Of course the problem with that as set up in this story is that Bahzie(?) didn’t approach them honestly. If a metamore did that to my partner, I wouldn’t be very happy with them either.

I liked that the audio was clear and I could listen and understand while driving, but I’m not sure the tone of the reader matched. Some comments, such as “I can’t wait until she’s a teenager,” felt a wee bit anachronistic and had the unfortunate effect of pulling me out of the story.

More on than off, though, and overall I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Well of course it doesn’t. It could have been badly written or poorly read which would have ruined it. As it was it was both well written and well read. I loved the interaction between mother and daughter which was very realistic. Right down to the daughters manipulation regarding being able to read her magic books in future.

Another winner from Podcastle, thank you.

Archie

All that said, not a bad one. I know you guys do get stuff from RoF sometimes, and I’ve enjoyed most of what I’ve read there, so keep that line open for sure, even if this one was from elsewhere and I just can’t remember.

I’m glad PodCastle finally got on its feet, if for no other reason than that now I have 3 times the story every week. That way, even if one falls utterly flat (not that this one did, I’m just saying), there are still two more!

Keep ‘em coming, Castellans!

However, it wasn’t my favorite Podcastle story. It felt like a piece of a larger work, and I needed the world’s framework to enjoy and understand the events. So the wife is a thief? That is her profession? Why should I like this person? Is she a Robin Hood stealing from the rich, or does she just take other people’s stuff? She seems able to support her family without doing much crime. Is she a retired thief, then? Why does this family seem to be so isolated from other people? They have no other humans to turn to for help in a crisis? Are they hiding? I was distracted by these unexplained elements in the story.

Also, I noticed something here which is not a fault of this story as such, but seems to be a new feminist trend in fiction. For years, stories were populated by dynamic, interesting male heroes paired with helpless, ornamental heroines who existed only as a goal for the hero. Now we’re seeing the reverse - dynamic, interesting female protagonists paired with helpless, ornamental men who exist only as a goal for the heroine. I can understand the desire to write these stories as a revenge or balance for the previous material. Male writers are just as capable of producing them as females. We’re familiar with this framework and changing the gender isn’t much trouble. However, I really wish writers wouldn’t do it. Two dynamic, non-helpless people are so much more interesting and have so much more chemistry on the page than a knight of either gender saving a helpless lover. I know the author of this story tried to make James seem appealing, but he really came off as impotent and not very attractive. I found him difficult to like or care about, so I couldn’t sympathize very well with his wife’s distress over his potential loss.

For some reason, the story had the feel of an urban fantasy while being set in a medieval-like world. I don’t know if it was the tone of the writing or the tone of the reading, or both, but I found it a little jarring. I kept expecting to see elements of modern technology that weren’t there.

I also didn’t really get why Bahzie (or however you spell that) stuck around for so long. What was she waiting for? Did she really think James would just come around to her way of thinking without further magical persuasion? How thick can you get?

I did like the element of the ghost cat and the casual way with which it was handled. I liked that it didn’t really seem aware that it was dead, or at least, if it did, that that fact did not concern it or affect its behavior. That was fun.

(or in tribute to Euro 2008) Gooooooooal!

I just love this story fantastic - high praise to Jim Hines for weaving a wonderful spellbinder with a delicious denouement, and kudos to Christiana Ellis for truly excellent reading.

Having learned a bit more about the behind-the-scenes aspect of podcasting, I also have to say plaudits to the sound editor / engineers.

Podcastle is definitely on my weekly listening.