Escape Artists
Escape Pod => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Russell Nash on March 31, 2008, 08:55:34 PM
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EP027: Union Dues - Iron Bars and the Glass Jaw (http://escapepod.org/2005/11/10/ep027-iron-bars-and-the-glass-jaw/)
By Jeffrey R. DeRego.
Read by Jonathon Sullivan.
"You super folks must think we’re pretty damn foolish, especially us in the law enforcement community.”
Look at him leaning back with his feet up on the desk. Did he just walk out of Cool Hand Luke? Sheesh, you’d think a sheriff would want to be more dignified. “No sir. You and your brethren are integral to the fabric of society. We of The Union are grateful for your hard work and courage.” I can rattle that sort of crap off all day long.
Rated PG. Contains graphic scenes of class conflict and superhuman self-doubt.
Referenced Sites:
HorrorView (http://www.horrorview.com/)
Beyond the Storm: Shadows of the Big Easy (http://www.beyondthestorm.us/)
SFFAudio (http://www.sffaudio.com/)
(http://escapepod.org/wp-images/podcast-mini4.gif)
Listen to this week’s Escape Pod! (http://media.rawvoice.com/escapepod/media.libsyn.com/media/escapepod/EP027_GlassJaw.mp3)
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BEST UNION DUES EVAR!!!!!111
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Yes, this was my favorite UD story so far. I really enjoyed getting a look at the social conflict between the Union members and the normal populace. Honestly, I enjoy it a lot more now, having heard "All That We Leave Behind." Two vaguley similiar scenarios with vastly different outcomes. I'm also really getting interested in the Megaton character.
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Wow, I really enjoyed this one! The narration was phenomenal. I think I enjoyed this one better than All That We Leave Behind... gonna have to relisten to that other one, now. Might work a little better since I have a little more background information in which to set the story.
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This was my first exposure to the Union Dues series (Just last week.). Mr DeRego, you have my thanks and awe. I love this story and look forward to the rest.
Bob
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A great beginning to the series!
I am simply awestruck that DeRego is able to consistently create stories that essentially consist of two people discussing politics and philosophy into compelling stories. Granted, my favorite in the series so far is the one with fight scenes, but still, very impressive.
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A great beginning to the series!
I am simply awestruck that DeRego is able to consistently create stories that essentially consist of two people discussing politics and philosophy into compelling stories. Granted, my favorite in the series so far is the one with fight scenes, but still, very impressive.
Thanks!
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I've been hearing about this Union Dues thing for a while. Since I've been working through the Escape Pod back catalog, I decided to assemble all the Union Dues stories together and that was most of my week's commute. I still have a couple left, but I'm impressed with the series as a whole considering the depth of world and complexity of character and morality.
My biggest question on this one was, who is the glass jaw? It's a great pulpy title but it doesn't seem to fully coalesce.
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I've been hearing about this Union Dues thing for a while. Since I've been working through the Escape Pod back catalog, I decided to assemble all the Union Dues stories together and that was most of my week's commute. I still have a couple left, but I'm impressed with the series as a whole considering the depth of world and complexity of character and morality.
My biggest question on this one was, who is the glass jaw? It's a great pulpy title but it doesn't seem to fully coalesce.
It was a play on words, Megaton, by virtue of his conversations with Sheriff Tom, shows that he is vulnerable i.e. that he, and through him, The Union, can be hurt as if they were a fighter with a glass jaw.
I also needed a title that wasn't "Union Dues" as was originally written in 1991, and BY 2005 had a few more of these written as "Union Dues" stories, so when I was preparing to submit it to Steve I came up with Iron Bars and the Glass Jaw.
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My biggest question on this one was, who is the glass jaw? It's a great pulpy title but it doesn't seem to fully coalesce.
It was a play on words, Megaton, by virtue of his conversations with Sheriff Tom, shows that he is vulnerable i.e. that he, and through him, The Union, can be hurt as if they were a fighter with a glass jaw.
I also needed a title that wasn't "Union Dues" as was originally written in 1991, and BY 2005 had a few more of these written as "Union Dues" stories, so when I was preparing to submit it to Steve I came up with Iron Bars and the Glass Jaw.
That's awesome and totally makes sense now, thanks!
When I was compiling the episodes I apparently missed a couple, so I guess I'll finish up in the next week or so. The series as a whole is really strong, and a Union Dues story is probably what I would press on folks if I want to encourage them to listen to Escape Pod.
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There sre three stories producex outside of EP at clonepod.org. they are the first three team shikaragaki stories. The first one is tough on the ears. I am happy to email you a hard copy if you can't get through it. That said, I approached clonepod because the voices of the hosts were analogs for the voices of the characters. So even if you can't get through them it is good to give a listen to some to get a feel for how I heard them.
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How are we doing on getting a print collection of these out?
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How are we doing on getting a print collection of these out?
Pretty well. (http://www.encpress.com/EC.html)
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It's been one week today that I discovered and started listening to Escape Pod, listening from episode 1 and in the correct order. I'm already up to this episode, number 27, so that must say something about how much I am enjoying them. Having just listened to this, I think it's one of my favourites so far. I really like the dialogue driven stories like this and especially like the concept of a superhero union and the way the author explores the 'human' aspect behind the superhero. From what I've read in this thread, I gather there are more stories to come set in this universe, so I'll certainly look forward to that !
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From what I've read in this thread, I gather there are more stories to come set in this universe, so I'll certainly look forward to that !
There are! Quite a few.
And I think there are some that are published elsewhere as well, including some YA-focused ones on the now-defunct ClonePod I think?
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From what I've read in this thread, I gather there are more stories to come set in this universe, so I'll certainly look forward to that !
There are! Quite a few.
And I think there are some that are published elsewhere as well, including some YA-focused ones on the now-defunct ClonePod I think?
I just looked up ClonePod and indeed there are three stories on the site: Union Dues: Team Shikaragaki - The Ballad of Kitty Momoiro, Union Dues: The Saga of Tam Suji and Union Dues: The Sojourn of Taizen Kiro.
I can't believe how I have somehow missed this entire Sci-Fi podcasting community for so many years. Still, arriving 11 years late to the party does give me a LOT of material to enjoy :)
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I miss Clonepod :-\
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From what I've read in this thread, I gather there are more stories to come set in this universe, so I'll certainly look forward to that !
There are! Quite a few.
And I think there are some that are published elsewhere as well, including some YA-focused ones on the now-defunct ClonePod I think?
I just looked up ClonePod and indeed there are three stories on the site: Union Dues: Team Shikaragaki - The Ballad of Kitty Momoiro, Union Dues: The Saga of Tam Suji and Union Dues: The Sojourn of Taizen Kiro.
I can't believe how I have somehow missed this entire Sci-Fi podcasting community for so many years. Still, arriving 11 years late to the party does give me a LOT of material to enjoy :)
They weren't really YA focused, just that the main characters were YA who were dealing with very grown up problems. There are a few more still being written that follow the Team Shikaragaki gang. I just don't have a good place to land them, and the stories have become to episodic that they no longer stand alone.