The Audio File: Residents of Proserpina Park: Season 5

By now, it should be pretty obvious that I love Residents of Proserpina Park. I mean, I was a voice actor in two previous seasons. So, there’s really not much more to add here. Straight to the point. We’re taking a look at season five of Residents of Proserpina Park. 

This is the flashback arc. The framing device is that Alina and the gang are at the coffee shop that Drew works at. Jessica and Sam are telling stories. They talk about how Junichi and Jessica discovered the park. They talk about the adventures they had with various creatures. They talk about how Junichi and Sam fell in love. But most of all, they talk about how they decided to make their own creation. And of the price they paid for their hubris.

So, this is the season where we finally get answers to long standing questions. Let’s start with the new creatures. Now, way back in season two, we were promised a creature from regional folklore. Sara Roncero-Menendez, who voices dog, mentioned that her family is from the Cantabria religion of northern Spain. It has Celtic heritage, and a slightly different culture from the rest of Spain. This also factors into their folklore.

We did get the Tooth Mouse, which is the equivalent of the Tooth Fairy in a lot of European countries. But that didn’t really feel specific to Cantabria. Well, come season five, and the promise is finally delivered. We get to meet the Ramidreju. It looks like a green weasel, and its nose is exceptionally good at sniffing our buried gold. They’re only born once every 100 years, usually to a family of ordinary weasels. Oh, and they can cure any illness you have. You just need to rub the Ramidreju all over your body.

Okay, now we’re talking! And what’s more, it even proved to be important to the overall plot of the season. It was encountering the Ramidreju that gives Junichi, Jessica, and Sam the idea to create their own creature. Specifically, one that can grant their wishes, and make their lives easier.

I’d been advocating having the leshy appear as far back as season one. Well, I finally got my wish this season. Leshy are forest spirits, and protectors of the forest, from Slavic Mythology. Think of them kind of like the Ents from Lord of the Rings. Residents of Proserpina Park showed a side of the leshy I hadn’t thought about before. You see, houses are made of wood, boats are made of wood, baseball bats are made of wood…sometimes. The point is, a lot of very hard things, and things that can do a lot of damage, are made of wood. An angry leshy would be a very scary sight indeed.

I was also quite happy that we got to hear the Legend of the White Snake. It is one of my favorite stories from Chinese Mythology. It’s about a magical snake who falls in love with a human, and takes the form of a human so she can be with him. They open a medicine shop together, and all is well, until a mean Buddhist monk comes along. He revealed the White Snake’s true nature, and her husband died of shock. She was able to bring him back to life, but then the monk sealed her away, and they were separated forever.

There’s a subtext to this story that often gets missed in retellings. It came from a time when Buddhist and Taoists were competing for influence in China. Obviously, White Snake is a pro-Taoist tale. The main villain is a Buddhist monk, after all. But from this same era, we also have Journey to the West. In that work, the main heroes are on a quest to retrieve copies of the Tripitaka, and they’re sent by Buddha himself no less. Well, Buddha and Guan Yin. By contrast, Laozi, the founder of Taoism, is portrayed as a total moron who fails to notice that many of his students are literally demons.

We also get to hear the story of Stingy Jack. He was a man so wicked that neither Heaven nor Hell wanted him. As a result, he was forced to wander the Earth, with only a turnip lantern to light his way. Irish immigrants brought this story with them when they moved to the United States. But they swapped the turnips for pumpkins. And that’s where jack o’ lanterns came from. I bring this up because The Moonlit Road, another podcast I absolutely adore, also did a retelling of Stingy Jack. And they released it around the time Residents of Proserpina Park’s episode came out. It was an amusing parallel.

Another amusing coincidence came with the cast for this season. One of the Aos Si is voiced by Cameron Gergett. I had previously cast him in The Books of Thoth. He came recommended by the creator of Brave New Frontiersman. Specifically, I cast him as the homeless man in “It Was the Best Day Ever.” It was the first time I had encountered one of my actors in an audio drama that I hadn’t previously heard them in.

The Aos Si are one of the many names for the faeries from Irish Folklore. But don’t let that fool you. Faeries in Irish Folklore are kind of the yokai from Japanese Folklore. They’re kind of like minor gods. In some tellings, they’re descended from the Tuatha Dé Danann, the gods of Irish Mythology. In other words, the Aos Si are not something you want to mess with.

We also get more insight into Jessica and Junichi. Jessica spent most of her life as an outcast, and a frequent target of bullying. Junichi and Sam were pretty much the only friends she ever really had. One of her goals with Pelu is hoping that he’ll be able to give her more friends. We also learn that Sam lost his mom to cancer fairly recently. I mean…wow. Is Sam ever going to catch a break?

I also noticed some interesting parallels to other works of fiction. Yes, there’s an obvious one to Frankenstein. A group of college students focusing more on if they can do something, rather than if they should, and paying the price. But I also noticed parallels to The Magicians by Lev Grossman. For those who don’t know, it follows a young man named Quentin Coldwater who is accepted into a magical college called Brakebills. He learns magic, makes friends, goes to a Narnia-esque land…and deals with depression, anxiety, insecurity, and general ennui. Yeah, the books are a deconstruction of both Harry Potter and Narnia.

The second book in the series, The Magician King, has a plotline the follows The Hedge Witches. They had magical potential, but failed the Brakebills entrance exam. So, they start experimenting with magic on their own. And much of that experimenting also involves digging into ancient mythology. This ultimately culminates in them attempting to summon a pagan deity, in hopes that they can make a transaction with it. Without getting into spoilers, they learn that they’ve been messing with forces they barely understand, and pay a dear price for their hubris.

This season of Residents of Proserpina Park probably wasn’t referencing The Magicians. But it was an interesting parallel I noticed. If nothing else, you should read The Magicians if you haven’t. They are very good books.

Now, all that being said, I did also have a few critiques of this season. At times, it felt like Sam’s relationship with both Junichi and Jessica developed a tad fast. It felt like we were jumping around in time a lot, and that there was missing connective tissue. Granted, I kind of understand why this is. Angela Yih probably didn’t want to cover too much territory that she’d already done with Alina and Alina’s friends.

Then there was the episode where we finally meet Hades. We’ve met gods, such as Anansi, on previous occasions. But this is the first time we’ve encountered one of the Olympians. That’s a completely different weight class of mythical being. So, I was expecting those scenes to be fittingly grand and ominous. But when we meet him, Hades just sounds like a regular dude. It feels very underwhelming and anticlimactic. Also, the trip to meet Hades was a little underwhelming. One instant we are in the park, and then boom, we’re in the underworld. Granted, this is going to be rectified come season six.

But how would I know that? Well, Angela Yih has taken me onto the production staff for season six of Residents of Proserpina Park. I’m helping to write the scripts and produce the episodes. I’d like to thank Angela Yih for this opportunity.

I’d also like to thank Angela for helping to promote The Books of Thoth. We recorded a bonus episode of Residents of Proserpina Park where she interviewed me about this blog, reviewing audio dramas, my day job at Shreveport Aquarium, and my work on The Books of Thoth. It was really fun to get to do, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

And so, with that, we’re all caught up to the present. Season five of Residents of Proserpina Park is the flashback arc that reveals how the main plot was set into motion. We get to meet several exciting new creatures, and get some insight into returning characters.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time. 

The Audio File: Witch, Please!

I’ve caught up with the seasons of previously reviewed shows. So, now I’m trying to attend to my considerable backlog. That brings us to the subject of this review. We’re taking a look at the audio drama Witch, Please! 

Marnie is a witch who lives in a cave at the edge of the village. She’s not really evil, just kind of a mess. She’s still single even though she’s in her thirties, and that certainly won’t do. At least, that’s what everyone in her life keeps telling her. We’ll follow Marnie as she goes on blind dates, deals with nosy friends and relatives, and tries to decide if she even wants a romantic partner.

I was approached to review this audio drama by series creator Yasmine Alice. She personally emailed me. Now, I’m a bit wary about giving my email address to strangers on the internet. But there are a few places you can find it. Such as the critics list on GreatPods, or on the Residents of Proserpina Park cast page. I’m guessing the former is how Yasmine found me. But I’m willing to give it out to those who ask. You can always reach out to me on BlueSky, Reddit, or Instagram. Or leave a comment on one of my review posts.

Yasmine has founded her own media company called Baset Productions. An obvious nod to the cat goddess from Egyptian Mythology. As someone who named his own audio drama after Thoth, the god of wisdom in Egyptian Mythology, I approve. Yasmine hopes that Witch, Please! will be the first of many audio drama productions. Though, her biggest dream is to voice act in a cartoon. Yasmine has eleven years of experience providing narration for commercials and audiobooks.

Yasmine pitched the show to me by explaining that Witch, Please! was inspired by her own experiences. She had to deal with well meaning, but severely misguided, friends and family. They all assumed she was depressed and miserable due to being an unmarried woman in her thirties. She comes from a Middle Eastern family, so she excepted their objections. Though, not so much the objections of her supposedly modern and progressive friends. However, let the record state that Yasmine is now in a stable and happy relationship.

Witch, Please! kind of reminded me, in terms of tone, of Shrek! by William Steig. Yes, Shrek was in fact a picture book before it became a movie. In the book, Shrek is every bit as evil as people claim. However, ogres have a bad is good, and good is bad, sort of morality. So, Shrek is actually acting morally by his species standards. And he’s incredibly entertaining. That’s the impression I get with Marnie. She swears in the name of Satan, makes weird potions, collects toenail clippings and bat wings. However, those are all things that come naturally to witches, and Marnie doesn’t seem like a bad person. She just wants to be left alone to do her own thing.

On the other hand, she does go on a date with a warlock, who is appalled that she isn’t actively trying to summon the devil. Apparently, this is the goal of all witches and warlocks, at least according to him.

