Behold, For He Is MELZER!

All of us here at the Podagogue (that is, me) would like to give a big shout of congratulations out to James Melzer, author of The Zombie Chronicles, for scoring a book deal with publishing giants Simon and Schuster.
It's fantastic to see all the hard work paying off for another fantastic podcasting author.

Nice work, Melzer. All the best for the future!

If you haven't already read my review of The Zombie Chronicles, follow the link.

Podcast Novel Review: "The Failed Cities Monologues" By Matt Wallace

If you don't like the thought of how blood might taste in your mouth, don't listen to this book.

If you don't like to hear bones snapping inside your head while you listen to a podcast, don't listen to The Failed Cities Monologues.

And just to make it clear, the crew at Variant Frequencies don't need a sound effects library to drop the pit out of your stomach. Matt Wallace does all this and more just by screwing words into your ear, with all the sharp edges and deadly precision of a power drill. TFCM is a bleak and powerful tale of two cities collapsing under their own weight at the nether reaches of a dystopic future that doesn't seem entirely impossible. Assembled as a series of monologues, as the name suggests, TFCM is told from the perspectives of eight characters caught up in events that spiral out of control and lead to a bloody and violent endgame. With each shift of character, Wallace adapts his writing style without missing a beat, capturing each of his unfortunate souls with unique blends of tone, nuance and voice. Different narrators perform specific characters, lending an even greater depth of credibility to the unorthodox story-telling structure.

Hovering somewhere between sci-fi, horror, and action, TFCM pulls no punches whatsoever. Wallace has created a world of shadow, flame, deceit and misery. There is nowhere to run and hide, not for the characters on either side, and not for the reader. But once you start into this book, you won't be able to give it away.

Wallace is more than just a superb storyteller; he is writer of some of the best modern prose I have read or heard in a long time. He gets under his characters' skins, and through them, under his readers'/listeners' skins. You'll feel him crawling around there, wishing you could scratch him out, but not really wanting to either.

The audio production is equally superb. Rick Stringer does a masterful job of producing a clean, clear product, which does Wallace's writing fantastic credit. Music themed to the various characters is woven from chapter to chapter, orienting the listener, and excellently matched to the narrators' voices and delivery. The levels remain impeccable throughout. Thoroughly professional in every regard. I tip my hat.

Fantastic writing, great performances, faultless production.

I give TFCM the full 5 Stars with the following caveat: This one is not for the faint-hearted. This is a brutal world, and Matt Wallace is a merciless god lording over it. He will not treat you kind (but you will beg for more).

Enter at your own risk.

This Week in Online Audio Fiction

So here's a quick Wrap-Up of what's been going on in the Podcasting and Online Audio Fiction world this week.

It doesn't get crazier than this: To promote his transmedia novel Personal Effects: Dark Art, author JC Hutchins is giving away a SWORD. Yes, thanks to Matt Wallace, author of The Next Fix, The Failed Cities Monologues and the KILL the FEED Podcast, Hutchins is offering his fans an opportunity to win a real-life sword, signed in blood, to coincide with the Sword of Blood novella podcast. And all you have to do to enter is help promote PE:DA to your friends.

Phil Rossi has released Episode 1 of his new podcast novel, Harvey, to the sound of long-held breaths being expelled by his many fans. Meanwhile, Rossi's Cover Me contest continues on Twitter and YouTube. Remember, July 9th, 1pm (EDT?) is the time and the date to storm Crescent up the Amazon charts. I'll be getting up early for that one (6am over here!).

I'd like to express my thanks to the wonderful people at Tor.com who put me onto Trunk and Disorderly, by Charles Stross. This short and hilarious sci-fi story is 13 chapters long and about 2 hours listening. It's like Monty Python on Mars, but better. Seriously refreshing comedy.

Jennifer Hudock has opened the gates to The Goblin Market. Get over there for a listen; dark fairy tale fantasy with heart. But don't, whatever you do, forgot to take a silver coin. Or it could all go bad.

Fantasy author Brain Rathbone has released the second instalment of his Dawning of Power Trilogy, Inherited Danger, as a free audiobook. If you haven't already, check out my review of the first book in the series, Call of the Herald.

And hot on the heels of launcing his Invasion, The Zombie Chronicles author James Melzer has dropped his new freeform podcast, Unleashed. Two episodes in one week, including a frank and funny interview with Jack Wakes Up author Seth Harwood. I was surprised by the tone of this interview, which was a lot more open than I've come to expect from author interviews in the past. Never have I heard a heard an author slam his publisher so hard in public. To anyone who is either a writer or an aspiring podcaster, this interview is a must to listen to.

