Author: sludgieboy (Page 2 of 7)

Fisher King

January 8, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Splinter Cell – Firewall review

Production company – BBC

Rating –

As I had mentioned in my review of The System, I’ve been a fan of the Splinter Cell franchise for years. So much so, that the mere sight of three green lights conjures the high pitched whistle sound that actually became a trademark of Ubisoft. Therefore, an audio drama was a definite instant subscription for me. But despite my love of the games, any games in fact, I tend to avoid the associated works of fiction. I’ve never even read any of the Star Wars stuff. And I LOVE Star Wars.

So am I now a convert to the world of canon expanding fanfic, or has this proved my fears that I shouldn’t stray from “proper” works? Well read on and I’ll tell you. 

So what’s it about?

The Splinter Cell games, and therefore this story, is set in the present day. It follows Sam Fisher, an operative for shady  government agency Fourth Echelon. He’s like a cross between James Bond and Rambo. His life involves getting dropped behind enemy lines to carry out covert missions that the public side of the US government won’t want to admit to.

This story follows him as he tries to thwart the machinations of billionaire tech wunderkind Brody Teague. This is a job that would be much easier were it not for the recent recruitment of Fisher’s daughter Sarah to Fourth Echelon, unbeknownst to Sam.

They, and the other Fourth Echelon agents are in a desperate race against time to prevent a new weapon from getting into the wrong hands. As the story progresses, Sam and Sarah gain a new found respect for each other, and Sarah’s true talents as a Fourth Echelon agent start to shine.

Is it any good?

Honestly, this isn’t a podcast that will keep you gripped through its entire runtime, even if you’re a fan of Splinter Cell. I appreciate that calling fanfic of computer games cliché is punching down somewhat, but I was rather disappointed.

For the most part, the acting is good. The brilliant Will Poulter voices Brody Teague, and does a phenonemal James Woods impression (whether intentional or not). There is one Russian antagonist though, who’s accent seems to be more well traveled than a fourth echelon agent. It tends to slip from Russian to Spanish, to Italian and back in that space of a few paragraphs of dialogue.

The dialogue in general also seems to veer towards cliché, particularly as the tension cranks up, with the antagonists going all “I don’t expect you to talk Mr Bond, I expect you to die”. This can be fun now and again, but it does start to grate later on

Sound design is very good. It is a BBC production after all, and does its best to keep the tension high. This helps a lot during some of the more dubious moments of acting. It does occasionally intrude on the actual acting a bit too much. This is understandable due to some of the bleaker locations featured, but a few

The character of Sam Fisher is well realized as well. Voiced by the improbably named Adonis Anthony, he is perfect as the war weary curmudgeon that we all know and love. To be honest, if they hadn’t got him well cast, it wouldn’t be much of a splinter cell story would it?

Final thoughts

Don’t get me wrong, this is a long way from the worst podcast I’ve ever had to endure. Overall it isn’t too bad. I think I may be being overly critical because I feel a bit let down. After mistakenly subscribing to a previous series thinking it was this one, I was already bristling slightly. By the time this story had concluded, It had not exceeded expectations at all.

I would recommend this to my son, I think he’d love it. If he had the patience to sit through a podcast.

You can listen to Splinter Cell: Firewall here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001fn5r

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Devil in the details

January 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Deviltown review

Production company – Imperative Entertainment

Rating –

Deviltown logo

As I mentioned in my review of Hoaxed, there seems to have been rather a glut of “satanic panic” podcasts recently. I’m not too sure why. The latest of these to make it to my review list is Deviltown. I’ll be honest, I subscribed just because of the cool name before I even read the synopsis. This series is set in small town America, a seemingly endless source for crime podcasts. The chosen, sleepy community here is Gilmer, Texas.

As I said, there are plenty of incredible true crime podcasts set in small town America. Particularly The Piketon Massacre, which I will be reviewing in due course, but that is for another day.

So what’s it about?

The series is essentially two stories. It starts with reports of the disappearance of local girl Kelly Wilson. She vanished after finishing her shift at a video store, seemingly into thin air. As the investigation kicks off, one family is singled out, an arrest is made quite quickly, and the children come forward telling tales of ritual abuse, cannibalism and dark sacrificial rites in the forest. This secret cabal includes local police and politicians. I mean, they always do, don’t they?

As news of these atrocities spreads, the details become more and more outlandish. I will spare you descriptions, not because they are horrific, but because they are ridiculous and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. I guarantee though, that when you get to that point, you’ll wonder why the investigation wasn’t immediately stopped and the affected parties released.

