EP406: Freia in the Sunlight

[Unblinking]

It's always spooky when i come across a story that hits very close in some sense to a story that I've written.  I have a story (as yet unsold) about an android which accidentally invents a religion by taking marketing slogans for its production line too literally and wanders off.  The particulars are all very different--in this case a humanoid domestic helper instead of a plane-shaped war machine, and the circumstances are very different in most of it.  Still, kind of sends a chill down the spine. 

Anyway, I obviously liked the core idea, and this one had the interesting wrinkle of how she had to try to deal with what may be uncertain data sources which end up allowing her to go AWOL.  I didn't get as emotionally attached as I like to, but there was enough interesting philosophy that I wasn't bothered overmuch by this.

[CryptoMe]

This one did not work for me.

The first time I listened to it, I barely got anything out of it. Lots of words and images flashing by, with very little stringing them together for me. But, the lyrical quality of the text and narration, and what little I did get out of the first listening, intrigued me enough to give it a second try (something I *never* do unless I actually love the story).

On the second listen, I got more out of the story, but still felt like I was missing a lot. And frankly, I wasn't drawn into the story enough to care. There were allusions to the kinds of deep and profound things other forumites have already posted on this thread, but again there wasn't enough meat there for me to sink my teeth into and get carried along with the author.

In short, I think this story was too dense for audio and, at the same time, not well enough fleshed out to take the listener on the author's intended journey. I would love to see this story rewritten, with more attention paid to keeping the audience on the same page as the author.

Note: This post was written at the same time as Unblinking was writing his post above, so I am not referring to his story . How odd that after more than 2 months of inactivity, 2 people would choose to comment on an old story at the same time.

[SmiiiLee]

I liked what I listened to of the story, but the overdid it a bit on the echoing when people were announcing to the public or whatever. Had to turn if off.