Author Topic: Pseudopod 354: The Eulogy Of Darien Meek  (Read 8150 times)

Bdoomed

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on: October 05, 2013, 07:53:40 AM
Pseudopod 354: The Eulogy Of Darien Meek

by Niccolo Skill

ANOTHER 100 HORRORS, being released by Cruentus Libri Press, contains another piece by NICCOLO SKILL called “Old Friend”.

Your reader this week is Rich Girardi.



““Thank you for coming,” the usher said and held the door for the latest guest. Tom nodded and mouthed a ‘thank you’ but didn’t feel it in him to say the actual words. A time and place for everything, after all.

Twin dark wood doors opened up to a high-ceiling-ed main room. The windows were stained half the colors of the rainbow. The room was awash in vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. A splash of green dotted the refreshment table and the faintest lines of blue hung over the altar. A faint musky smell, not quite strong enough to be offensive, wafted out the door.

Clusters of relatives milled about, exchanging the usual family gossip. Tom tucked himself into the corner by the restrooms.”


Music under Shawn’s message is “Happy Birthday Chopin Ballade” by Mario Ajero, from Music Alley


Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

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


flintknapper

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Reply #1 on: October 08, 2013, 10:38:03 PM
Happy B'day Alasdair. A bit late, but I just got to listening to the podcast!



Unblinking

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Reply #2 on: October 09, 2013, 02:00:12 PM
Did the phrase "And the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" come to mind for anyone else?  Especially when the demon-thing declared that someday the bodies of the Meeks would be used to take over the world?

Interesting story, cool premise of a particular family plagued by corpse-raising demons.  The family dynamics did feel real which made a big difference, and the demon was suitably creepy.

For me, though, it depended way too much on POV withholding to go from good to great.  Almost all of the bulk of the story is spent telling us that bad things happen at Meek funerals, with some slight hints in that direction.  But the POV character is a Meek, so withholding the information about what exactly happens until it gets to that point leaves me unimmersed when I'd really rather be immersed.  There is enough other parts of the story, and there's nothing so novel about the body raising that it needs to be kept secret for a twist to make the story worthwhile.



adrianh

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Reply #3 on: October 10, 2013, 10:58:02 AM
Did the phrase "And the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" come to mind for anyone else?  Especially when the demon-thing declared that someday the bodies of the Meeks would be used to take over the world?

I cannot *believe* I missed that. Sigh. ;-)



Bdoomed

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Reply #4 on: October 10, 2013, 12:56:58 PM
I was waiting for "and the meek shall inherit the earth" for the whole story, and was glad when it wasn't ever actually said. 

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


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Reply #5 on: October 10, 2013, 01:43:06 PM
I was waiting for "and the meek shall inherit the earth" for the whole story, and was glad when it wasn't ever actually said. 

I am glad it was never said outright too.  It would have cheapened the story.  Honestly, I didn't even like the implication of the pun because it didn't fit the story's tone, though it's possible it wasn't intended.



flintknapper

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Reply #6 on: October 10, 2013, 06:11:52 PM
Happy B'day Alasdair. A bit late, but I just got to listening to the podcast!

I was all happy to say happy bday I didn't comment on the story.

I liked this one. Going off what others have said. I too think it is bet that it is left unsaid and yes I do think the author was thinking of the line the Meek will inherit the earth. In some ways this story was told with the author misdirecting us through most the telling. Just as you about to give in to a sense of the ordinary and then it crashes down.



Alasdair5000

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Reply #7 on: October 10, 2013, 06:24:18 PM
Thanks, Flintknapper:)

As an aside? The meek shall inherit the Earth completely passed me by:) Well spotted everyone:) Also, goes to show how sometimes, you can hide something best in plain sight:)



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Reply #8 on: October 10, 2013, 06:58:13 PM
I was all happy to say happy bday I didn't comment on the story.

And I was so busy commenting on the story that I didn't say happy bday.

So, happy bday, Al!  I hope it was a good one.



