Escape Artists
PodCastle => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Heradel on July 01, 2008, 11:11:35 PM
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PC014: The Grand Cheat (http://podcastle.org/2008/06/10/pc011-fourteen-experiments-in-postal-delivery/)
By Hilary Moon Murphy (http://www.sff.net/people/hmm/)
Read by Rajan Khanna (http://www.rajankhanna.com/)
First appeared in Tales of the Unanticipated (http://www.totu-ink.com/).
My finest cheat started long ago, before India was even a country. Most of us were still under British rule, one way or another. I was apprenticed to Sri Ghare, one of the greatest negotiators in the princely states. I lived with him and his wife in a fine manor. Though I was from a poor family, he always treated me like I was his own son.
When Sri Ghare’s wife was great with child, he was called to negotiate for the local rajah. Sri Ghare made me promise to take care of her while he was gone. When my master’s wife went into labor, the female servants shooed me out of the house, knowing that I would only be in the way. But I had promised my master, and I was very worried. What if something should go wrong with the birth?
So I cheated. I sneaked back into the house when the servants were too busy to check for me. At first, I only listened through the sheer, blue draperies that curtained off the women’s quarters, but all I could hear were screams, sobs, and muffled assurances. I crawled under the draperies, coming as close as I dared. The sounds were so awful, I was certain that she must be dying.
I meditated in the doorway to her rooms and prayed deeply for safety of mother and child. I prayed harder than I ever had before. I prayed so hard that I became aware of the god who was trying to slip past me into the rooms don’t ask me how I knew it was a god, I just knew - and I cried, “Hold!
“No one says ‘Hold’ to me, mortal,” the god rumbled.
Rated PG. Contains schemes, cheats, and tricksters.
Featured Intro Link: Clarion West Write-a-thon (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon)
Individual Author Pages:
Michael Swanwick (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/MichaelSwanwick)
Ada Milenkovich Brown (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/AdaMilenkovicBrown)
K. Tempest Bradford (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/KTempestBradford)
Vylar Kaftan (http://www.clarionwest.org/writeathon/VylarKaftan)
Cat Rambo (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/CatRambo)
C. G. Furst (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/ChrisFurst)
Gord Sellar (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/GordSellar)
Kristine Dikeman (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/KristineDikeman)
Nisi Shawl (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/NisiShawl)
Tina Connolly (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/TinaConnolly)
Stephanie Burgis (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/StephanieBurgis)
Rachel Swirsky (http://www.clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/RachelSwirsky)
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I just want to say that this story is sexist. jk
Sorry, I couldn't resist ;) (I haven't even downloaded it, yet)
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I thought the reader did a great job, though I do think I heard one of his kids (if he has kids... I know it was a kid...) in the background once.
The best part of the story, for me, was the a-ha moment when Jai (sp?) first outwitted Brahma with the rice-and-bullock trick. The whole story was pretty strongly-written until the end; I think the author just couldn't stop herself from adding on that little coda. I think the story would've been fine without it.
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I LOVE these types of stories! This one was great. If I were the main character though, I think I would have done it all backwards. I mean, the daughter seemed to be in much more dire straits than the son, who was just "poor," so I would have helped her out first. But I loved the concept, and it all fit together very cleanly.
I had no problem with the "coda," as the frame had been set up within the story, so it needed a resolution as much as the story itself did.
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I really enjoyed this story! I don't know why but it delivered more than I expected because of the way that he "cheated."
I expected pleading or wild deals with horrible contracts that couldn't be subverted. What happened in actuality really threw me.
As for the "child" noise in the background, at least it was true to the setting of a grandfather telling a tale to the children.
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This story was a lot of fun. My only complaint is how frickin many Escape Artist stories are there that involve prostitutes? I mean seriously, it seems like half. I mean no disrespect to prostitutes, but do so many stories really need to have one?
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Absolutely fantastic story! It held me the whole way through, and I can't think of a single thing I didn't like about this one. I loved that in the end, Brahma had become enslaved by the fates of the ones he'd marked, and the only way to become free was to free them. The coda also didn't bother me -- I thought it was a nice touch to see what happened after, introduce the grandson, and the closing lines couldn't have been any more perfect. All in all, very smart, very thoughtful, and even sweet.
And the reading -- wow, can we have Rajan Kanna read more stories? Please?
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And the reading -- wow, can we have Rajan Kanna read more stories? Please?
I agree. I assume that he is of Indian heritage, and therefore especially appropriate for this story, but there's no need to wait for the next "Indian themed" story to use him again.
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I agree with everyone about Rajan Khanna. Actually, I do have another piece in mind for him to read, and it's not Indian-themed. (Our readers do sometimes decline projects, though, of course, so I can't guarantee anything...)
