Drabblecast 202, 203 - Boojum

[swamp]

Wow! Unbelievable great! I will have to elucidate further, but not now.

[Talia]

Oh man. I liked the whole thing, but what really sold it for me was the conclusion.

It was rewarding on multiple levels. The bad guys - and it was revealed just how bad - got theirs, and the protagonist got a strange but fulfilling new future she couldn't possibly have imagined. Loved finally getting to hear the voice of the boojum too. Wonderful... I daresay I ended up enjoying it even more than 'Mongoose.' Looking forward to novels in this universe.

[Unblinking]

Oh man. I liked the whole thing, but what really sold it for me was the conclusion.

It was rewarding on multiple levels. The bad guys - and it was revealed just how bad - got theirs, and the protagonist got a strange but fulfilling new future she couldn't possibly have imagined. Loved finally getting to hear the voice of the boojum too. Wonderful... I daresay I ended up enjoying it even more than 'Mongoose.' Looking forward to novels in this universe.

The bad guys got theirs? I thought they buggered off with the brains? It mentioned that Vinnie was digesting the crew's brainless bodies, but didn't mention digesting the aliens, so I assumed they got away scott free.

Anyway, great story! Norm, if any more from this universe come through the slush, I hope you buy them! What a happy ending, apart from the brain torture and fish ingestion. (Interesting that it can make fish ingestion seem like a happy ending). At least Vinnie got rid of her governor.

[Leprejuan]

Wow! I have to say I liked this most than most of you. I had already read it, having seen a copy of BLACK SHIPS... at Smith Books in Eugene and being more or less unable to walk away without it. As a result, I knew what was going to happen and the joy for me was not the story but in hearing the translation to audio format.

I once more have to burble over with joy at how damn well Norm runs in the sound, the music, and the effects with the story. I'd run over and donate right this minute if I weren't already sending Norm my public radio donation as a monthly paypal charge.* The music cues especially are always so on. (And this week I wasn't distracted by all the MOON music showing up.)

I was dubious about the reader because she sounded nothing like a pirate or hardened spacer, but the rest of the show made up for it. Having read the story, I "audialized" Black Alice as one of the hopeless keep-your-head-down people I've met who work in retail or other soulless occupations and who just learn to repress themselves. On further reflection, Alice is relatively pure and naive (which is why she survives - surprisingly moral outcome on Norm's show) so maybe the voice fit better than I thought.

I do have one of those nerd nitpicks so just skip out if you're not up for it.
It's COMET ARY like falling like a Goddamn comet! It is not COMA TORY like falling into a coma. Ahhhh! Bugs me every time I hit those two instances.

*New media 1; Garrison Keiler 0

[Talia]

Oh man. I liked the whole thing, but what really sold it for me was the conclusion.

It was rewarding on multiple levels. The bad guys - and it was revealed just how bad - got theirs, and the protagonist got a strange but fulfilling new future she couldn't possibly have imagined. Loved finally getting to hear the voice of the boojum too. Wonderful... I daresay I ended up enjoying it even more than 'Mongoose.' Looking forward to novels in this universe.

The bad guys got theirs? I thought they buggered off with the brains? It mentioned that Vinnie was digesting the crew's brainless bodies, but didn't mention digesting the aliens, so I assumed they got away scott free.

Anyway, great story! Norm, if any more from this universe come through the slush, I hope you buy them! What a happy ending, apart from the brain torture and fish ingestion. (Interesting that it can make fish ingestion seem like a happy ending). At least Vinnie got rid of her governor.

Well the pirates were hardly good guys. and the pirates had enslaved/were abusing the ship. For some reason I thought it was the mi-go's brains in the jars and the pirates were ransoming them back or something, but I guess the mi-gos were just creepier bad guys.

Still, the pirates were a bad lot.

[tbaker2500]

A rough night, and an EXCELLENT story to calm me down to sleep. I really liked the pacing on this one. The authors need to crank out more of these!

[Unblinking]

Well the pirates were hardly good guys. and the pirates had enslaved/were abusing the ship. For some reason I thought it was the mi-go's brains in the jars and the pirates were ransoming them back or something, but I guess the mi-gos were just creepier bad guys.

