On this week’s show, every day is Earth Day when you’re living on an Elder God! We bring you a hidden gem from the 1930’s pulp science fiction era, written by Pulp Master General Edmond Hamilton!
Podcast: Download
Tag: nature
Author Jay Lake knew about the devil and he knew about the clowns. When his story, Clown Eggs, first appeared on the Drabblecast, listeners said things like “This might be, hands-down, the weirdest story I’ve ever heard on [The Drabblecast]. I think I’m going to have nightmares forever. Can I send my therapy bills to you guys?” (Thanks, Talia)
In other words, people loved it.
Since then, the Drabblecast has produced three other outpourings from Jay’s singular vision of the world (or a world – or some worlds, but hopefully not our own). In fact, Jay’s last professional sale was “The Goat Cutter,” Drabblecast 321, the story from last April about the Devil in Texas. You remember that story- you can’t forget it, even though you’ve tried.
Jay lost his battle with cancer on Sunday, June 1, 2014. In tribute to Jay, we’re kicking off Drabbleclassics with several weeks of Jay Lake’s stories.
And now: Episode 115, Clown Eggs, first published May 25th, 2009.
The spring tide rolled across Momus Beach, tossing the flaccid corpses of clowns like so many torn balloons. Weathered to a dispirited pallor, they twisted in the foamy surf with the eternally surprised expressions of the dead..
The Drabble describes either an apocalyptic event, or a simple machine. The feature introduces us to old “bull” clown Uncle Swarmy. It’s not just another day at the beach. Learn more about the clown life cycle than you’re comfortable with!
Podcast (classics): Download
Subscribe: RSS
An oral history, recorded in the annals of sentientkind, spoken by Sven Al’bedo di’Cantara, on the eve of the ninth flying.
1. The Tree
And so it came to pass, in the years past reckoning, when I served as a scribe in the court of the king, that there stood the last and only tree.
It is not known how this came to be the only tree. For a time there were disputing theories; it could hardly have happened by chance. As for me, I favor a hypothesis rooted in the fallacy of infinite halves. For in the strange world where we lived, it was once widely known that if you cross half a distance every day, forever and ever, you shall never reach your destination. Thus, if you consume half the riches of the world, every day, forever and ever, you shall always have some riches left. This truth was a fallacy. It is not possible to cut down half a tree.
Podcast: Download
The Drabblecast presents “Storm Comes A’ Callin'” by Jeremiah Tolbert.
We also introduce cryptozoologist Connor Choadsworth in his hunt across the Gobi Desert for the Mongolian Deathworm.
Jeremiah has had an impact in the Science Fiction world since 2001 and is currently the editor of Escape Pod.
Story Excerpt:
I heft the axe. Lighter now, and warm in my palms. My old bones creak, I lift it over my head. I stare at the groove in the ground, beaten into the land. Many a storm been broke here. Too many, maybe…
Drabble:
Our Drabble this week is “Hanging” by Doug McIntire. You can submit your Drabbles to us in our Drabblecast Forums.
Enjoy the show!
Drabblecast #131 – Storm Comes A’ Callin’
Podcast: Download
This week the Drabblecast presents “Clown Eggs” by Jay Lake.
It is a story that introduces us to old “bull” clown Uncle Swarmy. It’s not just another day at the beach. You’ll learn more about the clown life cycle than you’re probably comfortable with!
Story Excerpt:
The spring tide rolled across Momus Beach, tossing the flaccid corpses of clowns like so many torn balloons. Weathered to a dispirited pallor, they twisted in the foamy surf with the eternally surprised expressions of the dead..
Podcast: Download