Author Topic: Podcastle Miniature 42: Change  (Read 9572 times)

Heradel

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on: November 20, 2009, 02:12:35 PM
Podcastle Miniature 42: Change

by Greg van Eekhout

Read by Dave Thompson

My ex-wife tells me on the phone that she thinks she saw a kid in her yard last night. She’s got a lot of stuff in the shed that’s worth money, like her boyfriend’s tools and some nice bikes, and she’s always going on about how her neighbors are coming over to steal stuff.

“It couldn’t have been a kid,” I say. “Maybe that old guy from across the street? He’s pretty small.” I’m encouraging her, I know, but it’s possible it was that old guy. I once caught him peeping into the dining room window, and when I confronted him, he said he thought he smelled gas. That was when Steph and I were still together.

“I know how an old man moves,” Steph says. “I know how a kid moves. This was a kid.”

Rated PG: For the Kids in the Yard
« Last Edit: December 21, 2009, 04:25:40 AM by Heradel »

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eytanz

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Reply #1 on: November 20, 2009, 10:45:36 PM
Oh. Wow. van Eekhout's stories range from very good to exceptionally great, and this was certainly among the latter.

So much conveyed, and almost all of it subtext. Exceptionally disturbing, without anything explicitly disturbing within it. Just masterful.

Oh, and a great reading by DKT.
« Last Edit: November 20, 2009, 10:49:51 PM by eytanz »



kibitzer

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Reply #2 on: November 22, 2009, 08:27:01 AM
That was... odd. Very odd. I understand this is part of a suite of stories -- like the Sanctuary series or something -- but it just... ended. Right in the middle.  Not a good audio experience. I'd like something self-contained and self-consistent.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2009, 11:49:58 AM by kibitzer »



MacBean

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Reply #3 on: November 22, 2009, 11:55:24 AM
Wait... What? Where's the rest of it?

~Bean


eytanz

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Reply #4 on: November 22, 2009, 05:52:46 PM
Well, personally I don't feel this story is lacking anything, but if you do feel that way, I'm afraid reading the rest of the story sequence won't help - they are interconnected in that they contain hyperlinks to each other, but they are not related to each other content-wise.



Sandikal

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Reply #5 on: November 22, 2009, 09:25:25 PM
Was that the whole story?  The ending was very abrupt.  It seemed like a good start to a story.



Scattercat

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Reply #6 on: November 23, 2009, 04:45:04 AM
Now THIS I really, really like.  My favorite stories are the ones that show you juuuuust enough.  That was awesome, and so nicely done.  I so rarely find stories that end at the proper moment.

I need to give Mr. van Eekhout some money in exchange for his intellectual property, I think.  So far he's been consistently rad, in my opinion.



MacArthurBug

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Reply #7 on: November 23, 2009, 07:30:20 PM
abrubt- but interesting.

Oh, great and mighty Alasdair, Orator Maleficent, He of the Silvered Tongue, guide this humble fangirl past jumping up and down and squeeing upon hearing the greatness of Thy voice.
Oh mighty Mur the Magnificent. I am not worthy.


lowky

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Reply #8 on: November 24, 2009, 03:12:49 AM
listened to it based on the PP thread.  It seemed like the good first few pages or chapter to a book, but it ended too abruptly for my tastes.  would love to see this fleshed out into a longer story.


Scattercat

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Reply #9 on: November 24, 2009, 03:55:05 AM
But the story is finished.  This is the very last scene, and the entire story is laid out behind it like a shadow thrown by a spotlight.  We see where the character started, his trials, and how he overcomes them and, well, successfully changes.  It's a snapshot of the place the story ends and the next begins.



DKT

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Reply #10 on: November 24, 2009, 04:47:59 PM
So much conveyed, and almost all of it subtext. Exceptionally disturbing, without anything explicitly disturbing within it. Just masterful.

Oh, and a great reading by DKT.

Thanks, eytanz :) Glad the reading worked for you. It was loads of fun to narrate!


Gamercow

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Reply #11 on: December 02, 2009, 12:48:07 AM
Great reading, great little story.  It was like a piece of pie.  Just a little bite of something happily enjoyed after a big meal.

The cow says "Mooooooooo"


knigget

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Reply #12 on: December 04, 2009, 02:53:03 PM
Spooky, chilly, disturbing.  An excellent story. 

http://www.apoGrypha.blogspot.com

What would have been written. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


Boggled Coriander

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Reply #13 on: December 04, 2009, 03:09:56 PM
I don't have much to add, just want to say holy crap I liked this.  I especially liked the implication that the characters emotionally came to terms with the situation long ago.

"The meteor formed a crater, vampires crawling out of the crater." -  The Lyttle Lytton contest


cdugger

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Reply #14 on: December 05, 2009, 01:18:01 AM
OK, it's a FLASH piece! It's supposed to be short.

I like this one more than most of the PC Flash stories.

BUT, I do have to admit that it was rather like hitting a brick wall with the ending. The story was complete, but I would love to see, or hear, much more of that world.

I read, therefore I am...happy.


Loz

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Reply #15 on: December 06, 2009, 12:38:54 PM
Nope. Listened to it, didn't get it, came here, saw the general like of the story so I even went back and listened again and I still don't get it. It's an epilogue from a larger story, for me it just doesn't work on it's own merits.



Boggled Coriander

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Reply #16 on: December 06, 2009, 01:12:12 PM
It's an epilogue from a larger story, for me it just doesn't work on it's own merits.

For me, that's the beauty of it.  It paints a picture with very few strokes, while all the time pretending to be focusing on the protagonist's current relationship with his ex-wife. 

I'm a bit surprised it ran on Podcastle rather than Pseudopod.  I'm not saying it doesn't count as fantasy, but it seems like the horror elements dominate.  Not so much the implication that the kid's a zombie (or something), but the fact that the parents have emotionally gotten over it.

"The meteor formed a crater, vampires crawling out of the crater." -  The Lyttle Lytton contest


Unblinking

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Reply #17 on: December 07, 2009, 05:59:19 PM
I really liked this one, and the way it carefully doled out information a tiny bit at a time to get the full story across.

Normally I would complain about this style where all the action happens before the text of the story, but this is just done so well that I can't make that complaint.



spork

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Reply #18 on: December 16, 2009, 05:12:50 PM
Quality.  Nice.   Character development through dialogue and action, not exposition.  Thank you.



Fenrix

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Reply #19 on: March 16, 2010, 02:02:17 PM
Nice flash story. I can't give a fully unbiased review as a couple of the details jangled with me personally, but it was definitely worth the listen.

I wandered over here based on a recommendation in the Pseudopod forums, and wasn't disappointed. Eventually, I will draw the Pseudopod well down and wanted to see if y'all had recommendations of stories for the PseudoPod listener to explore.

All cat stories start with this statement: “My mother, who was the first cat, told me this...”


Unblinking

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Reply #20 on: March 17, 2010, 01:43:20 PM
Nice flash story. I can't give a fully unbiased review as a couple of the details jangled with me personally, but it was definitely worth the listen.

I wandered over here based on a recommendation in the Pseudopod forums, and wasn't disappointed. Eventually, I will draw the Pseudopod well down and wanted to see if y'all had recommendations of stories for the PseudoPod listener to explore.

Mermaid's Tea Party could definitely have fit in over at Pseudopod as well!