Escape Artists

PseudoPod => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Bdoomed on February 28, 2009, 07:56:02 AM

Title: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Bdoomed on February 28, 2009, 07:56:02 AM
Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum (http://pseudopod.org/2009/02/27/pseudopod-131-tales-of-the-white-street-society-the-corpse-army-of-khartoum/)

By Grady Hendrix (http://www.nysun.com/authors/Grady+Hendrix)

Read by Alasdair Stuart (http://www.alasdairstuart.com/)

It had been some time since we had last been called to a meeting of the White Street Society and all of us yearned to quench the thirst for the strange that these meetings had fostered in our souls, which is why the three of us – Drake, Lewis and myself – finally abandoned formality and stopped by the clubhouse uninvited, fully expecting Augustus to be absent, overseas perhaps, investigating some mysterious mystery. Instead, we stood frozen in surprise and dripping with February rain in the doorway of the clubroom, watching our old friend sitting by the fire and reading the papers, as cool as an oyster.

“Augustus,” cried Drake. “What are you doing here?”

“And where’s Charles?,” said Lewis, as an unfamiliar manservant helped him off with his overcoat.



This week’s episode sponsored by Audible.com, who offers you a free audiobook download of your choice (http://www.audiblepodcast.com/pseudopod) from their selection of over 40,000 titles.


(http://pseudopod.org/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/audio_mp3_button.png)
Listen to this week's Pseudopod. (http://media.rawvoice.com/pseudopod/media.libsyn.com/media/pseudopod/Pseudo131_TheCorpseArmyOfKhartoum.mp3)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Raving_Lunatic on February 28, 2009, 12:15:02 PM
This was an excellent story. Funny, as the previous one was, yet shocking at the end. Dare I say that it is one of the best Pseudopods ever run? It slowly introduces the madness of Augustus which grows into a huge crescendo as we realise how many he had killed for his own gain, and see that he is the evil one. It also raises questions about how we can slowly cross the line into madness, and about the greed of humanity. A truly amazing ending in those last few paragraphs or lines, and I guarentee it will hit you emotionally as well. Well done to the author for writing such a wonderful and thought-provoking story.

Oh and Al, that moment in Blackadder IV is still my favourite piece of television, ever. Just incredibly powerful.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: DKT on February 28, 2009, 04:34:54 PM
I haven't listened to it yet...but I am so so happy that there's another one of these stories. I loved the first one. Yay!  ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Kharto
Post by: leaaah on February 28, 2009, 08:33:56 PM
Loved it, from the casual cruelty of the protagonist to the horrible ending. (Horrible in a good way, obviously.)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Listener on March 01, 2009, 12:15:05 PM
This story had all the same hallmarks of the last one that made me like it so much. However, I don't think this one was AS good. Last time, I felt the protagonist was much more unpleasant a person; this time, he's just a callous, self-interested man. The ending -- using Chinese Gordon as a stock ticker -- was a suitably disturbing image to end on. Unfortunately, unlike A.S., I did NOT like the drawn-out denouement where the observer went on and on about the evils of money. That slowed down a formerly fast-paced story and left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth after how good the story was in the first place.

So, if the author is reading this... next time, end after the image of Chinese Gordon (relatively speaking) and I for one will be much happier. Otherwise, great job all around.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: DKT on March 02, 2009, 04:36:37 PM
A worthy follow-up to the first one, that's for sure.

I laughed out loud when the narrator was able to talk himself out of himself out of his bonds, then pushed the man who had freed him off the building. Brilliant. And a great narration by Al. The ending denouement kind of surprised me, too. I think that's more because the denouement at the end of the first one was so horribly chilling because the character completely missed the real horror. Whereas this character seemed to grasp it (I can't remember if it's the same narrator in both pieces). That said, as this is becoming something of a serial, I'm very willing to give Grady Hendrix the benefit of the doubt and go with it as one of those future developments to hold onto in other stories.

All in all, another great story. Chilling to the end. And now I'm hoping there's more where these came from.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Poppydragon on March 02, 2009, 06:41:03 PM
I enjoyed this, as I've not listened to the first one that has been referenced I shall have to go looking. It had a bit of a feel of The Man Who Would Be King about it, or at least that was the setting that my mind put it in, or maybe it was just the unveiling of the head . I enjoyed most of the narration but I'm afraid I did wince at Al's Scottish accent, it did put me off for a few minutes.

