Tor.com Story Podcast February 2010

Some quick reviews of stories heard via the Tor.com Story Podcast posted during February.

Vilcabamba by Harry Turtledove

Episode 8 contains Harry Turtledove’s story, Vilcabamba. This was a longish story, but fairly interestingly told. However, as the story progressed, it became more and more dismal. As it neared the end, it was obvious where it was going and where it was going would be depressing as hell. In one way it’s a refreshing take on the indomitability of the human spirit. I’m not so sure the payoff was worth the length though. You’ll have to read/listen to it for yourself.

The City Quiet as Death by Steven Utley and Michael Bishop

Episode 9 contains Utley and Bishop’s story The City Quiet as Death. Not really my kind of story, though it’s a kind that lots of people will appreciate. A maid carries around a locket containing, she says, a giant squid. Kind of dark fantasy of the Cthulhu variety. I’m not very Lovecraftian.

Tourists by Sean Craven

Episode 10 has Sean Craven’s Tourists. Tourists is more my kind of story. I love new and interesting takes on first contact. Guy lives with his grandmother and they watch as aliens make an appearance on earth, visiting various parts and tourist destinations. Grandma is a Christian Science devotee, but for all I know it’s a twisted version of the real Christian Science belief. The aliens visit their local church, and Grandma makes an impression on them. So they ask Grandma to go with them to their home world. Of course, being alien it’s not going to be quite what anyone expects. Kind of sick and twisted, and I like it.

Down on the Farm by Charles Stross

Episode 11 retells Down on the Farm by Charles Stross in audio format. I’m finding I’m not really a Charles Stross fan. I’ve now listened to two Laundry stories from the podcast, and am 30 installments into Accelerando via DailyLit.com. He writes intelligent, but overly-detailed stories from what I can tell so far. Too much detail. And filled with inside jokes that I just didn’t find funny. In the case of the previous Laundry story and Down on the Farm, the joke is that the job of fighting demons from other dimensions falls to a British bureaucracy. So it’s full of references that will be familiar to anyone who has had to deal with a bureaucracy or who has worked in one. Did I say this before? It’s like listening to someone tell you their dream. I’m sure the dream is interesting to them, but not as much to anyone else. Same here. It just felt like an excuse to fill in as much of that as possible, at the expense of a real story.

Also, though this is by no means Stross’ fault, the editing on this episode sucked. On several occasions Stross (who does his own reading for the story) flubbed his words. Each time he’d go back and re-read the messed up bit. But Tor.com didn’t see fit to edit out the flubbed utterings, so you hear his re-dos in all their glory.