After the allegations were revealed to be ridiculous works of fiction, and the families were allowed to try and rebuild their lives, one question remained. What exactly did happen to Kelly Wilson?

This is where the second, less fantastic story starts. 

Is it any good?

It’s certainly a gripping series. Whilst my tone may be rather glib at the wild tales told by the children, there is definitely a very real case of abuse here. Unfortunately (probably the wrong word to use there), it isn’t at the hands of some mysterious group of satanists, but rather the people charged with looking after them in the care home. The way they were coerced is absolutely shocking and is the real horror story at the heart of this investigation. The damage done to that family when they should have been looking for a murderer is a real travesty.

Final thoughts

I don’t think I will ever get bored of learning how adults in positions of authority get completely fooled by stories of devil worship. I absolutely understand that children’s confessions should be taken with total seriousness in most cases. They should however, be used to start a proper, forensic investigation where the facts can be established.

These are modern stories, not some centuries old witch hunts. The ability is there to find even tiny traces of blood in murder scenes. Nowadays (and I use that term to include the last 3 decades) surely an eyebrow would be raised at some parts of this story? Or maybe that’s why I’m not a policeman.

At this point in the blog post, I would ordinarily link to the podcast or production company website with a helpful link to the episodes. Unfortunately, Imperative entertainment and the podcast dont seem to actually have any online presence. I guess you’ll just have to hope that your podcatcher of choice has it (I’m sure it will)

Have a Cool Yule Y’all

December 25, 2022 / / 0 Comments

No review this week sorry. As I write this, I am elbow deep in wrapping paper and working out timings for cooking my Christmas dinner. As you read this, I will be elbow deep in shredded wrapping paper and seeing if my timing estimates are indeed accurate.

I can’t believe that I’ve managed to do this for a year without losing interest (this really is a rare occurrence). I have already paid for another year’s hosting, so I’ll stick at this for at least another year!

In case you want to get ahead of me, then the next few shows I review (in no particular order) will be.

A Tradition Of Violence
Deviltown
Badlands
Death In The Afternoon
The Lovecraft Tapes

I hope you all have a happy Christmas if you celebrate it, if you don’t then try to enjoy the endless crap on TV. You could always listen to a podcast instead…

Bah Humbug!

Fry your brain

December 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Great Leap Years review

Rating –

Great leap years logo

As someone who has literally grown up as a Stephen Fry fan, from A Bit Of Fry And Laurie, to Jeeves And Wooster, to QI. This review may seem somewhat biased. If Mr Fry puts his name to something then you can rest assured it will be quality. Having said that, I don’t think he did a podcast before this one. So is this another notch on his tally of greatness, or is it an uncharacteristic fail? Read on and see.

So what’s it about?

This series covers the history of human invention. That may sound like a lot, and indeed it is, but thankfully Stephen skips through the first 10,000 years or so rather quickly so we can get down to more “recent” technological achievement, starting in the middle ages.

Each episode follows along in a somewhat chronological order. Starting in earnest with the invention of the Gutenberg Press, and ending with the invention of computers, maybe even glimpses of the real bleeding edge of advancement.

I guarantee you there will be lots of facts here that you will have never heard before, even if you know about the actual inventions. The way that the most revolutionary things get invented, either by accident or as a “plan b” is truly mind-blowing, and goes to show that these guys are (usually) just ordinary people.

I think my favourite episode here was the reason I found this podcast (after hearing Penn Jillette mention it on his Sunday School podcast) about Fritz Haber, who was responsible for saving more people than anyone else in history, then killing more people than anyone else, and then saving people again. That one is as heartbreaking as it is fascinating, and goes to show the duality of technological advancement, especially during war time.

Is it any good?

If you like learning new things in a fun and interesting way then you’ll love this series. If that previous sentence doesn’t apply to you, I suggest you go back to Joe Rogan. Seeing as an awful lot of people know Stephen Fry from QI, then a series about obscure fact on well known subjects won’t be anything new.

Stephen Fry has a real talent for making things interesting. I suspect this is because he is genuinely interested in the subject matter too. I think this is why there are so many bad teachers in the world. They just aren’t really interested in their own subject matter, but I digress.

Final thoughts

Imagine, if you will, the chapters on recent earth history in The Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy, and you’ll be somewhat close to this show. Yes, I know that Mr. Fry narrated that particular work of genius for the audiobook. That’s why I said it. He has now become as inexoravbly linked to that, as he has to the works of P.G. Wodehouse. Which is no bad thing.

