Escape Artists
PodCastle => About PodCastle => Topic started by: Talia on January 02, 2011, 07:34:19 PM
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Well, another year has wound to a close, and its time again to share your thoughts on your favorite episodes from 2010. Nominate your favorite three, and when results are tallied we'll put up a poll for your voting pleasure. Feel free to go into detail about why these episodes worked for you. :)
Please remember this is just for fun, and do keep in mind The Rules. (http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=3289.0)
Thanks to Kibitzer for the list!
Now with linky goodness.
PodCastle 85: Giant Episode: The Narcomancer (http://podcastle.org/2010/01/05/podcastle-85-giant-episode-the-narcomancer/) by N. K. Jemisin
PodCastle 86: Tio Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts (http://podcastle.org/2010/01/12/podcastle-86-tio-gilberto-and-the-twenty-seven-ghosts) by Ben Francisco
PodCastle 87: Narrative of a Beast's Life (http://podcastle.org/2010/01/19/podcastle-87-narrative-of-a-beasts-life) by Cat Rambo
PodCastle 88: Another End of the Empire (http://podcastle.org/2010/01/26/podcastle-88-another-end-of-the-empire) by Tim Pratt
PodCastle 89: The Queen's Triplets (http://podcastle.org/2010/02/02/podcastle-89-the-queens-triplets) by Israel Zangwill
PodCastle 90: Biographical Notes to "A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Air-planes" by Benjamin Rosenbaum (http://podcastle.org/2010/02/09/podcastle-90-biographical-notes-to-“a-discourse-on-the-nature-of-causality-with-air-planes”-by-benjamin-rosenbaum) by Benjamin Rosenbaum
PodCastle 91: Three Days and Nights In Lord Darkdrake's Hall (http://podcastle.org/2010/02/16/podcastle-91-three-days-and-nights-in-lord-darkdrakes-hall) by Leah Bobet
PodCastle 92: Sir Hereward and Mr. Fitz Go to War Again (http://podcastle.org/2010/02/23/podcastle-92-sir-hereward-and-mr-fitz-go-to-war-again) by Garth Nix
PodCastle 93: Giant Episode: The Mermaid's Tea Party (http://podcastle.org/2010/03/02/podcastle-93-giant-episode-the-mermaids-tea-party) by Samantha Henderson
PodCastle 94: A Light in Troy (http://podcastle.org/2010/03/09/podcastle-94-a-light-in-troy) by Sarah Monette
PodCastle 95: Fulgurite (http://podcastle.org/2010/03/16/podcastle-95-fulgurite) by Vylar Kaftan
PodCastle 96: Love Among the Talus (http://podcastle.org/2010/03/23/podcastle-96-love-among-the-talus) by Elizabeth Bear
PodCastle 97: Smokestacks Like the Arms of Gods (http://podcastle.org/2010/03/30/podcastle-97-smokestacks-like-the-arms-of-gods) by Ben Burgis
PodCastle 98: Sun's East, Moon's West (http://podcastle.org/2010/04/06/podcastle-98-suns-east-moons-west) by Merrie Haskell
PodCastle 99: The Hag Queen's Curse (http://podcastle.org/2010/04/13/podcastle-99-the-hag-queens-curse) by M. K. Hobson
PodCastle 100: Remembrance Is Something Like a House (http://podcastle.org/2010/04/20/podcastle-100-remembrance-is-something-like-a-house) by Will Ludwigsen
PodCastle 101: Kristin, with Caprice (http://podcastle.org/2010/04/27/podcastle-101-kristin-with-caprice) by Alan Smale
PodCastle 102: Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela (http://podcastle.org/2010/05/03/podcastle-102-hooves-and-the-hovel-of-abdel-jameela) by Saladin Ahmed
