"Best Story" Finals! Vote Here

[normsherman]

What was the best story of 2009?

[Phenopath]

I have to decide between Babel Probe and Annabelle's Alphabet. Hmmm, I will get back you. How long have I got?

[normsherman]

2 weeks!

[dreamrock]

Excellent. I think I'm going to re-listen to all of these before voting. Making the choice of anything vs. Teddy Bears or Dinosaurs is going to be hard though.

[moonowl]

Dinosaurs!

I do find it very interesting what everyone is picking! Some I think were pretty predictable to me, but others I'm surprised are finalists (based on reactions, not on caliber of the story). I think because DC is so eclectic it make this really hard choosing!

[feste451]

I felt the triumph of the Babel Probe, the shame of Awesome Dinosaurs, the bloodlust of hatchling Clowns, the realization of Annabelle and the bottomless hunger of Teddy Bears.

I truly loved Babel Probe and would have chosen it, but I absolutely love stories that leave me hanging, not being able to guess the fate of the main character after the story ends, so my hands-down favorite is the Teddy Bears.

The music was creepy. The voices were terrifying. The concept was nightmarish. The images were frightening. This is one of the few episodes I have never been dropped from my iPod.

I only wish the concord grape jelly could have been Smuckers' (but you can't have everything).

[Talia]

I'd lay odds Babel probe wins, just by how people were voting before.

(though I am still rooting for dinosaurs!)

[dreamrock]

Links below for anyone who wants to re-listen to any of the episodes before voting. For the ones not in the archive, I linked to both the episode page and the mp3 because the mp3 only ever works directly from the RSS feed for me. If you need to use the mp3 link on those, I'd suggest copy-pasting it because I'm guessing the server isn't configured to accept clicks sent from other sites.

In numerical order because I'm lazy. Ish.

Drabblecast 109- Babel Probe by David D. Levine
http://gardenstreet.org/drabblecastarch ... 572-77.php

Drabblecast 115- Clown Eggs by Jay Lake
http://gardenstreet.org/drabblecastarch ... 84a-84.php

Drabblecast 129- Annabelle's Alphabet by Tim Pratt
http://gardenstreet.org/drabblecastarch ... 0e2-95.php

Drabblecast 139- Let Us Now Praise Awesome Dinosaurs by Leonard Richardson
Episode Page - http://web.me.com/normsherman/Site/Medi ... rs%201.mp3

Drabblecast 146- Teddy Bears and Tea Parties by S. Boyd Taylor Drabble- Homeostasis by Phenopath
Episode Page - http://web.me.com/normsherman/Site/Medi ... rs%201.mp3

[DougallStrange]

Clown Eggs is the reason I'm on the Forum. I am of the opinion that Clown Eggs Should Win

[CLP]

i'm pretty sure that babel probe was the best short story that i have ever heard on any podcast or read in any book or magazine. it changed my life

[swamp]

It's no surprize that I voted for Babel Probe, but I must say, what an awesome list of stories!

[dreamrock]

Just finished listening to Babel Probe. I can see why everyone likes it, but vs. the three in the running I've already heard, it's not going to get my vote. Sorry, Mr. Levine. It's an awesome story anyway.

Time to give Clown Eggs a try.

[dreamrock]

Wow, Clown Eggs is absolutely amazing. Really phenomenal story.

For me, though, it's down to Dinosaurs and Annabelle's Alphabet. And I think I'm going to have to sit on it for a few more days to decide.

[StalinSays]

Man, tight race. Likely due to these being divergent, top shelf stories. I'm pulling for the Teddies - can't get that final passage outta my head. I didn't think anything would shake me off Dinosaurs, but it didn't leave an echo that lasted this long.

[Richmazzer]

Yah, I've gotta give it up to Teddies too. It was really tough between that, AA and Babel Probe though. I LOVED Dino's but it doesn't stand up on it's own in print as well without the big production. Clown Eggs was also great, but only in a fun, whimsical way... not in an epic way like BP AA and Teddies.
So with those three being as awesome as they were it pretty much came down to scifi vs. fantasy vs. horror for me, and I'm all about some carnivorous couches, vampire teddy bears and no-eyed unicycling men.

[tbaker2500]

I'd argue that Teddy Bears is still fresh in people's minds. It was a great story, no doubt, but it was psychedelic horror. And frankly, that doesn't seem the type of story that makes the Drabblecast unique. There are other places where that story would run, but something like Dinosaurs, Babel Probe + Babylon Battle of the Bands or Clown Eggs seem more uniquely Drabblecast. But then again, Norm seems to hate being pigeonholed, so...

[HPHovercraft]

Dammit I want to vote for my second preference too... (Anabelle's Alphabet).

[ROU Killing Time]

IBut then again, Norm seems to hate being pigeonholed, so...

Must have been that unfortunate incident in the park during his "living statue" period.

[HPHovercraft]

IBut then again, Norm seems to hate being pigeonholed, so...

Must have been that unfortunate incident in the park during his "living statue" period.

Well, you know what they say: "Some days you're the pidgeon, and some days you're the statue."

[eric_marsh]

My two favorites fell off the bottom in the previous vote so I had to vote for my third favorite. I went with Teddy Bears just because it was so creative and unique. I'm really surprised to see that Dinosaurs is trailing tho.