originally published July 18, 2011

Title: Last Man Home
Author: John Mierau
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: 1 July 2009 – 22 July 2009 – podiobooks, 28 June 2011 – 11 July 2011 – iTunes
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: Podcast and ebook

Rating: PG 13 for Violence

Not long ago, Review 85 to be exact, I reviewed John Mierau’s Enemy Lines. I enjoyed it and had no problem recommending it to those that were interested in a good science fiction story. After Enemy Lines was complete, I stayed subscribed to Mr. Mierau’s feed and he continued to drop regular pieces of entertainment in the feed. Recently a new story, Last Man Home recently dropped into the feed, and I felt it was worthy of its own review. With Enemy Lines, I believe Mr. Mierau might have had one of the longest stories yet reviewed. With Last Man Home, I’m almost positive he has the shortest.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis:

What happens when the survivors of long-dead Lieutenant Tom Callahan’s squad meet for their annual reunion – and one of the Alotans they spent years killing shows up. An alien going by the name of… Tom Callahan.

“I sprayed a mouthful of beer all over Teddy and Gris when the Bug stepped into the Wildlife Tavern. I wasn’t alone. Rows of grizzled backwoodsmen wore their neighbor’s drinks as the first Alotan they’d ever seen lumbered back to our table. Things like that just didn’t happen in Ladysmith, Quebec (population 1,400).” (Stolen from the author’s site)

Production: John Mierau previously received rather high marks for production, and if anything he only improves that here. I believe I caught one repeated line, but that could have been simply the way the story was written as well . The production is kept to a minimum with no sound effects, and a simple (but very nice, uncredited) guitar rif to open and close the story with. The story is very short with a total length of less than an hour and a half, and I definitely feel like the decision to make the production minimalistic was the right choice.

Grade: A

Cast: Mr. Mierau does this as a strait forward self read. He does a very nice job with it. I would be surprised if there are more than ten voices total, and only four voice or five voices are greatly recurring. He does a fine job of keeping these voices straight and reads them very well.

Grade: A

Story: The synopsis does a descent job of providing a clue on whether you’ll enjoy this story or not. This is a good story and Mr. Mierau tells it in the first person. As stated before, when not done well, I really don’t like first person. Thankfully, Mr. Mierau does it very well.

Grade: A

Verdict: I liked Last Man Home. If you’re a fan of science fiction, and you have an hour and half to spare, I would recommend that you go ahead and give this story a listen.

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: As stated previously, I do follow Mr. Mierau on Twitter and converse with him on a regular basis. I will be trying to get an interview from him for the audio version of this review.

originally published July 11, 2011

Title: Black Shadow
Author: Steve Saylor
Genre: Comic Fantasy
Released: 1 December 2007 – 5 May 2008
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast only

Rating: R for violence and language

I’ve enjoyed comics of many types for many years. I can’t say the superhero mainstream are my favorites, but I own more than one issue of Superman, Spiderman, The Hulk and others. It might have been a decade or more since I’ve purchased a comic, but I still enjoy a good comic type story. I find these to be poorly executed as a genre in podiofiction. As mentioned several weeks ago, I can’t claim to be a fan of the Secret World Chronicles. I’ve also had issues with several other comic series. I did very much enjoy Matthew Wayne Selznik’s Brave Men Run, and though I haven’t listened to Escape Pod in years, I also enjoyed Jeffrey DeRago’s Union Dues stories. So, how did Mr. Saylor’s Black Shadow measure up.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis:

In a world where evil walks the earth, where super villains are taken over by demonic beings . They all want one thing, and one thing only. To take over the world. There is only one man who can stop them. One man with the powers and abilities to kick some serious demon ass. In a race against time to stop a portal that opens to Hell itself. One man, one hero, one sonofabitch you don’t want to mess with.

He is faceless,

He is fearless,

He is… Black Shadow. (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)

Production: Okay. You know, I love minimalism. I also love summer popcorn sensationalistic over the top action flicks. Mr. Saylor shot for the latter. He should have settled for the former. I’d say that in 90% of the time, Black Shadow’s production is pretty good. It is full audio drama with multiple sound effects running throughout. Sometimes, I wish it wasn’t. A self read would have made this one more enjoyable for me. In one scene, the hero is in Hell. The cycled sound effects made that episode almost to painful to listen to. Seriously. I almost skipped it. In another ep, the outro music and info was played several minutes before the end of the episode, over the content, then again at the end. Several episodes have several minutes of silence at the end. This 10% became the part that stuck with you and considerably lessened my listening enjoyment.