If you have a podcast novel or other online fiction event that you think I should know about, especially in the audio world, leave me a comment with a link and I'll check it out. You can also find me on Twitter.

Exquisite Corpse

This entry is part of an on-line exquisite corpse – a short story told in 10 installments by 10 different authors. My 250 word installment is below; if you’re interested in writing the next part, scroll down to the bottom of this post for details on how this all works…

— — —

6.

had companions. Drifting over the ridge, a dozen bulbous creatures with buzzing gossamer wings and grasping claws darkened the sky. Dianne and Peter sank to the ground, watching the nightmare creatures pass over.

Peter’s eyes grew wide. “The lodge,” he muttered, fear staining his voice, “Dad!” He pulled out the satphone and punched a speeddial, biting his lip as the phone connected.

“Bruce here,” came the answer, his father’s voice slick with whiskey. Peter groaned inwardly. Taking a deep breath, he told Bruce what he wanted him to do.

*

Bruce hung up and tossed the phone aside. Damn kids had been trying for god-knows-how-long to get him out of his lakeside lodge. Well, screw them. He’d worked hard all his life, and he was damn well going to retire where he pleased. What, did they think he’d gone nuts?

Turn on the gas in the kitchen?

Take a rifle and get into the woods, with a clear shot at the lodge?

They couldn’t convince him to retire to a village with the other old-timers, so they wanted him to what? Blow up his house?

Screw them.

Bruce poured another dram of scotch and picked up the TV remote. A noise like helicopters reached him, and he punched up the volume. The noise increased, and Bruce turned to look over the ridge, swearing.

The tumbler slipped from his fingers, smashing on the timber floor.

The darkness of the swarm filled his vision. Bruce stood, shaking, reaching for his

— — —

This is part 6 of 10. You can find the other installments here (but DON’T DO THIS YET if you want to join in):

1. www.sleep-dep.blogspot.com (26 June 2009)
2. www.multi-dimensional.blogspot.com (27 June 2009)
3. www.deb-onair.blogspot.com (29 June 2009)
4. www.additiverich.com/morgue/ (1 July 2009)
5. www.jennitalula.wordpress.com (1 July 2009)
6. http://podagogue.blogspot.com (2 July 2009)
7.
8.
9.
10.

WANT TO READ IT? Jump back to the previous entries using the links above.

WANT TO JOIN IN? This exquisite corpse operates on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want to write the next installment, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

1.IMPORTANT – Don’t read any of the previous entries! Read only the one you see here.

2.ALSO IMPORTANT – Post a comment here, saying “I claim the next entry”, followed by the URL/web address of your blog. If you don’t do this, we’ll never know where to find you.

3.Copy the text of this blog entry into a new post on your blog, but DELETE THE CHAPTER and write your own as the next installment. Start with the chapter number as I’ve done here, and start exactly where the last chapter left off (in mid-sentence if necessary).

4.Your entry should be EXACTLY 250 words long, unless you are writing chapter 10, in which case you must bring the story to a conclusion in 250 words or less.

5.At the end of the chapter, where the text reads: “This is part X of 10″, change this to the number of your chapter.

6.Add the URL/web address of your blog and today’s date onto the list below that, so people reading later entries can jump back to your chapter.

7.Finish your chapter and post it within 24 hours of claiming your place. There – it’s freaking easy! You can go back and read the rest of the story now.

8.IF YOU’VE JUST FINISHED ENTRY #10 and finished the story, DELETE THESE INSTRUCTIONS from the bottom of your post – they’ll just confuse people. ALSO, let CG know by posting a comment on the first entry (on www.sleep-dep.blogspot.com), or sending him an email on squid.mohawk@gmail.com. CG will assemble a full version and send it round to all of the contributors.

Podcast Novel Review: "Lost Gods" by Drew Beatty

I love a good supernatural urban fantasy, and I also love a good old-fashioned grifting story. It's rare to see the two genres cross, and I wasn't sure that it could possibly work. But after listening to the first chapter of Drew Beatty's Lost Gods, I was left hoping that such a wonderful hybrid creature could indeed exist.
I was not to be disappointed. Lost Gods starts out on a very low key, but it consistently cranks up the stakes as the story progresses. What begins as the story of two shady characters who share a dark secret planning a con that will set them up for life evolves into a struggle between ancient and (almost) forgotten powers, that threatens everything we know and love. Without wanting to step into spoilerville, I can say that this story delivered a whole lot more punch than I was expecting, and did so in clever, unexpected, and thoroughly well-thought-out ways.