PodCastle 103: Attar of Roses (http://podcastle.org/2010/05/11/podcastle-103-attar-of-roses) by Sharon Mock
PodCastle 104: The Dog King (http://podcastle.org/2010/05/17/podcastle-104-the-dog-king) by Holly Black
PodCastle 105: Honored Guest (http://podcastle.org/2010/05/25/podcastle-105-honored-guest) by Ellen Kushner
PodCastle 106: Little Gods (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/01/podcastle-106-little-gods) by Tim Pratt
PodCastle 107: Giant Episode: The Behold of the Eye (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/09/podcastle-107-giant-episode-the-behold-of-the-eye) by Hal Duncan
PodCastle 108: The Goats are Going Places (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/16/podcastle-108-the-goats-are-going-places) by Tina Connolly
PodCastle 109: Bonus Episode: Watermark (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/19/podcastle-109-bonus-episode-watermark) by Michael Green
PodCastle 110: The Alchemist's Feather (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/22/podcastle-110-the-alchemists-feather) by Erin Cashier
PodCastle 111: And Their Lips Rang With The Sun (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/29/podcastle-111-and-their-lips-rang-with-the-sun) by Amal El-Mohtar
PodCastle 112: The Somnambulist (http://podcastle.org/2010/07/06/podcastle-112-the-somnambulist) by David J. Scwartz
PodCastle 113: Väinämöinen and the Singing Fish (http://podcastle.org/2010/07/14/podcastle-113-vainamoinen-and-the-singing-fish) by Marissa K. Lingen
PodCastle 114: Wolves Till the World Goes Down (http://podcastle.org/2010/07/20/podcastle-114-wolves-till-the-world-goes-down) by Greg van Eekhout
PodCastle 115: Monstrous Embrace (http://podcastle.org/2010/07/27/podcastle-115-monstrous-embrace) by Rachel Swirsky
PodCastle 116: Paper Cuts Scissors (http://podcastle.org/2010/08/03/podcastle-116-paper-cuts-scissors) by Holly Black
PodCastle 117: The Wages of Salt (http://podcastle.org/2010/08/10/podcastle-117-the-wages-of-salt) by Deborah Kalin
PodCastle 118: Sugar (http://podcastle.org/2010/08/18/podcastle-118-sugar) by Cat Rambo|
PodCastle 119: Bespoke (http://podcastle.org/2010/08/24/podcastle-119-bespoke) by Genevieve Valentine
PodCastle 120: Some Zombie Contingency Plans (http://podcastle.org/2010/09/01/podcastle-120-some-zombie-contingency-plans-fixed) by Kelly Link
PodCastle 121: Giant Episode: The Warlock and the Man of the Word (http://podcastle.org/2010/09/07/podcastle-121-giant-episode-the-warlock-and-the-man-of-the-word/) by M. K. Hobson
PodCastle 122: Kingspeaker (http://podcastle.org/2010/09/13/podcastle-122-kingspeaker) by Marie Brennan
PodCastle 123: Black Feather (http://podcastle.org/2010/09/21/podcastle-123-black-feather) by K. Tempest Bradford
PodCastle 124: Squonk and the Horde of Apprentices (http://podcastle.org/2010/09/28/podcastle-124-squonk-and-the-horde-of-apprentices) by P. M. Butler
PodCastle 125: The Whistling Room (featuring Carnacki, the Ghost Finder) (http://podcastle.org/2010/10/05/podcastle-125-the-whistling-room) by William Hope Hodgson
PodCastle 126: Creature (http://podcastle.org/2010/10/12/podcastle-126-creature) by Ramsey Shehadah
PodCastle 127: The Belated Burial (http://podcastle.org/2010/10/19/podcastle-127-the-belated-burial) by Caitlin R. Kiernan
