Author Topic: Best PodCastle of 2013 Nominations (Read 15868 times)

Talia · **on:** January 31, 2014, 02:56:46 AM

Another year has come and gone here in the halls of PodCastle, and it's time once again to nominate your favorite episodes from the past 52 (ish) weeks.
Whether you listened to 5, 15 or 50 episodes in 2013, you're invited to post 1-3 of your favorites in this thread (along with why
you feel they merit a nomination, if you wish!). In a couple of weeks (or when the nominating slows down/stops) we'll put up a poll with stories that get
the most nominations.

Here's a list of the stories that ran last year. There were only three miniatures, so I've included them at the end.

PC 241: Everything You Were Looking For by Samantha Henderson, read by Wilson Fowlie
PC 242: A Memory of Wind by Rachel Swirsky, read by Ann Leckie
PC 243: Tiger in the BSE by E. Lily Yu, read by TCA Lakshmi Narasimhan
PC 244: The Very Strange Weird of Endart Sscowth by Scott H. Andrews, read by Eric Luke
PC 245: On the Acquisition of Phoenix Eggs (Variant) by Marissa Lingen, read by Tina Connolly
PC 246: Where Virtue Lives by Saladin Ahmed, read by Rajan Khanna
PC 247: The Three Feats of Agani by Christie Yant, read by Stephanie Morris
PC 248: Bleaker Collegiate Presents an All-Female Production of Waiting for Godot by Claire Humphrey, read by Tatiana Gomberg
PC 249: My Dignity in Scars by Cory Skerry, read by Graeme Dunlop
PC 250: Logic and Magic in the Time of the Boat Lift, by Cat Rambo and Ben Burgis, read by M.K. Hobson
PC 251: Throwing Stones by Mishell Baker, read by Elizabeth Green Musselman
PC 252: The Colors of the World by Paul Willems, read by Marguerite Croft
PC 253: Virtue's Ghosts by Amanda M. Olson, read by Amanda Fitzwater
PC 254: Sundae by Matt Wallace, read by Dave Robison
PC 255: The Medicine Woman of Talking Rock by Pamela Rentz, read by Ada Milenkovic Brown
PC 256: The Red Priest's Vigil by Dirk Flinthart, read by Graeme Dunlop
PC 257: The Queen and The Cambion by Richard Bowes, read by Wilson Fowlie
PC 258: The Discriminating Monster’s Guide to the Perils of Princess Snatching by Scott M. Roberts, read by Dave Thompson
PC 259: The Great Zeppelin Heist of Oz by Rae Carson and C.C. Finlay, read by Nick Podel
PC 260: Fine Flying Things by Adele Gardner, read by Elie Hirschman
PC 261: Oracle Gretel by Julia Rios, read by Marguerite Kenner
PC 262: The Dragonslayer of Merebarton by K.J. Parker, read by Daniel Foley
PC 263: Beyond the Shrinking World by Nathaniel Katz, read by Dominick Rabrun
PC 264: Mermaid’s Hook by Liz Argall, read by Julia Rios
PC 265: The Copperroof War by Megan Arkenberg, read by Eric Luke
PC 266: The House of Aunts by Zen Cho, read by Nina Shaharuddin
PC 267: Western Chow Mein Red Dawn by Lavie Tidhar, read by Bob Eccles
PC 268: The Phoenix on the Sword, featuring Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, read by Graeme Dunlop
PC 269: Selected Program Notes From the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer by Kenneth Schneyer, read by Peter Wood
PC 270: The Secret of Calling Rabbits by Wendy Wagner, read by John Meagher
PC 271: Nightfall in the Scent Garden by Claire Humphrey, read by Kara Grace
PC 272: The Tree of Life by C.L. Moore, Read by Dave Robison
PC 273: Excision by Scott H. Andrews, read by Jen Rhodes
PC 274: Far as You Can Go by Greg van Eekhout, read by Dave Thompson
PC 275: El Alma Perdida de Marguerite Espinoza by Jeremiah Tolbert, read by Brian Lieberman
PC 276: Juan Caceres in the Zapetero’s Workshop by Derek Kunsken, read by Roberto Suarez
PC 277: A Hollow Play by Amal El-Mohtar, read by Tina Connolly
PC 278: Nor the Moonlight by Andrew Penn Romine, read by Cheyenne Wright
PC 279: Thorns by Martha Wells, read by C.S.E. Cooney
PC 280: The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, read by Wilson Fowlie
PC 281: The Wanderer King by Alisa Alering, read by Amy Robinson
PC 282: The Sunshine Baron by Peadar Ó Guilín, read by Rob Haines
PC 283: Right Turns by Tim Pratt, read by Marguerite Croft
PC 284: The October Witch by Francesca Forrest, read by Steve Anderson
PC 285: Dragonslayer by Nathaniel Lee, read by Elie Hirschman
PC 286: The Calendar of Saints by Kat Howard, read by Amal El-Mohtar
PC 287: Tiktok and the Nome King by L. Frank Baum, read by Bob Eccles
PC 288: Flash Fiction Contest Strikes Back! Georgina and the Basilisk, The Bear, and Wuffle , by Leslianne Wilder, Taven Moore and Chantal Beaulne, read by LaShawn Wanak, Christiana Ellis and Nathaniel Lee
PC 289: Rumor of Wings by Alter S. Reiss, read by M.K. Hobson
PC 290: Maxwell’s Demon by Ken Liu, read by Aki Gibbons
PC 291: Seasonal Disorder by Heather Shaw and Tim Pratt, read by Christiana Ellis
PC 292: Scry by Anne Ivy, read by Elizabeth Green Musselman