Grade: D

Cast: Mr. Saylor states this is a story “read by the author”. However, unless he is channeling his feminine side better than any author I’ve yet met, there is at least one female cast member. The majority of the story is done by Mr. Saylor, and though I know he was going for a good comic book sound, they over the top voices combined with the whiney aspect of others was a bit much in several places. Still, you have to appreciate someone going all out for their story.

Grade: C-

Story: Hmmm.. Not sure what to say here. Black Shadow is exceedingly strange in that in many ways it is a mashup of many of the mainstream superhero comics. In a roundabout way, Mr. Saylor even mentions many of the golden age comics. Black Shadow even was born and raised in Smallville, Kansas and was impacted by a famous meteor shower. However, this story has multiple issues and though a valiant effort was made, I feel it fell well short.

Grade: C

Verdict: If you’re a huge fan of superhero comics, you might want to give Black Shadow a shot. I do appreciate Mr. Saylor trying to do something within the genre. However, this story is consistently inconsistent and misses more than it hits. Some of the wording and dialogue left me speechless. And not in a good way. If you have listened to this story, and have a different (or the similar) listening experience you’d like to share, please do!

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’ve never met or listened to anything else Mr. Saylor has produced or written to the best of my knowledge. I don’t believe I follow him on Twitter or that he follows me.

originally published July 4, 2011

Title: The Heart of the Ronin
Author: Travis Heerman
Read by: Danielle Steen
Genre: Japanese Historical Fantasy
Released: 12 December 2008 – 28 May 2009
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast, ebook and dead tree

Rating: R for violence and mature situations. And one bumper’s language.

I’ve always been fascinated with Asian culture and Asian martial arts. I’ve studied several and have respect for all of martial arts. Last week as I was perusing Podiobooks.com varied categories, I decided to give “Historical Fantasy” a shot. Weather Child, one of my very favorite stories, is categorized as such, so I thought it might lead me to another. Boy did it. Kind of.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis:

Thirteenth-century Japan is a dangerous place, even in a time of peace. Capricious gods, shape-changing animals, and bloodthirsty demons are as real and unpleasant as a gang of vicious bandits. From the wilderness emerges a young, idealistic warrior with his father’s mysterious sword on his hip, a wise, sarcastic dog at his side, and a yearning in his heart to find a worthy master. He dreams only of being samurai. Little does he suspect the agony and glory that await him when his dreams come true.

Finding a master should be easy for a warrior as skilled as Ken’ishi, but the generations-long wars for the Imperial throne have ended. The land has settled into an uneasy peace and cast multitudes of proud, powerful warriors to the four winds. The new peace means that these masterless warriors, ronin, often must stoop to crime and banditry to feed themselves. Ken’ishi finds himself plagued by the hatred and mistrust of peasants and samurai alike.

When he saves a noble maiden from a pack of bandits, he and his faithful dog become enmeshed in the intrigues of samurai lords, vengeful constables, Mongol spies, and a shadowy underworld crime boss known as Green Tiger. But Ken’ishi has a few secret weapons of his own, granted to him by his mysterious past and his magical upbringing. If only he knew more about his mysterious past, his parents’ murder, and the sword that seems to want to talk to him. . . .(Stolen from Podiobooks.com)

Production: The author, Mr. Heermann, is also in charge of the production and he does an entirely adequate job. I can’t say I remember a single instant of repeated lines or other obvious errors. The music used for the intro and outro is completely appropriate. There are occasional artifacts heard in the background, but nothing consistent or obvious. If I had any issue with the production at all, it would be the use of teasers preceding the episode. Normally, I wouldn’t mention this, but the promos seemed so incongruous to the content of Mr. Heerman’s that it seemed to grate a bit more. Also, one teaser could have never been played in a podcast that wasn’t all ready rated R, which to my way of thinking is a strange thing to do in a teaser.

Grade: A-

Cast: The cast is mostly a single read, with that duty falling to Danielle Steen. Ms. Steen does more than an adequate job with many Japanese words. The only other voice we here during the story is Zeus Legion, as an oni (Japanese demon). As always, Mr. Legion’s voice is perfect.

