Author Topic: Best of Pseudopod 2012 Nominations  (Read 8717 times)

Bdoomed

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on: January 20, 2013, 03:08:39 AM

Hey everybody, it's that time of year again to nominate your favorite Pseudopod stories from 2012.  
Once again, the fearless Fenrix has graciously provided a comprehensive list of all stories presented in 2012.  
I have gone through and added links to the forum threads for each story, for your "I forget what this story was about" convenience.

So, once again, post your top three nominations, as well as honorable mentions, and be sure to Have Fun!

263 The Republic of the Southern Cross by Valery Bryusov
264 A Study In Flesh And Mind by Liz Argall
265 Biba Jibun by Eugie Foster
266 This Is Now by Michael Marshall Smith
267 Mentor by Sean Eads
268 Let There Be Darkness by Mike Allen
269 The Burning Servant by Steven Saus
270 A Revelation of Cormorants by Mark Valentine
271 Flash On The Borderlands X - Demonica
      Dog by Stephen Hodgkinson
      Annotations by Brady Golden
      The Drowner by Peadar O Guillin
272 The Dark And What It Said by Rick Kennett
273 The Crucifixion of the Outcast by William Butler Yeats
274 The God Complex by Neil John Buchanan
275 Wailing Well by M.R. James
276 Our Drunken Tjeng by Nicky Drayden
277 The Orchard of Hanging Trees by Nicole Cushing
278 The Prophet’s Daughters by Michael J. DeLuca
279 Gingerbread And Ashes by Jaelithe Ingold
280 The Meat Forest by John Haggerty
281 The Women Who Watch by Thomas Owen (Edward Gauvin (tr))
282 Flash On The Borderlands XI - Fearful Fashions
      A Mother of Monsters by Guy De Maupassant
      10 Darlings and an Handbag by Violet Glaze
      Forbidden Feast at the Armageddon Cafe by John Nakamura Remy
283 Dust Bunny by Matthew C. Dampier
284 She Said by Kirstyn McDermott
285 Kill Screen by Chris Lewis Carter
286 The Bee Charmer of Beckett Falls by Patty Templeton
287 Final Girl Theory by A.C. Wise
288 The White Dog by Fyodor Sologub
289 The Rainbow Serpent by Vincent Pendergast
290 The American Dead by Jay Lake
291 Lizardfoot by John Jasper Owens
292 Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You by David J. Schow
293 Flash On The Borderlands XII - (Black) Arts & (Dead) Letters
      Dancing by Donna Glee Williams
      Lost for Words by Kenneth Yu
      Music on the Michigan Avenue Bridge by Mort Castle
294 Demon Rum by Charles M. Saplak
295 Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls by Brian Hodge
296 The Squat by Sean Logan
297 Of Ants And Mountains by Charlie Bookout
298 The Long Road To The Sea by James L. Sutter
299 White As A Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee
300 The Step by E.F. Benson
301 The Last Man After The War by Erich William Bergmeier
302 Singing By The Fire by Jamieson Ridenhour
303 Flash On The Borderlands XIII - Responsible Parties
      A Murder of Crows by Tres Crow
      Magnitude Seven by David Glen Larson
      Always Grinning by Nathaniel Lee
304 The Last Reel by Lynda E. Rucker
305 Pumpkinhead by Rajan Khanna
306 Night Fishing by Ray Cluley
307 That Ol’ Dagon Dark by Robert MacAnthony
308 The Crawlspace by Russell Bradbury-Carlin
309 The Strange Machinery Of Desire by Justin A. Williams
310 Unfeeling by J.D. Brink
311 Flash On The Borderlands XIV: Resistance!
      No Further by Matthew Acheson
      The Conchie by J. Chant
      Bitter Tea and Braided Hair by Henry Lu
312 Feeding The Machine by Hunter James Martin
313 The Dead Sexton by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
314 What Happens When You Wake Up In The Night by Michael Marshall Smith

This year I'm going to say vote for these by episodes.  That means the Flash On The Borderlands stories are grouped together in voting.

« Last Edit: February 25, 2013, 06:47:30 PM by Bdoomed »

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


kibitzer

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Reply #1 on: January 21, 2013, 02:10:51 AM
I absolutely love this time of year!  ;D

My top three (and it was tough):

302 Singing By The Fire by Jamieson Ridenhour -- a beautiful, almost gentle, haunting tale.
272 The Dark And What It Said by Rick Kennett -- I'm a little biased because (a) it's by an Aussie and (b) I narrated it but goddam, what a fantastic rendering of what it's like to be alone at night in the Australian bush.
286 The Bee Charmer of Beckett Falls by Patty Templeton -- I was particularly charmed by this unexpected tale of mad science.

...and honestly, I thought any of these could also be in the top three.

