Podcast Review #102: Earthbound
originally published October 10, 2011
Title: Earthbound
Author: Artemis Greenleaf
Genre: Fantasy
Released: 25 June 2010 – 7 July 2010
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: Podcast
Rating: PG 13 for Violence and disturbing imagery
I’ve run out of things written by authors I’ve listened to before or know of, so I’ve been scouring Podiobooks of late. This has done several things for me. One, it is helping me find some great stories that I might not have stumbled upon earlier, and two, it seems like the number of views has decreased a bit. Maybe my readers are more interested in reading reviews by those they know or know of , or maybe it is simply coincidence. Regardless, this story, Earthbound, isn’t one I was familiar with and the author was unknown to me as well.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis:
“I didn’t believe in ghosts, not until I became one.”
Schuyler Ramsey just wants to be like the other kids in school. Too bad she’s dead. She haunts a farm in windswept western Ireland, along with some of its previous inhabitants. When she partially materializes in front of her sister at breakfast, she is propelled on a quest to stop a fake TV psychic from visiting the farm and stirring up trouble. Along the way, she visits a famous pirate, helps a mermaid rescue a basking shark from fishermen, and encounters Nicniven, queen of the dark elphs. But Schuyler soon finds that the Haunted Planet television show is the least of her problems. As her world unravels, can she find the strength to save her sister from a monstrous evil? (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)
Production: The production of Earthbound is rather robust. The music that is recorded for the intro and outro is haunting and beautiful and completely matches the story. The ambient nature sound effects matches the feelings of desolation the story invokes perfectly. The sound quality is crisp and clear and all parts work together well. There are 23 eps in this story. Not 24. Ep 21 file must have been corrupted or something, because when I tried to listen, I could never download it. I streamed it instead and had no issues. I then happily listened to eps 22, and 23. Where the story ended. Ep 24 is actually a reworked version of ep 21. Be wary to get the right one.
Grade: A-
Cast: This is a single read story. At first I thought the author was the narrator, later I found this not to be true. Regardless, the narrator does an excellent job, and even with accents abounding, does a decent job. (However, I will say the “Houston drawl”, while perhaps recognizable sounds strange when practiced by someone from the “other side of the pond”. Still, much better than I could accomplish in reverse.
Grade: B+
Story: The story is quite different from what I expected, and some of the foreshadowing would have made me believe the author had planned to make this a different story than it turned out to be. However, that didn’t make it any less enjoyable to listen to. The characters were well done. The plot and the setting were vivid.
Grade: A
Verdict: I really enjoyed Earthbound. However, one of the things that made me want to listen was the fact that it was billed as family friendly. While there was no language that I can think of that might have been objectionable, the content was a bit more scary then I’d let my little ones listen to. Definitely a YA or an adult book. That point not withstanding, I really enjoyed this story and highly recommend it. If you are interested in hearing what happens when a deceased soul doesn’t choose to enter the light, told from the ghost’s point of view, download Earthbound now and thank me later.
Shameless plug: Don’t forget, if you send an audio comment to me at Odin1eye at viewfromvalhalla dot com, I’ll include it in the podcast version of this episode next weekend (or when I receive it). You can also leave voicemail, for this or any other story, at the Valhalla Hotline simply by calling 956-307-ODIN (6346)
Disclosure: I do not follow Artemis Greenleaf on Twitter. I loved the theme for this podcast so much though, I tried to track down the author to find out where I could get a copy of “Dandelion Girl”. Turns out that Artemis Greenleaf is a pen name. It took a bit of effort but I finally found the narrator and, as I figured, he was also the singer of the song in question. He showed me where to obtain the song and I immediately did. However, as much as I enjoy this song (and let me tell you, it has become quite the ear worm), I wrote the review with no regard towards any favors received.
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