Grade: A

Story: This is another large story, with Heart of the Ronin comprising the first third. Mr. Heermann’s story is a trilogy. It is adequately written, though a good editor could make it better. There is a bit of repetitive word usage. Most importantly to me however, is if you’re going to write a historical fiction novel, you should be able to catch the feeling of the time period with your story. Heart of the Ronin does this and more. It is obvious that Mr. Heermann has either done his research well or has a history with Japanese culture.

Grade: A

Verdict: I loved Heart of the Ronin. That was until the final episode. When I discovered it was a trilogy. Maybe I missed that somewhere along the way. I don’t know. But, regardless, it is a very good beginning. Though a complete book/podcast, this is far from a complete story. I was a bit concerned when I realized this was Book One because it has been marked complete since 2009. It has been more than three years now. I hazarded a check at Podiobooks where someone else voiced a similar complaint. Mr. Heermann did comment saying he was working on it, and that he expected to have a draft complete by end of summer. Be warned, if you listen, which I can’t help but recommend, you will be irritated with each day that passes until book two becomes available.

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: Until listening to this podcast, I’d never heard of Mr. Heerman or Ms. Steen. I follow neither and have had no contact with them.

originally published June 27, 2011

Title: The Ballad of Iron Percy
Author: Edward Clark
Produced: Veronica Giguere
Genre: Fantasy
Released: 30 April 2010 – 15 October 2010
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast only (I believe)

Rating: Strong R/NC 17 for language, violence and frequent sexual situations

Quite a while ago, I listened to season 1 of Secret World Chronicles. Not long after I listened to season 2, then season 3. I’ve had that series recommended to me many times for review as well. Let me state now, that will more than likely never happen. Why? I try to leave as much as my own personal distaste for sub-genre types out of reviews. I simply wouldn’t be able to do this with Secret World Chronicles. I truly find shared universes distasteful. At best. The writing, by nature, ends up being incredibly uneven. A character I might love, when written by one author, becomes shallow and unenjoyable when written by another. Being as character driven as I am, it is very hard for me to enjoy this kind of writing.

So, why did I bother to listen through 3 seasons then? Two reasons compelled me. The individual eps were enjoyable about half of the time (to me), so I had a 50:50 shot of hearing something I enjoyed. The second? Veronica Giguere.

Ms. Giguere very adequately produced and voiced SWC and when I found she had done the same for The Ballad of Iron Percy, I knew I’d eventually be giving it a listen.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis:

It has been twenty years since the island nation of Great Hale conquered the New World and became an empire. Lord Percival Wilmore, the Hero of Naruna Isle, has been the governor of the New Jucata since the war’s end, and it has been his life’s work to make the colony a peaceful and prosperous part of the Halan Empire. By all accounts, he has succeeded. The city-states of Old Jucata have been dominated utterly, the old religion has been completely supplanted by the Halan faith of the White Veil, and Jucatan goods have made Great Hale the envy of the world. He is beloved by the people, and he has ensured that this Halan colony is built to last.

But New Jucata’s future is not as secure as it seems. As the head of state for the colony, Lord Wilmore is the highest legal authority in the land, and he is called upon to try a most curious prisoner. The events and outcome of this interrogation threaten to tear Halan Rule of Law apart and bring anarchy to the region.

Pandemona stands accused of being a Pak Shar – a dangerous and seductive demon previously seen only in Veil mythology. With her scarlet skin, lithe tail, and dainty set of horns, she certainly looks the part. Her way with words and alluring demeanor only serve to underscore this perception. Under Halan law, the punishment for being a demon is death by fire at the stake, but Pandemona is entitled to a fair trial by Lord Wilmore and the colony’s Curate before she can be convicted and executed. This interrogation is her only chance to escape. She must use all of her wit and guile to survive.

Is Pandemona really what she appears to be? What is she here to accomplish? Is she an evil and subversive creature, sent from the Abyss to torment mankind? Or is she simply disfigured and misunderstood? Whatever the truth may be, her presence is not a good omen.

The Ballad of Iron Percy is a song of glorious triumph, written to honor Lord Wilmore’s victory against overwhelming odds in the Conquest War. It is an iconic tune in New Jucata. The specifics of the verses vary in each separate rendition, but the overall tone is one of bravery, achievement, and joy.

