Author Topic: EP254: A Talent for Vanessa  (Read 20332 times)

Thunderscreech

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Reply #25 on: August 29, 2010, 07:06:00 PM
I enjoyed the story.

I would have enjoyed it more if it had ended with Marv's horrified realization that he had potentially stumbled onto the next fad: brain damage to avoid having hurt feelings as a teenager.  After all, what teenager hasn't thought of doing worse for less reward?
« Last Edit: August 29, 2010, 07:09:00 PM by Thunderscreech »



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Reply #26 on: September 07, 2010, 01:43:43 PM
I liked the concept of the story, but all of the emotional potential it had built up was completely killed by the twist.  She was a not-particularly-sinister government agent, asking the same question that everyone else has asked since the invention of this new technology?  Really, that's the big twist?  I thought she was much more interesting when she was considering the permanent out of body experience just to avoid her feelings being hurt--that chilled me, and then it turns out that was all a load of BS on her part.  That was a dynamite plot point, and suddenly at the end it got traded out for a sparkler.

And, the other twist, which I had trouble even recognizing as a twist until further thought, was that he is apparently picking up talents after all?  After he's spent the entire story denying the possibility?  Since he'd been denying it so vehemently for so long, I naturally assumed the exact opposite was true, and then it was.  On the first listen, it'd seemed like the final line was just a really bad joke, but only later did I realize that it might have been intended as the second twist.

If anyone likes the general concept of surgery-given talent, you might want to check out Ripping Carovella by Kim Zimring, in Writers of the Future XXIII.  The basic premise brought that story to mind, though they diverge greatly after that.



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Reply #27 on: September 07, 2010, 01:51:13 PM
Also, I like Dave Thompson's reading voice for certain stories.  Each reader is tuned to different sorts of stories.  Dave's voice seems especially suited for a "working man" character, gruff and certain of his place in the world.  This story suited him well, I thought.



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Reply #28 on: September 07, 2010, 02:08:35 PM
And, the other twist, which I had trouble even recognizing as a twist until further thought, was that he is apparently picking up talents after all?  After he's spent the entire story denying the possibility?  Since he'd been denying it so vehemently for so long, I naturally assumed the exact opposite was true, and then it was.  On the first listen, it'd seemed like the final line was just a really bad joke, but only later did I realize that it might have been intended as the second twist


Yeah I'm pretty sure that's the case, it just wasn't very clear to me what exactly was going on there. I mean its kind of the point I guess - something subtle that the protagonist didn't realize what was happening.



Swamp

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Reply #29 on: September 07, 2010, 03:02:17 PM
Also, I like Dave Thompson's reading voice for certain stories.  Each reader is tuned to different sorts of stories.  Dave's voice seems especially suited for a "working man" character, gruff and certain of his place in the world.  This story suited him well, I thought.

I am glad someone else said this because it's how I feel as well.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2010, 03:20:19 PM by Swamp »

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Reply #30 on: September 09, 2010, 04:37:15 PM
I really enjoyed this one, though like others, the twist bothered me a bit.  I would have preferred Vanessa to remain an "innocent", and just mention something along the lines of "hey, I heard that some people gained talents by hanging around people with talents", rather than the twist.  For those bothered by the "day room", this is somewhat common for temporary jobs, or day acting work.  You basically hang around an office, waiting to be sent out to whatever job it is you are going to be doing.  It was more prevalent before the advent of email and cell phones.  It did sound like the talents might live in the building, but the day room was definitely used for the above mentioned.

As for Dave's voice, I think he's one of the best readers on the podcasts, especially for this type of character.  My other favorites are Mur, Steve E., the guy who did Smidgen(Tim Crist?), and Norm Sherman.  I have readers I dislike, and one I can not tolerate, but for me, the biggest thing is audio quality.  I'd enjoy Alistair's readings a lot more if the quality is better.  I rarely comment on flaws in audio, because I know I am especially picky over this kind of thing.(I have freakish hearing) 
« Last Edit: September 09, 2010, 04:45:09 PM by Gamercow »

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Reply #31 on: September 09, 2010, 05:02:13 PM
Hey - thanks all. I do appreciate the kind words.

FWIW, I thought I'd point interested EP listeners to this thread, because it's down in an odd section of the forum, and because it was partially inspired by this thread.

Essentially, if you want to get 13 extra stories this October, I've put together an exclusive set of stories for EA forumites only. Just drop by and leave a comment there so I can put you on the list!

(Apologies to those of you who have already seen it.)


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Reply #32 on: September 09, 2010, 05:30:14 PM
Essentially, if you want to get 13 extra stories this October, I've put together an exclusive set of stories for EA forumites only. Just drop by and leave a comment there so I can put you on the list!

Ooh, 13!  What a perfect number for a bunch of dark stories.  :)



LaShawn

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Reply #33 on: November 11, 2010, 09:33:01 PM
I guess I didn't get this story, particularly the ending. Soooo...what happened again? Vanessa was a spy of sorts? There's a bunch of super smart autistic people going about? And it's a fad to become one? What was with that number at the end?

So confused....

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Reply #34 on: November 11, 2010, 10:22:43 PM
I guess I didn't get this story, particularly the ending. Soooo...what happened again? Vanessa was a spy of sorts? There's a bunch of super smart autistic people going about? And it's a fad to become one? What was with that number at the end?

Your first two statements are largely correct.  The number at the end was implying that he had, in fact, somehow "picked up" a savant talent by hanging out with them for so long, thus hinting that these miraculous powers are, in fact, accessible to everyone on some level, just as Vanessa's military overlords had hoped.



LaShawn

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Reply #35 on: November 12, 2010, 02:16:52 PM
Oh. Okay. Thanks Scattercat.

With that said, I guess I didn't like the story all that much then. Probably would've been better if I read it instead of listened to it.

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Reply #36 on: November 21, 2010, 08:39:11 AM
not the most interesting so far...
Quite confusing and hard to follow as there was little interest to do so.



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Reply #37 on: September 14, 2014, 12:40:07 AM
perfect story