Author Topic: EP117: Reggie vs. Kaiju Storm Chimera Wolf  (Read 38599 times)

Chodon

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Reply #25 on: August 06, 2007, 05:57:43 PM
Big weapons against big monsters - the first thing I thought of the "Daisy Cutter"
As cool as it sounds won't someone think of the children?  I'm sure 1000psi of ovrepressure would shatter almost any carapace though.  That would do it.  It only takes a couple PSI of overpressure to rupture ear drums and hemmorage lungs. 

And "only 30 meters tall"? ONLY? Man, I'd hate to see the size of the cockroaches where you come from. :)
Well, when you're talking a minimum of 6 meters of penetration that's 1/5th of the length of the monster (assuming it's innards are as hard as concrete).   
Cockroaches give me the jibblies.  The hibbly-jiblies.

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SFEley

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Reply #26 on: August 06, 2007, 06:05:53 PM
Is there a commonly-used name for the trope in which a male and female character have a past together that only they seem to know much about?

This is an excellent question.  I actually spent a few minutes looking for a name for this at http://tvtropes.org but found it a bit hard to navigate for a concept-based search like this.  (And then, like Wikipedia, found it way too easy to get lost in wandering there.)  If anyone has an answer, I'd like to know too!

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Jim

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Reply #27 on: August 06, 2007, 07:41:58 PM
I actually spent a few minutes looking for a name for this at http://tvtropes.org but found it a bit hard to navigate for a concept-based search like this.  (And then, like Wikipedia, found it way too easy to get lost in wandering there.)  If anyone has an answer, I'd like to know too!

The closest thing I could find was New Old Flame, in the Television section.

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Bolomite

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Reply #28 on: August 06, 2007, 08:38:35 PM
I too got kind of bored with the story.  I think Ben's character would have made a much more interesting story, a human with telepathy able to sense monsters instead of failed romance attracts monster. 

On the topic military hardware to use against the monster...since the monster is a living creature, why not have some sort of biological weapon to use against it?  Call it Godzilla-virus, and it gives the monster some nasty flu that ends up killing it.  Although the idea of a 90+ foot monster with the runs is kind of gross....



Swamp

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Reply #29 on: August 06, 2007, 08:45:05 PM
Although the idea of a 90+ foot monster with the runs is kind of gross....

Oh, the story ideas coming from this thread...   :)

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Golgo13

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Reply #30 on: August 07, 2007, 06:04:05 AM
This story started out promising, as I hadn't heard of any writers trying to tackle the Giant Monster tale in a fully literary medium. Usually, writers try to put it in a format like a graphic novel to help bring out the heavy visualizations that accompany the subject matter. By about halfway through the story, I started to wonder is Mr. Selznick had an entirely different story in mind than what he had started with. It seemed, on the surface, that he was going to give us another "rock 'em, sock 'em" story. I was also confused by the twist of how the monster was tied to Reggie's relationship, and I couldn't help but see the part in the Americanized Godzilla when Matthew Broderick's character was standing directly in front of Godzilla as it roared at him.

Sadly, I didn't think much of Emmerich's Godzilla either. This wasn't one of the better stories that I've heard on EP, but I also don't think that it took itself too seriously either.



Monty Grue

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Reply #31 on: August 07, 2007, 04:02:03 PM
The initial prospect of a giant monster story was quite exciting. However, the end result was a little  disappointing.  This is the third giant monster story I've read, or heard, and the other two weren't satisfactory either   The problem is difficult to pinpoint exactly, but giant monsters seem empirically linked to men in rubber suits stomping on model cities, and attempts to translate them to words on a page are pale imitations of their hokey glory.

The is an anthology called Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales for folks who may like the genre, but I think, based on past stories, I'll pass.
« Last Edit: August 12, 2007, 07:02:07 PM by Russell Nash »



Mr. Tweedy

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Reply #32 on: August 07, 2007, 04:15:05 PM
Interesting concepts, but it didn't go anywhere, it didn't end up making any sense, and it wasn't funny.

Yawn.  Thumbs down.

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Zathras

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Reply #33 on: August 08, 2007, 02:40:22 AM
Interesting concepts, but it didn't go anywhere, it didn't end up making any sense, and it wasn't funny.

Yawn.  Thumbs down.

I'll add my thumb to that.  My least favorite episode to date.



Russell Nash

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Reply #34 on: August 09, 2007, 11:57:13 AM
I liked the old romance part.  I liked the monster.  I had problems with the hardware.  I really liked that the start of the fall of communism (The big visual of it at least) was caused by a giant monster.  When I went to work today I passed Check Point Charlie and saw some of Kaiju's work.

But everything seemed to be truncated.  We needed more info about Berlin, The relationship, the monster; a fuller ending; and more explosions.



VBurn

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Reply #35 on: August 09, 2007, 03:17:29 PM
Quote
(And then, like Wikipedia, found it way too easy to get lost in wandering there.)

Wow, you can wear the buttons off your mouse at this site.  What do you call complete infatuation with completely useless knowledge?  Wiki-idous?



mt house

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Reply #36 on: August 09, 2007, 10:57:26 PM
Story? Plot? Who cares! Here's one junkie who needed a Scott Sigler fix. I've stopped sweating and writhing for the time being...It's sort of like hooting yard - I don't understand what he's talking about, it's all about the voice, man. Thank you, escape pod.



