I agree with the people who have already said that it was like (bad) fan-fiction; and like katy, I kept waiting for the *actual* story to start. Rachel was certainly hamming it up in the reading, but I took that to indicate that there was going to be some twist - maybe something feminist and arse-kicky - that would make it all worthwhile.

But, alas, no. But this was not my biggest problem with the story.

The problem was the less-than-consensual sex scene.

No.

It was with the lack of arse-kickery that occured after the rape scene; the lack of *any* narrative consequence after the rape scene. Except the two ending up together.

That’s not cool. Nor is that funny. How is that funny?
That deserves a warning on it’s own.

Only half sincerely this time, ( )
The Blaine Boy

The story before this was intersting, but difficult t get in to. This story was just atrocious and failed as a pastiche.

On a related note “his wizard-hood” made me giggle, and (until it was explained later) I was pretty sure that the wizard “burying the unicorn” was another euphemism.

An ironic twist at the end - or the middle - might have saved it from being not ‘just like’ bad fanfic - but is actually bad fanfic.

Its not even Naked Gun humour because that’s over the top trying to play it straight. This was just … bad.

More elves - fine - but fewer bodice rippers, please.

Mace wanders off singing “A wizard’s staff has a knob on the end” in fine impersonation of Nanny Ogg.

The attempted change of pace was appreciated, but give us a little more warning when feeding us a snack with no nutritional value.

As for the story - Well it had some good lines, but it was pretty heavy-handed and I’m still waiting for the punchline. And even funny stories should have a plot.

also it reminded me how my wife and I met =)

:Eric

I don’t see eye to eye with those who thought it needed a ‘point’ or an overarching ‘punchline’. The story - deliberately bad and clichéd as it was - was simply a vehicle for a series of (purposefully) ridiculous scenes and descriptions, each a sufficient joke unto itself.

I recommend listening to a couple of the monologues of a comedian named Kip Addotta, if you can find them: “Wet Dream” (which is *not* about what the title suggests) and “Life in the Slaw Lane”. They have a similar structure: a nominal story simply there to be the vehicle for the humour (the nature of which I will not spoil for you).

I think the story would be better on a second listen, as I could appreciate the ridiculousness without waiting for the punchline that never comes.

As for the story, I got that it was supposed to be satire, or pastiche, but it still annoyed me. Podcastle can do much better.

Kudos to Rachel, though, for slogging through this one when she hates elves. It must have hurt her more than it did me.

And am I the only one who thinks Rachel does her recording in a metal box just slightly larger than her head? I generally accept the tinny echoes as the price of hearing her fine intros, but it really grated on the story setting for me. Rachel, lose the box or maybe take it over to Escape Pod where it will fit in better, please.

In my opinion, occasional stories like this would be a welcome addition to podcastle. Looking forward to next week’s podcast!

Here’s what I said on the boards:

Did you notice the scene where there just happens to be a mirror available for the heroine to gaze into and declare her beauty from?

The whole piece, actually, is a send-up of really bad fantasy writing. If it were being written seriously, the mirror wouldn’t be noted as “conveniently hanging on the opposite wall”, which draws the reader’s attention to how stupid a device that is. It’d just be there.

The whole piece is written like that, very carefully drawing the reader’s attention to all the stupid shit that happens in bad fantasy.

Also, I call your attention to the fact that the territory is called “Alraziah-le-Fethynauri’in-ebu-Korfiamminettash” and that they live in the White Castle of the Golden Arches where they serve fried food.