Last week we presented the first three stories to be nominated for the Bram Stoker Awards™ in the category SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION. Today we wrap the special with the second half of the nominees. Enjoy!
Coming Up
Fiction: Home by George Saunders 01:30 (The New Yorker, June 13, 2011)
Fiction: Hypergraphia by Ken Lillie-Paetz 48:22 (The Uninvited Issue #1)
Fiction: Herman Wouk Is Still Alive by Stephen King 01:10:09 (The Atlantic Magazine, May 2011)
Narrators: Dave Robison, Simon Hildebrandt, Lawrence Santoro
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Thanks to Larry, Tony, the Authors and the Narrators for all these stories in one place. What a fine, terrifying idea. I was able to sit back, in a dark room, and just listen and enjoy. And how can I say which was Best? Just that they were all Superior.
‘Hypergraphia’ was quite challenging to narrate, because some of the tone and rhythm of the story are embodied in the formatting of the text, and is somewhat open to interpretation. I hope people enjoy the finished product, and would love to hear everyone’s feelings about how it came out.
I’d also recommend taking a look at the print version if you get a chance – it’s a real work of art, with Ken Lillie-Paetz’s text embroidered with illustrations by the talented Fiona Staples.
The only place I found it is in issue #1 of The Univited – which isn’t terribly helpful if, like me, you don’t have an iPad. Luckily Steven G. Saunders mentions in his blog that an Android version is coming – and even included these two images from the story.
Thank you, Marty. Glad you enjoyed.
Just finished listening to “Home” and it reminds me very much of “Chair” in that I kept telling myself I didn’t like the story, I’d stop listening, fast forward, I didn’t like it, why am I still listening?
What an incredible piece! And the narration only added to the depth of the tale, teh raw gritty tone, the loneliness and occasional confusion. What engaged me all the more is that here is a tale of real life horror. There are no supernatural elements, no “monsters” per se, only families, dysfunctional or otherwise, and a man chained to a past he didn’t want and can’t escape.
Thank you for your service, TALES TO TERRIFY.
Sandra
Tales to Terrify has an item in the News section of Stephen King’s website. The notice says:
“Herman Wouk is Still Alive on Tales To Terrify
March 26th, 2012 1:19:36 pm
TalesToTerrify.com has posted a podcast that features readings of several nominees for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction. Lawrence Santoro provides a fantastic reading of Stephen’s Herman Wouk is Still Alive at the 1 hour and 10 minute mark. Enjoy!
http://talestoterrify.com/tales-to-terrify-no-10-bram-stoker-awards-special-part-2/
In actual fact we played ALL of the Bram Stoker nominees in the Superior Achievement in Short Fiction category but there we have it.
I have to confess that after last week’s episode I believed that Kaarron Warren’s ‘All You Can Do Is Breathe’ would be a shoe-in for my favourite of Stoker nominees. A few days after listening to this episode, I’m not sure. In fact, added to the last three entries I find it near to impossible to position any of the four above the others. They all have their charms and the readings did full justice to the material. I think I liked the middle tale, Hypergraphia, a notch less than I did the others, yet I fully expect it will rise in my estimation on a second listen given its nature. Trying to decide on the ‘best’ one has been a knot of a problem to untangle and its made me appreciate the work of people who have to this professionally. There’s so much to take into consideration. I really responded to the humour of ‘Home’ with its repetition of the vapid, knee-jerk nicety of “Thank you for your service”. It articulated so much of feelings toward a certain strain of contemporary U.S. culture, or at least how I view it, admittedly imperfectly, as an outsider, and the tone of the satire just connected to my funny bone at exactly the right angle, which is a rare thing. That said, for all its anger and brilliance it probably fell short of the requirements of a ‘horror’ story – that wasn’t the direction it was ultimately aiming for, IMO. ‘Herman Wouk Is Still Alive’, which I’d class as swimming in similar waters to ‘Home’, was written just as masterfully (and what else would you expect from Stephen King?) and so in conclusion I suppose it would be my personal pick of the bunch – if only by a nose.
I’ve told Dave, but I’ll say here too: Dave did a fantastic job narrating for “Home.” I laughed out loud numerous times. Simon and Lawrence did well too, but Dave… great job, man!
Tim:
On Dave’s narration of “Home” I cannot agree more.
a0a0a0a0a0a0 This review is from: Dracula was not the first vamipre novel, nor was it Bram Stoker’s first book. But after years of research, Stoker managed to craft the ultimate vamipre novel, which has spawned countless movies, spinoffs, and books that follow the blueprint of the Transylvanian count. Real estate agent Jonathan Harker arrives in Transylvania, to arrange a London house sale to Count Dracula. But as the days go by, Harker witnesses increasingly horrific events, leading him to believe that Dracula is not actually human. His fiancee Mina arrives in Transylvania, and finds that he has been feverish. Meanwhile the count has vanished. And soon afterwards, strange things happen: a ship piloted by a dead man crashes on the shore, after a mysterious thing killed the crew. A lunatic talks about Him coming. And Mina’s pal Lucy dies of mysterious blood loss, only to come back as an undead seductress. Dracula has arrived in England and he’s not going to be stopped easily. Dracula is the grandaddy is Lestat and Jean-Claude, but that isn’t the sole reason why it is a classic. It’s also incredibly atmospheric, and very well-written. Not only is it very freaky, in an ornate Victorian style, but it is also full of restrained, quiet horror and creepy eroticism. What’s more, it’s shaped the portrayal of vamipres in movies and books, even to this day. Despite already knowing what’s going on for the first half of the book, it’s actually kind of creepy to see these people whose lives are being disrupted by Dracula, but don’t know about vamipres. It’s a bit tempting to yell It’s a vamipre, you idiots! every now and then, but you can’t really blame them. Then the second half kicks in, with accented professor Van Helsing taking our heroes on a quest to save Mina from Dracula. And along the way, while our heroes try to figure stuff out, Stoker spins up all these creepy hints of Dracula’s arrival. Though he wrote in the late 19th-century manner, very verbose and a bit stuffy, his skill shines through. The book is crammed with intense, evocative language, with moments like Dracula creeping down a wall, or the dead captain found tied to the wheel. Once read, they stick in your mind throughout the book. It’s also a credit to Stoker that he keeps his characters from seeming like idiots or freaks, which they could have easily seemed like. Instead, he puts little moments of humanity in them, like Van Helsing admitting that his wife is in an asylum. Even the letters and diaries are written in different styles; for example, Seward’s is restrained and analytical, while Mina’s is exuberant and bright. Intelligent, frightening and very well-written, Dracula is the well-deserved godfather of all modern vamipre books and movies and arguably among the best.
Aloha Terror Tribe!
Oh my…. Larry, was this a “horror” pod cast? These are the best of the new horror stories? These are fine writing examples of character studies… but horror stories? Sure?
Where are the hoards of rats? The vampires? The cosmic nameless terrors?
Sorry, I don’t get it…. (Stephen King… the king of droning on and on and on and on… )
I’m gonna go back and listen to Vincent Price in 3 Skeleton Key!
Terror Tribe – I apologize for my rude critic. I was harsh. These writers are all very talented. Extremely talented. The stories are all very well written. It’s just that I’m not a big fan of psychological horror, and, when I read horror tend to I want a supernatural element. I like Weird Fiction. I like Pulp. I like Bradbury and Lovecraft, and Howard and Poe. I crave an escape into a nightmare with real monsters.
Goodness knows, the world is filled with real monsters, but all of them are human.
I just want to read about the pretend ones.