Unfortunately for Iron Percy, his Ballad is not yet over… (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)

Production: As I mention previously, I have great respect for Ms. Giguere as a producer. She doesn’t let the listener down with The Ballad of Iron Percy. It isn’t perfect. But it is good. So, the good? Ms. Giguere is one of the premiere narrators in the business today. The audio levels also are quite consistent (except where they’re not), and there are few instances that jar the listener out of the moment. The bad? Back to those audio levels. The opening and closing sequences quite often are louder than the ep, prompting a volume change. Also, the closing sequence reaches full level a bit too abruptly causing difficulty hearing the last bit of story. There are instances of repeated lines, particularly in eps 10 and 18 (others as well, but these eps stood out). You can hear the “click” indicating an edit mark in each case. These must have been too minor to show up in the waveform when editing. Again, considering the sheer size of this work, these issues are relatively minor.

Grade: B+

Cast: The cast consists solely of Ms. Giguere. She is more than adequate to the task and does a superb job voicing the characters. Suffice it to say, if you need a female voice in your story, you can’t go wrong by involving Ms. Giguere.

Grade: A

Story: The story here is huge with 46 eps, many of them at the 40 minute or more mark. I have no idea what that translates as word count, but would be honestly surprised if it weren’t well over 100,000. The story is really told in two parts. First in the 3rd person portion revolving around “Percy”, his son and the church prelate (as well as others), and secondly in the 1st person as a captured (possible) demon tells her tale. The story winds back and forth betweens these two accounts for most of the duration of the story.

Grade: B

Verdict: This is not a story for the minivan folks. I won’t lie, the innate sexuality completely discludes this possibility. That is fine. However, the continual references, and surface level details, of one of the characters sexual needs goes beyond what I needed in a story. When these passages begin, it is easy to have 15 minutes disappear in a “I shouldn’t, I shouldn’t, I did” repetitiveness that I found boring. Several times the author also uses his characters as mouthpieces for what seemed to be treatises of his own convictions. I don’t have trouble with this when those treatises are the impetus of the work, but find them embedded in an otherwise work of pure fiction distracting. However, the overarching story is quite good and I did enjoy it. Individual listeners will need to make their own decisions on this one.

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: Ms. Giguere is a common commentor in my twitter stream and a classy person. I rarely converse with her outside of the open stream, but find her an enjoyable voice in that stream (you can find her at vforvoice). I’ve never met Mr. Clark and to the best of my knowledge, he does not follow me, nor I him. Nothing was offered or excepted in return for this review. Except for a Gulfstream V. Or was that just a dream? Now that I think about it, that is very likely.

originally published on June 13, 2011

Title: Enemy Lines
Author: John Mierau
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: 21 September 2010 – 7 June 2011
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks, Author’s Site
Formats Available: podcast only

Rating: R for violence, language, alien and terrestrial drug use and (terrestrial) sexual situations

I have no idea why I’m following John Mierau on Twitter. Seriously. I mean, this is one of those cases where I’d never heard of an individual, I don’t even remember hitting the “follow” button, so I’m guessing he followed my rules of engagement by consistently providing feedback to tweets in my stream. Regardless, once I did start following him, I found him to provide a stream I quite enjoy.

I can say much the same about his story, Enemy Lines. I can’t quite remember why I started listening. By that I mean, I can’t remember whom it was suggested by. I would hazard a guess that at least 90% of what I listen to is something that has been suggested to me or is a sequel to something else I’ve enjoyed. Also, in September in 2010, when Enemy Lines debuted, my lovely bride and I were four months into expecting our little princess. Those days are somewhat of a blur. Regardless, I subscribed (and I do suspect it might have been Mr. Mierau himself that suggested that I listen), and the rest is history.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: In the near future, an alliance forged by powerful men will challenge the US government for control of secret technology. As their machinations gear up, the true owners of that technology will face a challenge of their own, deep in the asteroid belt. At stake? The future of the human race. ENEMY LINES is a science fiction adventure about conspiracies, spies…and aliens… in a future where the lines aren’t as clear as you think. (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)

Production: For the most part the production of Enemy Lines is very good. The music theme selection is perfect. The vocal levels are spot on. The strange Canadian pronunciations of some words is almost hidden (good humored poke at a good guy and our cool northern neighbors), and the vocal rhythms carry the story quite well. One area of the production that is at issue are the repeated lines that show up in the dialogue. Now that I’m podcasting these reviews, I know how many times you end up repeating a line as you record. Mr. Mierau might be exceedingly better at recording than I am (at least I never hear HIM gulping for breath like a beached carp) but in a large percentage of the eps, at least one repeated line makes it through to post. This is a bit jarring, but takes little effort to stay with the story.

