Original Fiction – One Small, Valuable Thing

[Chris Lackey]

One phrase will undo them both!

How is that different than the rest of us?

Who says we have happy endings?

[Bob Lovecraft]

Ok, so I just got a chance to listen to this one (I've been a little busy this last weekend), and I have to say that I really enjoyed the reading. When I listen to an audio reading of any sort, I want to hear the emotions of the characters and the atmosphere of the piece projected in the reader's voice. Chad certainly did that. Chad's characters were believable and I found myself sympathizing with them every step of the way. An all-around good production backing an all-around good story.

I loved the scene (as it seems everyone else does, too) of the old man "scenting" the robbery/interaction with his treasure. It totally harkens back to "The Thing in the Moonlight" which is one of my favorite little vignettes of HPL's. The fact that the main character had died at some point in the story, however, escaped me when I listened to it. As I said, I've been busy lately and i was listening to this while otherwise engaged, so that might explain it. But it was a little bit of a lurch when it is revealed. It was obvious that the girl was brought back Charles Ward style, but I think that maybe if people had not read that story beforehand, that they would not really have known what was going on with that. I certainly don't think it would have ruined the story for them, but a little exposition from the old man might have been nice. I do love a villainous monologue, and so did HPL.

So overall, a great listen, and one I will repeat frequently. I'm wondering though, when will we hear Chris' contribution to the book audioized?

Bob

[Inner Prop]

I don't know, the way he sort of snuck that in made me feel a little like I was in on the private joke. I noticed right away that the car crash broke his back and when he got hit with the shotgun ala Death Becomes Her I thought it was pretty clear, but not stated explicitly.  I thought it was nice, zombie, but nice.

I have to wonder though, Chad is such a good actor that I don't know how much was really in the writing and how much was in the reading.  I know that when I read something to someone they almost never fail to "get it" while when they read it sometimes things are confusing.

[Graf von Altenberg Ehrenstein]

So overall, a great listen, and one I will repeat frequently. I'm wondering though, when will we hear Chris' contribution to the book audioized?

Bob

Right, since we already have two Fifers now (depressive Cuthulu was great!) it would be time for a Lackey.

[Genus Unknown]

I really enjoyed it. I haven't read much old pulp stuff (aside from the weird stuff, if that counts as "pulp fiction") so instead of any particular 1930s writer, it struck me as a mashup of Lovecraft and Quentin Tarantino.

I guess what I'm saying is: not enough in-depth discussion of pop culture trivia. Step it up, Fifer.

[Vulpine]

It took a little while to get going, but then it was quite good.  Looking forward to the collection, and any future stories you might be cajoled into sharing.

[Bob Lovecraft]

One of these days I will get a Kindle, and then I will DL a ton of the books that have been referenced on this show. I am REALLY looking forward to that day.

Bob

[Yojimbo]

So let's go over the references. Chris and Chad mention how jam-packed the story was in the latest podcast, and while I noticed a lot, I hesitate to call it "packed" - so I assume I missed a lot.

Anyway, I recognized:

The Haunter in the Dark
The Thing in the Moonlight
The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward

And that's it. What else was in there?

[Graf von Altenberg Ehrenstein]

They `re trying to steal that thing from a quite Terrible old Man and find themselves in a situation similar to the one Randolf Carter describes in his Statement. Although Chad was wise enough to ommit the phrase "You fool, Grace is dead!"
Hm. Alonzo Typer `s Diary has those odd family portraits like the ones Grace sees in that house.

[LambethWarp]

I listened to this last night - really enjoyed it overall. I don't think it suffered from being too 'conversational' in tone; it's told from the 1st-person POV of a 23-year-old (ex-)soldier, not some fusty old antiquarian or Ivy League professor like your typical HPL protagonist. I liked the bits where he's really losing it for a moment and having traumatic war flashbacks.

The main explicitly Lovecraftian element I got was the weird glowing stone, which of course is straight out of The Haunter Of The Dark. The bit where the old man's head gets blown off and this obscene, rubbery, worm-like appendage starts to emerge from the gaping neck wound really reminded me of a scene in Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murukami - anyone here know that story? Very weird and fucked-up, quite Lovecraftian in tone overall I would say, in a magic-realist sort of way.

I enjoyed Chad's reading of it and thought he got the emotional tones of voice pretty much spot on, especially the awful moment when he finds his girlfriend hanged in their grotty little apartment. The real menace built up in the first half of the story seemed to give way to balls-to-the-wall zombie/shotgun action towards the end but then I guess it is in an anthology called 'Shotguns vs. Cthulhu'...

[Cacodaemoniacal]

Who says we have happy endings?

Then maybe it's the fact that there is an end that's the happy part.

I have to wonder though, Chad is such a good actor that I don't know how much was really in the writing and how much was in the reading.  I know that when I read something to someone they almost never fail to "get it" while when they read it sometimes things are confusing.

I think it's also that when the tone is "conversational" it's not just the best acting (although there's that) but the best writing. In what I thought were its weakest parts, the narration was overly style and rule conscious. When he relaxes into (or permits it to survive editing) an informal and conversational tone is when his real narrative talent shines out--as distinct from the idea behind the story.

It's like how in Fight Club (movie) the main character is dealing though sarcasm and humor.and.it's.not.working. If you use humor to deal--like a lot of the people I know do--that's scary. It's a step darker than the implications of tentacles whipping up out of people's necks even.

[YoungDanforth]

I really enjoyed the story. Better than most "Mythos Fiction".

I've already pre-purchased "Shotguns v. Cthulhu".

I prefer the Benelli M4 myself.


Regards,
YD