Marnie’s best friend is a fellow witch named Rosamund. She is voiced by Lucy Wordsworth. Rosamund is constantly chipper and upbeat, and seems determined to get on Marnie’s last nerve. Though, that last part is probably because she constantly tries to set Marnie up on blind dates with…less than stellar men.

I should mention that Witch, Please! is only four episodes long, and clocks in at about thirty-two minutes. So, the characters are more archetypes, rather than fully fleshed out characters. Presumably, had it been longer, we might get more insight into why Marnie and Rosamund are friends. And if Marnie even has other friends, give that Rosamund is the only one ever mentioned.

In many ways, Witch, Please! is a subversion of the typical rom com formula. You’ve got the jaded heroine who has given up on love, the bubbly best friend, the nosy relatives, the bad dates. However, in this audio drama our jaded heroine throws up her hands and says “Screw this!” to the whole affair. She never finds her Prince Charming, and that’s okay. I particularly liked when she’s getting ready for her date with the warlock. She actually combs her hair for once, puts on a nice dress and lipstick, and…laughs to herself about all the great casual sex that is surely on the way.

Though, I will say there is an alternate solution to Marnie’s problems. It is mentioned that they sell slaves at the village market. So, why doesn’t Marnie buy a slave, and get him to pretend to be her boyfriend? Hmm, on the other hand, perhaps actively engaging in slavery would be too horrible even for a witch like Marnie.

Shifting gears, Marnie is described as unkempt and perhaps a little frumpy. However, if the series title card is anything to go off of, she isn’t that bad looking. In fact, some might say she’s kind of cute. And it isn’t her being self-conscious. The other characters frequently have to remind her to comb her hair.

There is a narrator who describes the set-up of each scene for us. He is voiced by Morrison James. The narrator gives Witch, Please! a lighthearted sitcom feel to it. That said, there were a couple times I felt the narrator was a bit superfluous. Like, there were certain scenes where I could easily figure out what was going on just based on the dialogue and sound effects.

Witch, Please is pretty clearly a first attempt at making audio drama. However, for a first attempt, it is well executed. The music and sound effects are on point. The voice acting is excellent for the most part. My only complaint was that the series felt a little too short for its own good. Maybe if it were just a little longer, we could flesh out the characters more, and they’d feel less like just archetypes. Also, knowing that Yasmine wants to get into cartoons, part of me wonders if this series might be something of a pitch reel to potential investors.

Now, I would like to take a moment to talk about the ending. As such, there will be spoilers. So, this is your chance to get off the ride.

Last chance, you sure you want to keep going?

If everyone who wants off is out, then let’s get into it.

So, during Marnie’s date with the warlock, he demonstrates a necromancy spell. Marnie halfheartedly copies it, but screws up the incantation. This caused a tombstone to explode, and a chunk lodges in the warlock’s head, killing him instantly. I kind of figured that Marnie wasn’t going to find Mr. Right by the end of the series. That was just the direction the show was heading. But I certainly wasn’t expecting her to murder one of her suitors. Well, it was an accident, so that makes it manslaughter, but still. So, we end with Marnie wiping the warlock’s splattered brains off her dress, and fretting about where to hide the body.

Like I said, I wasn’t expecting it, but I loved it. Until then, the series had been a decent, if a bit predictable, rom com subversion. After I listened to the ending, I thought “Now that’s how you end a series like this!” The ending is a big part of why I wish that Witch, Please! had a few more episodes to its name. It felt like the series was really hitting its stride and finding its footing.

It doesn’t look like we’ll be getting any more episodes of Witch, Please! However, I feel that Yasmine Alice had proven herself capable of creating audio dramas. And I eagerly await to see what she’s going to cook up for us next.

So, there you have it. Witch, Please! is a semi-autobiographical fantasy non-rom-com. It flows a witch who just wants to do her own thing, and it ends with quite a bang. If you’re looking for a bite-sized audio drama, you can’t go wrong here.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Residents of Proserpina Park: Season 4

It seems like it was only yesterday that I listened to that first episode of Residents of Proserpina Park. And now, here we are. The fourth season is complete, and the fifth season is on the way. Where does the time go? Well, enough rambling, on to the main event. We’re taking a look at season four of Residents of Proserpina Park. 

Last season, Mirai took a trip to Japan in search of answer about her brother Juni. She discovered a hidden village inhabited by yokai. She also discovered Kukunochi Park, which is basically the Japanese version of Proserpina Park. Now, Mirai is going to explore Kukunochi Park in earnest. She’s got her trusty tanuki friend Daichi by her side. Perhaps she’ll even be able to call upon Fox Ears the kitsune…if Fox Ears is in the mood. It’s a new park, a new season, and a whole lot of surprises to be found.

We had an episode last season which featured Mirai in the main role. It showed that she was more than capable of carrying the show purely on her own. I had been hoping we might see more of that come season four. As it turns out, I got my wish and then some. The entire season follows Mirai and the Japanese creatures. Alina and the gang only make a brief appearance in the stinger scene at the end of the season.

Naturally, we get to encounter a lot of cool Japanese creatures. We get an episode dedicated to the Kasa Obake. They’re basically the poster boys for yokai. They’re those umbrellas with one eye, one leg, and really long tongues. From that same episode, we get to learn about the Bakezori. They’re yokai that originate as old abandoned shoes. Yeah, there’s an entire class of yokai called Tsukumogami. They’re objects that come to life after being sufficiently, usually over 100 years, old.

I also really enjoyed the episode about the Ninmenju. It is a tree that grows fruit with human faces. Seems like standard yokai stuff, but here’s the kicker, the story isn’t indigenous to Japan. There is a nearly identical story in Islamic Folklore called the Waq Waq Tree. The story made its way to China via the Silk Road, and from there, it found its way to Japan. Japan has historically gone through several periods of isolation. In many ways, Japan is kind of on the edge of the world. Yet the Ninmenju show that Japan wasn’t quite as disconnected as it tried to be. It really is a small world after all. I love discovering connections like that.

It was also obvious we were going to get an episode about the Gashadokuro. They are giant skeleton yokai that usually appear following a great loss of life. I mean, the Gahadokuro is right there on the season cover art. The art this time is very crisp and well defined. Previous seasons’ cover art was more abstract and mysterious. We’ve learned enough of the secrets of the parks to be familiar with them. The mists are parting, you might say.

Of course, there’s more than just Japanese creatures lurking in Kukunochi Park. This makes sense. Proserpina Park is home to creatures from across the globe. It also tracks that Japanese creatures would dominate in Kukunochi Park. It is their home turf after all. Japanese people aren’t the most religious people in the world, and primarily follow Shinto rituals out of culture, rather than sincere belief. That said, many Japanese people are incredibly superstitious. So, there’s probably enough people around who believe in yokai to give them a bit of a boost.

Interestingly, Japan isn’t the only nation that can be described as superstition, but not exactly religious. People in Iceland have been known to build roadside shrines to elves. Road construction has sometimes been re-routed if it ran through land where elves are believed to live. In fact, the way Icelandic elves are described is quite similar to how Japanese kami are often described. That is, spirits within nature itself.

And speaking of Norse Mythology, the talking squirrel Ratatoskr makes an appearance in this season. The original myths never say how big he is. He does run up and down the world tree Yggdrasil. So, some people have taken to depicting him as a giant squirrel. This is what Residents of Proserpina Park goes with.

And who is it that voices this majestic squirrel? Why, me, of course! Yes, I have made my return to the voice acting side of Residents of Proserpina Park. It was fun getting to play a new character. I enjoyed that Ratatoskr was a very different sort of character than Slenderman was. I tried to imitate Michael Chiklis’ performance as The Thing in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie. The result was a bit more along the lines of “Hey, I’m walkin’ here!” but I think it turned out pretty well. I also have to give major props to Angela for editing those scenes. I didn’t actually record those scenes with Vida Shi and Zerreth, who plays Daichi. I really, really wanted to, but my work schedule conflicted with recording. Though, I later learned I could have asked for the day off to record with everyone. Ah, well, I guess there’s always next time.

Anyway, the scenes are edited so well I had to remind myself that I recorded separately. Admittedly, there was one benefit to recording on my own. There’s a scene in the last episode where Mirai chases in the favor Ratatoskr owes her, and she calls out for him. It was really cute and adorable, and I kept thinking “There’s no way I could pretended to be grumpy if I’d recorded this scene with Vida.”

Okay, so enough about me. There’s something even more important to discuss. After many seasons, he has finally arrived. The man, the myth, the legend appears at long last. Everyone give it up for Junichi! It is rather amusing how well Mirai and her brothers map onto the Freudian trio of Id, Ego, and Superego. We’ve got impulsive, energetic Mirai as the Id, nervous and cautious Junpei as the Superego, and calm collected Junichi as the Ego to balance them out. 

First of all, I must give praise to Spencer Hiroshi Field. He made Junichi sound like someone who’d be a really cool guy to hang out with. Junichi initially comes across as easy going, but he hasn’t fully recovered his memories, and we slowly discover he has some insecurities about that. It will be interesting to see how things go after he’s reunited with Sam, Jessica, Dog, and Junpei.

Now, this next part actually is a slight criticism of this season. I actually want to begin with a compliment. We got some new music this season. It combines traditional Japanese instruments with a kind of 1940s-1950s jazz rhythm. You hear it play over the credits, and in a few scenes within the episode proper. I liked it, one of the best bit of music Residents of Proserpina Park has yet produced. That being said, it didn’t escape my notice that some of the musical cues are getting a bit repetitive. I noticed that the same handful of music being used over and over again. 

Granted, this might have been a result of this season being a bit shorter. I also need to be fair here. Residents of Proserpina Park produces all of its music in-house. I have no background in music, and I don’t have the first clue about producing it. I’m always amazed by whatever music Residents of Proserpina Park comes up with.

