Author Topic: Best of PseudoPod 2013 Nominations  (Read 26747 times)

Fenrix

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on: December 31, 2013, 02:41:32 AM
As the year comes to a close, it's time to nominate what you thought was best from 2013. You shouldn't feel obligated to refrain from participation unless you've listened to every story. If you only listened to three and the blew you away, then by all means nominate them. If you only loved the Ligotti or Dorman or  Brooke-Rose story, then please nominate it. As in years past, Flash On The Borderlands stories are grouped together in voting, so the nominations cover the entire episode.

Nominations will be up for a month, and we'll get a poll up in February.

While you're at it, nominate the three best vocal performances. Share your opinion as to whether we should run a poll for the best audio production. Alternately, just talk about them and let Graeme and Shawn know you appreciate their hard work.

The stories are:

316:  The Persistence Of Memory by William Meikle read by Christiana Ellis   
317:  ***Enzymes by Greg Stolze read by Kyle Akers   
318:  Venice Burning by A.C. Wise read by Ben Phillips   
319:  Cell Call by Marc Laidlaw read byGeorge Cleveland   
320:  ***The Man With The Broken Soul by Matt Wall read by Elie Hirschman   
321:  ***I Am The Box, The Box Is Me by Kyle S. Johnson read by Pete Milan   
322:  Cry Room by Ted Kosmatka read by Peter Piazza   
323:  The Trinket by P.G. Bell read by John Trevillian   
324:  ***Wings by Nathaniel Lee read by John Bell   
325:  Entrance And Exit / The Terror Of The Twins by Algernon Blackwood read by David Rees-Thomas, Simon Meddings   
326:  Bunraku by David X. Wiggin read by John Chu   
327:  ***What It’s Come To by Wolf Hartman read by Zhames Tremarco   
328:  The Suicide Witch by Vylar Kaftan read by Rikki LaCoste   
329:  Red Rubber Gloves by Christine Brooke-Rose read by Kim Lakin-Smith   
330:  Flash On The Borderlands XV: At Your Service!   
      Last Waltz in Texas by Bryce Albertson read by Jacquie Duckworth
      ***Sterile by Christopher Tepedino read by John “Man Of Many Voices” Bell
      ***Meat by David Steffen read by Josh Roseman
331:  The Ninth Skeleton by Clark Ashton Smith read by Corson Bremer   
332:  Willow Tests Well by Nick Mamatas read by Julie Hoverson   
333:  Gig Marks by Ed Ferrara read by Patrick "The Voice" Bazile   
334:  ***The Curse Of The Mummy by Andre Harden read by Emily Smith   
335: *** Charlie Harmer’s Day Off by Brendan Detzner read by Eric Luke   
336:  The Abyss by Leonid Andreyev read by Tanja Milojevic   
337:  At The End Of The Passage by Rudyard Kipling read by Alasdair Stuart   
338:  Beware The Jabberwock, My Son by Dixon Chance read by Kevin Hayes   
339:  The End-Of-The-World Pool by Scott M. Roberts read by Mark E. Phair   
340:  Neighbourhood Watch by Greg Egan read by Ron Jon Newton   
341:  ***Immortal L.A. by Eric Czuleger read by Joe Calarco   
342:  Riding Atlas by Ferrett Steinmetz read by Christopher Reynaga   
343:  Magdala Amygdala by Lucy Snyder read by Eugie Foster   
344:  The Pit by Joe R. Lansdale read by John Bell   
345:  ***Boxed by Donald McCarthy read by Alex Rudy   
346:  Prisoner Of Peace by David Tallerman read by Caith Donova   
347:  Flash On The Borderlands XVI: Trial & Discipline
     ***Passing Grade by Paul DesCombaz read by Kyle Akers
     ***The Killing Machine by Karen Runge read by Eve Upton
     Awaiting Redemption by Maurice Broaddus read by Laurice White
348:  ***The Easily Forgotten by Philip M. Roberts read by Laura Hobbs   
349:  Apotropaics by Norman Partridge read by Matt Franklin   
350:  The Bungalow House by Thomas Ligotti read by Ralph Walters   
351:  ***The Blues by Cameron Suey read by Gabriel Diani   
352:  Enough With The Crazy by Emile Dayne read by Joe Scalora   
353:  FLASH ON THE BORDERLANDS XVII: Keeping Up Appearances
     Down By The Sea Near The Great Big Rock by Joe R. Lansdale read by Corson Bremer
     ***The Demon Fields by Keith McCleary read by Kevin Hayes
     ***Pawn by Jaki Idler read by Julia Rios
354:  ***The Eulogy of Darien Meek by Niccolo Skill read by Rich Girardi   
355:  ***The Chair by Leah Thomas read by Justin Riestra   
356:  The Night Wire by H.F. (Henry Ferris) Arnold read by Eric Luke   
357:  ***Growth Spurt by Paul Lorello read by Steve Anderson   
358:  Apathetic Flesh by Darren O. Godfrey read by Bill Ruhsam   
359:  ***Face Change by Jeff Hewitt read by ANSON MOUNT   
360:  Anasazi Skin by Matt Wallace read by Lance Roger Axt   
361:  The Murmurous Paleoscope by Dixon Chance read by Christiana Ellis   
362:  Go, Go, Go, Said The Bird by Sonya Dorman read by Heather Welliver   
363:  Footsteps Invisible by Robert A. Arthur, Jr. read by Kevin Hayes   
364:  The Yellow Sign by Robert W. Chambers read by B.J. Harrison   
365:  ***Whispers In The Dark by Andrew Marinus read by Graeme Dunlop   
366   To Build a Fire by Jack London read by Wilson Fowlie   