ChrisFixedKitty

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Reply #37 on: August 10, 2007, 01:37:25 AM
Story? Plot? Who cares! Here's one junkie who needed a Scott Sigler fix. I've stopped sweating and writhing for the time being...It's sort of like hooting yard - I don't understand what he's talking about, it's all about the voice, man. Thank you, escape pod.
Man, I had the opposite reaction.  Sigler's female voice kept bumping me out of the story, and I felt the reading was a bit heavy (low-key, photographically speaking) for the characters' personalities.  Not bad, just not meshing with my take on them.  I liked the story; the world was a closer parallel to our own than we've heard in a few weeks.  Maybe this story's appeal relies on a familiarity with anime and monster movie tropes and a certain sense of humor.  The combination of a just-average-guy's emotional hangover with just-a-gal and the stepquakes was fun.

CF



capteucalyptus

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Reply #38 on: August 10, 2007, 03:38:41 AM
I loved the world.  The idea of giant monster experts (these guys where sort of the precursors to the big gun mechas they'd send in later if the monster reappeared) and mechas standing by to come in and take out kaiju.  The fact that these monsters are common enough that folks would evacuate much as they would with a hurricane (and just like a hurricane you'd get some who wouldn't).  If this were an RPG I'd buy it.  Now the story itself?  It needs work.  I like the motivation of the monster as an extention of id (a nod as a couple have said to TFP), but it all seemed so rushed.  MWS since you're watching the thread, I agree that this one has problems but don't make this your last foray into the world of kaiju. 



capteucalyptus

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Reply #39 on: August 10, 2007, 03:39:27 AM
Oh and as a fellow junkie, I loved Sigler reading this.



mwsmedia

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Reply #40 on: August 10, 2007, 05:36:46 AM
MWS since you're watching the thread, I agree that this one has problems but don't make this your last foray into the world of kaiju. 

Oh, don't worry... it's not.  I have plans.

Matthew Wayne Selznick
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Roney

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Reply #41 on: August 10, 2007, 07:56:23 AM
Which makes me wonder, given today's military hardware (ie, if we don't have handy experimental aircraft handy with "100mm" guns on them), what *would* you want to attack a giant monster with?

I'd like to try a thermobaric weapon of some sort.  Even fireproof armoured monsters must need to breathe.  Unfortunately I don't know how long the oxygen-sucking effects tend to last or how long a monster can hold its breath.



Russell Nash

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Reply #42 on: August 10, 2007, 08:07:21 AM
Which makes me wonder, given today's military hardware (ie, if we don't have handy experimental aircraft handy with "100mm" guns on them), what *would* you want to attack a giant monster with?

I'd like to try a thermobaric weapon of some sort.  Even fireproof armoured monsters must need to breathe.  Unfortunately I don't know how long the oxygen-sucking effects tend to last or how long a monster can hold its breath.

After the concrete penetrating bunker buster, we got into some weopons with some serious colateral damage.  People do need to return to these areas.



capteucalyptus

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Reply #43 on: August 10, 2007, 08:24:27 PM
In a world where kaiju have been wandering around I could see the military developing weapons that we don't have.  Necessity is the mother of invention and all.  And these weapons should be powered by STEAM!!



Russell Nash

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Reply #44 on: August 11, 2007, 07:17:25 AM
In a world where kaiju have been wandering around I could see the military developing weapons that we don't have.  Necessity is the mother of invention and all.  And these weapons should be powered by STEAM!!

And hamsters running on wheels.



marksmess

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Reply #45 on: August 14, 2007, 08:47:52 PM
Listened to this tonight and, sorry, but it did bore me. I just didn't connect with the story. It's the first time this has happened to me. I have failed :'(
Just to say, Escape pod has taught me to hang on in there with stories, and very rearly am i not rewarded, and it hs made me more adventurous in my reading. Keep it up, and thanks.



timprov

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Reply #46 on: August 17, 2007, 09:05:56 PM
Listening to Scott's readings, not just this story but his other work, reminds me of when I would read a story to a young kid. How you would always try to make big, funny voices for all the different characters.

I liked the story though, you don't hear too many giant monster stories anymore so I like what I can get. 

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wakela

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Reply #47 on: August 21, 2007, 11:19:12 PM
Tip for the youngsters out there who are thinking about writing their own giant monster story: put a giant monster in it.




wakela

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Reply #48 on: August 21, 2007, 11:34:45 PM
I looked up kaiju in my Japanese dictionary.  The literal meaning of the kanji is "suspicious beast."  In the case of daikaiju, the meaning is "big suspicious beast," or less likely "normal sized beast towards which we feel great suspicion."

Of course this should be taken with a grain of salt.  When we think of "breakfast" we think of eggs and cereal, not any sort of fast breaking.  But I thought you guys would find it interesting. 



TimWhite

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Reply #49 on: September 06, 2007, 03:41:46 PM
I ended up fast-forwarding through a lot of this.  Just 'eh' overall.