one correspondence ratio to reality. I grok both "Ant King" and "Hortlak," but "Hortlak" is a lot more enjoyable to me. (Mostly because it takes a more holistic view than "Ant King." "Ant King" ends up uncomfortable with itself and the world, where "Hortlak" finds a sort of equilibrium among the senselessness.)

If you're trying to connect everything in a direct metaphor with reality, then yeah, I can see where you'd struggle with this story. But then you just don't like this story or this style of storytelling; if the story isn't trying to model reality directly, then it's not a flaw in the story if it doesn't accomplish that.

My sarcasm was because your initial two posts were not explanations of what you did or did not like in the story, but rather a mocking sideswipe one-liner followed by a condemnation of the story as a collection of weirdness for weirdness' sake without an underlying structure, i.e. the work of a lazy or prank-prone author. I feel this is an insulting position to take at best, and the way it was phrased (with absolute certainty that no one could possibly understand this story and that the story was therefore not worth engaging with) struck me as problematic at best.

Grouchy Gnome · **Reply #40 on:** April 18, 2011, 01:41:15 AM

Scattercat said:

...but rather a mocking sideswipe one-liner followed by a condemnation of the story as a collection of weirdness for weirdness' sake without an underlying structure, i.e. the work of a lazy or prank-prone author. I feel this is an insulting position to take at best, and the way it was phrased (with absolute certainty that no one could possibly understand this story and that the story was therefore not worth engaging with) struck me as problematic at best.

Well, I still stand by my two explanations. First, let us assume, just for the sake of civil debate, that the crew in the Castle really DID want to pull an April Fools prank on us gullible souls. Now, just what would such a prank look and feel like given that it had to be pulled off within the contrains of a PodCastle pod cast? Well, a really weird story that was just a random train-wreck of weird stuff that had the appearance of obscure-but-profound metaphorical allusions would suit the bill just fine. Then they could sit back and have a jolly good laugh while the enlightened among us waxed elegant on the post-modern symbolism, etc. This may not be a belated April Fools prank, but it IS a therory that nicely fits the facts. And where did you pick up the notion that I thought the author was lazy? That story must have been a <insert the overheated environment of your choice> lot of work!

(continued in next post)

Grouchy Gnome · **Reply #41 on:** April 18, 2011, 01:52:49 AM

Second, my second explanation is not a "comdemation", it is a serious analysis of this story - or possibly instead why some people did or didn't get it (and that is also different from whether or not they liked it or not). Its my contention that the "fun" in this type of story is to be able to be able to chase after the piper without ever really being able to catch up to him (except maybe right at the end). But we all have to internally respond to stories like this through our own personal cognitive processes which have been uniquely shaped by our personal life histories (Scattercat is a cat and I am a gnome, for example). For some (myself among them) the piper played too softly and ran too fast and lost them. I guess cats can hear better and run faster than gnomes.

Unblinking · **Reply #42 on:** April 18, 2011, 02:22:54 PM

Quote from: Grouchy Gnome on April 18, 2011, 01:41:15 AM

Well, I still stand by my two explanations. First, let us assume, just for the sake of civil debate, that the crew in the Castle really DID want to pull an April Fools prank on us gullible souls. Now, just what would such a prank look and feel like given that it had to be pulled off within the contrains of a PodCastle pod cast? Well, a really weird story that was just a random train-wreck of weird stuff that had the appearance of obscure-but-profound metaphorical allusions would suit the bill just fine. Then they could sit back and have a jolly good laugh while the enlightened among us waxed elegant on the post-modern symbolism, etc. This may not be a belated April Fools prank, but it IS a therory that nicely fits the facts.

It is a theory, yes, but one that that seems rather rude to Podcastle's hardworking staff.
-Did I like this story? No.
-Have I liked every story? Certainly not.
-Do I think the staff deliberately picked a story that they thought was bad? Hell no. Why would they do that? They paid money for the story. They had someone go through the effort of narrating it and sound-producing it. And it's their reputation on the line. I have every confidence that they choose the stories that they think are best of the stories submitted to them, for some definition of "best". Anything else, and they'd be poor editors indeed. Their definition of "best" and my definition of "best" do not always coincide, but if everyone liked exactly the same stuff this world would be a very homogenous (and boring) place.