And the miniatures:

PC Miniature 75: Doctor Diablo Goes Through The Motions by Saladin Ahmed, read by Roberto Suarez
PC Miniature 76: Quiet Death Machines by Gillian Daniels, read by David D. Levine
PC Miniature 77: The Tome of Tourmaline by Ken Liu, read by Wilson Fowlie

I'll be back later. It's time to feed the dragons.

Unblinking · **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2014, 02:57:23 PM

Would it be possible to add in the titles for the Flash Fiction Strikes Back episode? It's hard to remember what stories were in such a thing just from a vague title.

My top 3 stories of the year:
The Three Feats of Agani
Scry
Wuffle (one of those Flash Fiction Strikes Back stories)

Listener · **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2014, 03:12:27 PM

This was a down year for me for PC. I skipped a LOT of stories after the first 3-5 minutes. They just didn't grab me. Normally I find PC to be the most "stuff I like" of the EA casts, but 2013 was not the year.

That said, there were some good ones, including...

My nominations:

PC 250: Logic and Magic in the Time of the Boat Lift, by Cat Rambo and Ben Burgis, read by M.K. Hobson
PC 262: The Dragonslayer of Merebarton by K.J. Parker, read by Daniel Foley
PC 283: Right Turns by Tim Pratt, read by Marguerite Croft

Honorable mentions:

PC 243: Tiger in the BSE by E. Lily Yu, read by TCA Lakshmi Narasimhan
PC 257: The Queen and The Cambion by Richard Bowes, read by Wilson Fowlie
PC 258: The Discriminating Monster’s Guide to the Perils of Princess Snatching by Scott M. Roberts, read by Dave Thompson
PC 291: Seasonal Disorder by Heather Shaw and Tim Pratt, read by Christiana Ellis

Fenrix · **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2014, 04:40:23 PM

Not easy to narrow it down, but my three nominations are:

PC 247: The Three Feats of Agani by Christie Yant, read by Stephanie Morris
PC 269: Selected Program Notes From the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer by Kenneth Schneyer, read by Peter Wood
PC 286: The Calendar of Saints by Kat Howard, read by Amal El-Mohtar

I think these all deserve honorable mentions, as they were awesome stories, but I decided to save the nominations for the newer stories instead of the classics:

PC 268: The Phoenix on the Sword, featuring Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, read by Graeme Dunlop
PC 272: The Tree of Life by C.L. Moore, Read by Dave Robison
PC 280: The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving, read by Wilson Fowlie
PC 287: Tiktok and the Nome King by L. Frank Baum, read by Bob Eccles

Unblinking · **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2014, 05:37:35 PM

Ooh! I changed my answer, I forgot about The Three Feats of Agani. I copied my original three from my Best of Podcastle 2013 draft, but couldn't include Podcastle on that list because I don't consider stories I've already heard podcasted elsewhere for those lists. (I edited my prior post to reflect this)

Talia · **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2014, 06:37:05 PM

Quote from: Unblinking on January 31, 2014, 02:57:23 PM

Would it be possible to add in the titles for the Flash Fiction Strikes Back episode? It's hard to remember what stories were in such a thing just from a vague title.