The only thing that stops this being the best podcast I’ve ever heard is the fact that there is so much information that my brain does start to fry after a few episodes. If you’re not as greedy as I am, and you listen to one or two episodes a day then I’m sure you’ll agree that this is practically perfect in every way.

You can get Stephen Fry’s Great Leap Years here:

http://www.stephenfry.com/greatleapyears/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s in the system…

December 11, 2022 / / 1 Comment

The System review

Production company – BBC

Rating –

I feel somewhat tricked into this series. I was looking through the “recommended” list and saw a Tom Clancy Splinter Cell series so I subscribed. Not that I’m a massive Tom Clancy fan. In fact my only knowledge of his work is the Splinter Cell computer games. I figured maybe I should get to know the stories as well.

In the first episode they are talking about people with animal names. “Ah yes”, I  recall. “Something ocelot wasn’t it?” About 30 seconds later I remember that “something ocelot” was “revolver ocelot”, who was from Metal Gear Solid, not Splinter Cell. Old age doesn’t come alone I tell you.

So what’s it about?

The System is a rather gripping drama series focussing on the disappearance of Jake, a disillusioned young man with no prospects, stuck in a dead end job. His half sister Maya is thrown into a dark and violent world after a mysterious phone call from Jake telling her to recover a box from his flat. Following a near miss with some shady looking individuals who also seem to want the box, Maya is determined to uncover the truth.

From there, the story is told in a series of flashbacks that follow Jake’s initiation into “The System”, and the true motivation behind it. Is it just a seemingly innocent (but very intense) self improvement club, or something else? What is the meaning of the spooky list that ends in “Judgment Day”? And just who the hell is Beau Leech?

Is it any good?

It’s very good, yes. The series is well written, and the acting is very good. You may wonder then, why I rated it rather low. Essentially, the main plot thread is not as clever as I suspect the writers thought it was. In fact from quite early on you can see how this is going to play out. Having said that, whilst I did guess the general direction it was taking, the final piece of exposition that triggered the creation of The System was truly heart rending. 

The fact I guessed the twist is the only reason for the low score though. I highly recommend you give it a listen, if you don’t spot the clues, you’ll wonder why I didn’t give it a 5 brain rating. 

I desperately want to expand on the plot to compare it to other podcasts I’ve heard, but that will give the game away somewhat, so I will bite my tongue. As such this review will probably be a bit shorter than usual. When I get round to reviewing those podcasts though, I’ll be linking back to this one, so you’ll eventually see what I mean.

Final thoughts

This podcast series seems to have a diverse range of stories, the latest one being based on Splinter Cell. Each series is short enough to be binge worthy (fewer than 10 half hour episodes), and if the other stories. Rest assured I’ll be reviewing them all in due course. I may even skip to the Splinter Cell one next!

You can get The System here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000wdh0

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

And the winner is!

December 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Trophy pic

December 2nd marked the 1st anniversary of me launching this blog. In a rather preemptive strike on the traditional end of year lists that will invariably clog up all your timelines in a few weeks, I thought I’d get in with my rather unofficial awards celebrating the best (in my opinion) podcasts you can get. So, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the first annual podcastgeek awards ceremony!

Some shows I will have reviewed, and I’ll be adding links to the reviews where available. Others will be reviewed as soon as I get round to it. Each category will have a shortlist of five entries in no special order apart from how they spring to mind. At the end of each shortlist we will have the winners. I hope you have the patience to read all the way through. It shouldn’t take too long!

Now, there may well be some glaring omissions, especially if you’ve been following this blog for a while, but seeing as this will be an annual event, there is always next year, and I promise no series will win more than once.

The drinks are flowing here at the podcastgeek enormodome and the guests are waiting with bated breath to see who takes the gongs home. So without further ado, I’ll roll out the red carpet as the spotlights rake the night sky, put on my best bib and tucker and heap praise on a multitude of shows. DRUMROLL PLEASE!

Best fiction podcast

This was a tough one, because the entire shortlist is excellent, ultimately though, the result will come as no surprise to anyone who’s read my reviews.

The winner is THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES!

Magnus Archives Logo

Best true crime podcast

  • Hunting Warhead
  • The Lazarus Heist
  • Death In Ice Valley
  • Deep Cover
  • The World’s Greatest Con

Another tough one. Another 5 incredible shows, but there’s only one winner tonight. This podcast won just for the fact that there is some resolution to the crimes, and the fact that there are no real trigger warnings.

