All I can say is that funny is hard...
Jun. 21st, 2011 09:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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<a href="http://podcastle.org/>PodCastle</a>'s latest story is <a href="http://podcastle.org/2011/06/21/podcastle-162-gods-of-the-north/">Gods of the North</a>. Robert E. Howard! Conan! Mighty thewed warriors (but clad in mail)! Blood! Death! Smiting! Overheated poetic language! A naked woman. Lots and lots of description of said naked woman. Even when she's not on stage, we're still obsessing over the naked woman. He's running through the snowfields and what Howard describes is the naked woman.
I don't know if I can enjoy this story in anything but an ironic way. This is probably not the way Howard meant for me to take it. Still, I laughed... a lot. (I might have enjoyed it more without the naked woman obsession though.)
<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/">Lightspeed</a>'s latest story is <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/transcript-of-interaction-between-astronaut-mike-scudderman-and-the-onstar-hands-free-a-i-crash-advisor/">Transcript of Interaction Between Astronaut Mike Scudderman and the OnStar Hands-Free A.I. Crash Advisor</a> by Grady Hendrix. For me, the title gives away the entire story. If you don't catch it at the title, the prologue before the transcript proper spells it out. Since I could catch practically everything as it came, the story wasn't all that funny. The jokes didn't build. They just iterated.
Also, the Apple joke is really tired. Please whip a different horse to death. (Note: Totally not saying "don't make fun of Apple." I'm just tired of this specific Apple joke. As you know Bob, jokes are much funnier when they are fresh and inventive.)
That said, I can see why Lightspeed published it. The writing shows lots of skill and someone who doesn't see the jokes coming would probably find them funny. Me, I found the jokes self-congratulatory in the sense of "Aren't I, the reader, clever in getting all of these very explicit references?" OTOH, self-congratulation can make you feel good about yourself.
There are at least several ways one can take the way the story skewers genre. I didn't think much of it, but there may be subtleties I'm missing. For all I know, the story may be a work of post-modern, deconstructive genius.
In any case, it's only about 12 minutes long. Even if you hate it with a passion (which I didn't), it's over with before you know it.
I don't know if I can enjoy this story in anything but an ironic way. This is probably not the way Howard meant for me to take it. Still, I laughed... a lot. (I might have enjoyed it more without the naked woman obsession though.)
<a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/">Lightspeed</a>'s latest story is <a href="http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/transcript-of-interaction-between-astronaut-mike-scudderman-and-the-onstar-hands-free-a-i-crash-advisor/">Transcript of Interaction Between Astronaut Mike Scudderman and the OnStar Hands-Free A.I. Crash Advisor</a> by Grady Hendrix. For me, the title gives away the entire story. If you don't catch it at the title, the prologue before the transcript proper spells it out. Since I could catch practically everything as it came, the story wasn't all that funny. The jokes didn't build. They just iterated.
Also, the Apple joke is really tired. Please whip a different horse to death. (Note: Totally not saying "don't make fun of Apple." I'm just tired of this specific Apple joke. As you know Bob, jokes are much funnier when they are fresh and inventive.)
That said, I can see why Lightspeed published it. The writing shows lots of skill and someone who doesn't see the jokes coming would probably find them funny. Me, I found the jokes self-congratulatory in the sense of "Aren't I, the reader, clever in getting all of these very explicit references?" OTOH, self-congratulation can make you feel good about yourself.
There are at least several ways one can take the way the story skewers genre. I didn't think much of it, but there may be subtleties I'm missing. For all I know, the story may be a work of post-modern, deconstructive genius.
In any case, it's only about 12 minutes long. Even if you hate it with a passion (which I didn't), it's over with before you know it.