Alasdair5000

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Reply #9 on: October 10, 2013, 07:20:54 PM
Thank you:) And yeah it was awesome:) Went to London for the weekend, caught STOMP which is amazing (Even more fun seeing it with a percussionist:)), the British Museum and hung out at Borough Market. I have so many delicious foods and foods stuffs now:)



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Reply #10 on: October 10, 2013, 07:39:54 PM
I have so many delicious foods and foods stuffs now:)

What's your favorite?



Alasdair5000

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Reply #11 on: October 10, 2013, 07:52:06 PM
Cepes oil. It's this oil distilled from a type of mushroom the stall ordered by accident and it's AMAZING. This incredibly subtle, broad taste. I love it. Savory crepes are definitely on the way:)



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Reply #12 on: October 10, 2013, 08:21:29 PM
Cepes oil. It's this oil distilled from a type of mushroom the stall ordered by accident and it's AMAZING. This incredibly subtle, broad taste. I love it. Savory crepes are definitely on the way:)

Now you're making me hungry.  Supper at your house?   ;D



Alasdair5000

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Reply #13 on: October 10, 2013, 09:08:07 PM
Deal:)



Mouseneb

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Reply #14 on: October 11, 2013, 12:45:10 AM
祝你生日快乐,Alasdair!

~~~~~

Interesting story on what exactly would make a funeral more dreadful. More *exciting* too! I was left wanting to know more details: why does it have to be the closest relatives who deliver the "eulogy"? Has one ever escaped the funeral? Has a non-Meek ever attended? What was the uncle who said "We need more like you" alluding to?

Ahhh!

Perhaps I should just enjoy the story we got instead of wanting more bits that were not told  ;D

Every day is an adventure.


Cheshire_Snark

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Reply #15 on: October 15, 2013, 09:58:05 AM
Another one late to the party -

Loved the story, *loved* the narration (Rich is becoming a new favourite reader) and loved the nod to the Biblical quote. It reminds me of the undead/dead in The Scar by China Mieville... something like the living people are The Quick, and they live in the city of the Liches or the Reanimated [people move up in society by getting themselves put down and then reanimated as liches]... and AFAIK the narrator never actually *says* the Quick and the Dead but by god they're thinking it...

And happy (belated) birthday Alasdair, from a fellow citizen of the October country :)

“That country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain.” -- Ray Bradbury



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Reply #16 on: October 18, 2013, 03:17:16 AM
I loved this story. I was on edge the entire time just wanting to know what was different about this funeral, and it was just a whirlwind of good, ole' fashioned demon badness. Dunno if it's the smell of Halloween in the air, but this was exactly what I was in the mood for. The writing was fantastic, the tension was crafted well, and overall, this was just a solid piece of horror.

The reading was spot on, too. That demon voice actually made the hair on my arms stand up. Bravo.

This story reminded me a bit of the movie "The Shrine," but with better pacing and much more enjoyable characters.

Oh, and speaking of enjoyable characters, happy birthday Alasdair! Happy to hear that it was a great one! :D


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Reply #17 on: October 27, 2013, 10:49:00 PM
I've been listening to Escape Artists podcasts for about a year now, and although there were plenty of stories I loved, it was the quality of the narration on this story that finally moved me to sign up to comment about anything! Great job!



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Reply #18 on: October 29, 2013, 05:45:36 AM
What I liked best about this story was the completely unstated sub-theme of the Meek family's ambivalence.  There's a delightful tension to all of their interactions because they all know what would happen if they ever failed to hold their wakes properly (and the even more deeply buried knowledge that one of them might someday want it that way).  The mingled fear/joy of the interaction with the baby Meek - "Yay babies! But will this be the one that ends the world?" - delighted me to no end.  I ended up enjoying this story far more than I expected to from the first lines (which led me to expect more of a zombie vibe).



Cheshire_Snark

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Reply #19 on: December 13, 2013, 02:37:09 PM
I just re-listened to this...

What happened to his uncle? He had a heart attack, reanimated as something, then was shot by the Deputy.... And what happened next???? Another eulogy?