By Greg van Eekhout
Read by Ben Phillips (of Pseudopod)
Introduction by Ann Leckie
First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction
“What’s that?” I ask.
His smile reveals several gold teeth. “Come from dragon turtle. You see giant dragon turtle wash up in San Diego? You see that on news?”
“I’m not really up on current events.” Especially not as regurgitated by state-controlled news organizations.
He nods enthusiastically and edges more powder into the envelope. “This come from San Diego dragon turtle. Wife’s younger brother, he lifeguard. He scrape some turtle shell before Hierarch’s men confiscate whole carcass.”
“What’s it for?” I ask, indicating the powder-filled envelope.
“All sorts of stuff. Rheumatism, kidney stones, migraine, epilepsy, bedroom problems … All sorts.”
“No, thanks,” I say as I try to shoulder my way back into the crowd.
“Get you girls,” he calls after me. “Make you animal! Guaranteed!”
Dragon turtle can’t do any of those things, of course. Not that it’s genuine turtle he’s selling. I figure it for flour and sulfur, with maybe the tiniest pinch of rhinoceros horn thrown in. You can’t even put a street value on the genuine stuff these days.
I know. I’ve experienced the genuine stuff. It’s in my bones.
Rated R. Contains yellowed bones and violence against children.
Andrea said,
May 21, 2008 @ 9:29 am
I really enjoyed this story, but it felt more like a Pseudopod story than a lot of the Podcastle stories so far! (Maybe it was just Ben’s voice, but I think the creepiness had something to do with it too). I’m loving this podcast. Thank you so much!
scatterbrain said,
May 21, 2008 @ 3:56 pm
A nice weird tale, from the weird Eekhout.
me said,
May 21, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
Best story yet, loved it.
Martin R said,
May 22, 2008 @ 8:48 am
There was a jump in the recording toward the end, where the protagonist suddenly appeared at the top of a ladder, having a tense conversation. Was this just a glitch in my download?
George said,
May 23, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
I agree - Best Podcastle story yet! And yes, it would be quite at home on Pseudopod. I’m still not a big fan of fantasy, but this story is converting me …
Also - very very well read.
Chris M said,
May 23, 2008 @ 9:30 pm
This was an awesome, unique story. Fantasy with a macabre twist, tasty.
Shawna said,
May 24, 2008 @ 1:57 am
Wow! What a story. It was edge of your seat great! The reading was fantasic and very creepy. I agree with everyone. It was the best Podcastle so far.
Abbie said,
May 24, 2008 @ 4:58 pm
I really enjoyed this story. It was rich and poignant. I was disoriented at the beginning, trying to understand how the magical system worked, but it held my attention throughout.
David said,
May 24, 2008 @ 6:28 pm
I thought it was a great story, it presented a fascinating idea of how magic can work.
yicheng said,
May 27, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Awesome story. My only complaint was that it was too short. Eekhout creates such a rich and wonderful world. I loved the subtle tie-ins with WW2 history, and the implications of totalitarianism through magic. With the allusion to Nazi germany (Night of the Long Knives), I assume the main villain was Hitler. I’d definitely be interested in hearing sequels of this story, with perhaps the main character’s daughter taking the heroine roll as the leader of an Osteomancer revolution.
Talula said,
May 28, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
I really enjoyed this story. It caught me up from the very beginning and i couldn’t turn it off! I am really looking forward to the book that is supposed to be following up the story. Eekhout is a very skilled writer, and I think he may be one of my new favorite authors!
Spork said,
May 29, 2008 @ 5:12 pm
“What happened to the other two?”
“I smoked them.”
This is the best podcastle story to date. I loved it!
I would have liked to know about some kind of revenge against the two in the shop, but that’s just my mean streak talking.
This is how high the bar has been set at podcastle. Let’s see if the next story has the editorial staff meeting it with their selection, or if it’s just more of the same dreck preceding this finely crafted tale.
The Osteomancer’s Son, by Greg van Eekhout « Stuff to read said,
June 1, 2008 @ 9:34 am
[...] June 1, 2008 Listen to it at PodCastle. [...]
Dave said,
June 5, 2008 @ 8:50 pm
Sweet. Now that’s what I’m talking about. This could have easily been a Pseudo story, yes, but there’s no reason we can’t have some fantasy with teeth here, is there? In this case, literally. Ben Phillips isn’t always my favorite reader, but this story really suited his style.
I put the upcoming book on my library checkout list, too.
Absolutely my favorite PC story so far.
The Fix | From the Podosphere: May 2008 said,
July 16, 2008 @ 7:48 am
[...] “The Osteomancer’s Son” by Greg van Eekhout (read by Ben Phillips) is modern fantasy with a realistic setting, rich with detail. The flashback structure confused me for a while, but the significance and history of bone magic was convincing. The eponymous son tells his own story, which is also his father’s story. Excellent. [...]