Bonus Christmas Flash - Helpers by David Steffen read by Rikki LaCoste



*** indicates PseudoPod originals

ETA: corrected a name
« Last Edit: January 13, 2014, 04:49:31 PM by Fenrix »

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #1 on: December 31, 2013, 03:54:17 PM
Small request:  could the story titles for the Flash on the Borderlands episodes be added in?



Fenrix

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Reply #2 on: December 31, 2013, 08:36:15 PM
Small request:  could the story titles for the Flash on the Borderlands episodes be added in?

Done.

As a bonus, I added notation as to whether or not they were PseudoPod originals based on the info in the episode headers.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #3 on: January 02, 2014, 01:11:57 PM
Here are my om nom noms for story. I usually think narrations are tied in too closely with stories to nominate them separately, or else I would.

STORY:
322:  Cry Room by Ted Kosmatka read by Peter Piazza   
333:  Gig Marks by Ed Ferrara read by Patrick "The Voice" Bazile   
339:  The End-Of-The-World Pool by Scott M. Roberts read by Mark E. Phair   

Honorable Mentions:
319:  Cell Call by Marc Laidlaw read byGeorge Cleveland
332:  Willow Tests Well by Nick Mamatas read by Julie Hoverson     
353a: Down By The Sea Near The Great Big Rock by Joe R. Lansdale read by Corson Bremer
359:  ***Face Change by Jeff Hewitt read by ANSON MOUNT   
Bonus Christmas Flash - Helpers by David Steffen read by Rikki LaCoste

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Fenrix

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Reply #4 on: January 02, 2014, 02:06:54 PM
I'm struggling to get my list down to three. It's like Lansdale's "The Pit" in my head as the stories who are friends beating each other bloody for the privilege of survival.

Also, many thanks to Bdoomed for pinning the thread and adding links to the individual stories.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2014, 02:08:29 PM by Fenrix »

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #5 on: January 02, 2014, 07:29:42 PM
Small request:  could the story titles for the Flash on the Borderlands episodes be added in?

Done.

As a bonus, I added notation as to whether or not they were PseudoPod originals based on the info in the episode headers.

Woot!

