Drabblecast 254/255 – The Wreck of the Charles Dexter Ward

[tbaker2500]

I wish I knew more about the Arkhams (is that right?). Maybe they were mentioned more in other stories, and I've forgotten? But as Beth said, they are following the mythos of not telling us everything we want to know!

I have to say, this is a really, really good piece of work. 5 stars, guys and gals!

[bell]

I could not finish the story. The sensory description of the insides of the dead ship flashed me back to several experiences on an elective I did with Connecticut State Medical Examiner's office. You do NOT want to know.

I take y'all's word for it that it's a great story, but for this one, include me out.

[tbaker2500]

Ha! That's funny.
It's amazing how good writing can take you back. Ahh, the smells.

[strawman]

Never realized the extent to which a good writer must be willing to suffer to write the story, Certainly, if your objective is to induce nausea in your reader, you can only do that well by fully entering into the experience.

Probably explains why you see so much more written about sex than about nauseating smells. Unfortunately, it's apparent that most folks who write about sex lose the ability to write.

Word of the day: Titillation

[ROU Killing Time]

Word of the day: Titillation

The word of the day is titillating.

[strawman]

Word of the day: Titillation

The word of the day is titillating.

Since when can the word of the day be gerundified?

[ROU Killing Time]

Word of the day: Titillation

The word of the day is titillating.

Since when can the word of the day be gerundified?

The word Titillation, is itself titillating. (And a good excuse to say "tit" in public.)

I don't think anyone has been this happy since CNN got to say "Pussy Riot" 90 times every hour.

[danthelawyer]

I don't know. I loved the other Bear/Monette stories, but this one kind of left me cold. Maybe I'm just sick of zombies (I am), or maybe it was the preachy ending. Or maybe I just listened to the thing in too many pieces. I would love to pick up a little e-collection of all three stories in this universe as a small print novella-type thing.

[Unblinking]

I enjoyed this one a lot, better than Boojum though not as good as Mongoose. The zombie megafish was a great addition to the mythos, and I liked the nods to other off-kilter bits of the universe, particularly the doppelgangers in the mirrors (presumably a "Through the Looking Glass" nod in this world with Carrollian naming).

One thing did irritate me, though by no means ruining the story. The protagonist has the secret in her history that she keeps mentioning and mentioning but it's a long way into the story before we find out what she actually did. If it was a secret she'd suppressed, it makes sense for me not to learn of it until later, but when she dwells on it then that's the kind of POV withholding that really irritates because it distances me from the character.

The best thing about all of this? If it weren't for the Drabblecast, this episode in the Mongoose universe would not exist. Long live the Drabblecast!

[uncre8d1]

This is my favorite audio series, period. The essentially seamless blending of Lovecraft and the Jabberwock (with a faint flavor of 40K-style distopia) is a distillation of what I love about the weird. Bravo, and if there is a novelization of this universe, I will be investing. And I'm cheap, so that's a considerable statement from me.

[Varda]

Holy crap, these episodes were good! Stellar art, readings, and production values... wow. The sound/music especially made it feel immersive. And this universe!I just may love it more than "Mass Effect", dare I say. I've listened to "Boojum" but not taken my time machine back far enough to hear "Mongoose" just yet. I may have to remedy that this weekend.

Also, I have to say how much I love the yearly HP Lovecraft Month on the Drabblecast. I've not read much Lovecraft in the past, and this has been such a fantastic way to burnish my nerd cred and see what I've been missing all these years.

[sandrilde]

I'm looking forward to getting to the earlier stories in this series --

My podcast discussion group (yes, it is a thing! join us if you're in DC!) -- Loved this story a lot. Surprised it didn't win best of the year...

[Varda]

Podcast discussion group?!! Very jealous. Wish I lived in D.C. right about now! I really need to start Drabblecast-evangelizing my social group around these parts.