It’s been a busy week for me this week. Especially since we have a new General Manager, who officially joined us on the the first day of the month. The first thing our new GM did was to have a 1-to-1 meeting with each and EVERY one of us. He even prepared a set of questions which he expected us to answer during our individual sessions. It feel horribly like a job interview. Yuck!
From another perspective, this was also a good chance for us to feedback what we felt need to be improved. After the merger last year, things have gone pretty much topsy-turvy in the company. Most of the sales/pre-sales/customer service staff have left. It is rather depressing to see co-workers leave the company one by one. Especially those of who I’ve been working with closely since joining the company more than 4 years ago. Some of our most senior staff (in terms of service years) have resigned. Hopefully, the new GM will improve the state of things around here.
I mentioned last week that I’ll be reviewing some podcast novels that I’m currently subscribed to. If you’re new to the concept of novels in podcast format, please read my previous post regarding podcast novels.
Before we begin, here’s a disclaimer:Some of the novels featured here contain mature situations, language and violence.
If you enjoyed playing Cluedo, you’ll probably enjoy Murder at Avedon Hill (rss) by P.G. Holyfield. As the title suggests, the story revolves around a murder mystery which took place on Avedon Hill. Gretta Platt, the housekeeper of the Avedon Manor, has been murdered. Arames Kragen, retired Aarronic Advisor and scholar of prophecy, offers to help find the murderer, in exchange for access to the mountain pass. In the process, he also uncovers the truth about a town that apparently has more secrets than inhabitants. Unlike the podcast novels that I’ve previously reviewed, this novel is presented much like an audio drama, where many fellow podcasters/authors lend their voices and dramatic talent. The plot gets thicker as the story unfolds. I’m often kept at the edge of my seat guessing who the real murderer is.
Another podcast novel involving multiple voice talents is The Metamor City Podcast (rss) by Chris Lester. The podcast consists of short stories as well as full-length novels. The stories occur within Metamor City, a high-magic, high-technology setting, an epic fantasy world projected into the near future. Metamor City reminds me of X-Men, but it really is much more than that. It’s almost like a big reunion of sci-fi characters. Habitants of this magical futeristic world include vampires, telepaths, werewolves, androgynes, magicians, and of course normal, non-magical humans (a.k.a “mundies”)
If you prefer a story that’s slightly “closer to reality”, you might like to try The Takeover (rss) by Mur Lafferty. The story revolves a takeover/merger of 2 companies, and how it’s affected the employees of both sides. The catch is, one of the companies involved are a bunch of zombies! At the same time, the human employees realize that to climb up the corporate ladder, you’ll have to be willing to turn into a zombie. Oh my! Talk about working yourself to death! If you enjoy The Takeover, you might also want to check out Mur’s many other podcasts at Murverse.com, or simply subscribe to her catch-all feed here to enjoy all the Mur goodness.
Meanwhile, fans of J.C. Hutchins‘ 7th Son Trilogy will be glad to know that J.C. is back with 7th Son: Obsidian, an short-story anthology series based on the fictional universe of the 7th Son Trilogy. Contributors to this world’s first-ever anthology podcast includes A-List podcasters as well as fans from around the world. Definitely worth checking out!
If you enjoy having famous voices read stories to you, I’m sure you’ll also love SteamPod (rss) by Chris Moody. SteamPod is a podcast about what is going on in the world of SteamPunk, a publication that is dedicated to promoting steampunk as a culture, as more than a sub-category of fiction. It is a journal of fashion, music, misapplied technology and chaos, and fiction.
That’s all for now. I hope you’ll enjoy the selection of podcast novels I’ve reviewed for you. Meanwhile, God bless!
Tags: fiction, life, musings, Podcasts, podiobooks, Reviews
Hey Neko! Thanks so much for mentioning 7th Son: OBSIDIAN in your blog post! That’s extremely generous, and I’m thrilled you’re enjoying the anthology.
Actually, OBSIDIAN isn’t the first podfiction anthology — that distinction goes to “Voices,” edited by Mur Lafferty in 2005 — but OBSIDIAN certainly is the first pod-anthology to be set in an existing fictional universe.
Thanks so much for support and evangelism. You ROCK!
Hey J.C.! Thanks for dropping by! This is SO cool! The first time I posted about podcast novels, the FDO himself, Scott Sigler left a note. And this time, the FDO’s nemesis. 2 of my all-time favorite podcast novelists! Wow!
BTW, LOVE the great work you’ve done with 7th Son! I really enjoyed the Ultra Creatives series too! You’ve introduced me to so many more creative talents in the pod-o-sphere.
Meanwhile, looking forward to seeing more of OBSIDIAN, as well as your other upcoming projects. Keep up the good work!
PS: Say “Hi!” to Kilroy for me, won’t you? Oh, and the John Alpha running for president? Is he the original Alpha or the one Psyjacked with Kilroy’s memory?
- Jasmine
Hi Neko! Just wanted to echo JC on this — I definitely appreciate you helping to spread the word about Metamor City. Glad you’re enjoying the show!
Oh my! I must’ve done something good to deserve this. Chris Lester of Metamor City fame! Another one of my favorites! W00t!
Love ur podcast Chris! Keep up the good work!
Meanwhile, I shall cross my fingers and see if P.G. Holyfield might drop by. Or perhaps the “uber-nemesis” himself, Tee Morris, will want to give me a piece of his mind?
- Jasmine
Ask and ye shall receive. It was very nice to see my podcast listed above these other guys… that might be a first.
And the uber-nemesis probably won’t be stopping by anytime soon… he’s a little busy with Giganto right now.
Oh boy! You KNOW you’ve done it when THREE of the BEST out there leave a comment on your one little blog post! You guys have really made my day, I feel really flattered.
Great work you’re doing there P.G., both on MaAH and on Pip’s Chasing the Bard! Love that little uber-nemesis teaser you did with Chris and Pip. Meanwhile, go easy on that Tee guy won’t you? I mean.. “squeal like a pig”?
Poking head in alongside the others. Thanks for the awesome post, you have excellent taste in podiobooks!
*gasp* The DIVA is here! Woah!
Love your stuff Mur! And you have SUCH a soothing voice.
Hope you recover from your hard disk crash soon. Looking forward to the next episode of The Takeover.