By contrast, when I need music for The Books of Thoth, I usually see what Epidemic Sounds and Kevin MacLeod have on tap. Plus, it the Indiegogo campaign had raised more money, we probably would have gotten more music. Why, yes, that was me hinting that you should all donate the next time Residents of Proserpina Park has a crowdfunding campaign.

So, this isn’t really a criticism per se, but something I wanted to comment on. The first episode has Mirai and Daichi encounter a Kapre. It is a creature from Filipino Folklore who looks like a giant man with dark skin. We learn that the legend of the Kapre got popularized when Spain started using the Philippines as a stop for its slave trade. Mirai remarks that she learned none of this in school.

Now, as a history major, I’d like to give my two cents. So, in large part, the way we teach history in grade school is meant to be a survey course. Give you the foundations that you can build upon, if you so choose, in college. Now, granted, the way we teach history is rather flawed. I mean, we really should split it up into multiple parts like in college. You just can’t condense 10,000 years of history into a single year of class. Inevitably, things get skipped, and the emphasis tends to be put on the Western world. So, class basically becomes “World/American History’s Greatest Hits.” Personally, I think that’s a big disservice to students. There’s a great value to learning about non-Western cultures and civilizations. Plus, you know, it is interesting to learn about other parts of the world.

The United States has been around for less than 300 years, but even splitting up American History class would allow teachers to go deeper with the subjects. I guess what I’m trying to say is, never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence. And no slight to Mirai, but just because schools teach about something, doesn’t mean students will actually be paying attention in class.

There’s also a scene where we get to meet Sezaru, the fourth wise monkey. You might be familiar with the Three Wise Monkey. Perhaps you know that they are Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru. They famously teach us to see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. Ah, but then there is the fourth monkey Sezaru, who teaches us to do no evil. Mirai comments on how redundant that sounds. To which Sezaru replies “Oh, and the Ten Commandments weren’t obvious enough?”

So, a couple thoughts about that. First off, why would a creature from Japanese Folklore care about the Ten Commandments? Second, there are actually 613 commandments. What are often called the Ten Commandments are merely the first ten on the list. Among other things they say: don’t wear clothing of mixed fiber, don’t plant different crops in the same field, you must stone disobedient children to death, and men must not speak to women who are on their periods. Oh, and lest we forget the most infamous of them all: man shall not lie with man. And that’s not even getting into the first ten. For example, is killing always wrong, or is there an exception for self-defense? Should we honor our parents even when they are abusive? In fact, what does honoring even mean? Granted, Jewish people have been wrestling with these questions for centuries. The Talmud is all about the various interpretations of the Torah.

Getting back on track, looks like we’ll be picking back up with Alina and company in season five. And it looks like we’ll be taking a trip to the Otherworld of Irish Mythology. I look forward to the adventures to be had in the coming year.

So, there you have it. Season four of Residents of Proserpina Park is shorter, but still just as sweet, and just as packed with mythological fun. Having the action set in Japan makes for a fun change of pace. Mirai and company are more than capable of carrying the season all on their own. So, if you haven’t already, be sure to listen to this season of Residents of Proserpina Park.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Books of Thoth: My First Foray into Audio Drama Production

I’m back with another update post, and this one is an especially big update. You see, I’ve finally done it. I have officially launched my audio drama anthology podcast The Books of Thoth.

We’re kicking things off with “Paleontology Conference.” million years in the future. Humans are extinct and squids rule the Earth. They only know us from the fossils we leave behind. What will the squids make of us?

As you might guess, The Future is Wild was a big inspiration for this episode. I blame that show for igniting my love of terrestrial cephalopods. The part where the narrator speculates about the Squibbons developing their own civilization always sparked my imagination. The All Todays segment of the book All Yesterdays was another big inspiration. I love the way it pokes fun at how our notions of prehistoric animals sometimes turn out to be very wrong. You do get some references to how our views on prehistoric animals have changed. The part where the professor mentions chordates used to be viewed as slow and lumbering, but then were viewed as active and dynamic? That was almost word-for-word how our views of dinosaurs changed over the years. And there’s a few more in-jokes if you’re paying attention for them.

A bit about where the title for the podcast came from. Thoth is the god of wisdom, writing, and magic in Egyptian Mythology. He possessed an ultimate book of spells known as the Book of Thoth. Among other things, it had spells that could enable you to speak the language of animals, restore the dead to life, and peer through the layers of reality and gaze upon the gods themselves. Thoth acted as scribe of the gods, and he’s probably written quite a few scrolls in his time. And those scrolls are bound to have some pretty good stories within them.

The Books of Thoth has been a long time coming. I’m both nervous and excited. I admit that maybe there were a few things I could have tweaked. But after a certain point, perfect becomes the enemy of good. And so, I decided to release my audio drama into the wild for all to enjoy.

A big thank you to everyone who made this episode possible. Thank you to Marnie Warner, Amy Young, Faye Holliday, Juan Cruz III, Tiffany Perdue, and Melissa Bowens for providing the voices. As well as my thanks to Geno Samuel for providing the opening narration. And to Nadine Trollip, aka Stardust-Phantom, for providing the series cover art.

The Books of Thoth is hosted on RedCricle, and you can find it on all major podcast platforms. Including, but not limited to, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Podcast Addict, Amazon Music, Player.FM, Audible, TuneIn, RadioPublic, Apollo Podcasts, and Goodpods. And yes, I do have transcripts available.

It hopefully won’t be too long before I have more episodes for your listening pleasure. But in the meantime, I do hope that you enjoy the inaugural episode of The Books of Thoth.

The Audio File: Long Night in Egypt

I’ve finished most of my outstanding obligations for reviews, at least for the moment. Well, that’s going to not be the case for too long, but I do have a brief respite. As such, I am able to talk about one particular audio drama. Now, I admit I was prepared to be disappointed, but this one surprised me in the best way possible. It utilized Egyptian Mythology while remaining incredibly faithful to the original myths. So, what is this audio drama? Why, we’re taking a look at Long Night in Egypt. 

Long Night in Egypt follows four college students named Mo, Kayla, Jorden, and Pia. They are on vacation in Egypt to visit Mo’s aunt and uncle; a pair of renowned Egyptologists. It’s sure to be a trip filled with relaxation, visits to archeological sites, and maybe even a bit of partying. Then, Mo’s cousin Samira comes up with the idea to visit the Pyramid of Unas at night. Mo’s aunt and uncle are very firm that the Pyramid of Unas must never be entered at night. However, the students sneak into the pyramid anyway. They will soon discover that the myths and legends of Ancient Egypt might just be true after all. They will have to navigate their way thought the Egyptian underworld, and face numerous challenges, if they wish to survive their long in Egypt.

I had known about Long Night in Egypt for a while. It had the word Egypt in the title, and a pyramid on the title card. What can I say? I was sold. However, other obligations kept me from listening. Then, I got a chance to listen, and I was blown away by what I heard.

I’m a lover of mythology, but I have trouble deciding which particular mythology is my favorite. I’m reminded of what Neil Gaiman wrote in the introduction to his novel Norse Mythology. He said that picking a favorite mythology is a bit like picking a favorite cuisine. Variety is the spice of life, and your favorite often depends on what mood you’re in at the moment. However, there’s always those dishes and stories that you always come back to. Given the title of the book, it should come as no surprise that Norse Mythology is that for Neil Gaiman. But what about me? 

I always find myself returning to the gods and stories of Egyptian Mythology. I love the weird and wonderful animal-headed gods. I love reading about all of the spells and incantations Egyptian magicians created. I love the way that real Ancient Egyptian historical figures sometimes factor into the stories. I love Egyptian Mythology. The stories of Egyptian Mythology took me on magical adventures away from my mundane world.

We have had several audio dramas adapt or reinterpret Greek Mythology, but not really any takes on Egyptian Mythology. In fact, Long Night in Egypt is, thus far, the only audio drama I’ve encountered that utilizes Egyptian Mythology in a major way. Now, this was certainly an exciting discovery, but I had my apprehensions. I’ve had to endure far too many movies and television shows that played way too fast and loose with real mythology. Hey, I’m just saying. If the source material you’re incorporating is a hindrance to the story you want to tell, then perhaps you should write a different story. That, or find a mythology more agreeable to the story you want to make.

Sorry, I got a little distracted there. Getting back on track, I was cautiously optimistic, but I was fully prepared to be disappointed. I was combing through every episode with a fine-toothed comb. I was prepared to pounce at the slightest slip-up. I was particularly worried that Anubis and/or Set would be portrayed as Ancient Egyptian Satan. However, much to my pleasant surprise, I couldn’t find a single mythological misappropriation. In fact, I even learned a few things as a result of listening to Long Night in Egypt.

So, let’s talk about all the great mythological stuff in this podcast. The main inspirations for this audio drama are The Pyramid Texts and The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Pyramid Texts is one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world. It is inscribed into the walls of the pyramids and burial chambers of Saqqara. And yes, that includes the Pyramid of Unas. The texts are a series of spells, incantations, hymns, and utterances that help the pharaoh to navigate the afterlife and ascend to godhood. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is much the same, but with different spells and writings. Also, the Book of the Dead was written on papyrus, not carved into stone. 

The Pyramid Texts were completed in the Old Kingdom era, while The Book of the Dead wasn’t completed until the New Kingdom era. The characters do discover inscriptions from The Book on the Dead on the walls of the Pyramid of Unas. However, they do acknowledge this discrepancy, and wave it off as The Book of the Dead being older than previously believed. The Book of the Dead does drawn heavily upon The Pyramid Texts, so, this isn’t all that implausible.

