But this story, I listened to twice. I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it more the seoncd time I listened to it.

I think I understand why Octa was so upset — that ‘former lover’ (I don’t want to try to spell it here) confessed that they had some sort of weapon and were going to try to use it on the Carhegens when the did show up.

Maybe it’s the fact that the story is like a puzzle — all the pieces are there, but you have to put them together — that makes it better to listen to the second (and perhaps third) time.

Keep up the great work here, and at Podcastle and Pseudopod!

iGregory

ps #10 so: how did you feel her snatch? did you feel it enough for the stultifying boorishness of your pun to evade your awareness?

So when a “rough patch” does occur, you can’t blame me for getting a bit pissy, can you?

While you have may fooled some here you did not fool me.

I stand by my review, I did enjoy the story. I would read the book if this short ever spawned one.

This effect is magnified when the story’s audio–I never did figure out if the character was Yemeni or if that was her last name.

But the worse problem is the fact that nothing happens in the story. The interminably long section that sounded like, “The Marklaras showed up but they were ugly and had big squid heads. The Klaatus arrived and they looked like big feet,” nearly bored me to death.

This is the worst mix of bad, boring sci-fi and bad chick lit. This is nothing but chick masturbation material–nothing but characters nattering on and on about their feelings, but no resolution or plot development. Even better, since it’s successive generations of the same character whining about their feelings!

Brave Space Monkey’s deadpan, droll, sarcastic review was excellent by the way–I almost believed it was serious at first.

This short felt like a trailer for a movie that just blows me away. Now the long wait for the movie, and hopes that the movie can live up to the trailer.

My mind spins with subplots, and a overall story arch that would hopefully fulfill the promise of this short…

Great choice in both reader and story. The Brave Space Monkey hasn’t enjoyed a EP in a long time. This short has restored my faith my faith in EP.

Yeah! EP is back.

I think people have given up their lives for less.

As far as the story is concerned – I liked it because of the underlying message. Peace for years, even if the message from Carthage was a lie. I wasn’t under the impression it was, but either way, waiting was forcing once warring races to be civil.

I think Octa believed that if Carthage came, the mystery, the obsession with the message would be over and everyone would go back to their normal ways of life.

I kept waiting for something to happen at the end (maybe the whole “It’s beautiful” thing was a lie and the real reason why Octa hoped that the ship would never come was that something horrible would happen), but then Octa just died and nobody cared.

Is it science fiction if nothing happens?