291 Lizardfoot by John Jasper Owens -- funny!
290 The American Dead by Jay Lake -- a tight little tale of close to real-life horror.
307 That Ol’ Dagon Dark by Robert MacAnthony -- don't think I'll take up pipe smoking now.
313 The Dead Sexton by J. Sheridan Le Fanu -- a gem of a classic


Umbrageofsnow

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Reply #2 on: January 21, 2013, 09:07:05 PM
As is often the case, Pseudopod is the hardest decision to make this year.  I'd also like to say that I don't like voting by episode, because IMHO each of the flash episodes had a weak story, keeping it from true greatness, but "Music on the Michigan Avenue Bridge" and "Mother of Monsters" were great.  Just not good enough to pull their entire episodes into the top against difficult competition.  I was quite enthusiastic about some flash stories last year too, and I voted for the one about the girlfriend being fed bit by bit to a demon, although I remember it being the only story I liked in that episode.  My point is that the flash episodes are of varying quality, and I think I've like all 3 occasionally, but it is not frequent, nor does it correlate to where the best stories are.

Anyway, here are my nominees:
269 The Burning Servant by Steven Saus
Love the framing device, which is rare for me, but I'm an even bigger fan of the alternate history Lovecraftiness.
291 Lizardfoot by John Jasper Owens
The funniest story of the year by far, I really appreciate having things like this run on Pseudopod.
299 White As A Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee
Probably the best Scattercat story I've heard. Support your Ass. Ed. everyone! (Seriously though, this was heartbreaking and wonderful and I loved the ambiguity.)

And I have two real runners-up, in that I had to talk this over with other people to figure out my feelings on them, although my "top 10" list that I selected stories from was actually a top 17 or something, so yeah great year Pseudopod!

Runners Up:
265 Biba Jibun by Eugie Foster
You guys had a really strong start to 2012.
270 A Revelation of Cormorants by Mark Valentine
« Last Edit: January 21, 2013, 09:09:04 PM by Umbrageofsnow »



justenjoying

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Reply #3 on: January 21, 2013, 10:45:50 PM
This is a daunting task as it is every year, I have too many I liked. Why can we only pick 3?

314 What Happens when you wake up in the night by Micheal Marshall Smith
The moral of the story is that she completly missed the point.

299 White as a Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee
This will not win and then I will die

219 Music on the Michigan Avenue Bridge by Mort Castle (Flash on the Borderlands XII)
I don't care if you have them grouped by episode, this is my favorite story and I'm sticking to it.

Honorable mention
265 Biba Jibun by Eugie Foster
267 Mentor by Sean Eads
282 Flash On The Borderlands XI - Fearful Fashions
      A Mother of Monsters by Guy De Maupassant
291 Lizardfoot by John Jasper Owens
« Last Edit: January 21, 2013, 10:58:50 PM by justenjoying »



Bdoomed

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Reply #4 on: January 21, 2013, 11:44:53 PM
I recently obtained a drawing pad for my computer, and have been teaching myself how to use both it and photoshop, made a graphic for Pseudopod and posted it up top :P

It's not that great but I had fun drawing it!

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


Fenrix

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Reply #5 on: January 22, 2013, 04:03:39 AM
Great year filled with tough choices. I was also narrowing down from something akin to a top 10 list with about 20 items. So I'm just gonna commit now and stop the internal debate and force myself to live with these choices:

285 Kill Screen by Chris Lewis Carter - I liked this story, and it pushed my computer gaming nerd buttons. Then add the reading and production and it really pushed it over the top. I found that when I was listening to this I was fully immersed. I knew what was going to happen but it got me with jump scare. And I was absorbed enough by it and had develeoped enough tension that when someone came in to say something to me, I jumped with their external stimulus. Yeah, this one gets it for eliciting the most visceral responses from me.

287 Final Girl Theory by A.C. Wise - I like stories that do a really good job talking about film. This year we had "Coming Soon to a Theater Near You" and "The Final Reel" that both did a really good job. This year I also read Joe Hill's "20th Century Ghosts" and it hit this theme effectively as well. But I'm gonna stick "Final Girl Theory" up high right behind Cabin in the Woods for making me dissect horror film in 2012.

305 Pumpkinhead by Rajan Khanna - I've been an Oz fan since childhood, and so I hold anything that touches that world to a high standard. I want someone to do an effective job at using Baum's world while being faithful to the language and tone without trying to interject things that don't fit for "authorial vision" or "edginess". Rajan Khanna succeeds here, as I think he captures the tone of Baum if he were to have written something dark.

Honorable Mentions:
Too many to list. I'm just not gonna try. Is it on your top list or honorable mentions? What a coincidence - mine too!

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Listener

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Reply #6 on: January 22, 2013, 02:00:04 PM
Top three in no particular order:
287 Final Girl Theory by A.C. Wise
308 The Crawlspace by Russell Bradbury-Carlin
314 What Happens When You Wake Up In The Night by Michael Marshall Smith

Honorable mentions:
269 The Burning Servant by Steven Saus
286 The Bee Charmer of Beckett Falls by Patty Templeton
292 Coming Soon To A Theatre Near You by David J. Schow
299 White As A Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee
307 That Ol’ Dagon Dark by Robert MacAnthony

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kibitzer

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Reply #7 on: January 23, 2013, 01:37:48 AM
I recently obtained a drawing pad for my computer, and have been teaching myself how to use both it and photoshop, made a graphic for Pseudopod and posted it up top :P

It's not that great but I had fun drawing it!

