See the Fangrrl Squee

...and another bloody thing. ( random burble about 'Storm Mine', not very interesting unless you're as nutty as I am... )

As provoked by various factors, I've been listening to the Kaldor City audios, again.

Today, it was Checkmate and Storm Mine. I think they're shaping up as my favorites of the run, warts and all. I say warts because, yes, viewed in a certain light, both stories can be seen as not a little smug and terribly twee. Then again, that's true of the entire series, bless its metaphorical cotton socks.

A particular strength, I think, is that it's essentially a two-part story, rather than two single stories. The individual episodes can stand on their own, but are best when listened to in close succession. One of my complaints about the Kaldor City series is the relative brevity of the episodes - I've mentioned before that I've been spoiled by Big Finish and their comparatively lavish running-time. The previous stories often cross the line from fast-paced to rushed - painfully so in Hidden Persuaders. The change in pace with Checkmate/Storm Mine is one I appreciate.

Yeah, listeners could sneer at the chessboard metaphor/narrative device of Checkmate. I'm quite certain I have, elsewhere in the LJ, but, what the hell... It's a fine line between reasonably clever and too clever by half - and god knows, Carnell falls into the latter category, so I guess one should accept that a story in which he's caught up in the action - despite his preference otherwise - is also going to stray into too clever by half. Or maybe I'm just jealous. ;)

I'm being forced to give Storm Mine more credit than I have in the past. It's a story you really have to pay attention to because almost every line can be interpreted in a multiple number of ways. Yes, it still makes me want to throw my hands up in the air and shriek "Will someone just tell me what's going on?" but I suppose that's rather the point of it - or one of them, at least. This time, I made a point of listening to it with the premise ( Spoilers! )

If I listen to the story again, any time soon, I'll tackle it with a different POV in my head, such as ( Another spoiler ) and see how I interpret the wrangling, then. As I said, it demands a bit of attention. It's quite fun, though, in its way.

More thoughts as they occur to me. Actually, I've quite the rant about Blayes brewing, but it needs a few days to ripen, methinks.

As I'm re-listening to the series, I don't think I ever quite acknowledged the tongue that is firmly in cheek throughout the Kaldor City series.

That said, I'm enjoying it much more.

I'd forgotten how much I love slightly-crazy/disassociated seventh Doctor. He's rife with fabulousness, in that way that sorta-broken characters are appealing to us occasionally-overwrought fangirls. (Trust me, that makes sense to that particular demographic. Both of us.)

Frozen Time is another Nicholas Briggs story that I've rather enjoyed. Methinks I need to pay more attention to the chap as a writer.

And, on another note entirely, the pre-Gallifrey squee has reached a new level. Hee!

As previously threatened, I'm listening to the entire Kaldor City run in one fell swoop.

I've just finished the second story - Death's Head - and rather to my surprise, the series is more proving enjoyable than I had expected (or remembered). It's all still a bit shameless and occasionally wince-inducing, mind you, but I'm willing to admit that it's better than my initial assessments might have led you to believe.

Granted, knowing how the plot's going to unfold over the course of the series helps, too - the dollops of foreshadowing and certain character actions make a lot more sense and make the story feel stronger. Uvanov is still a whiny bitch, tho'. ;)

I've also listened to the Kaldor City one-act The Prisoner and it was quite the hoot. Aptly named, too, as it was almost pure homage to the TV show of the same name - or so it seemed to me. Being a complete sucker for the McGoohan series, anything in a similar vein is almost guaranteed to entertain me.

On to Hidden Persuaders...

Right then, I've finally finished listening to Kaldor City - Taren Capel, written and directed by Alan Stevens.

( Cut as I suspect 99.5% of you haven't even heard of Kaldor City )

I just started listening to the Excelis series (Excelis Dawns by Paul Magrs) and, oh dear, it's hilarious.

I say oh dear because I wasn't quite expecting comedy, you see, and, at first, I thought "Oh god, am I not listening to this properly?" but, nope, I don't think it's me.

(I just hope it's all intentional, y'know? Nothing more crushing than discovering you've inadvertantly written a comedy, I'm guessing)

I have since realized, upon closer reading of the back cover, that it couldn't be a serious tale, not with Iris Wildthyme in it, but I wasn't quite prepared for the sheer manic giggling it provoked whilst I rode the train the other day. It's practically a panto - and I'm only about 15 minutes into the thing.

Right then, now that my thresholds recalibrated. I'm sure I'll enjoy the rest.

The story has a bonus in that it's letting me give Iris another chance. Leavened with the presence of other strong characters, I think I might find her a bit more palatable than I have previously. I love her to bits in the EDAs, mind you, so I'm generally inclined to enjoy the character. But Iris At Large was a bit...much.

I'm off to the big bad city and will be listening to the rest of the audio on the way. ;)

Did a bit more thinking about Liberator as I battled insomnia, last night.

( Minor spoilers )

Well, the plot is starting to diverge from the original canon - finally.

However, when the ship's computer is the most interesting character on the cast, one can't be entirely optimistic about the future of the series.

( Spoilers )

I know that it's an utter cliché, but I just listened to The Natural History of Fear (yes, again) and I'm still gleaning new bits from it.

Mind you, the fact is that a certain amount of loss is inevitable when one primarily listens on the commute train, so no wonder I'm picking up new bits. But still. Damn, it's a good story.

And, thinking of the icon accompanying this post, I need me a recording of PMG reading something filthy. Srsly. The dirtier the better and no, I'm not asking for The History of Compost.

Fortunately, I have a shiny new copy of Casino Royale to console me, in the meantime. My fandom is fucking brutal, forsooth. I need someone to make me an icon of that text, over a clip from the fight in the B&W scene...