Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The Apokalypsis Pentaptych

"The Apokalypsis Pentaptych"

Music provided by Nine Inch Nails, and is used with permission.

Listen (13:25) | Subscribe

"The Apokalypsis Pentaptych" is copyright © 2008 by Jason Erik Lundberg, and is made available through a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Originally published in the "Journaling the Apocalypse" issue of Qarrtsiluni.

Creative Commons License

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Appoggiatura, Part 20: Vivisepulture

"Vivisepulture"

Part 20 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (8:00) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 19: Vignette

"Vignette"

Part 19 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (6:42) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 18: Transept

"Transept"

Part 18 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (5:09) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 17: Sycophant

"Sycophant"

Part 17 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (7:30) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 16: Smaragdine

"Smaragdine"

Part 16 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:21) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 15: Semaphore

"Semaphore"

Part 15 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (6:43) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 14: Psoriasis

"Psoriasis"

Part 14 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:35) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 13: Pococurante

"Pococurante"

Part 13 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:30) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 12: Macerate

"Macerate"

Part 12 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (7:04) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 11: Lyceum

"Lyceum"

Part 11 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:17) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 10: Logorrhea

"Logorrhea"

Part 10 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:22) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 9: Insouciant

"Insouciant"

Part 9 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (3:36) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 8: Euonym

"Euonym"

Part 8 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (6:27) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 7: Eudaemonic

"Eudaemonic"

Part 7 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (3:00) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 6: Elegiacal

"Elegiacal"

Part 6 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (5:38) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 5: Eczema

"Eczema"

Part 5 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (5:55) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 4: Dulcimer

"Dulcimer"

Part 4 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (2:56) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 3: Chiaroscuro

"Chiaroscuro"

Part 3 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (5:48) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 2: Cambist

"Cambist"

Part 2 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:21) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Appoggiatura, Part 1: Autochthonous

"Autochthonous"

Part 1 of a 20-part special presentation podcast.

Music provided by The Church, and is used with permission.

Listen (4:13) | Subscribe

"Appoggiatura" is copyright © 2007 by Jeff VanderMeer, and is made available through a Creative Commons License. Originally published in Logorrhea, an anthology edited by John Klima and published by Bantam Spectra.

Creative Commons License

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Special Episode #2

A final update before the big move to Singapore.

Listen (8:43) | Subscribe

End of line.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Hiatus

This will be the last episode for a little while. I need a break, at least for a month. So I'm going on a podcast hiatus at least until November, so I can focus on writing. Teaching eats into so much of my writing time anyway, and my progress has dropped to astoundingly low levels.

So I'll be back hopefully in November with the start of Series 3. I'll have more fiction and reviews, as well as a guest story by Hal Duncan and a guest review by Mark Teppo. Hope to talk at y'all then.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Series 2, Episode 10: One Less

Literary Reading

"One Less"
   —Publication in Americana, February 2005

"I've never seen you before! Go away!" Cory slammed the door in my face. The chain made scraping noises as it rattled against the door. I stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, knowing she could see me through the peephole. I couldn't believe it. Of all the people, I thought Cory would be the one person who I could talk to about all this, and she didn't know me either. I walked down the stairs to my car; the space I had parked in was now occupied by a rusty VW Beetle. On the hood, Plymouth stood on all stubby fours, a plush hood ornament.

"Why are you still here?" he asked.

The tips of my fingers and earlobes tingled. I shivered despite the heat as the hairs on the nape of my neck prickled.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"To find out why you weren't erased with the others," he said, matter-of-fact. "You should have disappeared in a blink, instead of this fading-away mess. What makes you so special?"

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (25:21) | Subscribe

End of line.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Series 2, Episode 09: The King's Last Song (review)

Book Review



The King's Last Song by Geoff Ryman
   —Publication by HarperCollins UK, March 2006
Very quickly, as they buzz past buses and women in stalls and lunchtime workers on their way back to the bank or telegraph office, Arn lifts himself up onto his knees, turns around over the back of the seat, and pecks a kiss on Luc's cheek.

He plainly could not help it. Luc doesn't blame him. Arn was overcome. But Luc does not know what to make of it. In the end, he decides to pity. His friend could not help it, but he got over-excited, he is from a different culture, and you have to be aware of imposing Western meanings. It was a familial kiss...

No it wasn't.

(Full text review here.)

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (5:13) | Subscribe

End of line.

Series 2, Episode 08: Capriole

Literary Reading

"Capriole" [Read]
He stood in the courtyard dominated by ancient oaks, and waited for something to happen. His index finger tingled slightly. In a nearby tree was the fluorescent orange frisbee that he had accidentally planted there the week before in his overzealous throwing (his father had just clucked his tongue and said, "Well that's that, then"). Tristram thought about the word on the inside of his ring, the word in direct contact with his skin, and he jumped.

