Author Topic: PC172: Doors  (Read 11590 times)

NomadicScribe

  • Palmer
  • **
  • Posts: 53
Reply #25 on: September 14, 2011, 10:09:34 PM
This story is about as close to perfect as I've yet to hear on Podcastle. Great narration plus great story that really nails something elusive in  Podcastle stories: The actual sense of fantasy.

No, not the publishing genre of fantasy. There's plenty of that. I mean the wish-fulfillment "I-wish-I-could-do-that-who-cares-about-negative-consequences" daydreaming FANTASY.

I'm sure it had problems in there somewhere, but I didn't notice them while I was listening. It was good and satisfying and escapist. Thanks.



WalkinPneumonia

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 8
Reply #26 on: September 15, 2011, 03:14:08 PM
Wow, I enjoyed this one so much it got me to come on and post.  This is my new favorite story.



mbrennan

  • Matross
  • ****
  • Posts: 210
Reply #27 on: September 16, 2011, 06:08:26 AM
I enjoyed it . . . right up until the end.  Perhaps unfortunately, I was listening to the story while running an errand, and had to pause to check out at the cashier; when I started it up again, it turned out I'd paused about one minute before the end of the tale.  That probably didn't help with my feeling of "uh, what?  Why is the ending music already playing?"

I wanted to know more about the woman who built the trap to get a big list of tags.  I wanted to see the final journey with Brody.  I would have been okay with not getting either of those things, except that I don't feel like the story reached any particular moment of climax in place of them.  Which could be all metaphorical 'n stuff -- there's the bit in the story about how the doors have made the narrator constantly more interested in moving on than enjoying his destination -- but me, I like to arrive somewhere.

There were a lot of lines that made me grin as I walked through the grocery store, though, so on the whole I did enjoy it.



derose05

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Reply #28 on: September 18, 2011, 07:33:06 AM
I very much liked this story. it sucked me in with these "door jumps". the only fault i had was the ending. it was just left to open.



Max e^{i pi}

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 1038
  • Have towel, will travel.
Reply #29 on: September 18, 2011, 07:47:55 AM
I very much liked this story. it sucked me in with these "door jumps". the only fault i had was the ending. it was just left to open.
I choose to interpret that as intentional and not a typo.
Yes, the ending was left as a door that we must open.

Cogito ergo surf - I think therefore I network

Registered Linux user #481826 Get Counted!



Listener

  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 3187
  • I place things in locations which later elude me.
    • Various and Sundry Items of Interest
Reply #30 on: September 20, 2011, 04:20:50 PM
I enjoyed the story, and also the construction of its writing -- I like well-used repetition.

However, there were some things that were repeated too many times, too close together. And there's a lot more to being tied up and beaten than riding crops, Mr. Main Character. Just saying.

"Farts are a hug you can smell." -Wil Wheaton

Blog || Quote Blog ||  Written and Audio Work || Twitter: @listener42


Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #31 on: November 17, 2011, 06:18:01 PM
I like the occasional "idea" story and this was a pretty good one.  Most of it's about the explanation of the concept, and talking about different details of it.  And as long as those details are interesting enough it strings you along, as you wonder "Could these exist in our world?" "what would I do if I found out how to do this?".  Yeah, it was relatively lacking in conflict, but I enjoyed it well enough.

That being said, I think it could've done with a bit more conflict.  Sure, he's looking for a particular door for his friend to go through, but that's not really a conflict for our narrator.  He wants to go through Doors, and going through Doors is how he finds new doors, so he accomplishes both.  Even when he's trapped there's not really any conflict to speak of.  He's been stuck in there for whole minutes, he calls the one number he finds on the wall (because we all know how well cell phones work when you're in a cave, right?).  The woman tells him her terms (giving her his list) and those terms do not harm him in any way; he agrees and she lets him go.  In addition, he gets exactly what he wants from her just by asking.

I didn't mind it ending before we see the friend cross through, because there wouldn't be much to see there.  It just would've been nice if it had a bit of conflict to really make it complete.  But I enjoyed it anyway.



Unblinking

  • Sir Postsalot
  • Hipparch
  • ******
  • Posts: 8729
    • Diabolical Plots
Reply #32 on: November 18, 2011, 02:32:52 PM
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention.  My misunderstanding of some of the details left the moment of getting stuck in the cave even more lacking in conflict than it should have been.  Perhaps I was thinking of "doors" too literally, but I assumed that they were two-way.  So it took me a while to realize that he was actually stuck in that cave unless he got outside help.  I just thought that he typically chose not to go back through the same way because re-traveling the same rate wouldn't be as satisfying.  So I kept wondering why he didn't just go back in the reverse direction.  Finally, when he called the number, I realized that wasn't an option.

But nobody else seemed to have that problem, so I think that I must've spaced out and just missed an important detail.