Comments on: EP210: The Hastillan Weed

By: V

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:41:30 +0000

Connection between cultures, and connection between the generations, which feels real, as if the author had done many such outings in our world.

Moved me to tears.

By: Martin R

Martin R — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:07:12 +0000

OK story, pleasant voice and nice accent, but I agree: [pause] the reader could really improve by learning to use pauses. [pause] “overaggressive silence truncation algorithm”, very well put!

By: Howie Feltersnatch

Howie Feltersnatch — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:27:35 +0000

Perhaps the only thing more boring than spending the day in the hot sun digging up weeds while some git forces hot tea upon you would be listening to a story about digging weeds in the hot sun while some git forced you to drink hot tea.

The only thing that would have saved this story would have been to have included a long, alphabetical list of different weeds, mention a few more types of birds, and have Frank Key narrate it.

By: Heyes

Heyes — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:10:40 +0000

This story had the feel of an anecdote shared among friends while waiting for the shift to end. It was a good story, written in a way to feel natural. The reader needed to pause at periods, take a breath, and give us a slightly different reading for different voices. I’d to see this as a short film.

By: MasterThief

MasterThief — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:53:48 +0000

I had a friend in college whose dad was a diplomat. Yes, that’s what diplomat’s kids do.

By: dont know

dont know — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:15:57 +0000

wow, I think we can all learn a lot from the protagonists’ direct action attitude to the environment and relationships for that matter, great work !!

also I felt the narration could have had an older voice, but anyway good work.

By: R2D2Blue

R2D2Blue — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:00:21 +0000

Narration-deadpan but good. However the lack of pauses, space or whatever kept bringing me out of the tale.
Short story? I think not. All this is preamble. Chapter 1, not a short story.
What happened to reader comments at the end of Escape Pod? That was something I looked forward to every week.
Keep up the good work!

By: scatterbrain

scatterbrain — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:46:48 +0000

Ah, brings me back to the days when I raised cactii on the kitchen window…

By: Erika

Erika — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:43:00 +0000

I have to say that as a long time gardener this didn’t feel much like science fiction. I spent the day pulling out dandelions which were introduced for their (now disproved) medicinal properties. I’m sure folks in Australia fighting the tomato frogs would see even less fiction in the story.
I think though that this is a story that no one listens to unless it’s labeled science fiction, just like the volunteers wouldn’t come out without the draw of an alien. I’m sure if purple loosestrife were a martian introduction they wouldn’t be still selling it in garden centers.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:46:06 +0000

Nice story, well-read, but I would have liked to have heard it before (I hypothesize) the overaggressive silence truncation algorithm wrecked the pacing. The reader didn't seem to be rushing, yet there were no pauses between lines of dialogue or sections of the story. I felt harried to keep up.

Still, quality stuff. As an amateur gardener myself, I really enjoyed the plant angle.

By: Ken_K

Ken_K — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:28:07 +0000

After listening to this podcast I wanted sing Kumbaya at the top of my lungs! Why can’t we all just get along?

By: Divya

Divya — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:38:46 +0000

Fantastic story. Very well written.