Still, the pirates were a bad lot.

Ah, fair enough. The pirates were certainly shades of badness, some more than others. Black Alice less than the rest, as she is more a swabbie than a warrior. I was partial to Dog Collar as well.

[Talia]

Good point about Dog Collar, he did seem alright. Not really sure how to feel about it all now. I expect that ambiguity is part of the point

At least Alice and the Boojum won.

[Ignoranus]

Finally, my Zune is back and I've caught up on the Drabblecast - and what a chunk of episodes to catch! I really liked Boojum. I'll confess, I was kind of expecting a darker ending than the one we got - this being the Drabblecast, after all - but I still really liked how it turned out. I almost felt like when she was saying at the end of the story that she wouldn't go insane that she was reassuring herself, not making a plain statement. After all, the timeless wondrous depths of interstellar dark are the lovely home for the minds of mature Boojums, not the minds of humans.


One other thing I want to point out - the production on Drabblecast episodes these days just plain blows me away. One thing I love is that Norm (assuming he's the one doing the editing?) always has a great feel for just how long the dead gap should be between the last line of the story and the beginning of the outro. I can honestly say that that little detail has hurt the endings of stories for me on some fiction podcasts in the past, but that Drabblecast consistently gets it right.

[tbaker2500]

One thing I love is that Norm (assuming he's the one doing the editing?)

No, he hires it out to India these days. It's cheaper than him doing it for free.
(wait.... what?)

[NoNotRogov]

The overlooked protagonists in this story were the Mi-Go. After all, you can't just go around stealing someone's cargo-load of braincases and expect to get away with it. They earned those brains, like good Nylarthotep fearing patriotic fungi should; not everyone can just live off of the Shoggoth-powered nanny state beneath the Antarctic like the Elder Things.

If harvesting brains is wrong, I don't want to be right.

[Unblinking]

If harvesting brains is wrong, I don't want to be right.

That's a great quote. Would make a good t-shirt, also a good campaign slogan when running for President.

[NoNotRogov]

[DanPotter]

Man I love this universe. I think I enjoyed Mongoose just a little more, probably due to Mongoose having more personality than the giant Boojum.

You get this great sense of unknown from these stories. Despite the vast spread and evolution of humanity they are still only scraping the surface of their universe.

Sign me up for another helping anytime.

[El Barto]

Another winner. Great all around, including the production values and narration, which knocked my socks off.

So much more to explore in this universe... Elizabeth and Sarah please keep going!

[shagin]

Glad to see "Boojum" didn't go where I expected. While I still prefer "Mongoose", I think "Boojum" offered a solid return to this universe. The appearance of the Mi-go (SP?) sent a uquick chill up my spine, and I really appreciated that Black Alice didn't come up with a derring-do action plan to drive them off the ship and save the crew.

Kudos to Ms. Bear and Ms. Monnette!

[startreksteve]

Loved it to bits!
Vinny reminded me a bit of Moya in Farscape..
I thought the lovecraftian characters fit right in nicely.
Steve

[Eagle37]

Well, this one was good enough to make me put my hand in my pocket. Have a soft spot for unexpected animism rewarding random acts of kindness. Kept me guessing up to the last 5 minutes (as soon as Vinny offered to eat Alice) but even so the endinging didn't suffer from being telegraphed.

[tbaker2500]

Well, this one was good enough to make me put my hand in my pocket. Have a soft spot for unexpected animism rewarding random acts of kindness. Kept me guessing up to the last 5 minutes (as soon as Vinny offered to eat Alice) but even so the endinging didn't suffer from being telegraphed.

Good on you, Eagle. Welcome to the forums!

[theothermorg]

The authors need to crank out more of these!

so i love this one so much and want more mashup hp and speculative fiction action. this one will probably be my #1 canadate for next years peoples choice awards.

(Oh this is themorg i have tried everything to get passwords on my old one but nothing gets sent to my email because i messed up with free forums {long story} and they banned my email address...forever. or so they said in a form letter.)