PodCastle 128: Something Wicked This Way Plumbs (http://podcastle.org/2010/10/26/podcastle-128-something-wicked-this-way-plumbs) by Vylar Kaftan
PodCastle 129: Songdogs (http://podcastle.org/2010/11/02/podcastle-129-songdogs) by Ian McHugh
PodCastle 130: Chemical Magic (http://podcastle.org/2010/11/09/podcastle-130-chemical-magic) by Katherine Sparrow
PodCastle 131: Skatouioannis (http://podcastle.org/2010/11/16/podcastle-131-skatouioannis) by Nick Mamatas
PodCastle 132: Flash Fiction Contest Extravaganza (http://podcastle.org/2010/11/23/podcastle-132-flash-fiction-contest-extravaganza) by Alicia Caporaso, Ramona Gardea & Nathaniel Lee
PodCastle 133: And the Blood of Dead Gods Shall Mark the Score (http://podcastle.org/2010/11/30/podcastle-133-and-the-blood-of-dead-gods-shall-mark-the-score) by Gary Kloster
PodCastle 134: Corinthians (http://podcastle.org/2010/12/07/podcastle-134-corinthians) by Sam Schreiber
PodCastle 135: California King (http://podcastle.org/2010/12/14/podcastle-135-california-king) by Michael Jasper
PodCastle 136: The Christmas Mummy (http://podcastle.org/2010/12/21/podcastle-136-the-christmas-mummy) by Heather Shaw & Tim Pratt
PodCastle 137: The Beautiful Coalwoman (http://podcastle.org/2010/12/28/podcastle-137-the-beautiful-coalwoman) by Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud.
PodCastle Miniature 45: When Shakko Did Not Lie (http://podcastle.org/2010/01/02/podcastle-miniature-45-when-shakko-did-not-lie/) by Eugie Foster
PodCastle Miniature 46: Debris (http://podcastle.org/2010/01/28/podcastle-minature-46-debris) by Kiini Ibura Salaam
PodCastle Miniature 47: Chinatown (http://podcastle.org/2010/02/14/podcastle-miniature-47-chinatown) by Greg van Eekhout
PodCastle Miniature 48: An Invitation via Email (http://podcastle.org/2010/03/29/podcastle-miniature-48-an-invitation-via-email) by Mike Allen
PodCastle Miniature 49: Dead Letter (http://podcastle.org/2010/04/15/podcastle-miniature-49-dead-letter) by Samantha Henderson
PodCastle Miniature 50: Mario's Three Lives (http://podcastle.org/2010/05/07/podcastle-miniature-50-marios-three-live) by Matt Bell
PodCastle Miniature 51: Jaguar Woman (http://podcastle.org/2010/06/25/podcastle-miniature-51-jaguar-woman) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
PodCastle Miniature 52: The Sphinx in Thebes (Massachusetts) (http://podcastle.org/2010/07/18/podcastle-miniature-52-the-sphinx-in-thebes-massachusetts) by Lord Dunsany
PodCastle Miniature 53: Charms (http://podcastle.org/2010/08/13/podcastle-miniature-53-charms) by Shweta Narayan
PodCastle Miniature 54: A Spot of Bother, High Above the Undead Sea (http://podcastle.org/2010/08/19/podcastle-miniature-54-a-spot-of-bother-high-above-the-undead-sea) by Kris Dikeman
PodCastle Miniature 55: Ghost Market (http://podcastle.org/2010/10/15/podcastle-miniature-55-ghost-market) by Greg van Eekhout
PodCastle Miniature 56: The Masque of the Red Death (http://podcastle.org/2010/10/29/podcastle-miniature-56-the-masque-of-the-red-death) by Edgar Allan Poe
PodCastle Miniature 57: Apex (http://podcastle.org/2010/12/13/podcastle-miniature-57-apex) by Lauren M. Roy|2010/12/13|Miniature
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Ha, can actually participate for once. But so hard to choose. Must find dartboard and reasonably accurate ape.