Grade: B+

Cast: Mr. Mierau does Enemy Lines as a self read, and he does a very nice job. However, I do have an issue with stories such as Enemy Lines being done as a self read. That issue is simply that there are so many characters, that even when the author does an adequate job of reading each in a unique way (as Mr. Mierau does) it is very hard to differentiate them until you’ve heard enough eps to learn each character. This is somewhat alleviated when these types of stories are done as a full cast. I know that sheer number of multiple voices would make the chore HUGE, and I understand why not all authors choose to go that route. Simply stated, with the epic size of this story, and the large number of characters, I got lost on more than one occasion and had to pause the story while I thought back. Of course, this perhaps wouldn’t be as large of an issue if you wait until podcasts are complete to begin listening and then mainline the story. Of course, you might also have fewer issues if your memory is superior to mine.

Grade: B+

Story: This story is pure scifi and very much an action story that is still character driven. There are plenty of situations where the story could have gone in a direction that would have ended in disappointment, and yet Mr. Mierau adroitly maneuvers around these and keeps the story heading down the straight and true.

Grade: A

Verdict: I really enjoyed Enemy Lines. Very much in fact. I have no trouble recommending you listen if you have not to this point. Mr. Mierau tell’s a great story and one that deserves to be heard. Do yourself a favor, and if you enjoy a good science fiction story, give Enemy Lines a shot.

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: As I have mentioned, I do follow Mr. Mierau on Twitter. We’ve chatted there on many occasions. However, nothing was asked for or offered in return for this review (although I do call dibs on Alex’s Mustang).

originally published June 8, 2011

Title: Arwen, Season 1, Regal
Author: Timothy Callahan
Genre: Science Fiction
Released: 11 March 2007 – 12 May 2007
Located: iTunes, Podiobooks
Formats Available: podcast only

Rating: PG 13 for violence and intense space action

I grew up watching Star Trek (TOS) reruns. Yes, I was alive when the original run came out, but just barely. I always enjoyed watching Kirk, McCoy and Spock search out new worlds and had great fun enjoying their adventures. When TNG series began, I had high hopes. And while I enjoyed Picard, the rest of the team did little for me. I especially found Wesley Crusher annoying. (Though now, I find Wil Wheaton quite enjoyable both on Twitter and in his recurring Big Bang Theory cameos.) I can’t say I really ever watched any of the Star Trek series that followed. However, I enjoyed the original series so much that I have to admit that when anything remotely resembling that basic idea comes along in podiobook form, I eventually make time to check it out. (The exception to this is fan fiction. Regardless of how well done FF might be, I’m just not motivated to give it a shot.)

So, why didn’t I check out the Arwen series before? Simply because I had no idea that it falls into the category described above. I do now, and I will be listening to the entire run, and more than likely you’ll see future seasons reviewed here as well.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: When a comet the size of a small moon threatens the remote world of Regal the Earth Alliance assigns the most decorated ship in the fleet, the Arwen, to destroy it. Its Captain, Marjorie Cook, sees this as an opportunity to redeem herself after a tragic mistake in her past causes the death of over 400 of her crew. It seems like an easy mission but, when the Arwen arrives, it finds things are not what they seem. (Stolen from Podiobooks.com)

Production: The production of the Arwen, Season 1 is a mixed bag. Some of the eps seemed to have had the noise reduction option used a bit heavily, or something along those lines. It was distracting but not terribly so. The thing that struck me most forcibly about the production was the music. Many times, especially at the beginning of the ep, the soundtrack didn’t seem to match the mood of the music. You’d be listening to an intense scene and the music would be some happy little ditty. Was quite strange to be honest. Also, the production of the Arwen, Season 1 was about as bare boned in other ways as I’ve heard. The author never introduced the eps, never provided anything at the end of the ep, had no scene change notification, and basically allowed the ep to contain only the story. While I think this is the first story I’ve ever heard told this way, I have to admit, part of me enjoyed it, though I could never tell authors not to even identify themselves in their podcasts.

