Author Topic: Best Escape Pod of 2006?  (Read 19910 times)

Jim Crow

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on: February 01, 2007, 09:58:27 PM
The recent Oscar nominations got me thinking to much earlier last year, when I was first directed to Escape Pod, and upon catching up on all the previous stories I noticed that several of the introductions referenced "Union Dues: Iron Bars and the Glass Jaw" as the most popular episode of Escape Pod from 2005.  And it got me to thinking, was there ever a discussion or consideration over what was the best story of 2006?  I have my own personal opinions, but I want to wait and make sure that some sort of conference over this hasn't already happened.




SFEley

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Reply #1 on: February 01, 2007, 10:04:41 PM
No, this is great.  It was a discussion I kept meaning to bring up.  I want to put a poll up on the site -- but making it user-editable last time turned it into sort of a mess, so let's have some nominations here first instead.  >8->

Thanks!

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Jim Crow

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Reply #2 on: February 01, 2007, 11:24:14 PM
If the last episode of 2006 was Episode 86, then the first episode of '06 must have been...episode 35 or 36? 

Well, going back over the list, and listening to a few for a second (or sometimes third) time, this is a list of my favorites.

L'Alchemista
Shadowboxer
Anyone Can Whistle
Observation in the City of Angels
Barnaby in Exile
I Look Forward to Remembering You
Tk'Tk'Tk
The Clockwork-Atom Bomb
Connie, Maybe



slic

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Reply #3 on: February 02, 2007, 02:06:22 AM
Without a list of all of them, I can't be sure, but based on Jim Crow's, the ones I recall fondly are:
L'Alchemista
The Clockwork-Atom Bomb

And two not on the list:
King's Tail (#66)
Margin of Error (#81)



smartbombradio

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Reply #4 on: February 03, 2007, 06:43:19 AM
Shadowboxer and I Look Forward to Remembering You

Strongly Seconded.


Heradel

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Reply #5 on: February 03, 2007, 06:56:19 AM
Barnaby in Exile.

I Twitter. I also occasionally blog on the Escape Pod blog, which if you're here you shouldn't have much trouble finding.


Simon

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Reply #6 on: February 03, 2007, 09:33:48 AM
To me, Shadowboxer and Craphound (you ran that at the beginning of January, right?) stand so far above everything else it's just a given.  On mention of which: has Scott Fletcher been turning down other offers to narrate? He was fantastic for Shadowboxer.

But in order to big up a few of the lesser to me but still fantastic episodes - L'Alchemista, Little Worker, The Clockwork Atom Bomb.

And in order to join Slic in sticking a few nails in coffins: Single White Farmhouse, Mountain Man.



smartbombradio

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Reply #7 on: February 03, 2007, 10:07:13 AM
Barnaby in Exile.


Forgot about that one.  An additional "Seconded"


slic

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Reply #8 on: February 03, 2007, 01:37:04 PM
Quote
And in order to join Slic in sticking a few nails in coffins: Single White Farmhouse, Mountain Man.
Uh-Oh, what I meant was that King's Tail (#66) and Margin of Error (#81) are missing from the top ten list.  I voted for King's Tail as one of the best stories in one of the previous polls.

I did not like Mountain Man, either.



Jim Crow

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Reply #9 on: February 03, 2007, 04:32:20 PM
If we're also doing least-favorites, I'd like to toss Seventy-Five Years in there as well.  The fact that it was also a Hugo nominee just magnifies it in my eyes. 



slic

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Reply #10 on: February 03, 2007, 08:57:04 PM
Hmmm.  Well, doesn't look like I'm likely to borrow books from Jim Crow.  I thought Seventy-Five years was excellent while Tk'Tk'Tk bored me.



Jim Crow

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Reply #11 on: February 04, 2007, 03:31:01 AM
This kind of isn't what this thread is supposed to be about, and I'm kind of sorry I kept it going.  I don't know if the forums are about this, but we could maybe do a separate thread for our least favorite Escape Pod stories?  Because I could/would go into detail about my dislike for Seventy-Five Years in the same way I could gush about Tk'tk'tk.



SFEley

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Reply #12 on: February 04, 2007, 03:56:17 AM
This kind of isn't what this thread is supposed to be about, and I'm kind of sorry I kept it going.  I don't know if the forums are about this, but we could maybe do a separate thread for our least favorite Escape Pod stories?  Because I could/would go into detail about my dislike for Seventy-Five Years in the same way I could gush about Tk'tk'tk.