We frequently hear characters, both mortal and divine, quoting passages from both The Pyramid Texts and The Book of the Dead. Oh, and that part where Unas consumes some of the gods to increase his power? Believe it or not, that is directly from The Pyramid Texts. That particular section is even called The Cannibal Hymn. See, this is why I’m such a big advocate for being accurate to the mythological sources. Oftentimes, the actual sources are way wilder than anything a modern writer might come up with.

We also get a few fun facts about modern Egypt sprinkled in. For example, Mo has a book that was written by Ahmed Kamal. He was the first Egyptologist to actually be from Egypt. There’s also a scene where the characters are at a club, and it is offhandedly mentioned that the drinking age in Egypt is twenty-one. I looked it up, and it is indeed twenty-one, just like in America. Also, you can apparently buy alcohol in Egypt.

Long Night in Egypt is a horror audio drama, and I like the approach it took to that. Unas isn’t portrayed as some monster who is bent on world domination. The main characters were warned not to go into the Pyramid of Unas at night, and they paid the price. Granted, they probably wouldn’t have believed the real reason they were to stay away. Still, their troubles are self-inflicted because they ran foul of ancient traditions, and disrespected the pyramid. Even without the undead pharaoh and the magic, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to go into a pyramid at night. It is bound to be dark, and you can get easily hurt if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there. I was particularly thinking about that during the scene in the Halls of Judgement. Ancient Egypt was a foreign culture with a foreign value system. You might consider yourself a good person by modern standards, but how well would you stack up to Ancient Egyptian standards? Though, thankfully, an important part of the Weighing of the Heart is remembering the correct incantations from The Book of the Dead. Of course, even the things the Ancient Egyptians viewed as a great reward/honor for the afterlife could be potentially unpleasant by modern standards. What do I mean by that? Oh, that would be spoilers, but let’s just say you’ll see.

On a related note, I loved how the horror comes from the characters finding themself in a story straight out of mythology. I’m a big fan of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, as well the wider Riordanverse. Yes, that includes The Kane Chronicles. Naturally, I love mythology, and I do tend to fantasize about going on urban fantasy mythology adventures. On the other hand, perhaps I should be careful about what I wish for. Such things might be fun to read about, but it might not be so fun to actually live though. Especially if you don’t have magical powers.

But hey, maybe I’d get some moments of awe between my terror. Terrifying or not, it would be kind of cool to discover that Egyptian Mythology is real. That’s why Kayla was my favorite character. She constantly geeks out over archeology and mythology. This does cause some friction with Mo during the journey through the underworld. However, all the other characters would have been seriously screwed without Kayla’s encyclopedic knowledge of The Book of the Dead. Granted, Mo is certainly no slouch either, but he does need occasional prompting and reminders. I really loved the part where Kayla geeks out over all the obscure gods in the Hall of Judgement.

And speaking of the characters, we need to talk about the voice acting. I find it endlessly amusing that Mo is voiced by Amr Kotb, but Mo’s cousin Amr is voiced by Amro Mahmoud. I was excited when I heard that Roshan Singh would be voicing Jordan. He is the creator of the audio drama Temujin, and we’ve interacted a bit on Twitter. He didn’t really have a lot to do. Jordan is kind of…I believe himbo is the term the kids say these days. Still, he did the most with what he had to work with. Alice Pollack does an amazing job capturing Kayla’s endearingly nerdy personality. Asil Moussa is clearly having a lot of fun playing Samira. 

Karim Kronfli has a brief cameo as a BBC newscaster. Always great hearing him, and amusingly, this isn’t the only Ancient Egyptian themed project he’s part of. He was also part of the voice cast for the video game Total War: Pharaoh. The music and sound effects are also really great. This is a show that’s being distributed by Realm Media. So, of course it’s going to be a cinematic audio drama. And I wouldn’t have Long Night in Egypt any other way.

Hmm, do I have critiques? Well, the image on the title card is not the Pyramid of Unas. It is the Great Pyramid of Giza, but I get why the production team did that. The Pyramid of Unas isn’t very photogenic. In fact, it kind of looks like a giant dirt mound. The Pyramids of Giza scream Ancient Egypt a lot better, and get the point across. And hey, it is a very nice looking title card regardless.

Switching gears, I’m not sure how I feel about the way Anubis was voiced. I know the voice actress. She’s the announcer from We Fix Space Junk. It would have been nice if there was an easily accessible cast list for Long Night in Egypt. Anyway, I know she tried to give Anubis an otherworldly voice, but it came across as a bit too feminine. Not what I would have gone for if I’d been casting. I got used to it, but it was a bit of a sour note in an otherwise great voice cast. The other gods had excellent voice casting

Those are really the only critiques I can think of. Long Night in Egypt was an absolutely fantastic podcast. I won’t give away the ending, but suffice it to say, there’s no way we’re getting a season two out of this. I’d be genuinely surprised if we do. On the other hand, there are a lot of other mythologies out there. There’s plenty of other myths that could be given the Long Night in Egypt treatment. Hint, hint, Violet Hour and Realm.

Long Night in Egypt was an amazing audio drama from start to finish. It really shows the great things that can be accomplished when you make the effort to be accurate to mythology. This is the Egyptian Mythology audio drama I was hoping we might have someday, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Do yourself a favor and listen to it today. Especially if you love Egyptian Mythology or all things Ancient Egypt.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Residents of Proserpina Park: Season 3

By now it should be clear how much I utterly adore Residents of Proserpina Park. An urban fantasy audio drama where you get to learn about mythical creatures from around the world? Hey, this is my happy place. We’ve already had two amazing seasons, and now it is onto the third. Oh, but three really is the magic number. This is a very special season indeed. Without further ado, let’s get into it. We’re taking a look at season three of Residents of Proserpina Park.

When we last left our heroes, they had just come to a shocking revelation: the park is named Proserpina Park! Oh, and Sam is back. That’s also pretty important. Ah, but Sam isn’t alone. He’s joined by an old friend named Jessica. She has a freewheeling devil-may-care personality, and a very cavalier when it comes to the creatures of the park. Jessica is back to settle some old business. Business that Dog, the gang’s loyal alien in canine disguise, has some connection to. It has something to do with a particularly mysterious creature. 

Alina and her friends are going to have to venture into the depths of the park to find answers. They must be sure to keep their wits sharp. For, in this season, we shall meet the tricksters who call the park home. Meanwhile, Mirai is having her own adventures in Japan. She has found her way to a village populated by yoaki. She’s certainly out of place as a mere human, but she’ll make some unlikely allies during her time in the village. Everyone buckle up, because this season of Residents of Proserpina Park is sure to be a wild ride.

This season of Residents of Proserpina Park was a bit of a new experience for me. I was one of the backers for the season three Indiegogo campaign. So, I got to listen to all the episodes before they were released to the general public. It was an interesting experience to binge the episodes, but still very much enjoyable. Though, I did kind of miss getting to hear the theme music at the beginning and end of each episode. Not that this was a dealbreaker or anything like that, mind you. There was one other way that this season was different for me personally, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Season one was intro to World Mythology and Folklore. Season two was all about creatures of the night and other monsters. Season three is all about the tricksters, but it also stands out from its predecessors in another way. Most of the creatures featured in season three tend to be of the chattier variety. This is very much by design. Angela Yih has said that there’s only so many times you can recycle the roar and snarl sound-effects before they get old. I certainly agree with that, and it isn’t like chatty creatures are unprecedented. The first two seasons gave us the kappa, the aswang, and of course JD, among others. Personally, I think it is great that Residents of Proserpina Park is keeping things fresh. Each episode of season three also includes an after credits bonus scene. So, you want to make sure to stick around until the very end of each episode. This season is also slightly longer. We got twelve episodes this season, rather than the usual ten.

Okay, so, who is this Jessica person? I speculated, in my review of season two, that Jessica might be something not quite human. But no, it would seem that I was wrong. Jessica is merely a garden variety human. She did manage to capture a genie, and I don’t mean the kind that are blue and sound like Robin Williams. The original jinn from Arabian Folklore were really more like gods in terms of power. There is one minor discrepancy, however. Dog mentions that some people blame mental health problems on jinn. Except, jinn verifiably exist in the Residents of Proserpina Park universe. So, how does that work out? I suppose you could justify it by saying that they can cause mental health issues, but natural causes are far more likely to be the case. This was kind of on my mind, as it does tie-in with something we’ll discuss in the spoilers section. Oh, and you know how Sam can see the creatures, but can’t hear them? Jessica is the exact opposite. She can hear the creatures, but can’t see them. We’ll get more into that later.

Anyway, getting back on track, Jessica provides a foil to Alina. In doing so, Jessica highlights a major theme of this season. In the immortal words of John Lennon, you get by with a little help from your friends. That is very much true with Alina. Drew and Jun frequently act as the voices of reason, and help reign Alina in, and dial back her impulses. I would imagine that it isn't a coincidence that we learn more about Drew and Jun’s backstories this season. Jessica is, essentially, how Alina would have turned out if she didn’t have her friends, or if she had alienated them. Jessica tends to rush in first, and ask questions later, if at all. She tends to focus on whether she can do something, rather than if she should do it. Jessica is determined to become the most powerful being in the park. It doesn’t matter how many creatures she has to hurt to achieve this.

Alina and Jessica also contrast with how they treat Sam. They both wronged Sam and abused his trust. Alina brought her friends to the park, when Sam explicitly told her not to, and Jessica…well get into that in the spoilers section. However, they tried to make amends in very different ways. Alina does her best to sincerely apologize and make amends. It definitely helps that Drew and Jun are there to keep her calm and focused. Jessica, by contrast, has a single-minded focus on correcting her mistake. She’s been avoiding Sam and Dog, and in the process, further alienated them. I suppose another theme of this season is about the importance of communicating, and talking things out when you have a problem. One gets the impression that Jessica, Dog, and Sam could have saved themselves a lot of grief if they had just been more open about their problems, instead of avoiding each other.