I didn't really dig this story, but I didn't dig it in the same way that I generally don't dig poetry. It wasn't badly written. It just didn't really affect me or draw me. It happens. No problem. I'll still be here listening for the next story.

Gamercow · **Reply #43 on:** April 18, 2011, 02:29:00 PM

Quote from: Grouchy Gnome on April 18, 2011, 01:52:49 AM

For some (myself among them) the piper played too softly and ran too fast and lost them. I guess cats can hear better and run faster than gnomes.

Or, to extend the analogy(poorly), one can be a cow, simply standing in the field, watching the scenery, not asking what it all means. I chose to do this when things started getting pear shaped, and ended up enjoying the story quite a bit. I enjoyed it for what it was, a quirky look at an alternate world where weird stuff happens.

Gamercow · **Reply #44 on:** April 18, 2011, 02:29:55 PM

Quote from: Wilson Fowlie on April 15, 2011, 10:59:53 PM

There were a couple of places where I was all, like, "Hey!" about the treatment of Canadians. I wasn't in high dudgeon or anything; just, y'know, "Hey!"

It's okay, Wilson, the Canadians in the story were probably Quebecois, and you know how THEY are...

Grouchy Gnome · **Reply #45 on:** April 18, 2011, 05:22:32 PM

Quote from: Unblinking on April 18, 2011, 02:22:54 PM

It is a theory, yes, but one that that seems rather rude to Podcastle's hardworking staff.

Rude? Certainly not intentionally! Bully for them if they decided to have a little fun!
But if you really think this was terribly insulting, I will send along another donation
in way of penance.

Loz · **Reply #46 on:** April 18, 2011, 06:46:31 PM

I'm with the big crowd of people that didn't care for this story. I do prefer for my stories to generally have some direction and conflict, either real or metaphorical, and best part of an hour is far too long for a mood piece. Waiting for Godot with zombies? No thanks.

Scattercat · **Reply #47 on:** April 19, 2011, 12:23:41 AM

Quote from: Loz on April 18, 2011, 06:46:31 PM

Waiting for Godot with zombies? No thanks.

See, whereas that idea makes me go, "Holy crap, I would watch the HELL out of that."

lisavilisa · **Reply #48 on:** April 20, 2011, 12:54:05 AM

I really liked this story. I have no idea what it was about, but I loved hearing it anyway. I loved being in that strange world with zombies and charged pajamas that had intricate and horrible things.

Loz · **Reply #49 on:** April 20, 2011, 11:32:35 AM

Quote from: Scattercat on April 19, 2011, 12:23:41 AM

Quote from: Loz on April 18, 2011, 06:46:31 PM
Waiting for Godot with zombies? No thanks.

See, whereas that idea makes me go, "Holy crap, I would watch the HELL out of that."

Meh, but Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead on the other hand has possibilities.

Kaa · **Reply #50 on:** April 20, 2011, 03:09:55 PM

I didn't particularly care for this story, either. I listened to parts of it twice because my attention kept wandering. I guess I'm just not into pointless surrealism.

danooli · **Reply #51 on:** April 20, 2011, 03:34:55 PM

Quote from: Loz on April 20, 2011, 11:32:35 AM

Meh, but Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead on the other hand has possibilities.

Not a terrible movie! But, I am a Ralph Macchio fan...

Listener · **Reply #52 on:** April 25, 2011, 05:52:50 PM

Good reading.

The story just kept going. And then stopped. Too much weird stuff going on for me to really grok it.

