Author Topic: PC370: Congratulations On Your Apotheosis  (Read 3420 times)

Talia

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on: July 01, 2015, 01:08:20 PM
PodCastle 370: Congratulations On Your Apotheosis

by Michelle Ann King
read by Christiana Ellis


First published in the anthology Unidentified Funny Objects 2, from UFO Publishing

As a life coach, Abby Fowler strongly discouraged magical thinking. It was better for people to take responsibility for improving their lives, rather than wait and hope for supernatural assistance. Better, and a lot more reliable.

So Abby would never advise anyone to use a spell, even one that came with impeccable provenance and the crackle of real power in every square inch of the ancient parchment it was inscribed on. Even one that was purely for divination, nothing more than a harmless bit of information-gathering that might, say, help someone with preparing a five-year business plan for their coaching practice in order to apply for a bank loan. She would never advise it because she knew that kind of thing never ended well.


Rated PG.

Michelle Ann King writes science fiction, fantasy and horror from her kitchen table in Essex, England. She loves Las Vegas, zombie films and good Scotch whisky, not necessarily in that order. Her short stories are being collected in the Transient Tales ebook series, and she is currently at work on a paranormal crime novel. Find more details at www.transientcactus.co.uk.

Christiana Ellis is a Writer and podcaster living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the author of Nina Kimberly the Merciless as well as Space Casey. She also produces several non-fiction podcasts and videos, all of which can be found at www.christianaellis.com. You can also find her on Twitter @christianaellis.

She’s just begun Space Casey Season 2, so it’s a great time to go visit Christiana’s site and subscribe! This season, Casey, the fast-talking con-artist, continues her thrilling tale of adventure, fraud, and time travel!

Listen to this week’s PodCastle!
« Last Edit: July 21, 2015, 02:16:53 PM by Talia »



SJJ

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Reply #1 on: July 05, 2015, 03:11:26 AM
Thank you Escape Artists, for yet another amazing story. 

I have always held a fascination for people that get their own way. 



childoftyranny

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Reply #2 on: July 18, 2015, 12:13:28 AM
This seems a neat creation story of sorts, the rise of an unwilling god, at least for now, the characters are vivid and interesting and it pokes at questions that tends to rise from omniscience, I think I might be more interested in the next story if it ever occurs, say 200-300 years down the line, the world is changing and our strong lead has been battling with the age-old being now what changes occur when time is merely something that passed instead of an imperative!



TrishEM

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Reply #3 on: July 20, 2015, 02:59:23 AM
For a few minutes I was expecting something horrible to happen to Abby's boyfriend, in order to motivate her to become the archnemesis as desired. The way the story actually turned out, with the original goddess deciding to compete on Abby's level instead, defied my expectations pleasantly.



NumberFive

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Reply #4 on: July 20, 2015, 05:00:56 PM
I enjoyed the attitude of the all powerful being. Very "human" qualities of boredom, pettiness, and competition. And apotheosis is a fantastic word.



Unblinking

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Reply #5 on: July 23, 2015, 02:35:40 PM
This one was super-fun, and I love how in the end she was forced into being a nemesis because she could be motivated to do so. 

This story took some twists and turns I wasn't expecting, just as I formed an idea of how the rest of the shape of the story would go, something changed.  In a good way, it kept me on my toes while also being internally consistent.  I found it an interesting question of whether it is better to let things go back the way they were even if it means that the previously nonexistent boyfriend would become nonexistent again, and trying to separate out one's personal feelings towards him from the question of what HE would want and whether what he would want is relevant to the moral question since by some definitions he doesn't actually exist.

Good stuff!



Devoted135

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Reply #6 on: August 04, 2015, 01:48:21 PM
This was a fun story! Giving her the perfect relationship and then revealing that it was all a part of the "upgrade" was a super low blow. Sure, he wasn't real before yesterday, but is he real now? Would making the goddess take it all back actually be tantamount to killing him? I didn't blame her for compromising after that. It goes to show that sometimes your own advice is the hardest to take.


Crenelated... Diaphanous... Sarcomere... Mm, words. :)