As previously noted, we get to learn a bit more about Drew and Jun’s backstories. We learn that Drew tried college, decided it wasn’t for them, dropped out, and doesn’t have any concrete plans in life. They’re just going wherever the winds of fate take them. They’re content to take things one day at a time. They’re aware this puts them in contrast to Alina and Jun, who are both very ambitious. Drew is well aware that they will probably part ways with Alina and Jun one day. However, they don’t despair. It isn’t how much time they have with Alina and Jun, but how they spend it that matters. Even if they must part ways eventually, Drew will always have Alina and Jun’s backs.

This is quite a thoughtful and introspective moment from what tends to be a fairly lighthearted audio drama. It rings very true to my own experiences. I’ve had many friends come and go over the years. It is always sad when that happens, but each person we meet changes us, and leaves a bit of themselves with you. So, it’s like they’re still with you even when they’re gone. For however long it lasted, they were your friend, and nothing will change that.

On a lighter note, we learn more about Jun’s interest in space. He wants to be an astronaut, but he also likes to theorize about alien lifeforms. He likes to theorize about how the aliens might evolve and adapt to different environments. Well, that was certainly unexpected. It appears that Jun is a speculative evolution enthusiast. I’m also involved in that community. We theorize about all that paths evolution might take. We imagine worlds where evolution went different in the past, we imagine how it might go in the future, and we do indeed imagine how it might play out on alien worlds. If you’d like an introduction to speculative evolution, may I recommend the r/SpeculativeEvolution subreddit and the Curious Archive channel on YouTube?

I was pleasantly surprised that we got an entire episode devoted to Mirai’s adventures in Japan. I had been hoping we might get something like this at some point. She has found herself in a village inhabited entirely by yokai. She has Fox Ears the kitsune to help her out, but she also gains another ally named Daichi. He is a character that Angela Yih designed a while ago, but only implemented into the story this season. I knew, from the audition forms, Daichi felt ashamed of his body. That could only mean one thing: a tanuki. I did wonder if perhaps he’d be one of the more obscure yoaki, but he was represented by the raccoon emoji. The auditions didn’t outright say what creature the role were. Angela wanted it to be a surprise for the listeners. So, a raccoon emoji clearly mean tanuki, which are also known as raccoon dogs.

Tanuki are usually depicted as jolly mischievous tricksters in Japanese Folklore. They’re shapeshifters, much like kitsune, and the two are often depicted as rivals. I should also note that tanuki are a real animal. They’re also called raccoon dogs; though, they are neither a raccoon or a dog. Also, as far as we know, they do not shapeshift or talk. Now, why would Daichi be ashamed of his appearance? Hmm, how do I put this delicately? Guess I better just say it. Tanuki are famous for having massive testicles, and being able to make them bigger. There’s even a popular children’s song in Japan all about tanuki testicles. There’s a scene where Daichi uses his ball sack to form a massive wall to temporarily hide Mirai from the other yokai. I guess you could say that scene got real balls-to-walls insane. Hey, don’t give me that look, the joke practically writes itself.

In all seriousness, I did enjoy Daichi as a character. I liked the way he contrasted with Fox Ears. Daichi tends to be friendlier and speaks to Mirai as an equal, whereas Fox Ears tends to be more aloof, haughty, and cryptic. That isn’t to say Fox Ears doesn’t throw Mirai a rope now and again, but she certainly likes to toy with Mirai.

Naturally, we get to meet all sorts of amazing new creatures from across World Mythology and Folklore. I had been hoping we might meet Anansi, the trickster spider god of the Akan people, at some point. Lo and behold, this season more than delivered on that. Vincent C. Davis gave such an absolutely wonderful performance. He sounded almost exactly how I always envisioned Anansi sounding. It was pitch-perfect casting. And let’s not forget the writing in that episode. It carried as great sense of suspense and mystery.

In other creatures, I loved getting to meet the wemategunis. It is a creature from the folklore of the Lenape people. I always appreciate getting to learn more about Native American cultures. One of the most famous stories about the wemategunis is how it helped a young gambler. The gambler had lost his eyes to the Chief of Gambling, who is a spirit that lives on the Moon. The wemategunis agreed to help after the young gambler promised to give up gambling for good. Given some things we’ll touch on in the spoilers section, I get the feeling that including the wemategunis in this season wasn’t coincidence. I also liked that part of that episode where Alina had to stay behind, and gave her recorder to Sam and Terry. So, we get to experience that part of the episode from Alina’s perspective, or lack thereof.

Okay, let’s see, what am I forgetting? Oh, right, I’m in this season too! I got to voice Slenderman. Yes, the monster from all of those creepypastas. He was included as an example of modern-day folklore. This was the first major voice acting role that wasn’t a bit part. I’m very excited that I actually got to be part of Residents of Proserpina Park. I had a lot of fun voicing Slenderman. Angela said she envisioned Slenderman sounding like God from Puppet History of the Universe. So, I tried to mimic that style. By all accounts, I did pretty well. I love the distorted sound-effects that Angela included for the parts where Slenderman really shows his true colors. And hey, who knows, maybe you’ll get to hear me again when season four rolls around.

Thankfully, we didn’t have any “who’s on first” issues because of my name. I briefly got confused when the recording schedule said Sam, but then I remembered we were doing it by character name, not real name. Though, amusingly, my day job is working as an edutainer at the Shreveport Aquarium. I educate the public about all sorts of marine creatures, but I also make sure the guests behave, and the touch tank animals stay safe. Even more funnily, one of my managers is named Jessica. Don’t worry, she and I are on good terms with each other. Most of my co-workers have listened to the episode I was in, and all give it high marks. Now I just need to get them to listen to all the other episodes of the show.

A big thank you to Angela Yih for giving me this opportunity. Also, thank you to Ben Pollizi and Ashley Dawson. You were both really nice during recording. Sorry I sounded like I was five seconds away from having a panic attack. I was worried I’d screw up, and my baseline tends to be anxious. But I did have a lot of fun, and I’d happily do it again.

Okay, now for the part where we get into the spoilers. Get off the ride now if you don’t want any of that.

Last chance, you sure you want to keep going?

Well, if everyone who wants out is gone, let’s get into it.

In my previous reviews, I came up with several theories about why Sam can’t hear the creatures of the park. Many of my ideas were very exotic and imaginative. However, the actual answer turned out to be a tad simpler. In fact, it was practically staring me in the face. Turns out, Sam and Jessica were cursed after the ran afoul of the Aos Si, also known as the fae, or the Fair Folk. I guess I let my imagination get carried away, and imagined things that were fun to think about, rather than what was likely. I can be a bit slow on the uptake at times. For example, I knew that Angela Yih cited Scooby-Doo as one of the inspirations for Residents of Proserpina Park. It took til now for me to connect the dots that the podcast follows a group of meddling young adults, and a talking dog, solving mysteries. Also, the lion dogs are named Dio and Gi. I though maybe it was a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure reference, but upon further inspection, it was a pun on D-O-G.

Anyway, the Aos Si aren’t the kind of fairies who have tea parties in the garden. These are the original, darker and wilder, fairies from Celtic Mythology. In Ireland, the Tuatha Dé Danann were the pre-Christian gods, but got reimagined as mere spirits following Christianization. Albeit, very powerful ones. Think, the forces of nature given physical form. It isn’t that Aos Si don’t have any morality, but their morality is utterly incomprehensible to humans. So, they’re kind of like creatures H.P. Lovecraft might have dreamed up.

So, Sam was cursed to not hear the creatures, and Jessica can’t see them. See no evil, hear no evil, where’s speak no evil? To explain that, we have to delve into another revelation: Sam is gay. He was worried that Alina had a crush on him, but turns out she’s asexual and/or aromatic. Well, Drew says that Alina is the type to look, but not touch. We also have to assume that Alina probably has ADHD, given how impulsive and easily distracted she tends to be. Ah, but there was a special someone in Sam’s life. Jun’s name is short for Junpei. I bring this up because he has a twin brother named Junichi, who used to be Sam’s boyfriend. Unfortunately, Junichi was cursed to not speak of the creatures. This manifested as him losing his memories, and turning sickly. This is why Sam has such a strong air of melancholy about him.

But what did Jessica, Sam, and Junichi do that brought this curse upon them? It involved a new creature. A creature even newer than Slenderman, but who could it be? I was spinning my wheels trying to figure it out, but it was a fool’s errand. I would have never guessed the answer, because the creature is one that Jessica, Sam, and Junichi created themselves. From what little we see, it appears to be some sort of shapeshifter, and very powerful. This seems to confirm the theory I had that the creatures pop into existence ex-nihilo because people believe in them hard enough. It reminds me a bit of the concept of the tulpa from Tibetan Buddhism.

I really liked the scene where Alina pleads with Sam that he doesn’t have to go it alone anymore. It tied in nicely with this season’s theme about the importance of friendship. It also demonstrated their development as characters. Alina doesn’t just view Sam as another mystery to solve, or a ticket to an adventure. She now genuinely values him as a friend. Similarly, Sam takes steps towards moving beyond his past. He isn’t completely healed, and there’s still trials ahead, but being about to trust Alina and her friends is a major step forward for him.

Yeah, the whole power of friendship trope might be a bit cliché, and some would say overdone. But you know what? This season of Residents of Proserpina Park pulled it off really well. Ultimately, tropes are tools, and can be done well if handled by a skilled writer. Fortunately, Angela Yih was more than up to the task.

No theorizing from me this time around. I have absolutely no clue where plot is heading, but I can’t wait to find out. This season of Residents of Proserpina Park was something really special. And, you know, not just because I was in it. Several members of the cast received character development, we got to meet the tricksters of the park, we got some serious revelations. We also learned about the importance of friendship, but in a way that felt organic, and was never heavy-handed. There are bright days ahead for Residents of Proserpina Park, and I can’t wait to visit again.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time. 