The horror of the story, for me, was in the contrast between the matter of fact narration by Augustus and the terrible events that were being described as if there was nothing unsettling about them. IMO the lengthy denoument worked, further reinforcing the horror of what was up stairs and how it was being used. Not the best I've heard on PP but certainly up there.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Alasdair5000 on March 02, 2009, 07:46:05 PM
Sorry about the accent, it is HORRIBLE:)  I went round and round on it and ultimately, just about, managed to justify my dismal Scottish accent as it being Augustus telling the story and he doesn't bother himself with petty things like accuracy...
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Poppydragon on March 02, 2009, 08:10:52 PM
Sorry about the accent, it is HORRIBLE:)  I went round and round on it and ultimately, just about, managed to justify my dismal Scottish accent as it being Augustus telling the story and he doesn't bother himself with petty things like accuracy...

One of the best bits of sophistry that I've heard in ages, brilliant Al, worth the accent just to read the justification  ;D
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Sgarre1 on March 03, 2009, 12:33:27 AM
Very good story, I enjoyed it much more than the earlier one ("The Hairy Ghost") which was also very good, but suffered in a subtle area.  I appreciate that the narrator in the first one was a callous prig, oblivious to his racism, sexism, etc, but when dealing with ethnic stereotypes it is perhaps worthwhile to remember that you want to pull off the tough writing act with them being treated as if they were stereotypes without them actually acting in story as same, unless we're to assume that the narrator is coloring the tale, at which point it drifts into that area of "I know racism is bad but I'm writing a character who's racist and telling a story, so I can indulge my desire to use racist stereotypes safely" - just bite the writing bullet and do the subtle stuff.

This one was a treat, having the same level of blind offensiveness, while running along in a nice, breezy pulp style.  I laughed out loud at the "did you die?" question.

I'm torn on the ending.  I'm completely in agreement with its point, but do feel that it somewhat undermines the tone of the preceding material.  I have no problem with idea of occult investigators crossed with racist upper-crust types as humor/horror story point (In fact, I think its brilliant!) as long as the writing walks the tightrope I noted above (think George MacDonald Fraser's FLASHMAN series of books, for a better example - in fact, as Fraser has recently died, I'd suggest Grady Hendrix as the obvious successor to continue writing the series!), but I do feel that this sudden twinge of conscience on the part of the main character seemed at odds with the promise of the story's tone - kind of like wanting to have your cake and eat it to.  Better to have just ended on that horrible image for a really black comedy punchline.  We know they're monsters, unless we happen to have not been paying attention all this time.  But the writing of the ending itself was simply lovely, so I can see how it's a tough call.

I'm kind of confused as the the time setting of these stories, what with stock tickers and all.  Anyone?

I was lucky enough to be in England when the season finale of BLACKADDER GOES FOURTH was premiered.  I can still remember how a young woman in the room started crying when George realized that all his school chums were now dead (including "Strangely Brown"), and how deathly silent the room became as the final moments rolled out.

Thanks For Listening
“You’re like a lighthouse shining beside the sea of humanity, motionless: all you can see is your own reflection in the water. You’re alone, so you think it’s a vast, magnificent panorama. You haven’t sounded the depths. You simply believe in the beauty of God’s creation. But I have spent all this time in the water, diving deep into the howling ocean of life, deeper than anyone. While you were admiring the surface, I saw the shipwrecks, the drowned bodies, the monsters of the deep.”
Lorenzo Medici in Alfred DeMusset’s “Lorenzaccio”
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: MacArthurBug on March 04, 2009, 01:41:06 AM
Absolutely awesome story- very very very well done. I enjoyed the heck out of the whole thing..


.. except the singing.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Alasdair5000 on March 04, 2009, 07:32:57 AM
Absolutely awesome story- very very very well done. I enjoyed the heck out of the whole thing..


.. except the singing.

Oh God...Oh God the SINGING...the endless SINGING...

Not a high point of my Pseudopod career, was it?:)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Kharto
Post by: 600south on March 04, 2009, 08:47:58 AM
That was a great story. Surprisingly, I was more shocked by Augustus' actions throughout the story than I was by the ending. I guess by that stage, nothing he did shocked me anymore.