Hedge Monk · **Reply #53 on:** April 26, 2011, 05:51:15 AM

I loved this story so much it compelled me to come out of the cold and join the forums. The benevolent spookiness of the piece stayed with me days after finishing it. The 3 main characters moved through a misty twilight realm in which only the lights of the convenience store burn bright. So yeah, there was a part of me that wanted ALL the answers but that flaw is mine. The exposition Batu gave towards the end satisfied enough ... and even if it didn't the random zombie monologues won The Hortlak a place in my heart.

nitrohepcat · **Reply #54 on:** April 28, 2011, 10:20:04 AM

This is an excellent story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It reminded me of Douglas Coupland and Donald Barthelme stories. The main character, Eric, is directionless and lost in this world. But it doesn't matter if it's a sci-fi world of zombies or not - he still experiences his own angst of trying to find a place and meaning in it.
My favorite part of the story was Batu's Lovecraftian "Colour Out of Space" pajamas. "He took an apple from the fruit display and polished it on his non-Euclidean pajama top. The apple took on a horrid, whispery sheen.

Rough Week · **Reply #55 on:** April 28, 2011, 02:14:05 PM

I hated this story so much it compelled me to join the forums. I'm sorry to be negative, but this was the worst story I've heard in years of Escape Artists podcasts. It doesn't feel like fantasy or scifi; it's barely a 'story.' Like Kaa, I feel it is 70 minutes of "pointless surrealism."

There's nothing wrong with surreal, but you need something to latch on to or identify with. This had no plot, and no explanations about the setting. You've got zombies that aren't zombies and are just sort of "there" without any role, a store that doesn't sell products, an adrift ambivalent protagonist, and odd subplots about sleep, pajamas, ghost dogs, Turkish, and a chasm, that all feel unrelated to the plot. The overall theme is the All Night, which is either a experimental zombie store or the crazy scheme of an insomniac, but the narrator doesn't seem to care which.

Now anything in a story can work if the characters are compelling. But I feel there was no one worth caring about. Eric was well-written, but he never did anything or had any strong opinions. Batu was funny and witty, but mostly cryptic and nonsensical. Charlie had an interesting story that stopped just short of being told.

All this piece has going for it is 2 somewhat sympathetic characters and a couple of witty lines about retail. Not nearly enough to save the rest of the hour-long meandering piece. Again I apologize for negativity, but this left a terrible taste in my mouth.

DKT · **Reply #56 on:** April 28, 2011, 04:12:15 PM

Quote from: Rough Week on April 28, 2011, 02:14:05 PM

Again I apologize for negativity, but this left a terrible taste in my mouth.

I would suggest abstaining from the meat gum next time out. I've personally always preferred the Pina Colada flavor, even though my wife says it tastes like toilet bowl cleaner. (But HOW would she KNOW, right? Believe me, I KNOW.)

Dave is glad his awesome wife does not read the forums...

nitrohepcat · **Reply #57 on:** April 29, 2011, 04:34:32 AM

The ending of the story also reminded me of the ending to Kafka's The Trial. A sad ending in which the protagonist, K., is also shamed and compared to a dog, like Eric.
From The Hortlak, "But he ran out in the road anyway, like a damn dog, chasing after her car for as long as he could."
From The Trial, "But the hands of one of the gentleman were laid on K.'s throat, while the other pushed the knife deep into his heart and twisted it there, twice. ... "Like a dog!" he said, it was as if the shame of it should outlive him."
The absurd and dreamlike nature of the story also had the spirit of Kafka in it. Strange living arrangements (in a broom closet), untrustworthy authority figures (Batu's bizarre cover story) and a hopeless situation for which there is no escape (except insanity).

Devoted135 · **Reply #58 on:** April 29, 2011, 07:31:33 PM

Wow, what a welcome back after my two weeks of podcast-less traveling!

I'm afraid to say that I'm among the majority here who didn't really care for this story. Bluntly put though it was, Grouchy Gnome's analogy of the ink-blot test really describes my feelings after listening. I keep trying to put together all the pieces and figure out what the story within the story was, but just ending up confused.

I loved it when Batu kept telling Eric little bits and demanding to know if that was a satisfactory explanation. "No," Eric said, and I echoed the sentiment!

Ahh well, my hiatus has left me plenty more EA stories and I'm sure the next one will be awesome!

Gamercow · **Reply #59 on:** April 30, 2011, 12:29:32 AM

I just listened to this one again, and I honestly adore it, and I have no idea why. It's the fantastically mundane made special.

danooli · **Reply #60 on:** April 30, 2011, 01:21:21 PM

Quote from: Gamercow on April 30, 2011, 12:29:32 AM

It's the fantastically mundane made special.