It was an unremarkable jump, maybe a foot from the ground, but he could have sworn that he had hung at the apex for just a hair longer than normal. He jumped again, and this time he was certain. He jumped again and again, his height and hang time increasing with each attempt, his landings soft, as if cushioned. He couldn't believe it. Up and up and up, as if using an exponential pogo stick, laughing with the joy of it, jumping high enough to reach the upper branches of the oak tree, and then snagging the frisbee with ease.

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (8:14) | Subscribe

End of line.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Series 2, Episode 07: Shriek: An Afterword (review)

Book Review



Shriek: An Afterword by Jeff VanderMeer [Read extracts and deleted scenes]
   —Publication by Pan Macmillan, January 2006
   —Publication by Tor Books, August 2006
There came a night so terrible that no one ever dared to name it. There came a night so terrible that I could not. There came a night so terrible that no one could explain it. There came the most terrible of nights. No, that's not right, either. There came the most terrible of nights that could not be forgotten, or forgiven, or even named. That's closer, but sometimes I choose not to revise. Let it be raw and awkward splayed across the page, as it was in life.

Words would later be offered up like "atrocity," "massacre," and "madness," but I reject those words. They did not, could not, cannot contain what they need to contain.

Could we have known? Could we have wrenched our attention from our more immediate concerns long enough to understand the warning signs? Now, of course, it all seems clear enough. Duncan had said the war could not continue in the same way for long, and he was right.


(Full text review here.)

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (7:32) | Subscribe

End of line.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Series 2, Episode 06: Flight Is For Those Who Have Not Yet Crossed Over

Literary Reading

"Flight Is For Those Who Have Not Yet Crossed Over" by Jeff VanderMeer [Read]
   —Publication in The Third Alternative no. 17, 1998
   —Reprint in Infinity Plus, 1999
   —Reprint in Secret Life, Golden Gryphon Books, 2004
D'Souza loses his balance, slides slowly down the bars, into the darkness of the floor.

"Take a message to my wife or do not take a message to my wife..."

And then, in a self-mocking tone: "It truly does not matter. I have dreamed of flying to her myself, you know. Flying over this country of El Toreador. My arms are like wings and I can feel the wind cool against my face. All the stars are out and there are no clouds. Such a clear, clean darkness. It seems almost a miracle, such clarity...Below me I can make out the shapes of banana plantations and textile factories. I can tell the green of the rainforest from that of the pampas. I see the ruins of the Maya and the shapes of mountains, distant...and yet when I wake I am still here, in my cell, and I know I am lost."

D'Souza looks up at Gabriel, the whites of his eyes gleaming through the broken mask of his face and says, "My wife's name is Maria D'Souza. When I have died, you must tell her so she can come for my body."

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (39:24) | Subscribe

End of line.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Promo: City of Saints and Madmen

Promo

In lieu of an episode this week, I give you an audio promo that I did for the Bantam release of Jeff VanderMeer's City of Saints and Madmen. Enjoy.

Music by Robert Devereux

Listen (1:04) | Subscribe

End of line.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Series 2, Episode 05: Bangkok 8 (review)

Book Review



Bangkok 8 by John Burdett [Read extract]
   —Publication by Knopf, June 2003
   —Reprint by Vintage, July 2004
There are several inches of slack within which every car can shunt, and our colleagues show considerable skill and cunning in making a space. In no time at all I am able to drive up onto the sidewalk, where the siren terrorizes the pedestrians. Pichai grins. I am skilled at very dangerous driving from the days when we used to take drugs and steal cars together, a golden age which came to an end when Pichai murdered our yaa baa dealer and we had to seek refuge in the Three Jewels of the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha. There will be time in this chronicle to explain yaa baa.

[...]

We are very happy. Sabai means feeling good and sanuk means having fun. We are both as we race toward the bridge in demonic haste, with Pichai chanting in Pali, the ancient language of the Gautama Buddha, for protection from accidents. He asks also of the Buddhist saints that we do not accidentally kill anyone who does not deserve it, a touchy point with Pichai.

Krung Thep means City of Angels, but we are happy to call it Bangkok if it helps to separate a farang from his money.


(Full text review here.)

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (9:08) | Subscribe

End of line.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Series 2, Episode 04: One Big Crunch

Literary Reading

"One Big Crunch" [Read]
   —Publication in OPi8: New Dark Culture, July 2005
Dashed yellow lines strobe past in my headlights, rolling to the left under the car, dividing the asphalt into neat little lanes. The trees flash by in the darkness, blurred purgatory grey. I pull the Mustang out of my lane, line up those pulsing yellow dashes dead center in my grille. I edge the wheel to the left, back to the right, taunting, teasing. The beltline around Raleigh, North Carolina is desolate at 3 a.m., free of witnesses. White Zombie roars out of the speakers: ". . . eye for an eye and a tooth for the truth . . ." I nose the Mustang past sixty, past seventy, past eighty. I’m all over the road now.

Flashing blue lights appear behind me and I smile.

Caution: contains some adult material and potentially disturbing imagery

Music by Cargo Cult

Listen (26:09) | Subscribe

End of line.