My top 3 stories of the year:
The Three Feats of Agani
Scry
Wuffle (one of those Flash Fiction Strikes Back stories)

Done. It was the flash fiction contest winners.

danooli · **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2014, 12:59:14 PM

Another year gone by, another crop of stories that make choosing three dreadfully difficult...I will do my best though

(Note...Stories are listed in order they appeared, not in any order of preference.)

Nominations
PC 246: Where Virtue Lives by Saladin Ahmed, read by Rajan Khanna - I loved The Throne of The Crescent Moon (I can't say that enough) so this story of how Doctor Adoulla Makhslood and Raseed bas Raseed met thrilled me.

PC 254: Sundae by Matt Wallace, read by Dave Robison -what can I say about Sundae? Holy cow, months after listening to this one for the first time, I still get a pang of sadness and love for that Most Honorable Bear. I bought the story too, that's how much I love it. Matt F'n Wallace...you rock, man.

PC 290: Maxwell’s Demon by Ken Liu, read by Aki Gibbons - This was just lovely and heart wrenching. The reading was incredible too. Ken Liu, as always, just amazes.

Honorable mentions
PC 252: The Colors of the World by Paul Willems, read by Marguerite Croft - There was something haunting about this one that, while I didn't love it when I first heard it, it has stuck with me.

PC 258: The Discriminating Monster’s Guide to the Perils of Princess Snatching by Scott M. Roberts, read by Dave Thompson - Fun story and the reading was great. Deserves mention.

PC 259: The Great Zeppelin Heist of Oz by Rae Carson and C.C. Finlay, read by Nick Podel - I love Oz and I love Nick Podel (he's recorded some of my favorite audiobooks) so together this was a hit for me.

PC 276: Juan Caceres in the Zapetero’s Workshop by Derek Kunsken, read by Roberto Suarez - Another one that was tons of fun. The discussion this one elicited on these here forums was great too.

slic · **Reply #7 on:** February 11, 2014, 02:10:10 AM

PC 289: Rumor of Wings by Alter S. Reiss, read by M.K. Hobson
Great reading, and magnificent world building in so few words.
PC 291: Seasonal Disorder by Heather Shaw and Tim Pratt, read by Christiana Ellis
I really loved the Ice Queen - don't cross her :-)
PC 292: Scry by Anne Ivy, read by Elizabeth Green Musselman
I normally avoid the really long stories but took the advice and gave it a shot - marvelous story, melancholy and yet triumphant.

I didn't mean for them to be all bunched together (I didn't like Maxwell’s Demon) and even re-listened to some olders ones, but these really have struck me hardest.

Honourable Mention:
PC 246: Where Virtue Lives by Saladin Ahmed
PC 280: The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving

Devoted135 · **Reply #8 on:** February 11, 2014, 03:21:14 AM

Lots of stories that I liked this year, but not too many that I absolutely LOVED. Here are my picks:

PC 249: My Dignity in Scars by Cory Skerry, read by Graeme Dunlop
PC 273: Excision by Scott H. Andrews, read by Jen Rhodes
PC 292: Scry by Anne Ivy, read by Elizabeth Green Musselman

Honorable Mention:
PC 246: Where Virtue Lives by Saladin Ahmed, read by Rajan Khanna
PC 288: Flash Fiction Contest Strikes Back! Wuffle by Chantal Beaulne, read by Nathaniel Lee

Tobias E. Queen · **Reply #9 on:** February 13, 2014, 10:11:22 PM

PC Miniature 75: Doctor Diablo Goes Through The Motions by Saladin Ahmed, read by Roberto Suarez
PC 262: The Dragonslayer of Merebarton by K.J. Parker, read by Daniel Foley
PC 283: Right Turns by Tim Pratt, read by Marguerite Croft

Varda · **Reply #10 on:** February 13, 2014, 11:04:14 PM

I've been absolutely agonizing over this! Call this pulling the band-aid off already, because otherwise I'm going to waffle so much I won't nominate anything at this rate.

Everything on my list were stories that I listened to at least twice, and in some cases more than twice, including the honorable mentions. Only "Selected Program Notes" was a lock-in. My second and third picks were very difficult. I love all these stories so, so much.

