Author Topic: EP107: Eight Episodes  (Read 30075 times)

Original Digga

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Reply #50 on: May 06, 2008, 01:20:58 PM
Wow, what a great story.  I really loved MarBelle's reading of this story, I liked the plot-line and it made me think.  "A lie is as good as pill if it helps you sleep" -- what a cool, flat statement.

I listened to this one two times in a row.

Salutations


El Barto

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Reply #51 on: September 13, 2009, 01:03:25 AM
I liked this story a lot.   It seemed like somewhat of a Rorschach test in that some people were inclined to say "see, interstellar travel was and is impossible."  Others said, "nice try you lying aliens -- you can't trick us into staying home!"   

When I listened to the first 75 or so episodes of EP I never even knew of these forums.  Now that I've started leaving some feedback I realize that I'm definitely a sucker for a great idea.  Sometimes even if the author doesn't take it all the way, or even very far, I find myself wanting to read more of his/her stories, to see what other ideas are being birthed.

Also, to those who were frustrated, I think part of what the author was trying to convey was that feeling of frustration at not knowing what really happened.  Was it a hoax?  Was it real but landed on Earth millions of years ago?  Or was it sent down from the moon recently?

Also, I really liked the style of the story.   At first I kept thinking why are they describing an obscure TV show and then as the plot developed I realized that the show wasn't an artifice to tell the story but rather it was the story.  Well done, sir!

For those who might be looking for more Robert Reed stories, I thought Truth (Asimov's 11/08) and A Billion Eves (Asimov's 10/06) were both five star outstanding.






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Reply #52 on: February 17, 2010, 06:56:49 PM
Like most Hugo nominees, I wasn't particularly wowed by this--further pointing out that my tastes have little to do with what's popular among larger populations.  I liked the idea, wasn't so thrilled about the execution.  It did definitely have the feel of a Wikipedia article, but I tend to skim those for the most interesting bits, so it doesn't work as a great model for story structure for me.  I would've liked to have a protagonist.

The parts that I did like were the odd juxtapositions.  The two scientists re-dressing themselves while having a scientific discussion, and this apparent sexual relationship is not discussed either before or after.  That sort of thing makes me suspect it really was aliens.  Like they'd been researching TV shows and see lots of scenes with people getting dressed at the beginning of a scene, but didn't fully understand it's context--that that glimpse implied much more behind the scenes.  Instead it was used as just a thing that people do, like eating breakfast in your pajamas, or getting a cup of coffee when you get to the office. 

Then again, it could've just been someone TRYING to convey that alien filmmaker mindset.  Or an alien TRYING to act like a human TRYING to convey an alien filmmaker mindset.  Or a human TRYING to act like an alien TRYING--  <ERROR:  RECURSIVE LOOP!  ABORTING!>