And the "originals" notation is also greatly appreciated.  I need to figure out what stories I'm nominating for the Hugo this year, but since most of my short fiction consumption is via podcasts which mix reprints and originals, anything to speed up the process of separating one from the other is greatly appreciated.



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Reply #6 on: January 03, 2014, 02:22:57 AM
Narrations:

Ron Jon Newton - Neighborhood Watch
Christiana Ellis - The Murmurous Paleoscope
Laura Hobbs - The Easily Forgotten

Stories:

Pseudopod 322: Cry Room
Pseudopod 326: Bunraku
Pseudopod 343: Magdala Amygdala

Goddamn, that was hard to narrow down.


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Reply #7 on: January 05, 2014, 05:50:17 AM
My nominations:

Stories
1) Red Rubber Gloves
This one bothered me a whole lot.  Not because of the content, but the form and structure were so opposite all good narrative and writing advice and worked so tremendously well that I can't do anything but slow clap at the result. 

2) Apotropaics
I loved this one because the horror worked better if it wasn't supernatural at all.  Dramatic irony is awesome and is so rarely done with such flawless grace as this.  I still find the image of that unmarked grave covered in knives chilling.

3) Flash On The Borderlands XVI: Trial & Discipline  - Passing Grade
I can't help but love little kids fighting monsters, even if this story seems like they might not win.  I enjoyed this one thoroughly and will continue to do so for purely personal reasons.


Honorable Mentions:
- Cry Room
Almost more of a fantasy than a horror, which I don't consider a criticism.  I like subtle and mixed flavors in my fiction.  Furthermore, I endorse both monster babies and avoiding assholes in church.  This was the nearest miss of near misses for my top three.

- Bunraku
The mental image of the protagonist trying to have sex with the wife-doll while the creepy old man just fades into the background remains one of the more upsetting things Pseudopod has put in my head.  Thanks, Pseudopod!

- The End-Of-The-World Pool
I liked this one about two hundred percent more before it was revealed what the underlying message and imagery were intended to be.  I retain a lingering fondness for the story *I* read, anyway.

- Flash On The Borderlands XVI: Trial & Discipline  - The Killing Machine
Lovely structure, interesting premise, but it went on just that little bit too long and hammered its point home just that one time too many for me to be wholly enthusiastic about it.



Narrations
1) Red Rubber Gloves
No, really, I loved this episode a lot.  The GlaDOs-esque reading was perfect and helped bring about the trancelike state that I so enjoyed. 

2) Venice Burning
A striking and bold set of moves that made this story work better for me than it otherwise would have. 

3) Face Change
Minor confession time: I actually had read this story before it was published... in a slush pile, where I was unenthused.  However, the reading brought it completely to life and utterly revitalized the self-help guru.  Somehow giving him an outrageous Southern accent and hearing the joy and enthusiasm in his voice gave the whole story a new gloss and shine.  It's still honestly not my favorite, but the narration was definitely tops. 


Side Notes
At The End Of The Passage by Rudyard Kipling was awesome because Kipling is awesome (and also racist, though not as much as others, equally or more venerated.)  The sense of oppression was palpable, and the only reason it's not in my top three is because I try to at least avoid nominating stories from a century ago as the best of the current year.



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Reply #8 on: January 06, 2014, 03:41:41 PM
Stories: 
1. Neighborhood Watch
2.  The Murmurous Paleoscope
3.  Bunraku




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Reply #9 on: January 07, 2014, 09:41:46 PM
I find it really difficult to separate the story from the reading. In this medium, the reading affects the story so much it's hard to consider them separately. Anyway my stories are:
* The Night Wire
* Face Change
* The Murmurous Paleoscope

...and you see therein lies my problems as I'd probably say these were my favourite readings :)

I also enjoyed:
* The Ninth Skeleton
* The Yellow Sign
* To Build a Fire

which suggests to me I have a lot of catching up to do in the "classic horror" area. I've really enjoyed hearing some of the classics this year. Great picks, Shawn :)


Sgarre1

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Reply #10 on: January 07, 2014, 09:50:42 PM
Thank you, sir!



