Pseudopod 067: Memories of the Knacker’s Yard

[darusha]

this is the kind of story that Ben Philips was born to narrate.

I would agree with this sentiment, except that Ben could narrate the phone book and I'd happily download that file.

[sirana]

this is the kind of story that Ben Philips was born to narrate.

I would agree with this sentiment, except that Ben could narrate the phone book and I'd happily download that file.

I'd second that...

[wakela]

I know it's an archetype and all, but I am really tired of the cynical, tough guy, miserable, lone cop, who drinks whiskey and bad coffee, but he's clean and he's good at his job damn it, descending into the underworld to solve a crime.   A story with this structure and character has to work harder to keep my interest.  This one did keep my interest, but would have been more effective with a more interesting lead character. 

If the ghosts had money why did they live in such a shitty place?

It seemed like he solved the crime a little easily.  Why would anyone try to make a living killing people and selling the experience if it meant your product was stamped with your home address? 

However, the world the story takes place in is very cool.  The scene where cop and killer confront each other, but each has the other's memories is a fantastic idea, and one that can only be done in a SFF world, which is why I listen to these podcasts.  I think more should have been made of this rather than the killer just being depressed at the cops crappy life.

[Myrealana]

"The silence was so pregnant it had quintuplets."
I'm still listening.  I'm loving this.

Another of my favorites:
"I glared at him.  He glared at me.  He had a better glare because he had three eyes."  I don't chuckle out loud very often when listening to audio fiction.
I'd love to hear more from this author, especially in this setting.

Yes, I most definately agree. The flavor this story gained from witty little tidbits like this was terrific.

[DarkKnightJRK]

Since one of my absolute favorite genres is the noir mystery, I instantly dug this. Awesome story with a fantastic narrator.

[JoeFitz]

I'll add my name to the list of admirers of the story. More please.

[Unblinking]

I really enjoyed this one, lots of really slick ideas that were pulled off well.

With a setting this complex, it would be easy to either tell about the world in a giant boring infodump or simply not tell us enough and leave us wondering what the hell is going on.  This hit the sweet spot in the middle, just enough info and at appropriate times to keep the action going and to keep a dual hook of world exploration and plot conclusion.  Good work!

[Millenium_King]

I want to say primarily that this is a very solid, well-told story.  The concept was highly interesting and the "magic system" very well thought out and believable.  I would certainly recommend this to someone and from a technical, craft point of view I consider it a real hit.

That being said, this "sub-genre" of "paranormal detective" is one that I really do not enjoy.  The hard-boiled langauge with the hard-bitten protagonist is pretty formulaic (not that I'm against formulas, just this one).  I just don't like the pseudo-noir overtones and familiar, predictable plotlines.  They're always first person and the main character always feels like the same person (heck, was this supposed to be the same guy as "Merlin's Bane?" - could have fooled me!).

I am willing to be open minded and stand up and rave about a good "paranormal detective" story that has an appeal far beyond it's niche - but I think, as good as this one was, it still didn't manage to strike a cord in me.