Is Pseudopod riding or consuming the Escape Pod?

Nice one!


Sgarre1

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Reply #8 on: January 23, 2013, 02:45:22 AM
we attempt at the latter, settle for the former!



Uncle Yo

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Reply #9 on: January 29, 2013, 04:59:57 PM
Good afternoon,

2012 had tons of great stories, great new twists on old structures, and weird places of humor at its most macabre. There were several stories I gave out to friends, smiling and pointing "You. Listen. This. Good!"

My votes for top stories are:

Pumpkin Head
Lizard Foot
That Old Dagon Dark and...
The Orchard of Hanging Trees

I loved how these stories took their time in developing, the themes of obsession vs decay. As a recovering obsessive compulsive, the most persistent horrors are the ones who we reinvent just to keep a level of control within ourselves.



Unblinking

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Reply #10 on: January 29, 2013, 08:28:17 PM
I'll be lazy and just pull the top three off the Best of List that I posted yesterday:
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=3266


My votes:
The Crawlspace
Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls
Pumpkinhead



lowky

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Reply #11 on: January 30, 2013, 08:49:29 PM
well I missed too many of these to vote for three but I can vote for two

#1 That Old Dagon Dark
#2 The Crawlspace


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Reply #12 on: January 31, 2013, 04:47:27 AM
1) 299 White As A Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee
2) 299 White As A Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee
3) 299 White As A Bedroom Door by Nathaniel Lee

...   What?

Okay, no, seriously:

1) 287 Final Girl Theory by A.C. Wise
This is easily my favorite.  It scratches all of the right itches for me, from English Major overthinking of texts to horror based on subtly skewed perspectives and reactions rather than "Boo!  Monsters!"  Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

2) 265 Biba Jibun by Eugie Foster
Eugie Foster has an unfair advantage with me; she starts out at half-credit, like an arcade game that someone overpaid, and only has to not fumble the ball for me to be happy.  This story was the opposite of a fumble: deft and wicked, with a hidden sharpness and a nasty jolt at the end; a brocade pillow with a brick and a thumbtack hidden inside.

3) 306 Night Fishing by Ray Cluley
I wrote a story (and sent it to Shawn, even, back in the day) that was trying to do what this story did with grace and artistry.  At least now I don't have to try and rewrite that story into something salvageable. 

3.5) 282 Flash On The Borderlands XI - Fearful Fashions
      A Mother of Monsters by Guy De Maupassant
      10 Darlings and an Handbag by Violet Glaze
      Forbidden Feast at the Armageddon Cafe by John Nakamura Remy

If we didn't have to nominate whole episodes, this would have made the main list; one of my favorite older stories and the most vicious, wrenching flash since "Devote Your Life to Beauty."  The only thing that spoiled the episode's chances was the rather lackluster cannibLOLism story. 

Honorable Mentions
A) 295 Just Outside Our Windows, Deep Inside Our Walls by Brian Hodge
Very close, for me, but in the end the personal resonance of "Night Fishing" won out over the sweet/creepy vibe of this one. 

B) 298 The Long Road To The Sea by James L. Sutter
This one is notable because it's the first zombie story in a while to actually interest me.  A solid entry, by all measures.

C) 272 The Dark And What It Said by Rick Kennett
I loved the atmosphere, but the ending was a trifle too out of left field for my taste.

D) 304 The Last Reel by Lynda E. Rucker
This one had haunting imagery, but I think it was a little too fancy for its own good.

E) 288 The White Dog by Fyodor Sologub
Honestly, the only reason this one isn't on my list is because I don't like to pick older stories for special mention; if they're still around after however many years, that usually says a lot in and of itself.






Bdoomed

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Reply #13 on: February 19, 2013, 08:44:46 PM
Last call for nominations, I'll be putting up a poll this weekend!

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


canajunsam

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Reply #14 on: February 21, 2013, 10:05:23 AM
Looong time listener, first time poster...

um...

285:  Kill Screen:  As a gaming nerd, I loved this story.  It creeped me right the hell out, which doesn't happen to me a lot.  The choice of using a cast for the read was very cool, and I really enjoyed it.

306:  Night Fishing:  This story spoke to me greatly about despair and about loss...as well as trying to find an original voice as a writer in a sea of people who want you to be the next "insert name of hot writer here".  It was beautifully written.

298:  The Long Road to the Sea:  This story was SPRAWLING in epicness.  It was wonderfully written.  I enjoyed it greatly.

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kibitzer

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Reply #15 on: February 22, 2013, 01:40:20 AM
Looong time listener, first time poster...

Welcome! Good to see ya. Stick around!


Bdoomed

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Reply #16 on: February 26, 2013, 09:07:36 AM
Nominominationomomnomnomnoms are closed.  Nom.

Please refer to polls A and B for super voting action.  Batteries not included.

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?