PodCastle 111: And Their Lips Rang With The Sun by Amal El-Mohtar
PodCastle Miniature 45: When Shakko Did Not Lie by Eugie Foster
PodCastle 102: Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela by Saladin Ahmed
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Very, very difficult to get it down to 3, but here they are:
PodCastle 126: Creature by Ramsey Shehadah
PodCastle 136: The Christmas Mummy by Heather Shaw & Tim Pratt
PodCastle 88: Another End of the Empire by Tim Pratt
Followed very closely by:
PodCastle 99: The Hag Queen's Curse by M. K. Hobson
PodCastle 125: The Whistling Room by William Hope Hodgson
Also, I probably would have voted for the Squonk story if I hadn't narrated it myself. :)
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1) The Mermaid's Tea Party
Seriously, this one was awesome. I don't know how this isn't topping everyone's lists. Gruesome and charming, tense and lyrical by turns, and with a fringe of darkness to please even the most jaded palate.
2) The Behold of the Eye
A close, close second place, here. This one had massively cool imagery and a solid take on the often-misused psychodrama, not to mention the most intriguing character arc I've seen in a while (i.e. Fuzzy's journey to darkness.)
3) Some Zombie Contingency Plans
I bought her book pretty much for this story and the one about the magic handbag. It's a really solid piece of modern literature that also happens to be funny and thought-provoking.
Honorable Mentions
Creature - Fun, but ended up a little too slight for my tastes. Just not a lot of heft to the ending, despite a lot of building up.
Songdogs - Australia is just cool. This one suffers not from any particular flaw (other than being a little talky) but mostly because "Cinderella Suicide" pretty much won the post-apocalyptic Australia prize forever.
Sugar - I'm a big defender of stories centered on internal conflict, but I do have to admit that this one meandered a bit. It kept it from the ZOMG level, at any rate, though still a story I'd recommend in a heartbeat.
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PodCastle 93: Giant Episode: The Mermaid's Tea Party by Samantha Henderson
Horrible and wonderful, like a classic Grimm tale. I listened to it more than once.
PodCastle 111: And Their Lips Rang With The Sun by Amal El-Mohtar
Such beautiful language and world building. I also loved the author's flash fiction contest entry.
PodCastle 132: Flash Fiction Contest Extravaganza by Alicia Caporaso, Ramona Gardea & Nathaniel Lee
Loved the flash fiction contest. Pleased with all the winners (yay! Fetch). Glad to experience these through to production.
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My top picks:
1. PodCastle 114: Wolves Till the World Goes Down by Greg van Eekhout
2. PodCastle 126: Creature by Ramsey Shehadah
3. PodCastle 115: Monstrous Embrace by Rachel Swirsky
4. PodCastle 110: The Alchemist's Feather by Erin Cashier (really a tie with Monstrous Embrace, but had to put one first)
My other favorites:
5. PodCastle 125: The Whistling Room (featuring Carnacki, the Ghost Finder) by William Hope Hodgson
6. PodCastle 136: The Christmas Mummy by Heather Shaw & Tim Pratt
7. PodCastle 120: Some Zombie Contingency Plans by Kelly Link
8. PodCastle 124: Squonk and the Horde of Apprentices by P. M. Butler
9. PodCastle 93: Giant Episode: The Mermaid's Tea Party by Samantha Henderson
10. PodCastle 97: Smokestacks Like the Arms of Gods by Ben Burgis
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For the "regulars" and giants:
85: Giant Episode: The Narcomancer by N. K. Jemisin
90: Biographical Notes to "A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Air-planes" by Benjamin Rosenbaum by Benjamin Rosenbaum
111: And Their Lips Rang With The Sun by Amal El-Mohtar
105: Honored Guest by Ellen Kushner
122: Kingspeaker by Marie Brennan
131: Skatouioannis by Nick Mamatas
133: And the Blood of Dead Gods Shall Mark the Score by Gary Kloster
136: The Christmas Mummy by Heather Shaw & Tim Pratt
Hmm, hmm, hmm. Ok then:
85: Giant Episode: The Narcomancer by N. K. Jemisin
111: And Their Lips Rang With The Sun by Amal El-Mohtar
133: And the Blood of Dead Gods Shall Mark the Score by Gary Kloster
"Biographical Notes" is hard to go past but it probably made an impression on me since I narrated it.