Grade: C+

Cast: The Arwen is a self read. My Callahan does an adequate job in reading his story. His uses no voices or inflections, but the story carries itself and it progresses at a quick rate. This is one of the few times I can say, I wish the author would have gone the route of a full cast however. This story just seems built for it.

Grade: B+

Story: This story is a straightforward scifi space shootem up. Kind of. In reality, I find the Arwen, season 1 to fall somewhere between Star Trek TOS and TNG. The season contains one story arch and really is a self contained story in and of itself. It is mainly action driven and I find myself not even being able to remember all of the characters names (also possibly from the self read without use of inflection or “voices”). However, that is okay in that the story’s action keeps you interested and progresses at a good rate.

Grade: B+

Verdict: This series probably isn’t for everyone. If you’re not a fan of spaceships (dirty or clean) then you’ll probably want to skip this one (yes, I’m looking at you k). However, if you enjoy a good science fiction space romp where at least a couple of eps have you arming your energy beams and wondering if the shields will hold, give it a listen. I suspect you’ll be glad you did.

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’ve never met Mr. Callahan, but I expect he enjoyed the original Star Trek series as well. That makes him okay in my book.

originally published May 30

originally published May 23, 2011

Title: Number One with a Bullet
Author: Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff
Genre: Action Adventure
Released: 22 November 2006 – 16 March 2007
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes
Formats Available: podcast, print

Rating: R for violence, language, sexual situations.

I recently completed a review with Richard Green’s wonderful Geek Out with Mainframe podcast, where Richard surmised that I had probably run out of my original slush pile of listened to podcasts. For the most part, I have, but there remain a couple that I listened to early on and have never reviewed. I remembered being entertained by Number One with a Bullet, so decided to relisten and give it a review.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis:

When the world’s top ten hitmen compete in a last man standing, winner take all contest for over $100 million dollars, the only rule is to stay alive. And for retired assassin Johnny Dane, getting out of the business doesn’t mean getting out of the game.

Production: This story is an old one. It is one of the earlier works of podiofiction reaching all the way back to 2006. That being the case, it is a pretty good listen. The production quality is pretty high, though a bit inconsistent at times. The story so far is firmly in effect and the author includes gratuitous emails sent in praise of the story and author at the end of every ep.

Grade: B+

Cast: First time ever that I’ve had to state that this podcast is both a self read and a full cast. It starts out as a full cast and continues happily along its way, when suddenly the author begins to do a self read. One of the dangers of too much metatalk, in my opinion, is that some listeners (me included) might not end up listening all the way through and might miss reasons such as this. However, the abrupt change really throws the story for a loop.

Grade: C-

Story: A simplistic story where the hero is forced into a life left behind in order to save the love of his life. Told in present tense in the form of a [rejected] movie script. Number One with a Bullet did win a Parsec in 2007 for Best Non Speculative Novel.

Grade: D

Verdict: Back in 2006 early 2007, podcast fiction was still in its infancy. There weren’t nearly as many stories to listen to. Maybe that is what enabled me to enjoy this story at that time. However, listening to it now, it almost seems like it would work better as a parody of an action story as every scene if full of bombast. The fight and chase scenes are unbelievable, and I don’t mean that in a good way. The hand to hand combat scenes lead me to believe that author has never taken a martial arts class. The chase scene between a Porsche 911 and a Hummer are a physicists nightmare. I did recommend another story by this author, Transistor Radio. I would gladly listen to it again and wished I had rather than give Bullet another try.

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’ve never met Mr. Nemcoff. I don’t know if he’s on twitter. I’ve never conversed with him and I’d still take a Porsche over a Hummer any day.

Title: Death by Cliché
Author: Robert J Defendi
Genre: Alternate Reality/Fantasy/Role Playing
Released: 29 November 2008 – 25 February 2009
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes
Formats Available: podcast only (I think)

Rating: PG for Violence, language and content

I sit here looking at a mostly blank review form (or blog page if you prefer) late on a Sunday night, having just realized I haven’t written the review that should be dropping in just over 5 hours. While this isn’t the latest I’ve ever prepared a review, it is the first time to my recollection that I almost missed one due to an oversight.