I also remember being chilled by the ending of Blackadder Goes Forth. Probably because I was expecting comedy and got something heartwrenching instead. The ending of the Aussie film "Gallipoli" has the same effect on people, even though it was a drama all along.

of course there are other examples, like "The Vanishing", where the dramatic left turn is taken and then steered back on course. Those ones never stick in our minds as much.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Cerebrilith on March 04, 2009, 10:34:50 AM
This story was fun.  I chuckled at it too much to feel like it was really horror.  More like it was satire of horror.  Or perhaps a gory fantasy.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: MacArthurBug on March 04, 2009, 03:30:59 PM
Al- truly not. I had to prove I had a reason for the cringe/twitch so I exposed my oldest daughter to the "singing"- she fled the room.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Kharto
Post by: Kaa on March 04, 2009, 06:02:05 PM
Quote
...and when the wind brought me their scent, it was of dried chicken, spiced with cinnamon.

This warranted a LOL.  Unfortunately, at the time, I was in the public bathroom.  At work.

Anyway, I'm not sure I can truly say I enjoyed this story, because I pretty much loathe the character of Augustus, it was nevertheless nicely done.  Alasdair, please...no more singing. We beg of you. :)

I felt that it had a certain flavor to it of those old novels where there was always a framing story in which the real story was set, usually being told to a(n) (in)credulous audience. Frankenstein.  The Time Machine.  Quite a few of Lovecraft's stories.  That gave it a..."flavor" that I rather like, once I got used to it.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: deflective on March 04, 2009, 09:02:36 PM
fantastic end to the story.
there's a less bloody way to exploit a zombie head...

(http://www.sluggy.com/images/comics/090221e.gif)
(http://www.sluggy.com/images/comics/090216a.gif)
(http://www.sluggy.com/images/comics/090224a.jpg)
 (http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=090216)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: MacArthurBug on March 05, 2009, 04:37:26 AM
...
great, now I want a zombie head on a stick. Worse I'll refrence it at unfortunate moments.   PTA! Here I come!
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: eytanz on March 08, 2009, 10:27:52 AM
The problem with falling behind on my story listening is that when I hear a story, I have little to add to the feedback thread that hasn't already been said. So, let me echo the general sentiment - great story, wonderful reading. Definitely one of my new favorites. I do agree with the people who said that the narrator's moral awakening at the end was somewhat surprising given his failure to have any similar realization in the previous story. But hey, storytelling evolves, and this was a superior story in almost every respect.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Loz on March 14, 2009, 09:13:15 PM
A wonderful story though really it deserved to be in either Escape Pod or Podcastle, especially as the offerings I listened to before and after this were both on the crappy side.

And yes, the last five minutes of Blackadder are one of those amazing moments when a tv programme elevates itself out of it's genre and in to the truly emotional. That someone so vile as Blackadder or so malevolent and petty as Darling could be sent to this fate and yet you hope against hope that something will come up to save them... (and if anyone needs to see the clip in question it is, for now, here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyz6XHNLYvM))
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: deflective on March 15, 2009, 02:05:31 AM
A wonderful story though really it deserved to be in either Escape Pod or Podcastle, especially as the offerings I listened to before and after this were both on the crappy side.

the implied second-class status of pseudopod rubs me wrong way.

i like that pseudopod has a very wide selection standard, it pretty much guarantees that there will be something i'll enjoy every month. sure, there's probably gonna be something i don't like as well but that's only a problem you let it become one. pseudopod has come a long way, i particularly appreciate the consistent releases during ea's restructuring.

btw: i do agree with you overall. pp130 & pp132 weren't to my taste, and there once was a scrawny twelve year old kid that convinced his parents to sit down with him and watch the blackadder finale with hopes that it would ultimately get them off his back about tv watching.

I'm torn on the ending.  I'm completely in agreement with its point, but do feel that it somewhat undermines the tone of the preceding material.  I have no problem with idea of occult investigators crossed with racist upper-crust types as humor/horror story point ... but I do feel that this sudden twinge of conscience on the part of the main character seemed at odds with the promise of the story's tone ... .

I'm kind of confused as the the time setting of these stories, what with stock tickers and all.  Anyone?

the change in tone has come up a couple times. i was ok with the change because we had switched narrators (we start & finish with a guy that's visiting the house to listen to the owner tell his tale) and, frankly, i needed the exposition. i hadn't seen the allegory until it was pointed out and the best part was rethinking the entire story as a representation of the colonization & exploitation of africa. the line between horror and historical accuracy blurred in a most distressing way.

the first white street society story puts this around 1850 so tickertape (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tickertape) was an anachronism but not that far off.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Loz on March 16, 2009, 08:55:11 PM
A wonderful story though really it deserved to be in either Escape Pod or Podcastle, especially as the offerings I listened to before and after this were both on the crappy side.

the implied second-class status of pseudopod rubs me wrong way.