The winner is THE WORLD’S GREATEST CON!

World's Greatest Con logo

Best gaming/geek culture podcast

I had originally intended to spend a month or so only reviewing this rather niche area of the podcastverse, but I didn’t want to lose either of my regular subscribers, so I decided against it. Anyway, these are five very worthy podcasts, but for the sheer range of subject matter there can be only one (as the highlander would say).

The winner is HYPNOGORIA.

Hypnogoria Logo

Best science podcast

Originally I avoided science podcasts, thinking they would be stuffy and boring (despite having an interest in science). How wrong I was. The podcasts here are all very accessible and very entertaining.

The winner is BIG PICTURE SCIENCE.

Big Picture Science logo

Best comedy podcast

Over the years, I have listened to plenty of “comedy” podcasts that are as funny as standing on a plug. The shortlist here though are all very, very funny indeed. That said, in much the same way the The Magnus Archives was a rather predictable win, so is this. This one is a very sweary win “fae Dougie, Lee and John the dug”.

The winner is A SCOTTISH PODCAST.

A Scottish Podcast logo

Best paranormal/folklore podcast

I could have happily had four of Danny Robins’ podcasts and one other to make up the numbers, but that wouldn’t be fair, especially with so many interesting paranormal and folklore podcasts out there. The winner of this category really takes top spot, like hypnogoria, for the sheer breadth of subject matter. This really is a great series.

The winner is BONE AND SICKLE.

Bone And Sickle logo

Best factual podcast

Possibly the hardest category to judge, due to the catch-all nature of the title. Again, the shortlist entries are all worthy of your time, and I recommend you check them all out. The contrarian in me has decided though that it has to be heroic.

The winner is HOW TO BURN A MILLION QUID.

How To Burn A MIllion Quid logo

Phew, that’s a lot of podcasts isn’t it? And I’ve obviously done a load of listening. That is only a small selection of the podcasts that I’ve pumped into my brain over the last few years. If the best idea is to “write about what you know”, you can see why I started writing about podcasts can’t you?

“Ha! Mr podcastgeek” I hear you scoff. “Why don’t you get a life?”

In response I will click my fingers and out of the shadows a group of no-necked toughs in suits will have these hecklers ejected from the venue.

We have had some great shows mentioned this year, and despite missing out on a win, I really need to give an honourable mention to The Good Friends Of Jackson Elias. When I posted my review of that podcast, it had so many shares and comments, it is BY FAR the most popular post I’ve written. So thank you to all the Call Of Cthulhu and Chaosium fans who took the time to help grow my blog. It is greatly appreciated.

Agent of chaos

November 27, 2022 / / 1 Comment

Hoaxed review

Production company – Tortoise Media

Rating –

Hoaxed logo

When it comes to factual podcasts, there are a few big players. Pushkin Industries is the one that immediately springs to mind, but one I was unaware of until relatively recently was Tortoise Media. I first heard of them when the presenter of the excellent Londongrad podcast was interviewed on the radio. That particular series blew my mind, so when I saw this podcast advertised, I dutifully subscribed.

So what’s it about?

Two children spoke out and told a story about how they were abused by satanists. These otherwise normal children recounted horrific crimes including cannibalism, sexual abuse and murder. The perpetrators of these despicable acts included local clergy, parents and school teachers. This may sound like something from 17th century New England, but this happened in 2014. In London.

As news of this spread all over the world, tempers flared in those who look to get angry about such things. People came to Britain to try and get “justice” for the children, and uncover the high-level conspiracy of silence. Could this be final proof of the global cabal of the reptilian overlords child trafficking?

Well no. The problem is that it was all a hoax. And this is where the real story starts. What possessed (pun slightly intended) two children to accuse innocent people of such awful crimes? And more to the point, how did this outlandish tale get so much traction? This is the point of the podcast.

As the series progresses, the truth comes to light, and the real people pulling the strings are exposed, as is the long lasting damage they caused to innocent people.

Is it any good?

In cases like this, I’m almost hesitant to say that it’s good. The facts behind the story are awful, and the emotions of (almost) everyone involved is apparent. For this reason, I would put it in the same league as Hunting Warhead. Hoax or not, this isn’t really a series to listen to if you’re triggered by such things. 

However, what is good is everything else. The research and journalism is faultless. The real need to try and get the reasons for the whole debacle, whether a fool’s errand or not, is absolutely necessary, and it is quickly becoming a Tortoise Media trademark.