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Reply #11 on: January 07, 2014, 10:21:42 PM
Disclaimer: I've only just started listening, since about the 8 most recent episodes, so I wasn't going to participate in the nominations. But after thinking about it, I don't think naming my top 50% from that pool is really going to hurt anything, so I'm throwing my hat into the ring. :)

Of course, feel free to ignore these in light of my noobishness: I will be using all of your lists to hit the highlights so I can participate for realsies in the final voting.

1. The Murmurous Paleoscope
2. Go, Go, Go Said the Bird
3. The Yellow Sign

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Sgarre1

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Reply #12 on: January 07, 2014, 10:28:49 PM
It is an aspect of this process that episodes from earlier in the year tend to get short shrift in the memory department - nobody's fault, of course, just the reality of an information overloaded life - but your situation is the most understandable and I thank you for voting regardless.

Those who have listened all year and have not voted yet - consider going back and re-reading your own posts on the episodes!



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Reply #13 on: January 07, 2014, 11:48:18 PM
One of the main reasons I like to include links to the respective forum posts for each of the stories is that I can be reminded of a story I haven't heard in a long while by going over some of the comments.  Furthermore, the links to the audio are in those posts, in case they no longer exist on a harddrive.

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


Sgarre1

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Reply #14 on: January 08, 2014, 02:46:28 AM
And thank you for that thoughtfulness!



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Reply #15 on: January 08, 2014, 02:47:02 PM
And thank you for that thoughtfulness!

Seconded! 

I like it when an author picks an evocative title.  For instance, when I hear "The Murmurous Paleoscope", only one thing comes to mind.  That's less true for stories like "Boxed" where I thought at first it was the story about the POV that was apparently in a box at the docks, but it was really the one about the box that can wipe your memories at your selection.

If an author doesn't pick an evocative title, then forum comments are awesome at recalling my memory.  In the cases where even that doesn't work, then I probably just had trouble focusing on the story for whatever reason.

Authors, take note--evocative titles are your friend!



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Reply #16 on: January 10, 2014, 07:28:30 PM
Very tough to narrow, but I am going to go with Helpers in First Place.  I think Helpers was just as entertaining as anything on the list and it did it quicker and crisper in my opinion.

Second Place - The Night Wire
Third Place - The Easily Forgotten

The man is clear in his mind, but his soul is mad.


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Reply #17 on: January 11, 2014, 02:38:16 AM
This was really really hard to narrow things down. I could only make cuts without significant pain down to about half the list. So here’s what I think:

Story:

331:  The Ninth Skeleton by Clark Ashton Smith read by Corson Bremer   
361:  The Murmurous Paleoscope by Dixon Chance read by Christiana Ellis   
362:  Go, Go, Go, Said The Bird by Sonya Dorman read by Heather Welliver   

I spent a bunch of time hunting down permissions for two of these, so I believe in them. The final slot goes to the awesome steampunk Lovecraftian tale.

Narration:

333:  Gig Marks by Ed Ferrara read by Patrick "The Voice" Bazile   
343:  Magdala Amygdala by Lucy Snyder read by Eugie Foster   
359:  ***Face Change by Jeff Hewitt read by ANSON MOUNT   

While I liked them before, both Gig Marks and Face Change were truly elevated by phenomenal narration. I already loved Magdala, but Eugie made it haunting.

Production:

318:  Venice Burning by A.C. Wise read by Ben Phillips   
319:  Cell Call by Marc Laidlaw read by George Cleveland   
350:  The Bungalow House by Thomas Ligotti read by Ralph Walters   

All three of these received light production touches that really elevated the story and assisted with immersion.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #18 on: January 11, 2014, 07:58:12 AM
All three of these received light production touches that really elevated the story and assisted with immersion.