If you want.  As long as you're not insulting individuals -- including the story authors -- you're welcome to criticize what you like.

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Reply #13 on: February 04, 2007, 06:10:47 PM
I need to go back and look. For economy of space I don't keep back episodes, but The one that really justs jumps into my mind is I Look Forward to Remembering You.



Russell Nash

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Reply #14 on: February 04, 2007, 08:42:55 PM
To help with the discussion and take up a lot of space here's the list of last year's episodes.

EP035: Hero  By Scott Sigler.
EP036: Connie, Maybe  By Paul E. Martens.
EP037: Craphound  By Cory Doctorow.
EP038: L’Alchimista  By N.K. Jemisin.
EP039: My Friend is a Lesbian Zombie  By Eugie Foster.
EP040: Even Vadsø Thaws  By Bruce Holland Rogers.
EP041: Ambient Sleaze  By Jeffrey R. DeRego.
EP042: Practical Villainy  By Janni Lee Simner.
EP043: Little Worker  By Paul Di Filippo.
EP044: Show and Tell  By Greg van Eekhout.
EP045: Are You Ready For the End of the World?  By Danny Adams.
EP046: Natural Order  By Michael Jasper.
EP047: Poet for Hire  By Sue Burke.
EP048: Soul Food  By Paul E. Martens.
EP049: Union Dues - Off White Lies  By Jeffrey R. DeRego.
EP050: The Malcontent  By Stephen Eley.
EP051: Is You Is / Is You Ain’t?  By Michael Canfield.
EP052: Single White Farmhouse  By Heather Shaw.
EP053: Seventy-Five Years  By Michael A. Burstein.
EP054: Tk’tk’tk  By David D. Levine.
EP055: Down Memory Lane  By Mike Resnick.
EP056: The Clockwork Atom Bomb  By Dominic Green.
EP057: Chuckles Mulrooney, Attorney for the Damned  By Scott Sigler.
EP058: Shadowboxer  By Paul Di Filippo.
EP059: Anyone Can Whistle  By David Walton.
EP060: Creature For Hire  By Paul E. Martens.
EP061: I Look Forward To Remembering You  By Mur Lafferty.
EP062: Union Dues - The Baby and the Bathwater  By Jeffrey R. DeRego
EP063: Observations From the City of Angels  By William Shunn.
EP064: Head of State  By Ed W. Marsh.
EP065: A Green Thumb  By Tobias S. Buckell.
EP066: The King’s Tail  By Constance Cooper.
EP067: Life in Stone  By Tim Pratt.
EP068: Depth of Field  By Stephen Dedman.
EP069: Her  By Tobias S. Buckell.
EP070: Squonk the Dragon  By Pete Butler.
EP071: The Capo of Darkness  By Laura Resnick.
EP072: Joe Steele  By Harry Turtledove.
EP073: Barnaby in Exile  By Mike Resnick.
EP074: Paradox & Greenblatt, Attorneys at Law  By Kevin J. Anderson.
EP075: Nano Comes to Clifford Falls  By Nancy Kress.
EP076: The Dinner Game  By Stephen Eley.
EP077: A Single Shadow  By Stephen Dedman.
EP078: The Shoulders of Giants  By Robert J. Sawyer.
EP079: Mountain, Man  By Heather Shaw.
EP080: Union Dues - Cleanup in Aisle Five  By Jeffrey R. DeRego.
EP081: Margin of Error  By Nancy Kress.
EP082: Travels With My Cats  By Mike Resnick.
EP083: Ulla  By Daniel Schwabauer.
EP084: Smooth Talking  By Tobias S. Buckell.
EP085: Merry Christmas from the Heartbreakers  By Mur Lafferty.
EP086: When We Went to See the End of the World  By Robert Silverberg.



Bdoomed

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Reply #15 on: February 05, 2007, 04:05:33 AM
ooh, great great topic!
im quite fond of
L'Alchimista
Connie, Maybe
Shadowboxer
Anyone Can Whistle

... in no particular order...
probably Shadowboxer as my favorite, followed by L'Alchemista... then... dunno...
« Last Edit: February 05, 2007, 05:48:46 AM by Bdoomed »

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?