The Alt-Hist File: Brave New Frontiersman

I’ve encountered a lot of very friendly and helpful people within the audio drama community. This has only increased since I have begun work on my own audio drama. So, with that in mind, I thought I’d give back to an audio drama that offered its help to me. And by give back, I mean write a review. We’re taking a look at Brave New Frontiersman. 

Brave New Frontiersman is set in an alternate version of 18th Century Colonial America. This version of North America is a land filled with magic and mythical creatures. You have creatures from the Old World, such as banshees and trolls, but also creatures from the New World, such as Sasquatch and Raven Mockers. Our hero is simply known as The Frontiersman. He travels across the frontier to aid those in need of help. He is joined by his old fur trapping companion Coyote. Along the way, they pick up a noble named Jame Byron, who has an aptitude for magic. Our three heroes will travel the frontier and encounter many strange creatures and strange magics.

I had known about Brave New Frontiersman for a while. Recently, however, I was contacted by the Brave New Frontiersman Twitter account. They had seen my casting call for my upcoming audio dram The Books of Thoth, and wanted to know if I needed people sent my way. I already cast the roles for the first three episodes, but I’ll certainly keep them in mind for future episodes. I also figured it would be nice if I gave them a review.

Now, normally I prefer an audio drama to have at least one complete season before I write a review. However, given that there tends to be a bit of a gap between episodes of Brave New Frontiersman, I am waving my usual requirement.

I’ve always found America to be a place with a look of potential to be a fantasy setting. I like to think that American folklore and history are just as rich and varied as the lore of any fantasy world. That our landscapes could rival any fantasy geography. I’m always happy to find more American-inspired fantasy. So, big point in Brave New Frontiersmen’s favor. Being set in the 18th Century, and dealing with the frontier, I was immediately reminded of the Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper. The most famous book in the series being The Last of the Mohicans.

The frontier has always had a special place in the mythology of America. I’m reminded of when Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. He asked them to bring back a wooly mammoth, as many people believed that mammoths still roamed the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. Well, obviously, they didn’t have much luck finding a live mammoth. However, they did find a fossilized mammoth tusk. Hmm, I wonder if there are mammoths in Brave New Frontiersman. None have appeared so far, but they could always pop-up later.

Point being, frontier has often been mythologized as a land of adventure and discovery. A land completely unknown, well, except for the numerous Indigenous tribes that were already living there. The point I’m trying to make is that Brave New Frontiersman taps into that mythologized notion of the frontier as “here be dragons” territory.

As previously mentioned, Brave New Frontiersman is alternate history. Obviously, there’s the magic and mythical creatures bit, but there’s other aspects as well. One episode begins with the characters reading a newspaper. From this, we learn that the Aztec Empire still fell to Spanish Conquest. However, it did so in the 18th Century, rather than the 16th Century, and rather recently in terms of when the story takes place. The Inca Empire remains independent, at least for the moment. Also, the mythical king Prester John is apparently real, and his kingdom has recently been discovered. 

We also learn that the Seven Years War, known to Americans as the French and Indian War, lasted twenty years in the world of Brave New Frontiersman. I guess it will be called the Twenty Years War instead. I do wonder what effect that will have on the American Revolution. We’re already getting hints of friction between the colonists and the British. It is mentioned that nobles have an affinity for magic, but what does that mean? Do nobles have a greater aptitude for magic? Or can anyone learn magic with enough time and practice, and nobles are just more likely to have better training? It is repeatedly mentioned that lead cancels out the effects of magic, so an anti-monarchist rebellion could still work.

Another interesting point is the depiction of religion. So far, we’ve only seen Catholic priests. Now, the first time was in a town populated by Irish settlers, so that was understandable. As for the second time, it made me wonder whether the Protestant Reformation still happened in the world of Brave New Frontiersman. Granted, settlements of English Catholics weren’t unheard of. Maryland was founded so that English Catholics would have somewhere to freely practice their religion. There is, eventually, mention of Martin Luther being viewed as a heretic by the Catholic Church. So, clearly there was a Reformation in this world. What the exact details were, however, remain to be seen. 

Now, let’s talk a bit about the voice acting. The first couple episodes were a bit rough at times. It was clear that the Brave New Frontiersman team hadn’t quite found their footing yet, and were still trying to figure out how the characters should sound. However, as the series progresses, the casts gets more of a handle on their characters, and the performances get stronger. I see more improvement with each new episode. I’ve also noticed that sometimes the sound levels will be a tad uneven. Again, this is improving, but it is important to make sure all the dialogue is equalized. That way, it helps create the illusion that everyone is together in the same place. Also, this is a minor point, the characters pronounce New Orleans as New Or-Leans. I’m from Louisiana, as many of you know, and we pronounce it as New Or-Lens. I realize this doesn’t make a lot of sense to people who aren’t from Louisiana. However, pronouncing it as Or-Leans is a goo way to mark yourself as someone who isn’t from Louisiana.

Let’s shift gears and talk about the bestiary. One episode had our heroes facing off against a dullahan, a type of headless horseman from Irish Folklore. It makes for a clever reference to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. In fact, one of the twists in the episodes has its roots in the twist of “Sleepy Hollow.” Very nice use of literary allusions. Another episode see the heroes deal with a Raven Mocker. It is a creature from Cherokee Mythology. They’re shapeshifting spirits who target the dead and dying, and eat their victims’ hearts to extend their own lives. They can only be seen by an experienced medicine man, and usually his presence will be enough to keep them at bay. I always enjoy when I get to learn about a new mythical creature.

There are only seven episodes of Brave New Frontiersman out so far. That means there’s still a lot of places for the story to go. Obviously, I’m very interested in the alternate history aspects of the setting. I’m also hoping that we’ll get to meet some Native Americans at some point. Native Americans aren’t very common in pop culture, which is a real shame. I did raise my eyebrow a bit when it was mentioned that all Indigenous spirits are vulnerable to tobacco. That felt like it was playing into the unfortunate trope where all Native American cultures are lumped together into a single category. Though, thankfully, the Raven Mocker was specifically identified as a creature from Cherokee Mythology. So, I have hope that Brave New Frontiersman will be able to handle Native Americans with tact.

I’m also hoping we learn a bit more about the backstories of the Frontiersman and Coyote. At the moment, we don’t know too much. Going by the cover art, the Frontiersman does look vaguely similar to Natty Bumppo, the protagonist of the Leatherstocking Tales. So, I wonder if he might have a similar backstory. The way Coyote talks kind of reminds me of Tonto from The Lone Ranger. Though, I don’t think Coyote is suppose to be Native American. On the other hand, the Coyote is a trickster spirit common to many Native American tribes. So, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The keyword with Brave New Frontiersman is potential. There is a lot of potential in the characters and the setting. We’ve got seven episodes so far, and I feel a clear sense of improvement and progress as the episodes go on. I feel confident that Brave New Frontiersman will be able to keep up the momentum, and spread its wings even further in the future. And I certainly can’t wait to see where the adventure takes us next.

So, there you have it. Brave New Frontiersman is an audio drama set upon the frontier of an 18th Century America filled with magic and mythical creatures. Only seven episodes out so far, but it improves with every episode, and has a lot of potential.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Chain of Being

As is often the case, there are times when I’m aware of an audio drama for a while. However, sometimes it takes me a bit to get around to them. It helps when I get a nudge in that direction. But it almost always proves to be worth the wait. So, without further ado, let’s get into the audio drama we’ll be reviewing today. We’re taking a look at Chain of Being. 

Chain of Being is set far into the future. Humanity has spread to the stars, encountered numerous alien races, and made major advances in science and technology. And yet this world of tomorrow is very much connected to the mythical past. Magic exists alongside science and technology, leviathans and angels attack unsuspecting spaceships, and gods constantly meddle in the affairs of humanity and the other sentient races. The series follows Adam Delta 5. He is the biblical Adam, the very first human ever created. Adam has been wandering the universe for thousands of years, and has grown a bit distant from the rest of humanity. Lately, however, Adam is taking more interest in humanity. A strange force is mutating beings across the universe, and twisting them into strange and unnatural forms. A force that may have a connection to Adam’s past.

I had been aware of Chain of Being for a while. I had been giving some thought to checking it out. Then I got followed by Chain of Being on Twitter. That certainly bumped Chain of Being up in my listening schedule. I have had many audio dramas follow me on Twitter, and I have speculated that they might be fishing for a review. I am always happy to review any audio drama that asks me. However, if you really want to make sure your show gets reviewed, the best way is to ask me directly. My Twitter DMs are open, if you don’t want to ask me in public. You can also message me on Reddit. You can also message this blog’s fan page on Facebook, or you can message my personal Facebook account. Point is, there’s a lot of ways to get in touch with me.

Chain of Being is a member of the Faustian Nonsense podcast network. They are a network of several quality fiction podcasts, such as The Lavender Tavern. One episode of Chain of Being features Kieran Walsh, who plays Gino Whelan on fellow Faustian Nonsense show The Green Horizon.

The first few episodes of Chain of Being are a bit shorter, and are primarily there to ease the viewer into the setting. The show truly starts around episodes six and seven, Epistasis parts 1 and 2. That’s the point where Adam officially appears. I do understand why series creator Cai Gwilym Pritchard started with these prequel episodes. The setting of Chain of Being is a very unusual one. I can best describe Chain of Being as what would happen if China Miéville decided to make an audio drama. The key word here is weird, as in Weird Fiction. Think things along the lines of the stories from The Drabblecast. I would also classify Chain of Being as mythpunk. We’ve got an advanced futuristic setting, but we also have mythological gods and magic existing side-by-side with science and technology. 