Final thoughts

There seems to be a glut of “satanic panic” podcasts recently, and I will be carrying on this thread soon enough. I find it fascinating how otherwise rational people can get so fixated on what is nothing more than medieval grade religious hysteria. Not only that, but the actions of a few can convince so many into believing such things.

Another thing that is apparent in these cases is the real disregard for the very real harm done to people who get caught up in the furore. Mud sticks, and to be wrongly accused of anything, let alone such hideous crimes is not something I can fathom dealing with.

Tortoise Media is really producing some amazing content at the moment, and I can’t wait for the next story. 

You can get Hoaxed here:

https://www.tortoisemedia.com/listen/hoaxed/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Compact and bijou Mostyn

November 20, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Tiny Terrors review

Production company – Rusty Quill

Rating –

tiny terrors logo

Almost a year go now, my very first review was of The Magnus Archives. This is still possibly my all time favourite podcast. At the time, I bemoaned the fact that it had spawned a multitude of imitators of varying quality. I stand by that opinion (mainly because it’s still true). But, you may ask, what does that have to do with this? Are these terrors of which you speak tiny by name and nature, or are they genuinely the stuff of nightmares? Well, read on and I’ll tell you.

So what’s it about?

The Tiny Terrors exchange is an swap shop for scary stories rather similar in tone to the Creepypasta website. Its origins hark back to the pre-internet days when writers would swap short stories by post. This was a sort of secret club. You could only join by being recommended by a writer already in the club, and every so often you would receive a story through the post to enjoy and review. In the digital age, and with the dawn of search engines, this secrecy was lost somewhat, although the exclusivity, and therefore quality was retained.

In each episode of the podcast, the employees of the exchange read a story and record it on tape. Running parallel to these recordings of weird fiction are stirrings of more sinister machinations just out of sight of the main plot, and soon the reality of the characters starts getting very strange indeed.

Is it any good?

I really like this one. It’s my favourite Magnus-alike series, and the side plot is reminiscent of The Storage Papers. Although, comparing it to either of these podcasts directly is a bit of a cop out, it’s more than capable of standing up on its own two feet.

Cole Weavers (I can spell his name, even if the Rusty Quill website can’t!) has done a stirling job with the writing. The characters are very likable and thanks to the voice cast, very believable. Regarding the acting, for the most part, it is great, and I love to hear familiar voices in there too. The individual stories are also very well written indeed. There are some incredibly strange nuggets of weird fiction to enjoy, so much so that I would rate this a five even if it was a straight anthology horror series.

Final thoughts

As I said, there are many, many podcasts out there now with a very similar premise. Tiny Terrors however, wears its Magnus Archives badge with pride. Not only is it by Rusty Quill, and as I said, there are a few familiar voices, even Jonathan Sims makes an appearance doing a very good Garth Marenghi impression, intentional or not.

I’ll be honest, despite me praising Rusty Quill to everyone, not all their podcasts appeal to me. In fact I’ve heard trailers to some that I have deliberately avoided. I guess this is only to be expected. Despite having a high success rate entertaining this podcast addict, I suppose 100% is too much to expect. You really should check this one out as soon as you can.

You can get Tiny Terrors here:

https://rustyquill.com/show/tiny-terrors/

Or wherever you get your podcasts 

Where have you been all my life?

November 13, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Curious Matter Anthology

Rating –

curious matter anthology logo

As any collector will tell you, the joy of collecting is the accumulation of your chosen items rather than getting any use from them. This is certainly true of my podcast list, which despite growing almost exponentially, never seems to get any shorter.

One of the casualties of this accumulation is the aforementioned podcast series. I have only just got around to listening to this one, and it has given me a sore leg from kicking myself for not getting into earlier. Hopefully my introductory ramblings have whet your appetites somewhat, so without further ado, here is my Curious Matter Anthology review.

So what’s it about?

Curious Matter Anthology really does what it says on the tin. Each episode (or in some cases series of episodes), is a dramatisation of a classic weird fiction or sci-fi story. Adapted by Jonathan Pezza and with a cast of talented voice actors, each story really comes to life in a way rarely experienced in podcastland.

The first two stories in the series followed the travails of Mr. Robert Blake, in stories by Robert Bloch and H.P. Lovecraft, then it was a deep dive into an epic tale by Phillip K Dick. With the remainder of episodes featuring stories by Kurt Vonnegut, Henry Kuttner and Andre Norton.

