Once, at the beginning, you asked why you were brought here. This is what I told you: your parents made a deal. I would rid them of their plague of rats, and they would pay me. I cleared the town of pests, easily done, and returned for my payment. They laughed at me and tried to send me away with less than they promised. Money is not important. Deals are.
The theme of this episode of the Drabblecast is fairy tale child abduction. In David is Six, David cannot wait to be seven. In his desperation, he strikes a bargain with a fairy that appears to him as a talking toad and is taken to the fairy queen. The Best Boy, The Brightest Boy picks up where the Pied Piper of Hamlin left off, following the children and the Piper into his kingdom under the mountain where after a series of cruel games and tests, only one boy remains alive. He becomes the Piper’s apprentice. In Broken, a father stumbles upon a fairy in the act of exchanging his disabled child for her own enchanted brood. A heart-breaking decision follows.
Podcast: Download
James Kennedy had stared at his sock drawer for a good ten minutes that first morning, dumbfounded. He’d never seen it so neat, and he didn’t remember doing it. But there they were: threadbare, but tidy and folded…
Another Drabblecast doubleheader special, featuring two stories from from author John P. Murphy.
Help support Norm’s New CD: The Esoteric Order of Sherman. Pre-order the Order.
Episode Sponsor: The Flash Pulp Podcast, thrice weekly pulp stories for the modern age.
Podcast: Download
The shadow lingered at Sarah’s window, balanced on air, certain to fly away the next step I took. Another moment and it would be gone. Another moments and I would call the police, report my daughter missing, and spend the rest of my life convincing myself I’d imagined it…
This episode of the Drabblecast opens an announcement introducing the Drabblecast Archive CDs, featuring episodes 1-79 in a 3 disc set. In the drabble, a sleep-addled God himself cannot (or will not) provide a reason for why the world ended. The feature story, Sarah’s Window, explores the familiar theme of children leaving our world for one of fantasy, with the twist of a distraught parent serving as protagonist. A single father tries to convince a trespassing, morally ambiguous shadow creature to return his apparently kidnapped daughter, Sarah, amid its assertions that it is innocent of wrongdoing since “not all lost things are stolen.” An otherworldly realm seduces with magical delights.
Podcast: Download
“As you can see, this clump of daffodils is far too overgrown,” said the frail, blue-haired host.” The blooms in the center are starting to suffer as the younger bulbs challenge them for sunlight and nutrients…”
The episode begins with more from the world of the Mega-Beach Death-Match. The Drabble describes warring among fairies. The feature is a grim tale of holiday angst, shame, and the potential for forgiveness (and unforgivable acts). Feedback is for episode 79’s “Low Carb Cheesecake.”
Podcast: Download
“Just one thing,” I said, nodding towards the cheesecake. “How do you do it?”
Norm Sherman gives us more of the Mega-Beast Death-Match. The Drabbles for this episode depict lawn ornament assassins and a man’s true form. The feature story describes the horrible price others pay for your health foods. Feedback from “Witchcraft in the Harem” by Aliya Whiteley (Episode 74) and episode 75’s Trifecta IV.
Podcast: Download
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén
