Comments on: PodCastle 56: Shard of Glass

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:27:14 +0000

When i heard the end i thought it meant she died too does anyone else think that

By: devora

devora — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:29:37 +0000

Wonderful story, beautifully read (if a bit to quietly recorded). They say if you bring a gun onstage in a play it better be used somehow, and I was wondering about that gun. Was it a macguffin?

Re: her travelling through the shard, she does travel once in the middle. So it wasn’t a complete surprise that she could do so.

By: Gwen

Gwen — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:03:38 +0000

I liked the story and loved the narrator’s voice, which was very melodious, but the recording was much more quiet than the introduction and theme music, and I often had to strain to hear. I had to listen to the last line about 4 times before I understood what she was saying. Please keep in mind that many of us listen to PodCastle on our headphones and have to contend with background noise!

By: LaShawn

LaShawn — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:49:36 +0000

Wonderful, heart-renching story, and wonderful reading by N.K! Iwas drawn in immediately. I do agree that her ability to go through the glass could have been made clearer, but overall the story struck a chord with me. Well done!

By: Romer

Romer — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:44:50 +0000

Liked the story and thought the narrator’s voice suited it well but I also found it pretty quiet. I usually listen to my Escape Artist podcasts while working in a fumehood with big currents of air rushing everywhere so even with the volume turned up full, I lost some of the quieter portions of the dialogue =(

By: Vance M.

Vance M. — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:42:44 +0000

Amazing, amazing, amazing story. Absolutely loved it. Pulled me in quite easily and kept me engrossed the entire time. The narration was well done and the story made me feel as if I was traveling with the Leah and her mother the entire time. If there was any way, I would actually love to hear more tales told in this universe and about this very unique little girl and her adventures (i know, i know it did end…but they did travel quite alot).

By: New post at the Magic District… at Epiphany 2.0

New post at the Magic District… at Epiphany 2.0 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:18:27 +0000

[...] New post at the Magic District… June 25th, 2009 …on How Much Fantasy is Too Much/Not Enough? In which I get meta-val on Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Shard of Glass”. [...]

By: Dave (aka Nev the Deranged)

Dave (aka Nev the Deranged) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:53:42 +0000

Hm. I liked this story, although the ending would have made more sense if it had been made previously clear that she could actually pass through the glass physically- although I suppose that might have been a bit blatant as foreshadowing goes.

Well read, although a bit quiet- I had to keep turning it up to hear the narrator’s soft voice, although it suited the character very well.

By: Natasha

Natasha — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:22:11 +0000

Oops, “the shard WASN’T as integrated…blah blah blah.” Forgive my typo, please.

By: Natasha

Natasha — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:24:25 +0000

I enjoyed the story, but felt quite unsatisfied at the end. Well, not quite the end, but just beforehand. After all the buildup - the running, the fear, the close calls - after all that, the conclusion with the Bad Guy was too short and felt perfunctorily tacked-on. It almost felt like story was written without that character, and then he was tacked on afterward by means of a paragraph added here, one there, just to give the main characters a reason to run.

I agree with a previous poster that the shard was as integrated and integral to the story as it could have been. I, however, really liked the racial dynamics at play - I have to say, it’s a rare fantasy story told through the voice of a woman (or girl) of colour, and I thought it was well done.

I enjoyed the story as I was listening to it (it was really well read), but it ultimately left me unsatisfied.

By: Reed

Reed — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:11:28 +0000

This story didn’t do much for me. The main plot - evil politician, basically kind, but weak father, mother and illegitimate daughter from oppressed race on the run - felt quite blunt. The power of the shard wasn’t woven into the story so very well and not much explored.
It was okay to listen to, but… *shrugs*

By: scatterbrain

scatterbrain — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:14:58 +0000

This is an example of magic realism at its best: an engrossing story with subtle fantastique elements layered with human drama and exotic locale. My only disapointment was the ending, which could have been pulled off far better and in a way that reflected the story more as a whole.

By: Tori

Tori — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 08:02:11 +0000

I just have to echo what epilonious wrote. Loved the reading. Loved the story.

By: My voice acting debut; first person angst at the Magic District at Epiphany 2.0

My voice acting debut; first person angst at the Magic District at Epiphany 2.0 — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:05:59 +0000

[...] at PodCastle, I’m reading Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Shard of Glass”. I had a cold while I was reading most of it, and kept having to pause/edit the recording to cough, [...]

By: epilonious

epilonious — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:19:03 +0000

Probably one of the most beautiful and engrossing stories I’ve heard on Podcastle. It contained seimultaneously what is wonderful and terrible about humanity wrapped up within characters that were so realistic I could find them in my neighbors and friends. But the best part is that the wonderful bits won out in the end. I just loved it. I’m still emotionally engrossed an hour after it finished, and I know I’m going to want to listen to it again.

Many thanks to Alaya Dawn Johnson for writing it, to Podcastle for sharing it, and N. K. Jemison for narrating it so wonderfully.