Not my intention at all, though rereading I can see why you thought that. It should have been in Escape Pod or PodCastle because to my mind it wasn't particularly nasty, people were dispatched in generally a humorous manner and the climax involves a magic head singing 'Jerusalem' for C'Thulu's sake. Separately I listened to this at the same time as the episodes that were roughly broadcast at the same time in those two shows ('Botox School of Acting' and the first elf one which I can't even be bothered to check the name of) and this was my favourite of the three. Not dissing Pseudopod at all.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: deflective on March 17, 2009, 01:47:12 AM
ah, alright. a comment on genre. while i disagree that the horror genre can't have fun with itself (scream and Shaun of the dead come to mind) it isn't something i would have taken issue with. =)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: H. Bergeron on March 17, 2009, 02:23:50 AM
Time for me to wade in!

To work from the beginning - this story was absolutely hilarious, and I found myself cracking up throughout when I listened.  Definitely better than "The Hairy Ghost" in terms of humor (although that story did make me lose it quite a few times, too).

When I first listened to the story, though, I was actually kind of thrown by the ending - what he called the "hard left turn at the last possible minute" in the outro - because the absolute first thing that popped into my head was the thought that the author may have read what was written in the comments thread for The Hairy Ghost and decided to tack on a much more explicit condemnation of imperialism in Africa.  While I will concede that, like an earlier poster, I appreciate the presentation of that theme, since I hadn't drawn the parallel myself immediately, I would have liked it to be presented in perhaps a somewhat more subtle fashion.  I already KNOW the author can give me over-the-top ridiculous descriptive visuals, and I appreciate that - but it seems like we could have more contrast with the ending by doing the final condemnation with fewer words and thereby more subtlety and more punch.

But hey, I'm not actually an author, so... yeah.

I think this does fit in on Pseudopod, genre-wise.  It's kind of over-the-top silliness (for the most part) but it's still centered around an idea that's kind of in the horror genre - taking a trip up the river to a (haunted!) occupied city in an attempt to retrieve the severed oracular head of General Chinese Gordon?  Sounds like you could take the same basic concept and write a pretty scary story around it without changing too many of the scenes outright - just altering the dialogue and the descriptive framing to be less over-the-top without changing the actual plot progression could make this whole story terrifying.  Although, in hindsight, could such be said about most stories?  I'm not sure.

Did anyone else's brain hurt when you heard him say, in his strong accent, "I am an American!"?
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Alasdair5000 on March 17, 2009, 08:05:06 AM

Did anyone else's brain hurt when you heard him say, in his strong accent, "I am an American!"?


   Then my work was a success!  A SUCCESS!  A HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Ahem.

Trust me, whilst my Scottish accent is terrible my American one is...well...terrible to the power of awful.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: H. Bergeron on March 17, 2009, 03:21:12 PM

Trust me, whilst my Scottish accent is terrible my American one is...well...terrible to the power of awful.


Really, I can't complain about the accent for a character who is explicitly American, just because the entire rest of the story sounds absolutely hilarious when you read it.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: kenryan on March 26, 2009, 11:41:22 AM
Oh God...Oh God the SINGING...the endless SINGING...

(Sorry for the late post - catching up on my podcasts)

You know how sometimes you get a song stuck in your head and can't get it out?

I did not know the songs you sang, nor could I make out the words.  BUT I could NOT get the song out of my HEAD!   FOR TWO DAYS!!

Thank you, Alasdair, for bringing out the TRUE essence of horror!
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Kharto
Post by: Pheron on April 03, 2009, 01:56:28 PM
This was a kick-butt story. It's one I am going to use to try and hook more friends into listening to the 'pod.

Narration was pitch perfect, no way a Kindle could have read this one.

Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: birdless on April 07, 2009, 03:28:21 AM
This is one of those that, coming in late as i did, i don't have anything to add by way of commentary, but just had to remark how much i enjoyed it!
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Ben Phillips on April 14, 2009, 05:22:50 AM

Trust me, whilst my Scottish accent is terrible my American one is...well...terrible to the power of awful.


Really, I can't complain about the accent for a character who is explicitly American, just because the entire rest of the story sounds absolutely hilarious when you read it.