Just to let you know, Ragtime, Escape Artists doesn't have an acquisitions department. The podcasts buy and schedule stories separately. We don't even talk about what stories we're running with each other in advance, so the preponderance of prostitutes in the last couple weeks is just one of those flukes that happens sometimes when you collect a bunch of stuff in a random order. Sometimes, they just happen to coincide.
Though, for the record, PodCastle is considering having some themed content later (just within our own podcast). For instance, we're planning an elf month for a to-be-named date. I've already acquired a story by Esther Friesner for it.
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Liked this story a lot. The reader did a good job as well.
Not usually being a very critical reader, I don't really have much more to say about it.
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This was a remarkable story! Very, very good. Cheating the fates never looked any better. Easily my favorite PodCastle so far. It makes me feel bad for making the joke earlier.
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OK, I need some help. Where have I heard other Hilary Moon Murphy stories. Obviously this story and Run of the Fiery Horse, But I know I've heard another story by her and been to her website before, but I can't remember where. I thought it was EP but i went through them and didn't find her. Is anyone aware of other stories she has had podcasted in the last couple of years? Perhaps Ms. Murphy herself is watching the forum?
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Three strikes in a row! Good thing this is bowling and not baseball.
The last three stories have been enjoyable, with this being my favorite of the three (this is including the flash piece).
Great reading, great story, etc.
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I was surprised by this story, from the intro and the beginning I thought I was going to be kind of bored through it like I was "Barren's Dance", but once the story got rolling I found it to be very engaging and compelling. This is easily my favourite story since "14 Experiments".
I would also like to chime in that I thought the reading was very good as well.
the only possible dissapointment is that I was looking forward to picturing Pokemon throughout the story again ;)
Finally, what's wrong with prostitutes? Really?
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The prostitution subtopic was split off and placed here (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=1756.0).
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A very solid, well-written story! I think this would rank in my top ten of the entire Escape Artist productions, probably top five. It had such a 'classic fable' feel to it, like i should have heard this story in my youth... <edit> er, younger youth... much younger youth. :P
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I liked this one a lot, as well. There's something satisfying about playing strictly within the rules and yet completely overturning them, at the same time, while simultaneously trapping a god into doing your bidding.
And I, too, enjoyed the reading. More him. :)
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I just listened to this again (I ususlly don't do that).
The coda also didn't bother me -- I thought it was a nice touch to see what happened after, introduce the grandson, and the closing lines couldn't have been any more perfect.
I agree. I thought the interaction with the grandson was a great element to the storytelling and did more to enhance it than distract from it.
"How old are you again? Well, perhaps that's old enough. Besides if your grandfather didn't corrupt you, who would?"
This and other moments made me laugh and brought great perspective to the story at the end.
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I really loved this story, it's by far my favourite PC-story so far! The writing was good, the story had a nice pace to it and the reading really did the whole thing justice.
What I liked most about the story is the way it captured the Indian way of looking at life. Resigned and fatalistic (re the fact that all fates are decided in advance), but also gentle and with much humour.
For some reason I feel the need to write down my only gripe (maybe because an review that is only positive seems to be partial), namely the coda. Too much, too soppy. That's all.
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Yeah! Myth and fable in a modern setting! This is what I want in a fantasy.
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Yeah! Myth and fable in a modern setting! This is what I want in a fantasy.
Not everybody shares your desire.
(But I do. :))
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I had no problem with the "coda," as the frame had been set up within the story, so it needed a resolution as much as the story itself did.
Both these things were my one problem with the story. I'm developing a strong dislike of the conversational style of "talking to the reader". (Sorry, there's probably a technical term for this but I'm not sure what keywords I could use to Google it.) It was only mildly irritating in this story but it was the standout thing that really annoyed me about "Barrens Dance". But in "Barrens Dance" it at least had a strong justification in the reveal of the narrator, whereas this time it seemed to be worse than superfluous because it forced the tacked-on coda.
Against all the evidence of the forum film polls: The Princess Bride could be better. If the irritating framing segments with Peter Falk were dropped and they played it straight. You can't have your ironic detachment and eat it. No you can't, young man, now finish your soup and go to bed.
Other than that cavil, this story was brilliant. I loved the technical details of the cheats, the dismay of the trapped god, and the timeless cadence of the telling. (And the reading was excellent.) I could tolerate more narrator-centric stories if they're this good.
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I also really loved the story- as mentioned above, it was well written, and it flowed really well. I warmed up to the narrator very quickly (also to the reader, btw - he did a really excellent job) and was interested and delighted throughout.
I'm a bit on the fence on the coda. On the one hand, I did appreciate it. On the other hand, it felt really appendix-like; the break between the story and the coda was very apparent. I think it would have been a worse story without it, but I'm not sure it couldn't have been handled a bit smoother.