Thankfully, while I haven’t written the review, I have finished the podcast the review was intended for. J.D. Sawyer recommended the story to me a week ago, and I decided to give it a shot. For some reason, when he said the author was a game developer, I envisioned a codemonkey for EA or similar type things. I don’t think that Mr. Defendi ever mentioned his day job, and to be honest, I didn’t delve into his blog that carefully, however, from the story, I find myself believing the game design Mr. Sawyer spoke of was of the role playing type. You know… D&D and such? At least I assume that is a good example (yes, I’m downplaying here… give me a break, ,^) ) as I’ve never played a honest to goodness role playing game. The closet I’ve come are their electronic cousins. Still, given the story, all the above doesn’t matter..

So, on to the review.

Synopsis: Seriously, two weeks in a row with no synopsis? This is not a good thing. Especially not if you’re reading this, because now you have to get my version of the story. I apologize in advance and really do wish I had a moose to sack.

Mr. Demeko (no idea the spelling) is a game designer that stops by a game/comic shop to check out a private game. The Dungeon Master is an amateur game designer and a fan. Such a fan, that after he follows Demeko into the alley, he shoots him in the head with a Glock 9mm because Demeko hasn’t answered his emails. Such begins Death by Cliché, and the clichés do indeed keep coming. Follow Demeko as he traverses the game world. Learn with him what fate has in store for him before he can leave. Watch him as he saves the world.. wait.. destroys.. no.. saves it.. oh just listen to Episode 1. (Synopsis was not stolen. I sure wish it had been because then I wouldn’t have to take credit for it.)

Production: While you’ll find much to love in DbC, the production is not one of them. It is terrible. Horrid. Ummm.. NOT GOOD. And no. I’m not kidding. The gating of the sound threshold is the worst I’ve ever been subjected to. The hiss that sits quietly behind the dialogue would be unnoticeable if it weren’t for the complete absence of all sound between speech breaks. This is REALLY too bad as the author does a very creditable read, but more of that in the cast section. The most interesting thing about the production, is while it’s consistently bad, the level of badness is not consistent. Some sections are obvious retakes and the sound does not mesh well at all.

That being said, the flow of the story, the pacing, is very good. The edits have been done to make the conversation flow naturally and if you’re not listening on headphones, you might not even notice. Especially if you’re in a separate room from your speakers.

Another cause for concern. I’m not sure this is a podcast. I’m sure that it isn’t in the form I obtained it. It isn’t on Podiobooks, it isn’t on iTunes. It isn’t available with embedded RSS in the audio files. It is presented on the authors blog. I had to download each ep individually and then run a script on it to have it load on my iPhone as a podcast. This was a lot of effort to expend before I even knew anything about the story. [Editor’s update: Mr. Defendi was gracious enough to point out why I had not earlier been able to locate DbC on iTunes. When he pointed out that it was filed under “Robert J. Defendi’s Playtesting.net” it was easy enough to find. I definitely recommend subscribing through the link provided above.]

This podcast was created in 2008 and early 2009, so I’ll give my last complaint no weight in the grade. You love Jonathan Coulton’s Skullcrusher Mountain. Admit it. Of course you do. I do too. However, you’re not allowed to use it in your podcast. No. You’re not. Don’t go there. Either that, or as an industry, we must all adopt it and all use it end our podcasts. No? I didn’t think so.

Grade: D+/C-

Cast: Robert J Defendi (the author) does this as a self read. Thank God. No one else could deliver the level of snark and sarcasm necessary for this story. He actually has a very good voice and is fun to listen to, obviously taken the previously mentioned Production into account. Several of his characters do sound very much alike, but it is hard for me to judge this too harshly. Overall, I’d gladly invite Mr. Defendi to voice a character in any story needing a sarcastic voice.

Grade: B+

Story: Death by Cliché is a remarkable story in that while poking fun at everything we hold dear, it makes us laugh with it and tells a darned good story at the same time. If you’re a role player, I’m going to make the assumption it would be an even more fun listen.

Grade: A

Verdict: If you’re love of a good story out weighs all other categories, don’t hesitate to subscribe now. It is a really fun story that will having you laughing out loud and quietly cheering the hero on.

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’ve never met Mr. Defendi. I don’t know if he’s on twitter. I’ve never conversed with him and he’s sure never sent me a pony.

originally published May 9, 2011

Title: Maiden Flight of the Avenger
Author: Alex White
Genre: Alternate Reality/Fantasy
Released: 19 December 2010 – 3 May 2011
Located: Author’s Site, iTunes
Formats Available: podcast and epub

Rating: PG for Violence

The story of how Alex White and I first became acquainted and how he became the very first person to ask me to listen to their podcast work of fiction is related here. That was 58 reviews ago. Over a year. In that time Mr. White hasn’t been idle. Besides holding down a full time job and being a father and a husband, he has released a soundtrack (here) to accompany a new work of audio fiction, Maiden Flight of the Avenger.

