Although the story essentially dealt with a small slice of the protagonist’s life, there was so much to the background that I kept picturing what was going on elsewhere. I pictured the effects of the alien’s activities, the resistance fighters who were trying to combat the aliens, the other humans that were complicit in their actions.

It just seemed like there was so much there to explore. Take a listen and tell me that you couldn’t build an entire campaign just based on the information in this one short story.

I recommend that you check it out.

These are definitely not the 4 color stories that many  super hero tales are. Instead, they are thoughtfully written pieces containing tough choices. In many cases, I often am trying to figure out who the good guy is.

In addition to their great shirts, however, they also produce a great podcast: Geeklabel Radio.

Listening to their podcast is like listening to a really good conversation with your friends. The podcast covers a variety of geek topics such as movies, games, books, toys, comics, tv shows, gadgets. Just about anything geeky you can think of, they cover it.

I cannot recommend this podcast more highly.

Although I typically do not like stories involving any sort of time travel, I really enjoyed this story. I guess that’s not too surprising given that it was written by someone who won his first Hugo Award at the age of 20.

I think that the story is best described as the story O. Henry would write if he wrote science fiction.

This is a great story that you should check. Given that Escape Pod is free, you have no excuse not to.

The idea behind the concept is that it gives the group a chance to try out a new world, a new systems, or a new concept, all without having to worry about whether it is going to turn into a campaign. Everyone goes into the evening knowing that the game is just a one shot.

Additionally, it could give that person who wants to try their hand ad GMing a chance to do so in a limited setting, without the worries about what happens next week.

I think this is certainly an interesting concept and could be very useful, especially for those groups that play only one game or game system.

Additionally, Charlie was recently interviewed by Rick Kleffel at The Agony Column as well as the guys at Dragon Page Cover to Cover.

The Kleffel Interview (which, although it does not contain nearly as many f bombs as what can be found on most pages of Huston’s work, is definitely adult rated) is great in that it is almost an hour long and gives an in depth view of how Huston thinks. Given the content of his works, Huston seems surprisingly normal.

The Cover to Cover Interview, although shorter, is cooler in that Huston talks a little about his playing D&D as a teenager and how his role playing experiences helped form his life as a writer.

Both interviews are quite enjoyable and I recommend them to anyone who is a Huston fan.

“Escape Pod is a weekly podcast bring you fun short science fiction and fantasy. You can listen at your computer, on any MP3 player, or subscribe to receive each episode. We pay our authors, but we’re always free to listen.”

I have listened to several works from Escape Pod and have enjoyed them all. Some I have enjoyed very much. For example, although I was already familiar with Rob Sawyers’ Shoulders of Giants, I found it quite enjoyable to listen to. Also, if you like zombie stories, Eugie Foster’s My Friend is a Lesbian Zombie is as disturbing as it sounds. Paul DiFilippo’s Little Worker was enjoyable and twisted (that’s twisted in a really good way).

Those and many others are all great stories on Escape Pod. However, what I want to point you toward today is the Escape Pod review of Eragon. I had already heard enough about this movie to know that I didn’t want to waste 104 minutes of my life watching it. However, the review at Escape Pod is absolutely hilarious and needs to be listened to for the pure comic enjoyment. Thus, the movie is not recommended, however, the review most certainly is.

Slice of Sci Fi has an interview with the guys behind the movie The Gamers Dorkness Rising.

I did not see the screening of this at Gen Con, however, I have heard good things about it. The interview is an interesting look at a little of the behind the scenes aspect of making the movie.

Slice of Sci Fi. Michael R. Mennenga and Evo Terra started this show as an attempt to keep TPTB from canceling Enterprise. That did not work, however, Michael and Evo (and others) have created a really informative and entertaining show about the current state of the Science Fiction TV and movie entertainment.

Dragon Page Cover to Cover. In this podcast, Michael and Evo (and Summer) interview authors with new books coming out. They also discuss new books that are coming out. The author interviews are often very enlightening and interesting.

Michael and Evo’s Wingin’ It. This is another show from Michael and Evo. On their website they describe this show as “much drinking, occasional food ingestion, scattered communication & great guest contributions. Loosely controlled by the combined brilliance of Michael & Evo.” This podcast is what you would get if you and several of your buddies sat down and recorded a discussion over a few “beverages.” It is often very funny and always entertaining. Their episode #75 (recorded live at Dragon Con) is one of the funniest shows I have ever heard. A warning, these shows are NSFW and not (usually) appropriate for children.

The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas. KAMN features both Summer and Joe from the various Dragon Page podcasts as well as a third host David Moldawer. The Ninjas review “old school” science fiction books, movies and TV shows. For the most part, it is a great trip down memory lane. It can also be quite surprising. For example, I enjoyed their review of Knight Rider more than I ever enjoyed the show itself. The Ninjas have covered thing such as Blue Thunder/Airwolf, Stranger in a Strange Land, Logan’s Run, and Snow Crash.
The Babylon Podcast. If you are a fan of the show Babylon 5, this show is for you. Summer (from Dragon Page, as noted above) and Tim Callender are joined in this podcast by Jeffrey Willerth. Jeffrey worked on Babylon 5 for all five seasons in a variety of roles including as a background artist, numerous aliens, humans, stand-in for Bruce Boxleitner and playing the recurring role of Ambassador Kosh. Because of Jeffrey’s connections the show is able to get a number of interesting guests, including both stars of the show as well as behind the scenes people. Additionally, they discuss the show episodes, one show at a time.