My noms:
PC 269: Selected Program Notes From the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer by Kenneth Schneyer, read by Peter Wood
PC 292: Scry by Anne Ivy, read by Elizabeth Green Musselman
PC 273: Excision by Scott H. Andrews, read by Jen Rhodes

Honorable mentions:
PC 247: The Three Feats of Agani by Christie Yant, read by Stephanie Morris
PC 285: Dragonslayer by Nathaniel Lee, read by Elie Hirschman
PC 271: Nightfall in the Scent Garden by Claire Humphrey, read by Kara Grace
PC 286: The Calendar of Saints by Kat Howard, read by Amal El-Mohtar

Wilson Fowlie · **Reply #11 on:** February 14, 2014, 02:42:40 AM

Wow, not a lot of responses, huh? Dave, will you have a moment to mention this post in this week's episode, maybe?

Devoted135 · **Reply #12 on:** February 14, 2014, 03:36:06 AM

Quote from: Wilson Fowlie on February 14, 2014, 02:42:40 AM

Wow, not a lot of responses, huh? Dave, will you have a moment to mention this post in this week's episode, maybe?

I imagine that the responses will pick up as people realize that the forums are back up and running. Seems like the whole forum has been pretty quiet since coming back online. By the way, does anyone know when the deadline for nominations is?

DKT · **Reply #13 on:** February 14, 2014, 02:34:35 PM

Quote from: Wilson Fowlie on February 14, 2014, 02:42:40 AM

Wow, not a lot of responses, huh? Dave, will you have a moment to mention this post in this week's episode, maybe?

Yeah, I'll mention it in 299, next week

Scattercat · **Reply #14 on:** February 15, 2014, 12:58:32 PM

WINNARZ (in decreasing order)
1) PC 248: Bleaker Collegiate Presents an All-Female Production of Waiting for Godot by Claire Humphrey, read by Tatiana Gomberg
Easily my favorite. I love moody and opaque. It's hard to strike just the right balance of unspoken-ness, but I thought this one was brilliant. This is, as ever, the kiss of death for any given story.

2) PC 247: The Three Feats of Agani by Christie Yant, read by Stephanie Morris
Creeped me right out. I'm only so-so on mythic structures, and it wasn't until the very end that this one went from "Yeah, okay," to "God damn," but that final image still haunts me.

3) PC 283: Right Turns by Tim Pratt, read by Marguerite Croft
This reminds me of what I think of as "the old Tim Pratt," when he was writing about mystic catfish and wasp-eaters. I was surprised by how little I have liked any of the Marla Mason books or stories, and a lot of his holiday pieces feel, well, a lot like what you get when you commission an author to write a holiday-themed story every year, but this, for me, was the good stuff. Odd and poignant and inexplicable.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)
PC 245: On the Acquisition of Phoenix Eggs (Variant) by Marissa Lingen, read by Tina Connolly
The reading elevated this from a mildly amusing fantasy piece to laugh-out-loud quality entertainment. If I'd been more enthralled by the plot instead of amused by the character and thoroughly engaged by Ms. Connolly's reading of her, this would have made my top three.

PC 263: Beyond the Shrinking World by Nathaniel Katz, read by Dominick Rabrun
Awesome worldbuilding is hard as hell in short fiction. High marks for achieving that. Escaped my top three only because I, as said above, like moody and opaque. In this case, I like it more than I like epic fantasy.

PC 271: Nightfall in the Scent Garden by Claire Humphrey, read by Kara Grace
Basically only not in my top three because giving two spots to Ms. Humphrey felt odd, and of the two stories, this is the one I was not quite as bowled over by.

Sad Trombone
~~PC 285: Dragonslayer by Nathaniel Lee, read by Elie Hirschman~~
Le sigh...

Wilson Fowlie · **Reply #15 on:** February 17, 2014, 06:47:28 AM

My top three (in chronological order):
PC 246: Where Virtue Lives by Saladin Ahmed
PC 256: The Red Priest's Vigil by Dirk Flinthart
PC 269: Selected Program Notes From the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer by Kenneth Schneyer

Close, but...
PC 257: The Queen and The Cambion by Richard Bowes (I almost put this in my top three, but I'm never sure how biased I am toward stories when I've narrated them myself...)
PC 292: Scry by Anne Ivy

Procyon · **Reply #16 on:** February 18, 2014, 04:04:40 PM

Top three tales in chronological order:

PC 256: The Red Priest's Vigil by Dirk Flinthart, read by Graeme Dunlop
PC 271: Nightfall in the Scent Garden by Claire Humphrey, read by Kara Grace
PC 272: The Tree of Life by C.L. Moore, Read by Dave Robison