Beatty maintains a relaxed grip on his prose and dialogue thoughout, rarely breaking a sweat as the fate of the characters and, finally, all of us, is thrown into the swirling chaos that he creates. His narration is likewise laid-back and unhurried, which makes for easy and pleasurable listening. Beatty's confidence with his work and with the mic shows through in a well-presented audio production that any amateuer podcaster ought to be proud of.

Lost Gods is equal parts dark supernatural thriller, grifter tale, and black comedy. The final chapters wind up towards some of the best twists I have come across in storytelling for a long time, particularly in podcast novels. For sheer "I-never-saw-that-coming" value, this is a winner.

I rate Lost Gods 4 Stars out of 5, purely for it's dry and original entertainment value. Fantastic stuff.

Complete at 21 Chapters, Lost Gods can be found at Podiobooks.com, and Drew Beatty can be found on Twitter or at either of his homepages, LostGods.ca, where readers can also download PDF chapters, and drewbeatty.com, where Drew keeps a blog and updates on the podcasting world (Hat Tip: Ron Earl thanks for picking up the linky foible). There is a book version of Lost Gods in the works too; check out Beatty's homepage for more details.

Podcast Novel Review: "Chasing the Bard" by Philippa Ballantine

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet a couple of awesome people at a little library in Dannevirke, in the frosty Tararuas, about three hours north of Wellington, New Zealand. Podcasters Tee Morris and Philippa Ballantine were surprised that I made the drive when there were opportunities to catch them in Wellington, but it may come as no surprise to anyone with a two-year-old and a busy family life that getting away on the weekend is sometimes easier than doing things during the week. Thus, the drive to Dannevirke. Ah, road trips.

Philippa Ballantine is New Zealand's only podcaster (that we know of - yell out if this is a misconception, please), and she is also now rightly referred to as "Award-Winning Novelist Phillippa Ballantine", in light of her recently being presented with the Julius Vogler Award for her podcast novel Chasing The Bard.In order to fully prepare for this meeting, I started into CTB in earnest. I was dubious at first, always having been more of a fan of dark, gritty sword-and-sorcery fantasy than the fairy kind, but I was quickly disabused of my preconceptions.

Ballantine writes fantasy that is enchanting and compelling, weaving the multiple worlds of the fey and human together with grace and skill. The fantastic realm that lies but a breath beyond our own is composed with delicate crafting, Ballantine's worldbuilding carefully disguised as setting and character. And when the need arises, Ballantine can turn to the dark and brutal with as much skill as she writes of charm and love.

The story is based loosely around the life of the great Bard, William Shakespeare, whose destiny is wound together with the immortal faerie realm and its epic struggles that span the rise and fall of entire human civilisations. To say more would be to spoil the grand, intricately woven tapestry that is the plot, and I wouldn't do that to you. Suffice to say that the blend of historical detail and fantastical elements makes for a well-rounded and deeply satisfying story-telling experience.

Soundwise, I was hugely impressed by CTB. I had started into Ballantine's previous work, Weaver's Web, a little earlier, but had to put it aside because the audio levels were too low to easily hear over the speakers in my workshop. WW is now instead slated for iPod listening sometime soon. Accordingly, I was pleased to hear that the mastering of CTB was greatly improved, and ultimately could not fault the production. While narrating and voicing many of the female characters herself, Ballantine also employed additional voice talent (including Tee Morris) for some of the parts, which lends a sense of theatre and realism to any podcast drama. The podcast also features music, atmos, and enough sound effects to augment the story without overwhelming it.

Call it cultural cringe, but I was not expecting a lot out of this podcast, and I was pleasantly surprised by just how accomplised a production a fellow Kiwi could put together. Apparently the people handing out the Julius Voglers thought so too, as did the Parsec Awards commitee: CTB has been nominated for Best Speculative Fiction, Long Form, and I wish Philippa all the best in that competition too.

I'm going to give Chasing The Bard the full 5 Stars, and not just because we both live in Wellington. This is historical fantasy that deserves to be listenened to.

And just in case you were wondering, I'm now listening to Billibub Baddings and the Case of the Singing Sword, by Tee Morris - and so far, it's just brilliant.

Beware the Invasion

In only a few hours now, an Invasion is going to be unleashed.

I can't say what it will be, our only warning comes from the disturbed genius known as Melzer.

Mur Lafferty tried to get the message out, but they got to her first.




So now we can only lock our doors, load our shotguns, and hope that living on an isolated island at the bottom of the South Pacific will be safe from the horror we can only imagine.

(Apologies to you poor souls who live much closer to the actual Invasion. I'll be thinking of you as the news feeds drop out, one by one.)