Mostly we give these to Al because A) he wants them, and B) his delivery is, in fact, hilarious and well matched to them, as noted.  But I will also point out that (as I understand it with my admittedly limited knowledge of such detailed history) high society people in the US in the early 20th century and before -- and I think particularly in New England -- often did either have or affect some semblance of a British accent, whether because they recently immigrated, hung around with people who did, had pretenses of such, or some combination of the above.  Hopefully somebody better informed can confirm or correct me on this.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: csrster on May 05, 2009, 06:37:43 AM
Like one of the earlier commenters, the first comparison which came to my mind was Flashman. The reference to "the fuzzies" also brought a brief Dad's Army flashback (they do not like it up 'em!). However thinking somewhat more deeply about it I realise that Augustus really recalls some of those villainous English occultists from Charles Williams' novels, who may in turn have been based on real-life occultists like Aleister Crowley and the Golden Dawn.

I also agree that Hendrix is treading on fairly tricky ground here - touching on imperialism, islamic fundamentalism, "orientalism", 19th century racial attitudes etc. Good for him - good writers need to take chances. This was one of the most entertaining Pseudopodcasts I can recall, and Alasdair's hilariously wobbly accents only added to the fun. I can't wait for more from Hendrix.

(Btw, was I listening carelessly or did von Slatten manage to be both Austrian and Prussian? Or was he a Prussian who happened to be Austrian Ambassador?)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Zathras on May 06, 2009, 05:02:08 PM
Finally finished this one today.  I'll be the Voice of the Opposition here.  I haven't enjoyed either of these.  To me they hearken back to the "Golden Age" of radio.  Unfortunately, they missed the mark.  I listen to classic radio shows, and these seem to try to grasp the feeling, but miss the mark.

And there it is, a big, fat MEH.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: gelee on May 06, 2009, 07:46:58 PM
I'll have to disagree.  I thought both the "White Street Society" stories were great takes on the early-20th century style of weird fiction, as written by guys like Algernon Blackwood and Lovecraft.  The second story was all the better, in that the parodied protagonist realized the absurdity of his attitudes and actions.  Also, reading was spot on, even though I did snicker a bit at the "I am an American" line.  I really couldn't imagine anyone else reading this one.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Zathras on May 06, 2009, 07:52:44 PM
Gelee,

I'll not argue the writing, but the end result didn't quite hit the mark.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Kharto
Post by: Russell Nash on July 08, 2009, 07:36:10 PM
I thought Al's singing was spot on.  What else would like severed head of an Evangelizing General sound like?

And thanks for giving the ending to Blackadder IV.  I borrowed he whole set from Wherethewild and I'm only up to Blackadder II.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: DarkKnightJRK on July 17, 2009, 02:59:58 PM
Great story--horrific and hilarious (loved the line, "Sure your arms and legs will grow back, just give it time...and drink more whisky...").

I do agree that the ending here doesn't quite match the horror of the last one, because here the main narrator (not the guy telling the story, the other guy...bah you know what I mean) actually gets what's so horrible, whereas the last guy was completely oblivious and actually thought from that odd ghost story that the Irish were going to destroy God's Country.

Still not a bad story at all. I hope more tales of these magnificant, racist bastards are to come in the future. :D
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Barkin on July 18, 2009, 10:19:39 PM
I found particularly haunting the parallel to an old Arthur C Clarke series of shorts called 'Tales of the White Hart', a bar where a very Augustus-esque fellow, 'Harry Purvis', a little less amoral but still amoral, telling a good tale. Almost all of the tales end in the impossible invention discovered in the course of the story being destroyed, convenient to the continuity world we know, as is the manner of all such pub tales ....

Except for one, 'Patent Pending', which ends in the terrible applications of the brainwave device extant, exploited, and that things will change greatly, terribly, for the sake of a dollar.

Great story--horrific and hilarious (loved the line, "Sure your arms and legs will grow back, just give it time...and drink more whisky...").

"How many children does your sister have?"
"... Some"

I do agree that the ending here doesn't quite match the horror of the last one, because here the main narrator (not the guy telling the story, the other guy...bah you know what I mean) actually gets what's so horrible, whereas the last guy was completely oblivious and actually thought from that odd ghost story that the Irish were going to destroy God's Country.

As an Irishman myself, the only thing better than the fundamentally hilarious accents was the concept of a potato homunculi.

Having had to do no small amount of reading about abolitionist culture for various history degrees, I have to say the singing would have kept me gleefully sane after many a midnight's study.