I think that is what does it for me with this one.

iamafish · **Reply #61 on:** May 01, 2011, 03:14:39 AM

i have no idea what just happened... i did drift off towards the end though, so i missed the last bit. I'll have to re-listen when i don't want to go to bed! For the most part i had no idea where this was going and wasn't too sure i actually cared enough to stay awake. This one passed me by, i'm afraid, which is a shame, because i thought Another Zombie Contingency Plan was good fun.

cbjames · **Reply #62 on:** May 02, 2011, 12:44:34 AM

More Kelly Link please.

I loved this story. Any story with the phrase "Zomibes, not Canadian" is a good story.

LaShawn · **Reply #63 on:** May 03, 2011, 04:28:53 PM

Gah! I came to the discussion too late!!!

Oh well. I've read this story several times, so I knew what to expect. I'm listening to it now. I'm picking up on little details that I missed from reading, so that is nice. I think I like this story more than the Zombie Contingencies.

Now Podcastle needs to buy "Lull" because that's the best Kelly Link story I ever heard. In fact, I will gladly volunteer myself to read it, because it is just that full of awesome. (Of course, I need to find a decent microphone...that's what keeping me from sending in an audition tape. I don't know if folk'll appeciate hearing me record on a crappy Dell Axiom...)

BarryJNorthern · **Reply #64 on:** May 12, 2011, 08:10:02 AM

I enjoyed being pleasantly confused all the way through this one because the writing was well wrought and the events unique and refreshing. However, I was a little miffed when the words ran out and I didn't know what had happened.

I seriously question whether superb writing, unique turns-of-phrase, and funny-as-hell Hortlak one-liners, make up for a lack of emotional connection with the characters and no plot though.

DKT · **Reply #65 on:** May 12, 2011, 04:29:07 PM

Quote from: BarryJNorthern on May 12, 2011, 08:10:02 AM

I seriously question whether superb writing, unique turns-of-phrase, and funny-as-hell Hortlak one-liners, make up for a lack of emotional connection with the characters and no plot though.

FWIW, I would question the above as well. But I'd (probably obviously) disagree that there's a lack of emotional connection with the characters. I'd hang out at the All Night, well, all night with them. (And now that Eric's read this story for us, I can!

)

Additionally, I'd argue there is a plot, but that it's more character-oriented. Like I said in the intro: Clerks with zombies and better cinematography

Obviously, that didn't work for you, (and the majority of the listeners posting here), which is cool. I guess I'm just posting to make the distinction.

BTW: Glad to see you listening. I've been enjoying Cast Macabre quite a bit, recently!

Fenrix · **Reply #66 on:** May 14, 2011, 09:54:19 PM

I felt that the Clerks analogy was apt. However, with that in mind, I think this one would have benefited from a slightly different production with three or four voice actors so the dialogue could have been Clerks/Dragnet rat-a-tat fast without any of the "he said" parts. There were a couple parts that suffered with one word exchanges with "he said" slowing them down.

I also enjoyed the Grouchy Gnome's eloquent analysis. I like eloquent dialogue. Maybe the Grouchy Gnome is an agent of the author trying to obfuscate the issue farther. Or maybe he is a CIA agent furthering the analysis or our perception of the aural ink blot test we've been dubjected to.

danooli · **Reply #67 on:** May 25, 2011, 11:09:23 PM

Quote from: stePH on April 15, 2011, 03:14:45 AM

On a not-really-related note, back when I was in elementary school I learned to say something in Turkish. I still don't know what it means, but the person who taught me to say it warned me that if I ever said it to a Turk, I'd better be ready to die.

It sounds like "nasturos lefosh asheggebeh". Can anybody translate?

I showed my Turkish co-worker this post. She says that's not Turkish LOL

justenjoying · **Reply #68 on:** January 09, 2012, 06:15:18 AM

This was a strange one. It really got the point across about the futality of living in such a place, but there didn't to seem to be any point. It was really well written and relateable if you've ever had a service job, but I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did.