Thank you! I think all of the ideas for those were Shawn's. I just executed them. I mean did them. Not like, you know, KILLED them.


Fenrix

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Reply #19 on: January 13, 2014, 04:54:49 PM
All three of these received light production touches that really elevated the story and assisted with immersion.

Thank you! I think all of the ideas for those were Shawn's. I just executed them. I mean did them. Not like, you know, KILLED them.

All these proclamations of innocence sound like a guilty conscience at work. The soil on your shovel looks rather fresh.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


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Reply #20 on: January 17, 2014, 10:11:50 PM
Since I can't say "Best" or even "Favorite", let me instead pick the episodes I am most proud of presenting this year:

329:  Red Rubber Gloves by Christine Brooke-Rose read by Kim Lakin-Smith   
350:  The Bungalow House by Thomas Ligotti read by Ralph Walters
336:  The Abyss by Leonid Andreyev read by Tanja Milojevic

Honorable mentions

362:  Go, Go, Go, Said The Bird by Sonya Dorman read by Heather Welliver   
363:  Footsteps Invisible by Robert A. Arthur, Jr. read by Kevin Hayes   
364:  The Yellow Sign by Robert W. Chambers read by B.J. Harrison
356:  The Night Wire by H.F. (Henry Ferris) Arnold read by Eric Luke
349:  Apotropaics by Norman Partridge read by Matt Franklin
344:  The Pit by Joe R. Lansdale read by John Bell
342:  Riding Atlas by Ferrett Steinmetz read by Christopher Reynaga
340:  Neighbourhood Watch by Greg Egan read by Ron Jon Newton
337:  At The End Of The Passage by Rudyard Kipling read by Alasdair Stuart
319:  Cell Call by Marc Laidlaw read byGeorge Cleveland 



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Reply #21 on: January 24, 2014, 06:28:12 PM
Here are my nominations...  I haven't listened to the entire year, but most of them.

1) To Build a Fire
2) Willow Tests Well
3) Face Change

Honourable Mentions:

The Yellow Sign
The Bungalow House
Footsepts Invisible



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Reply #22 on: February 09, 2014, 07:39:38 PM
I'm sure I'm a bit late for this party but I had to mention my favorites (oh no, there are four and not three! Can't... Limit... Self...)

Cry Room (maybe because my baby was just slightly younger and just slightly less chaotic than this little girl when I heard this, or maybe I'd had a really hard week as a new mother of a high needs girl, but this one murdered my soul and I reposted it in as many places as I could).

Immortal LA (hit me in the right way. i don't usually care about vampires stories and this one was great).

Venice Burning (this put me in such a weird mood after hearing it, like I was dreaming the rest of the day. Hard to do good Lovecraft universe and this did.)

Enzymes (most unique thing I've heard in forever. I like new ideas SO MUCH!)


Favorite voices:

Ron Jon Newton (WHAT THE VOICE?!! My nightmares thank you for existing.)
Kyle Akers (have remembered him since his first reading so really, he must have struck me. He does subtlety well and that's hard. Takes his time and makes me listen.)
Joe Calarco (knows when to whisper, knows when to yell, knows when to get crazy... Doesn't sound like he's reading. Great stuff!)

Please forgive my typos and grammatical errors. I'm probably using swype on my phone, or god help me, holding my iPad aloft over my head while the baby sleeps in my arms. Believe me, the errors bother me waaaay more than they bother you...


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Reply #23 on: February 09, 2014, 08:16:45 PM
All four of those are amongst my all time favorites:) Excellent choices.



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Reply #24 on: February 10, 2014, 04:26:16 AM
I know a piece has to be good when instead of browsing the titles of the year and casually making up my mind, I find myself quick-scanning for the ones that match the scars they left on my psyche the first time, police line-up style.

Please forgive my typos and grammatical errors. I'm probably using swype on my phone, or god help me, holding my iPad aloft over my head while the baby sleeps in my arms. Believe me, the errors bother me waaaay more than they bother you...