You do get some hints of familiarity here and there. There’s certainly plenty of biblical allusions, and nods to various mythologies. However, they’re often presented in an unusual context. For example, our protagonist is the biblical Adam, but he’s an immortal, and he has glass horns and completely black eyes. I thought the horns might have been an obscure mythological reference. However, Cai Gwilym Pritchard says that they’re meant to be a reference to the Mark of Cain.

The politics of the various human and alien races are reasonably easy to follow along with. There’s an alliance of planets that is trying to create unity among the various races of the galaxy. However, they frequently do this by forcibly relocating people to frontier planets, even if it means breaking up families, in hopes of speeding-up integration. And there’s this group of human supremacists who are all descended from colonists from Mars, Venus, and various other parts of our Solar System. Earth is considered semi-mythical, and nobody really knows what became of it. Obviously, the human supremacists are pretty fascist. 

All easy enough to follow, but I also feel I don’t have the complete picture of Chain of Being’s universe. But this is very much by design. Cai Gwilym Pritchard has stated that they deliberately withheld certain bits of worldbuilding. They reason that works set on Earth don’t go into detail about Earth’s entire history. As such, the Chain of Being universe would be no different in that regard.

As previously mentioned, there are numerous references to mythology and religion from Earth. For example, we first encounter Adam aboard an ark ship that is carrying some of the last surviving specimens of birds from East Africa. This is clearly a nod to the story of Noah and the Ark. Interesting that the birds were from East Africa, as that is where humans first evolved. I’m tempted to think that was deliberate. One of the prequel episodes features a character named Tubal Cain. He’s a minor character mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and is claimed to be the world’s first blacksmith.

Angels are described as being Lovecraftian monstrosities that look like a collection of wings and eyes. There are many different types of angels, and the description matches that Seraphim. They worship God directly by surrounding the Throne of Heaven and constantly chanting “Holy! Holy! Holy!” Maybe we’ll get some Cherubs in season two of Chain of Being. Pop culture depicts them as winged babies, but the Bible describes them as having four faces; a man’s face, a lion’s face, an ox’s face, and an eagle’s face. Those are also the symbols of the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in that order. It is said that a Cherub guards the entrance to the Garden of Eden. In other types of angels, there’s also the Ophanim. They look like several interlocking wheels made out of eyes.

Adam at one point mentions the different gods that created the different sentient races of the galaxy. Interestingly, it wasn’t Yahweh or Elohim who created humanity. Rather, it was a goddess named Epicurosa. She doesn’t appear to have an analog in any actual mythology, and appears to have been made-up for Chain of Being. Cai Gwilym Pritchard has said they feel a bit embarrassed that most of the aliens are humanoid. However, I think Chain of Being has a pretty brilliant explanation for that. Humans were created in the image of the gods, so it would make sense that other sentient races would be humanoid. It is mentioned that humans aren’t the only race that Epicurosa created. We later learn that Eden is located in another dimension, and is basically the test lab of the gods. The garden is but one small section of it.

There’s a couple religious orders dedicated to the Greco-Roman gods Nemesis and Cupid respectively. So, that means the Greek gods are out there somewhere. I guess that works. The Old Testament doesn’t necessarily deny the possibility that other gods exist; just that you shouldn’t worship them. Though, it does make me wonder how many other gods from Earth are running around. The sign of the entity that is mutating everyone kind of sounded similar to the Elder Sign from the Lovecraft Mythos. I’m not sure if that was a coincidence or not. Or here’s a thought, what if it was meant to be the Chain of Being itself?

So, what exactly is this Chain of Being thing? The Chain of Being is a philosophical concept. It was codified during the Middle Ages by thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, but it has its roots in the teachings of Aristotle and Plato. The Chain of Being organizes all things in the universe into orders of importance and complexity. God is at the top and minerals are at the bottom. There were also subdivisions within the different sections of the chain. For example, monarchs reigned at the top of human society, and men ranked above women. The Chain of Being was used, among other things, to justify the divine right of kings, and to deny women opportunities to advance in society. Yeah, not a particularly nice system. One of the ways Western society managed to advance was by rejecting the rigid hierarchy of the Chain of Being.

Now, let’s talk about the voice acting. Cai Gwilym Pritchard provides the voice of Adam. Adam speaks with a notable echo. It often sounds like multiple voices speaking at once. This gives Adam an eternal and otherworldly quality. As the series progresses, however, this echo becomes increasingly subdued. Perhaps that symbolizes how Adam is regaining his connection with humanity once again. I should also note that Cai Gwilym Pritchard created Chain of Being at the tender age of seventeen. They wanted to see more science fantasy stories, and decided to be the change they wanted to see in the world. Quite the accomplishment that was indeed. All of the other actors also give excellent performances.

The only real point of criticism I have is the transcripts. They aren’t easy to find on Faustian Nonsense’s website, and it will always display the transcript for the first episode, no matter which episode you click. You find them by selecting an episode, and then clicking the three little dots. Now, Chain of Being does have full transcripts on its Tumblr account, but I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t come across it by chance. Transepts are important so that listeners with disabilities can enjoy audio dramas. They’re also quite helpful for people who write reviews as well.

Season one of Chain go Being has certainly been intriguing. Personally, I’m hoping we find out what happened to Eve. Adam doesn’t give much info, as it is still a touchy subject for him, but something significant happened with Eve. Did she grow old and die, while he remained immortal? Or is she immortal, but they had a falling out somewhere along the way? Also, the human supremacists are apparently going to be the main antagonists of season two. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

But whatever the future holds, I do know that season one of Chain of Being was really great. It combines science fiction, mythology, and magic in a far future where gods still meddle in the affairs of humanity, and the other sentient races. A very unusual setting, to be sure, but also a very creative one. Give it a listen today.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Uncanny Robot

Artificial intelligence has made major advances over the last few years. We’ve seen the rise of predictive text algorithms and even AIs that can generate artwork. But these leaps in technology have many people asking some serious questions. But perhaps the most pressing question of them all is this: can you use an AI to write the script for an audio drama? The audio drama we’re reviewing today aims to answer that question. We’re taking a look at Uncanny Robot. 

Uncanny Robot is an anthology audio drama created by Theresa Matsuura and Rich Pav. The start by taking a story prompt, and feeding them into different predictive text AIs. They then allow the AI to keep going, occasionally stepping in when it gets stuck in a rut, or if they otherwise don’t like the direction things are going. Then, Theresa and Rich record and narrate the insuring story. What laughs, insanity, and even touching moments, can an AI come up with? Uncanny Robot is here to find out.

This was another audio drama where I was requested to review by the creators. I was contacted over Reddit asking if I’d give Uncanny Robot a review. This was right around the time Arielle Nissenblatt (rhymes with this-and-that) did that Twitter tread introducing my fellow podcast critics and I to everyone on Twitter. I said yes, and here we are now.

So, a few things to discuss before we go forward. The first couple episodes were almost entirely AI driven, with minimal input from the humans. The primary AI used is Novel AI. Theresa and Rich originally wanted Uncanny Robot to be something that listeners could unwind and relax to. The AI insanity of the stories would be like an ASMR video, but in podcast form. However, they soon decided that this would prove too limiting for what they wanted Uncanny Robot to be. So, they started taking a more hands-on approach to the stories. I’m not sure what the exact percentage of human contributions to the later stories are, but defiantly much more than in the first two episodes. Each episode also includes an accompanying commentary episode. The first two episodes include the commentary along with the stories.

The use of AI also extends to other aspects of Uncanny Robot. All of the images and art work that accompany the episodes are all AI generated. Even the music is AI generated. Apparently, there’s some AI that can generate music scores, but it is very tricky to get something worthwhile out of it. Rich is quite adept at this, but it is certainly no small task.

I must also give a shout out to another podcast that Theresa and Rich work on. Uncanny Japan explores all that is weird from old Japan. Strange superstitions, folktales, cultural oddities, and interesting language quirks, and whatever else Theresa digs-up while researching for her novels and short stories. It is hosted by Theresa, who also does the research, while Rich handles the audio engineering and soundscaping. It isn’t an audio drama, or audio fiction per se, but I still greatly enjoy it. I would encourage everyone to give Uncanny Japan a listen. Well, after you listen to Uncanny Robot, of course. I should probably also mention that Theresa is a Bram Stoker Award nominated author. She has published short story collections such as The Carp-Faced Boy and Other Tales and A Robe of Feathers and Other Stories.

Okay, now that we’ve discussed all of that, let’s get into the episodes. Our first episode is a cheery little starter. You see, the theme of this episode is death. Oh, don’t worry, it is more lighthearted than it might sound. In our first story, titled “Memories of Death” a ghost recounts his childhood experiences with death. His parents died when he was only twelve, and his sister and cousin died not long after that. He began to contemplate his inevitable demise, and how death comes for us all sooner or later. Then, he took a faithful trip to his grandma’s house. He hears about murder on the radio, and in songs, and on television. The protagonist became obsessed with thinking about murder, and talking to everyone about murder, and he began to fear that he might be a murderer.

Some people wonder if it might only be a matter of time before AI get into the story writing business. Some people fear this might lead to human writers getting edged out of the market. Personally, I’m not losing any sleep over the matter. If these episodes are anything to go off of, AI has a long, long way to go before it can seriously challenge human writers. Still, AI are capable of producing some unintentionally hilarious results. I’ve certainly played around with enough predictive text algorithms. My favorite is InferKit. I learned about it, back when it was called Talk to Transformer, from the YouTube channel GrayStillPlays. He did a video where he made it write articles about Florida Man. I once made it attempt to recreate Percy Jackson’s Wikipedia article. I posted the result on the r/camphalfblood subreddit, if you are curious. I also had it try to recreate stories from Thomas the Tank Engine, and I’m still kicking myself for not saving the results.