Honorable mentions:

PC 252: The Colors of the World by Paul Willems, read by Marguerite Croft
PC 282: The Sunshine Baron by Peadar Ó Guilín, read by Rob Haines

littlepossum · **Reply #17 on:** February 23, 2014, 04:56:54 AM

PC 287: Tiktok and the Nome King by L. Frank Baum, read by Bob Eccles
PC 281: The Wanderer King by Alisa Alering, read by Amy Robinson
PC 245: On the Acquisition of Phoenix Eggs (Variant) by Marissa Lingen, read by Tina Connolly ( I have a memory of this one not being very well received but I am fond of it and have listened to it a number of times.

kibitzer · **Reply #18 on:** February 23, 2014, 09:59:38 PM

MY top three, in order:

PC 257: The Queen and The Cambion by Richard Bowes, read by Wilson Fowlie
PC 254: Sundae by Matt Wallace, read by Dave Robison
PC 265: The Copperroof War by Megan Arkenberg, read by Eric Luke

There you go, Wilson -- it was, indeed, an excellent story.

I would have chosen PC 256: The Red Priest's Vigil, but since I not only narrated but actually CHOSE that one, I definitely am biased

merian · **Reply #19 on:** February 24, 2014, 07:12:42 AM

There were a lot of heart-rending pessimistic stories this year that were extremely well done, but I'm sort of leaning towards stories with less despair in them. Without over-thinking it, here are my top three, in chronological order, and I'm sure that I missed some stories of equal quality.

PC 250: Logic and Magic in the Time of the Boat Lift, by Cat Rambo and Ben Burgis, read by M.K. Hobson
PC 266: The House of Aunts by Zen Cho, read by Nina Shaharuddin
PC 269: Selected Program Notes From the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer by Kenneth Schneyer, read by Peter Wood

TrishEM · **Reply #20 on:** February 26, 2014, 06:59:58 AM

Wow, this has been an amazing year for stories at PodCastle! At each of your sister sites, I was able to narrow my favorites down to 3 nominations in just a few minutes, but here, there are at least a dozen that seem to deserve recognition. I'm going to have to think about this for a while longer. Anyway, congratulations on a brilliant year!

DKT · **Reply #21 on:** February 26, 2014, 02:41:00 PM

Thank you, Trish! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing which you end up going with

TrishEM · **Reply #22 on:** February 28, 2014, 11:24:55 AM

Quote from: DKT on February 26, 2014, 02:41:00 PM

Thank you, Trish! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing which you end up going with

Thank YOU.
I'll nominate The Sunshine Baron, Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Therese Rosenberg Latimer, and El Alma Perdida de Marguerite Espinoza, because they are all so different from anything I've read/heard before as well as being really well written and voiced.
Virtue's Ghosts could easily have been one of my nominations, too.
Beyond the Shrinking World was also pretty different, and effective, but by the end I was really ready for it to be over. That's probably more about my tastes than the quality of the story, but hey, it's my nomination to not make.
Some of the other stories this year that I really loved were A Memory of Wind, The Dragonslayer of Merebarton, The Red Priest's Vigil, Thorns, The Copperroof War, Logic and Magic in the Time of the Boat Lift, and Doctor Diablo Goes Through The Motions. They were all great.

Unblinking · **Reply #23 on:** March 03, 2014, 04:05:48 PM

My full Best of Podcastle list for the year:
http://www.diabolicalplots.com/?p=4034

queene · **Reply #24 on:** March 05, 2014, 05:44:08 AM

1. Sundae
This story got me into Podcastle (from Pseudopod). I enjoy the idea that toys have their own world, a real and dangerous world, interacting with children, and as adults we just aren't part of it. The way he couldn't protect the girl who tried to burn him with the rest of the toys stands out, and Silver is the perfect story of a dog's life to me. I also remember trying to hide my elbows under the cover as a little kid, so the closet monster couldn't get them.

2. Discriminating Monsters Guide to Princess Snatching
This should have been on Pseudopod. A perfect example of how doing the "right" thing bites you in the arse. I liked the blending of mythologies and the weirdly familiar family life of the monster.

3. Excision
Wonderfully creepy universe, I would read more stories there.

I feel like I'm not quite qualified for this because I haven't heard all the stories from last year, but all three of these stories got listened to several times.