Still not a bad story at all. I hope more tales of these magnificant, racist bastards are to come in the future. :D

Most definitely!

Reminds me of this oddly-encountered fellow:

http://flannelcrat.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/twitter-fitzwilly-flannelcat-daftwager-von-quatloo-the-third/

Seems mad, quite mad.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Unblinking on August 27, 2009, 08:45:46 PM
I didn't care for this one at all, though I seem to be the only one.  This is one of the only stories I haven't finished listening to, though I did give it 20-some minutes.  The beginning was just so slow with nothing to draw the interest, and it didn't really pick up from there.

I did really enjoy the part just after he jumped ship and abandoned his companions, and his bland and mundane retelling of their execution.  I thought that was pretty funny.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: kibitzer on August 28, 2009, 12:56:10 AM
@unblinking -- you're not the only one ;-)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Scattercat on August 28, 2009, 04:47:14 AM
See, I liked these a lot.  On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of P.G. Wodehouse and all I could picture throughout both White Street Society stories was Bertie Wooster bumbling around trying to deal with supernatural horror.

Pity there's no Jeeves to fix everything in the end...
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Fenrix on March 02, 2010, 04:32:24 AM
Loved the line "A zombie jihad armed with weaponized faith."

More White Street Society and stories of their ilk, please.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Millenium_King on June 24, 2010, 09:19:51 PM
Hah!  I loved it.  With a few caveats...

The Good:

It was a wonderfully entertaining "period piece" that read like a slightly more grotesque version of Indiana Jones, The Mummy or King Solomon's Mines.  It was a good adventure story with plenty of movement and just enough "over-the-top-ness" to keep one listening.

The Bad:

The language was not particularly strong.  No particular phrase stuck with me, so I think it kept this piece down in the "decent" pile rather than up in the "excellent" pile.  The intro and framing device were rather long.  I would have just preferred a start on the Nile River in the boat.  The last image was horrific enough.  I disagree with our intrepid host on this one: the story could have cut out with the image of the head and the ticker-tape.  If that had been painted a little more vividly, it would have been the perfect capstone for this piece.  There was no need to write a heavy-handed epilogue about the "evils of money," it would have been apparent just from the image.

Finally, I really pulled for the main character the whole time.  It was pleasant to read about someone with a real ruthless streak for once.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Fenrix on December 22, 2011, 08:49:32 PM
After listening to all three stories, I am quite comfortable placing them smack in the middle of the Tall Tale category. Tall tales are America's greatest contribution to short fiction, and the White Street Society fits nicely within that. The style is very complementary with stories like Ambrose Bierce's "Oil of Dog" considering the fantastic happenings and the characters utterly oblivious to their horribleness.

Al's a perfect choice for narration, as his comedic timing and dry delivery is fantastically appropriate for the story. In addition, I'll add onto the British accent for the elites in the northeast during the time period. Anglophilia was a common trait, so I find an accent a believable affectation for any of the characters.

Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Grady Hendrix on December 28, 2011, 05:14:08 PM
Thanks for all the comments on the story - for some reason I'm terrible about weighing in on these comment threads. I hope people get a chance to listen to the new White Street Society story, "The Yellow Curse." There's a bunch of background info about the story, why I wrote it, and the history it's based on, over here:

http://www.gradyhendrix.com/the-yellow-curse/ (http://www.gradyhendrix.com/the-yellow-curse/)
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: kibitzer on December 30, 2011, 07:31:04 AM
Thanks for all the comments on the story - for some reason I'm terrible about weighing in on these comment threads. I hope people get a chance to listen to the new White Street Society story, "The Yellow Curse." There's a bunch of background info about the story, why I wrote it, and the history it's based on, over here:

http://www.gradyhendrix.com/the-yellow-curse/ (http://www.gradyhendrix.com/the-yellow-curse/)

Thanks for dropping by! Always great to hear from the author.
Title: Re: Pseudopod 131: Tales of the White Street Society - The Corpse Army of Khartoum
Post by: Fenrix on May 05, 2013, 04:49:05 AM
So yeah. During the episode of Doctor Who tonight, they started to sing the hymnal "Bring me my bow of burning gold..." Both me and the wife stopped and verified what the other was thinking. We had to pause to recover, because neither of us could hear the show as we were both calling to mind Alasdair's phenomenal rendition of "Jerusalem" in this episode.