I thought that “Memories of Death” was an excellent start for Uncanny Robot. We start off with a scene that is evocative of Spoon River Anthology. Then we get to the visit with Grandma, and the story goes completely off the rails. Of course, going off the rails is when the real fun starts. Let’s see, our protagonist is obsessed with murder, consumes large amounts of media centered around murder, constantly talks about murder, and fears that he might be a murderer? Well, I think that the answer is pretty obvious. The protagonist became a member of the true crime fandom. Though, it seems he got a little too into it, if he feared that he might be a murderer. Wait, he started worrying that he was a murderer when he was twelve, which was the age his parents, sister, and cousin died at…uh oh! That’s not good! There are some errors, continuity and otherwise, but that just adds to the charm and hilarity. For example, a man jumping off of a building is described as a murder. Uh, Mr. Robot, ever heard of suicide? Also, the protagonist hears about this on the radio, but then the story says that he and Grandma saw it on television.

“Memories of Death” is a great first offering from Uncanny Robot.

The second story is called “ You Remind Me of Someone.” Jake has recently become a vampire. It is cold and raining in the cemetery, and he is all alone. Then he sees his sister Rachel. She invites him into a nearby chapel. They talk about life and afterlife. Rachel reminds Jake of someone, but he can’t quite think who.

We all know that AI is capable of creating some great comedy stories. However, can I create something a bit more serious? It would seem that the answer is a tentative yes. Now, this story wasn’t anything groundbreaking or revolutionary. Still, for a story that was primarily written by an AI, it’s not half bad. Sure, there were a few goofs, as is to be expected from an AI-generated story. For example, Jake says that his sister Rachel reminds him of his sister Rachel. Not long after this we learn that Rachel is dead. It was almost like the story was trying to have this be a twist, but it didn’t quite know how to properly pull it off. Still, it could have been a lot worse, so I’m still impressed with how this story turned out. “You Remind Me of Someone” is a great second part for Uncanny Robot’s first episode.

Our second episode features the biographies of famous musicians, as written by AIs. The first story is titled “Elvis Lives.” As the title says, it takes place in a world where Elvis did not die in 1977 at the age of forty-two. We get to learn all sorts of fun facts about Elvis. For example, apparently, his birth name was Ralston Oliver Jones. He was named after his mother’s favorite singer, Billie Holiday. Speaking of his mother, she worked as a dancer at a strip club. Elvis changed his name to Elvis Aaron Presley when he was eight. His family moved to California when he was a teenager, and he attended UCLA. Elvis had a total of twenty-six marriages, and was divorced several times. In 1969, he got a sex change and became known as Pricilla Presley. This probably caused some confusion, as Elvis’ first wife was also named Pricilla.

I could go on, but this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the sheer insanity of this story. The rules of reality really are out to lunch with this one. I loved absolutely every minute of this hilarious insanity. Oh, but we aren’t done yet. You see, our protagonist gets to meet Elvis in the present day. Elvis is a philanthropist who likes to help Black people. In fact, he plans to sell all White people into slavery to help Black people. He also wants to turn the protagonist into a Black genius. I guess Elvis is a reverse Clayton Bigsby; a White Black Supremacist, if you will. And he threatens to whip the protagonist if they don’t agree to become a Black genius. Kind of sending mixed signals there, Elvis. Also, I’m pretty sure that gender reassignment surgery is the correct term for what the story called a sex change. And come to think of it, the AI deadnamed Elvis, or should I say Pricilla, quite a bit. Of course, things would get a bit confusing if, among other things, the AI talked about how Pricilla Presley was the ex-wife of Pricilla Presley.

“Elvis Lives” is my absolute favorite story from Uncanny Robot. With “Memories of Death” in a respectable second place. Absolutely hilarious from start to finish. I loved every minute of it.

The second story in the episode is “Whatever Happened to Mr. Mojo Risin?” It follows an interview with the musician Jim Morrison. I’m less familiar with him than I am with Elvis. This story also had the misfortune of having to follow “Elvis Lives.” It was pretty much impossibly to top the insanity of its predecessor. So, I couldn’t really get into “Whatever Happened to Mr. Mojo Risin?” AI stories as always a mixed bag, and this on just didn’t click with me.

While we’re on the subject, the third episode is titled “Valentines Day with the Revenant Squad.” It is a love story set in a dystopian future. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t really bad, but just kind of meh. As such, we shall move right along.

Our fourth port of call is titled “Asteroid Arnie and the Mushiblooms.” The protagonist of this story gets to go on an adventure with the great space hero Asteroid Arnie. They must travel to an alternate version of Earth to save the Mushiblooms. Mushiblooms are cute little fuzzballs, and Asteroid Arnie is their only hope. So, grab your nucleic phaser, and hold on tight.

I was intrigued when I heard that this story would involve alternate universes. As many of you will know, alternate history is a big source of bread and butter for this blog. So, I was eager to see what the AI would come up with. Well, it’s turned out the AI wasn’t all that interested in alternate history. It seems that it wanted to write an episode of Rick and Morty instead. Still, we did get some fun alternate history tidbits. For example, the protagonist isn’t from our universe. They come from a world where Earth was destroyed in 1876 as a result of the American Civil War. We must presume that space travel, and space colonization, was invented much sooner than in our universe. 

I should also note that this episode marks the point that Theresa and Rich started taking a more hands-on approach to the stories. I can definitely see that. The story was noticeably more cohesive than its predecessors. It still managed to still feel like it was written by an AI, which, of course, it was. This episode certainly had its moments, but I felt that everything didn’t quite come together as well as it could have.

The fifth episode is “Peppers and the Screaming Yoof: A True Crime Parody.” It begins in April of 1969. Four meddling kids, and their dog, are on their way back from Woodstock. They soon find themselves on a mysterious farm called the Screaming Yoof. As meddling kids are wont to do, they decide to snoop around and investigate the mystery.

This episode was released on April Fools’ Day. As such, I spent most of the episode trying to figure out what the trick was going to be. I thought that maybe it would turn out to have been written completely by the humans, with no AI input. This was before I listened to the companion episode, and learned about the change in how episodes are made. So, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop the whole time. I suppose the effect was a bit like Horse eBooks. It was this Twitter account that, as the name suggests, spammed quotes from various Russian ebooks about horses. Everyone assumed that it was an automated bot account. The quotes, non sequiturs that they were, almost worked as dada poetry. It was kind of amusing to think that a bot account had inadvertently created art. Well, as it turns out, it was not a bot account, there was a human running the Horse eBooks account the entire time.

Anyway, if you’ve ever wondered what Scooby-Doo would be like if it had swearing, overt drug references, and if Scooby was the antichrist, well, here you go. The Scooby analog is mentioned to have been raised by a cult called The Devil Dogs, but this doesn’t have much bearing on the plot. There’s one point where the characters encounter a turntable from the 1980s, which apparently happened before 1969. Theresa and Rich have said they intended this story to be a parody of true crime podcasts. I do get some hints of that, but Scooby-Doo is definitely the dominant flavor here. I admit that true crime podcasts aren’t really my area of expertise.

This one wasn’t bad, but maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been looking for signs of trickery.

The sixth episode is “Asteroid Annie and the Mushiblooms.” This episode is an alternate universe version of the previous episode “Asteroid Arnie and the Mushiblooms.” Once again, we have a protagonist going on an adventure with a space hero; in this case, Asteroid Annie. However, there are some differences this time round. Chief among them is that the Mushiblooms are evil, and Asteroid Annie is the only person who can stop their diabolical plot.

I think I like this episode a bit more than “Asteroid Arnie.” It just felt like the plot was better constructed this time round. There was a part where Annie said that it is important to remember three things: shake the jar, open the jar, and be kind to the babies. I assumed that this was simply AI-generated gibberish. However, it turns out that Theresa was the one who wrote that particular line. In fairness, it does have plot reverence. There’s a jar of seeds that is important to defeating the Mushiblooms. The part about being kind to the babies is because, apparently, the Mushiblooms will be reborn from the seeds, and there is a chance that they will be good. Okay, I’m just going to be real here, I got none of that from the story. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t listened to the companion episode. Still, overall I found “Asteroid Annie” to be a bit of a step-up over “Asteroid Arnie.”

Our final episode is “Singer Boy and the Trip to the Moon.” Our protagonist is a clown who works for a circus. They’ve been feeling a bit blue lately, and they just need to get away from it all. So, they team up with another member of the circus named Singer Boy. Together, the two depart in a hot air balloon. The Moon is their destination, and they intend to leave their troubles millions of miles away.

This story had a number of surprisingly introspective, and dare I say, even touching moments. There’s a strong sense of melancholy throughout the story, but also a sense of hope and cautious optimism. It’s like the story is saying that, yeah, bad things happen, but they can be overcome. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. A surprisingly competent effort at a serious story for something written by an AI. Granted, this is all a bit undercut when you consider that Theresa was guiding the path the story took. Still, even with that in mind, this story wasn’t half bad. Sometimes, I wish I could get away from all of my troubles, if only for a bit. Maybe not in a hot air balloon bound for the Moon, but something along those lines, perhaps.

I’m reminded a bit of Today is Spaceship Day by Austin McConnell. It is also a story that was created via a predictive text algorithm. Austin creator turned it into an animated YouTube video using Plotagon, back before Plotagon implemented a subscription model. In fact, he even randomized the way the characters were generated. Very humorous, as you might expect, but also surprisingly touching at times. Definitely give it a watch, if you haven’t already.

And with that, we have covered all of the episodes currently available from Uncanny Robot. It was a bit of a mixed bag, and it certainly had its ups and downs. As is to be expected for something involving AI and predictive text algorithms. Still, it managed to produce some genuine laughs, and some surprisingly competent attempts at more serious material. So, overall, I’m pretty satisfied with my listening experience with Uncanny Robot. I’d recommend everyone else give it a listen. AI probably won’t be the future of audio drama, but it can make some surprisingly entraining stories, when given the right nudges.

I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.