For the minis:
45: When Shakko Did Not Lie by Eugie Foster
50: Mario's Three Lives by Matt Bell
56: The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
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PodCastle 90: Biographical Notes to "A Discourse on the Nature of Causality, with Air-planes" by Benjamin Rosenbaum by Benjamin Rosenbaum
PodCastle 108: The Goats are Going Places by Tina Connolly
PodCastle 131: Skatouioannis by Nick Mamatas
This was by far the hardest for me to winnow down.
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Sigh. All Podcasts are Equally Loved. But, some are more equal than others....
PC 100: Rememberance is something like a house.
PC 106: Little Gods
PC 126: Creature
Honroable mention:
PC 93: The Mermaid's Tea Party
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The Mermaid's Tea Party
Creature
The Warlock of the Man of the Word
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This was the first year that I enjoyed PodCastle the most of the three 'casts. Choosing three favorites is really difficult and I'm tempted to include half the year as my honorable mentions.
PodCastle 88: Another End of the Empire. I've consumed far too much parody done poorly. This, everyone, is parody done right.
PodCastle 90: Biographical Notes To “A Discourse On The Nature Of Causality, With Air-Planes” By Benjamin Rosenbaum
PodCastle 124: Squonk And The Horde Of Apprentices. Squonk stories captivate me, then bowl me over with laughter.
Honorable Mentions:
PodCastle 86: Tio Gilberto And The Twenty-Seven Ghosts
PodCastle 92: Sir Hereward And Mr. Fitz Go To War Again
PodCastle 93, Giant Episode: The Mermaid’s Tea Party
PodCastle 97: Smokestacks Like The Arms Of Gods
PodCastle 101: Kristin, With Caprice
PodCastle 116: Paper Cuts Scissors
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Oh goodness. This is a lot to chose from
The Behold of the Eye really did it for me. I think I might have cried.
Remembrance is Something Like a House
and Hooves in the Hovel of Abdel Jameela
There's so many solid ones, though. I really loved Another End of Empire, and Narcomancer, Creature, and Songdogs, and Love Among the Talus. Oh! And Mermaid's Tea Party. That was vicious and fabulous. Oh, man and Zombie Contingency Plans.
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Normally i think Escape Pod has the better stories, but Podcastle really had a great year and i have eight stories which i think are really good, the amazing thing is that none of the Tim Pratt stories made my top three, that says something about the quality of 2010.
My three :
PodCastle 92: Sir Hereward and Mr. Fitz Go to War Again
PodCastle 97: Smokestacks Like the Arms of Gods
PodCastle 126: Creature
Honorable Mentions
PodCastle 88: Another End of the Empire
PodCastle 136: The Christmas Mummy
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1. Some Zombie Contingency Plans
This one had the awesomeness ramped up like fifty times. A darkly comedic?/tragic story about zombies and icebergs and identity and holy crap as soon as I get the chance I'm writing a paper about this for English. Plus the EPICNESS, yes all caps EPICNESS of Norm Sherman. This made my favorite short stories of all time list.
2. Monstrous Embrace
Yeah, there are some problems with this story: for one, ugliness is totally subjective. I happen to find marshes very beautiful myself. However, it is beautifully, just beautifully executed. The only analogue I can find would be the works of M. Rickert -- certainly not the same subject matter, but there is a tone, a feel, word choices that ring very much in that key. Which is just awesome.
3. The Mermaid's Tea Party
This one was a just...wow. I can't even talk about this, because I'm totally powerless to describe why I enjoyed it. I'm not usually a huge fan of Samantha Henderson, but this one just...I don't know. It was really amazing, though.