The adaptations (particularly the Lovecraftian ones) sit nicely between the readings by the HPLHS, and the recent BBC releases of The Lovecraft Investigations. In the introduction to the first episode, Mr. Pezza says that was enamored by the BBC radio play of Star Wars. This really comes across in episode 1, with the orchestral background music very reminiscent of the John Williams Star Wars score.

Is it any good?

It’s outstanding. It has deceptively high production values and (for the most part) the voice acting is top notch. It is a very immersive experience, and each adaptation is very well written. The sound effects are also very well produced and really add to the immersion. This is nice for a change. Some series add superfluous noises that can either distract the listener, or worse add a kind of aural “matte line” that shows the joins between the sound effects and the recorded actors.

This is a relatively short series of stories (so far). I appreciate that they started this show right around the time that COVID ground the world to a halt, but hopefully there will be many more episodes in the pipeline.

I should also say that on the whole, I havent really been a fan of podcasts by Realm. I’m glad that this one is an exception. I’m also glad I didn’t dismiss it out of hand either!

Final thoughts

I’m sorry that it’s taken so long to get to this series. For the most part I’m really enjoying it. I’ll be honest, Phillip K Dick isn’t really my cup of tea. I can appreciate his influence though, and thanks to the high quality of both the writing and recording, it’s not too much of a slog to get through.

It will be interesting to see which stories get the Curious Matter treatment next. Personally, I’d like more Lovecraftian ones, but I trust the CMA gang to produce brilliant audio drama whatever they choose.

You can get Curious Matter Anthology here:

https://curiousmatterpodcast.com/

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

Are you sitting comfortably?

November 6, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Shadows At The Door review

Rating –

Shadows At The Door logo

As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, I’m a massive fan of David Ault. He’s a great voice talent who has the uncanny knack of cropping up in a diverse range of podcasts, but whose appearance is always a guarantee of quality. His deadpan delivery is instantly recognisable, and I’m not ashamed that whenever he crops up in a show, there’s a little part of me that goes “yes”. Apart from raising the standard of other people’s work (there is one podcast that springs to mind that got a whole extra “brain” in my ratings just because he was in it), he also has this series. Now that I’ve finished with the fawning, read on and I promise I’ll try to keep the hyperbole to a minimum.

So what’s it about?

Shadows At The Door is an anthology podcast of ghost stories and creepy fiction by David Ault and Mark Nixon. In fact, the first episode is a very Jamesian, and deliciously chilling ghost story written by Mark Nixon himself. This isn’t the only episode penned my Mr. Nixon, but it was a brilliant way to start proceedings.

Whilst I have already given Mr. Ault a good deal of wordcount already, I don’t want to leave Mark Nixon out. He has quite a body of work as a writer for the (now legendary) NoSleep podcast, and even appeared as M.R. James on The Writers Mythos. This is a podcast I must admit I hadn’t heard of before, but I’ve duly subscribed and will be checking out asap.

After the actual reading, Mark and David go back over the story and discuss the themes and influences. This places it in a rather similar vein to A Podcast To The Curious (although that particular show doesn’t feature a full reading of James’ stories). It’s also slightly more light-hearted than the more scholarly Podcast To The Curious. This is a chance to lighten the mood here, as the darkness of the stories gives way to wordplay and humour.

Talking of humour, most of the recent (albeit sparse) episodes have been “drunk stories” told at Halloween and Christmas etc. Hearing David Ault trying to tell a story after drinking an inordinate number of shots is surprisingly funny, and way more entertaining than the similar TV shows. I suspect his is because David and Mark are genuinely wittier than the panel show fodder who usually lend their names to such light entertainment dross.

Is it any good?

I like this show a lot. Recently it does seem to have gone rather quiet over there though, which is a shame. Although I’m sure that this podcast is far from the main source of income for these two, so I’ll just await each new episode like a child hoping to get a full size snickers in his trick or treat bucket.

The stories, while very much genre specific are varied enough to be engaging, and even though some of these are tales you will no doubt have heard many times, you really can’t beat a good storyteller to breathe new life into a well known yarn.

Final thoughts

If you’re a fan of classic ghost stories, or indeed modern stories written in a classic style then this is for you. David Ault is second to none as a voice actor, and Mark Nixon is a very talented writer. They make a great team, and apart from the lack of output by these two, there isn’t anything I can fault here.

You really need to check this podcast out as soon as you can.

You can get Shadows At The Door here:

https://shadowsatthedoor.com/

Or wherever you get your podcasts 

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