Podcast Review #125: The Mask of Inanna
originally published March 26, 2012
Title: The Mask of Inanna
Author: Alicia E. Goranson
Genre: Darkish Fantasy
Released: 21 February 2012
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: Podcast only
Rating: PG for violence
As I’ve noted here before, my introduction to all things podcast was through my finding Old Time Radio shows in podcast form. I love Old Time Radio. I love podcasts. So when I stumbled upon The Mask of Inanna at Podiobooks.com and read that here was a work of podiofiction about an OTR show and cast, I immediately downloaded and began to listen.
So, on to the review.
Synopsis: The world isn’t kind to dreamers.
Like any boy of the radio era, Leonard Allen dreamed of hitting big in New York and Hollywood; to write or host that one big show that would make everyone notice. Even after he had his chance at both, that dream still burns inside him. He’s always been able to spark the divine somewhere in his work. And he’s been noticed.
He doesn’t know the lengths people will go to take advantage of such gifts. So when the mysterious David Lewis asked him finish his classic radio drama “After Dark” after a half-century from a pirate radio station in a New England lighthouse, Len didn’t realize it wasn’t as simple as that. The truth is that Lewis served a more powerful entity than even public opinion: the goddess Inanna, Sumerian patron of love and war both.
Sometimes, a god wants a sacrifice. Sometimes, a god wants praise and devotion. But the most fickle, and the most dangerous, are those who demand a show.
Journey into the creative mind of award-winning author Alicia Goranson, as she explores the nature of power and those who covet it in a genre-busting work that blends classic fifties radio drama, tense, paranoia-fueled thrillers, and the intimate knowledge born of a career working behind-the-scenes in the performing arts. Marvel at a stunning collection of award-winning stage actors, the Post-Meridian Players, as they provide the voice and heart to a cast of over thirty. Follow Allen and Lewis as their ideological conflict threatens to consume their friends and family, a battle neither can yield.
Is magic simply a tool, or a living thing to be respected? Does man have a right to make demands of the gods? What lengths would you go to for the power to protect what you love? Whatever you believe, don’t get caught out After Dark, in THE MASK OF INANNA.
Production: Wow. I don’t know if I’ve ever listened to a work of podcast fiction with a cast this large. If I have, it was by Dan Sawyer. This is radio theatre at its finest. This is audio drama. There is no narrator. There is no need. This is Decoder Ring Theater without the humour. (Not a typo.. I WANT the u there.) The Mask of Inanna is produced by Alicia Goranson. It is a feast for the ears. Simply, the production is as good as it comes.
Grade: A+
Cast: This is a very large cast that goes by the name of The Post-Meridian Radio Players. I’m guessing they’re all professional or semi-professional actors/actresses. I’ve never heard of them before, but their mic presence was amazing. Each actor voiced his character with aplomb and created a tableau awash with colorful voices to delight the ears.
Grade: A+
Story: The Mask of Inanna is good. It’s very good. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a quibble or two with it though. First of all, due to the nature of the story, it is told in a rotating pattern of flashbacks and present day. I’ve always hated this device with a passion. I’d MUCH rather have the back story told at the beginning and then give me a “jump” to the current story line. However, I do understand why it was necessary with Mask and I can’t say that it was too much of a detriment to the story. Also, when certain effects are used on some of the supernatural characters, I felt the audio might have been a bit shrill. Small complaints in a work this big.
Grade: A-
Verdict: I do recommend that you give The Mask of Inanna a listen. It is quite a different type of podcast than most of what you will hear on Podiobooks.com. I’m guessing the majority of my readers/listeners will greatly enjoy it. Let me know!
Disclosure: To be honest, I’d never even heard of anyone connected with The Mask of Inanna before giving this story a listen. However, I will be looking for these names in the future. Nothing was offered or accepted in return for this review.
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