DKT

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Reply #16 on: February 05, 2007, 09:50:59 PM
Hmmmmmmmm.  Here's my choices:

Craphound
I Look Forward to Remembering You
Depth of Field
Barnaby in Exile
Union Dues: Clean-Up in Aisle Five


Holden

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Reply #17 on: February 06, 2007, 07:21:18 PM
These two stick out immediately:

Barnaby in Exile
Connie, Maybe



sirana

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Reply #18 on: February 07, 2007, 12:43:41 PM
Shadowboxer
Craphound
Tk'Tk'tk

and my favourite story of 2006:
Little worker



fiveyearwinter

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Reply #19 on: February 07, 2007, 03:39:40 PM
EP036: Connie, Maybe  By Paul E. Martens.
EP038: L’Alchimista  By N.K. Jemisin.
EP066: The King’s Tail  By Constance Cooper.
EP072: Joe Steele  By Harry Turtledove.
EP081: Margin of Error  By Nancy Kress.

were my favorites. Don't ask me to choose.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2007, 03:41:48 PM by fiveyearwinter »



Swamp

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Reply #20 on: February 08, 2007, 11:22:54 PM
There are many good ones, but here are my top 5:

The Malcontent  By Stephen Eley (No, I'm not trying to suck up. I really liked it.)
Tk’tk’tk  By David D. Levine.
Life in Stone  By Tim Pratt.
Barnaby in Exile  By Mike Resnick.
Nano Comes to Clifford Falls  By Nancy Kress.
The Shoulders of Giants  By Robert J. Sawyer.
Union Dues - Cleanup in Aisle Five  By Jeffrey R. DeRego.

OK so that's 7.  Forgive me, I have 14 fingers.

Regarding Tk’tk’tk, I don't think I would have liked it in written form, but read aloud, it took on a new life, placing me in that world.  Kudos to Paul Tevis for the reading.

One more thing: Honorable Mention for Squonk the Dragon by Pete Butler.  It was a great change of pace!

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JaredAxelrod

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Reply #21 on: February 09, 2007, 03:02:01 AM
L'Alchimista, hands down.

But then, I'm a history and food nerd, so what else would I choose?  Paul Tevis did probably the best reading of the year, too, so there's that.

Though I seem to remember The Uncanny Valley being really good...I wonder why that's sticking in my head...
« Last Edit: February 09, 2007, 03:04:56 AM by JaredAxelrod »



Jim Crow

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Reply #22 on: February 19, 2007, 04:41:30 PM
From a very rudimentary look at it, and on the postings on this thread.....if you're going to do a top five to vote on....

L'Alchemista
Barnaby in Exile
I Look Forward To Remembering You
Tk'tk'tk
Connie, Maybe

There are others like The King's Tail, Craphound, Anyone Can Whistle and maybe another got two people vouching, but all the ones above had more than two.

It all depends on how many you want to narrow the vote to?  I don't know.



TheMindFantastic

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Reply #23 on: February 20, 2007, 01:41:50 AM
This is a hard topic for me because I loved a great deal of them.  I recently went through the whole year of listening in a couple of days, to make sure I listened to them all.  I think some of these stories were made much more interesting when the 'perfect voice' is found for them, even if the story on its own might not be my favourite, the right voice made it amazing.  Connie Maybe is the perfect example, Witchita Rutherford made that story one of my favorites... if it was anyone else it wouldn't be anywhere as good.

L'Alchimista is probably my favourite, but Tk'Tk'Tk, Little Worker, Connie Maybe (as mentioned above), Shadowboxer, The Shoulders of Giants, and Travels with My Cats, round off my top 5 list (a list utilizing a slightly larger variation of the accepted numbering system  ;) )

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Bdoomed

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Reply #24 on: February 20, 2007, 05:56:31 AM
From a very rudimentary look at it, and on the postings on this thread.....if you're going to do a top five to vote on....

L'Alchemista
Barnaby in Exile
I Look Forward To Remembering You
Tk'tk'tk
Connie, Maybe

There are others like The King's Tail, Craphound, Anyone Can Whistle and maybe another got two people vouching, but all the ones above had more than two.

It all depends on how many you want to narrow the vote to?  I don't know.

dont forget Shadowboxer in that list!

I'd like to hear my options, so I could weigh them, what do you say?
Five pounds?  Six pounds? Seven pounds?