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Hey, I just wanted to pop in and say, for those of you who loved Sir Hereward and Biographical Notes, both of those were the choices of our awesome associate editor Ann Leckie, during last February, which was officially Ann Leckie month here at PodCastle. And if you like her choices: lots of action, a tendency toward surreality and weirdness, and stories that tend to be a bit longer than usual, then I encourage you to check out her magazine, Giganotosaurus (http://giganotosaurus.org/), launched last November.
She's running both fantasy and sf, usually longer pieces, and there's handy links for epubs so you can download to the reader of your choice. Personally, I was completely blown away by Yoon Ha Lee's "The Winged City" (http://giganotosaurus.org/2010/12/01/the-winged-city/) but I'll wager that fans of Ann's choices at PodCastle last year will find plenty to enjoy there as well.
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A bit late, but I finally caught up with Podcastle for 2010. My nominations are as follows:
90. Biographical notes
111. And their lips rang with the sun
135. California King
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1) 106: Little Gods
2) 110: The Alchemist's Feather
3) 100: Rememberance is Something like a House
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Funny how this thread is so much more active than the corresponding Escape Pod one.
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Funny how this thread is so much more active than the corresponding Escape Pod one.
What do you mean? The EP one has a few more responses than we do.
Not that I'm counting.
Okay. Maybe I counted.
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Actually, at this point in time, EP and PC are tied for nominations. The EP thread has more posts in it, but a lot of them are meta-discussion and not nominations.
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Funny how this thread is so much more active than the corresponding Escape Pod one.
What do you mean? The EP one has a few more responses than we do.
At the time I wrote that, there had only been one response since Jan 10th on the EP thread and there was a flurry of responses here. It was more a comment on recent activity than the total.
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Ah, gotcha. I knew I wasn't making some connection.
Thanks, guys!
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Nominations will stay open for another week or so, then we'll kick off the poll!
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Okay, so I've finally figured out what my nominations should be, with less than a week remaining.
1: #114 Wolves Till the World Goes Down by Greg van Eekhout
2: #131 Skatouioannis by Nick Mamatas
3: #86 Tio Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts by Ben Francisco
Runners up:
#88 Another End of the Empire
#92 Sir Hereward and Mr. Fitz Go to War Again
#93 Mermaid's Tea Party
Justifications
Wolves Till the World Goes Down is great for the themes of predestination, free will, and whether or not the gods are really puppets to destiny, or if they can effect their own change. Hugin's decision at the end is what absolutely makes this one for me. Funny, thoughtful, moving, and oddly hopeful for a story about the end-of-days.
Skatouioannis for inventing a monster that is both an angry, smelly old man with a donkey cart and shovel, and a metaphor for how the old ways can conflict with technology and science and try to keep anything from changing. Also for nanotech intersecting with poop-demonology. But mainly it's the metaphor thing I swear.
Tio Gilberto has very good writing, and a very awkward relationship where the semi-abusiveness of the older guy is genuinely creepy. The sadness of the story never becomes maudlin and there is a touch of humor thrown in from our comedian protagonist. "Sometimes I forget that for most people, realism can't be magical," is one of my favorite lines. The ending is left open in a superposition between horribly tragic and bitterly relieved. Also, Uncle Tio himself is one of the best tragic characters of the year.
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Wow - I really loved almost all the stories from Pod Castle - it was tough to knock it down to three - but here we go:
1) PodCastle 88: Another End of the Empire by Tim Pratt
2) PodCastle 92: Sir Hereward and Mr. Fitz Go to War Again by Garth Nix
3) PodCastle 100: Remembrance Is Something Like a House by Will Ludwigsen
There were so many more that I loved,, and creature deserved an honorable mention at least...
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I only just found this, so if nominations are closed, ignore me.
Not actually my TOP three, just three I really liked that were not otherwise nominated (though they might have been someone else's honorable mentions):
125: The Whistling Room
128: Something Wicked
Mini 52: The Sphinx in Thebes
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Nominations have been closed! Polls are up!