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Wow, what an amazing story. Very skilled story-telling and I usually don’t tend to check out other works by the authors, I will certainly check out more from Hilary Moon Murphy now.
It almost seemed too perfect to be true, as if Hilary made sure she ticked every single box on the “What to bear in mind when writing a short story” – house rules for fiction writers.
Let me put it this way, if I ever get down to writing prose and putting all those ideas in my notebook into actual stories, I will use this one as a perfect example and hope the genius will sift through into my own writing.
*More like this, please.*
And I agree on the excellent reading, btw. I think Rajan's voice talent should be used a lot more often on the casts.
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Let me add my voice to the chorus: This was a really good story. Mostly it just had a really nice feel. Fable, yet matter of fact. The actual solutions to the first child's dilemma was pretty predictable - at least to me. But then I actually use these kinds of contracts as a recurring theme in the roleplaying games I run, so I've probably thought about it a lot more than most. Yet somehow I didn't see the solution to the woman's contract until we got there, and that was simple as well. Bravo!
The coda didn't bug me, but I don't feel it added much, either.
So ya, great story. It's not my favorite PC ep, that's still Run of the Fiery Horse. Obviously I like H.M.M.'s work, and need to track down more of it.
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OK, I need some help. Where have I heard other Hilary Moon Murphy stories. Obviously this story and Run of the Fiery Horse, But I know I've heard another story by her and been to her website before, but I can't remember where. I thought it was EP but i went through them and didn't find her. Is anyone aware of other stories she has had podcasted in the last couple of years? Perhaps Ms. Murphy herself is watching the forum?
Hello there.
Since this post was addressed to me, I figure that I had better log in and answer it. I don't have any other stories that are in podcast format as yet, though I've been thinking of submitting more of my stuff to Rachel since I love Podcastle's broadcasts.
Perhaps you heard me reading at a SF convention?
Oh, and I have to agree with everyone that the narrator of this story was lovely. Please bring him back to do other stories! He was wonderful!
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments on my story.
Hmm
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Where have I heard other Hilary Moon Murphy stories. Obviously this story and Run of the Fiery Horse, But I know I've heard another story by her and been to her website before, but I can't remember where.
I don't have any other stories that are in podcast format as yet, though I've been thinking of submitting more of my stuff to Rachel since I love Podcastle's broadcasts.
Hmmm. Maybe I've just recognized your name from these forums, but I know I've been to your website previously for some reason.
Please do submit more stuff to Podcastle. You're 2 for 2 in my book.
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Hmmm. Maybe I've just recognized your name from these forums, but I know I've been to your website previously for some reason.
Please do submit more stuff to Podcastle. You're 2 for 2 in my book.
Okay, I will. By the way, thank you again for your kind comments. It is hard as a writer (and a pretty obscure one at that) to find validation at times. Thank you so much -- all of you -- for giving me a little encouragement at a time when I really needed it.
It's also lovely sharing a table of contents with so many of my own favorite writers.
Hmm
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****WARNING: This post has nothing to do with the story*****
Okay, maybe since I've already praised this story I can reveal that the first image that comes to mind when I read the title is:
The Cheat (http://www.homestarrunner.com/vcr_cheat.html) from Homestarrunner.com
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OK, so I've just finished listening to all the PC stories back-to-back, and I'm caught up. And this is far and away the best story so far. I can't think of a single thing I'd change.
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I liked the framing on this one; I thought it added to the the traditional tone of the story, which was a big reason that it worked for me. One of the things I like best is a classic fantasy built from modern parts -- like Run of the Firey Horse. Hillary Moon Murphy does it again!!
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Excellent story. I loved the context that the protagonist was forced to work in, and the way he manipulated things was fantastic!
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I loved this story. Leave it to a lawyer to figure out a way around a god!
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Haha! This story greatly reminded me of old Coyote stories I heard growing up. A well-crafted and satisfying story.
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WOW! Great story! I've listened to most of the PC stories, and this is my favorite so far. I missed it the first time, went back to listen, and I'm glad I did.
The "storytelling" feel was great, perfect for the content. The tale itself is excellent and highly creative (was the part about the rice, etc. completely made up or based on some myth?).
I sighed when the story ended. ;D
P.S. And I loved the reading as well, great choice.
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I didn't expect to like this one--I'm not sure why, honestly, I guess I should consider that question. But I did like it. I like how the god himself became bound to spend all his time running errands to support his own edicts. I saw the first solution coming, but hadn't had any idea about the second one.
And the reading was excellent as well. I've been looking forward to reading Rajan's story in Shadows of the Emerald City, which is next on my to-read list, so it's cool to come across him on Podcastle at such a fortuitous time. :)