So, on to the review.

Synopsis:

No synopsis was provided on the author’s site or at iTunes (at least not that I could find). I would recommend that any author putting out new or supplemental material go ahead and spend a few minutes writing a synopsis. A synopsis is truly the first hurdle for me in deciding what new fiction to pick up.

So… The Maiden Flight of the Avenger is a prequel (I think) to The Gearheart. This novella focuses on the character of Augustus Elsworth, his dalliance with the dark art of alchemy and the creation of his beloved biplane. (Stolen from.. no, wait.. created by me. Now you know why I don’t create the synopsis when I can avoid it.)

[Ed. update: Mr. White has since updated his site to contain a synopsis for this book. He pulled it from the ebook at Amazon. I completely overlooked the fact that there would have been one there, and hadn’t looked.]

Production: Let me say this here and now. Since I’ve begun podcasting these reviews, I have an even greater respect for the podcasters I review. I am beginning to understand how much time and effort the production of these works must entail in a way I never have before. That being said, I’m revamping my grading just a bit. No, I’m not making it easier. Then again, probably not making it any harder either. My scale has my sound at a C. I’m average (well, at least I’d like to think so).

So, Maiden Flight of the Avenger? I guess I’m expecting a bit of argument from some here. So be it.

Mr. White has done an excellent job of creating a musical soundtrack to accompany this novella. It is for sale as linked above. The music is well done. When inserted into the podcast however, at times it is a bit “heavy” overburdening the voicework.

I also felt the voicework itself was a bit abruptly edited. I don’t know if this was due to an addition in the cast (more below) or if my criteria has changed a bit over the last year since The Gearheart concluded. Regardless, it felt a bit choppy to me.

Finally, in episodes 2 through 8 the audio from Mr. White’s characters was, um, well… a mess. Still not being in any way an audio engineer, I have no real way to explain it in technical terms. In my limited experience it sounded like the “gate” effect was set to high clipping the audio, or perhaps the compression was the issue. Both? Neither? I have no idea. (While some traces of this can be heard in the female voices as well, it isn’t as evident as in the male voices.) Still, it was enough to completely draw me away from the story and required me to re-listen using my laptop speakers instead of my preferred headphones. (As a test, I listened to audio from several other podcasts to verify it wasn’t my headphones. It wasn’t.)

Again, I’m not saying I could do as well. I couldn’t. And I still am respectful to the work this must have entailed.

Grade: C+ (again, using myself as the ruler of a C/C-)

Cast: One of my absolute favorite things about the podcast version of The Gearheart was Renee White’s voicing of Isabella and Cog. This hasn’t changed. Mr. White also did a very nice job voicing the male characters. This, perhaps, is why I was a bit surprised to find the addition of a third voice to a much smaller work. This voicework was provided by Brooke Fox. Don’t get me wrong, she does a fine job. Really. I guess we just anticipate the things we like staying the way they were. Wait, did I just define nostalgia? Hmmmm…

Grade: A

Story: As any prequel is, Maiden Flight of the Avenger seems to be an exercise to further explore a supporting character in The Gearheart universe. I have to admit that during the latter parts of episode 1, I kept feeling the sensation of deja vu, not being able to shake the feeling that I had seen parts of this story in a different episode 1. Thank God Jarjar didn’t appear.

Episode 1 provides a motivation for the work that will be completed by our heroes throughout the story. This motivation seems to be completely changed by episode 2. There is a brief mention of this and the why behind it, but I would have liked that original concept to have stayed in play a bit longer. Suffice it to say, without spoilers, that the conclusion would have nullified the ability to achieve that motivation regardless.

Grade: B+

Verdict: Fans of The Gearheart will want to make sure they subscribe to Maiden Flight of the Avenger as it really does try to flesh out some of the backstory that is alluded to in that seminal work. With a good synopsis, I can also see this novella pulling listeners/readers into The Gearheart universe.

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 follow Mr. White on Twitter (@thegearheart). We converse on occasion and have sons approximately the same age. I’ve never met him off the net, but am assured he knows the difference between a real cigar and cloves rolled in newspaper.