Anthropomorphic Dreams Publishing

PodCastle, the fantasy fiction podcast, has a new story with anthropomorphic characters, and two older ones which are also of interest.

Marsh Gods by Ann Leckie is in the same world as The Nalendar. Both tales deal with gods, usually in the form of animals or nature spirits, living amongst men, sometimes helping them, and always vying for their devotion. The world and the gods which inhabit them are fascinating, as our the rules governing the gods interactions with people. The stories are slightly mature due to some violence, but not more than would be seen on broadcast television.

I’ll Give In by Meghan McCarron is interesting tale of a woman meeting the new neighbor, a minotaur, and being tempted by the mythical stranger. It’s metaphor in the shape of a moving relationship drama with a fantasy twist. This story is more adult for including non-explicit sex.

Khrysha the hangvixen takes some time alone to relive the past and meditate on a particular execution which affected her deeply.

Rated mature for discussion of capital punishment.

“Kill 23″ by Ken Pick

Read by Peter Katt

Music elements by Infinity Squared

Download or listen to the episode here.

Pseudopod’s recent story Love Like Thunder is a wonderful mix of Native American folklore and mythology along with a nice tale of a sympathetic monster.

It has mature content due to bits of violence and horror imagery, but it also has some nice drama.

Escape Pod’s story βoyfriend is another story featuring artificial lifeforms as characters, this time in the form of virtual dating partner apps for your smart phones. It’s an interesting concept that’s wonderfully drawn and fleshed out with some good character drama. This should strike chords with anyone who remembers being a teenager and/or being one of the quirky ones.

One of the recent stories on PodCastle brings a new twist on a classic fairy tale. Kissing Frogs updates Grimm’s story, not only with a modern setting, but new themes of both romance and self image.

EscapePod the science-fiction podcast with robotic characters. Synthetic characters have always been a favorite of mine as they allow for wonderful uses of anthropomorphism and examining of the human condition.

On the Eyeball Floor has workers at a cyborg factory not only peering into but hovering over the abyss of the uncanny valley.

Harry the Crow does a wonderful job of mixing older cultures and myths with the modern world, holding onto old traditions while dealing with new technology.

Tideline has a leftover war machine trying to make a memorial to the soldiers who died in the battle, while befriending and protecting an orphaned boy.

Edward Bear and the Very Long Walk sets the task of grave importance on a small robotic bear from the ship’s nursery. Edward must take an arduous journey to save the people and the children he was built to love and care for.

These stories are all marked mature for various levels of violence and/or themes of death, but they also contain strong and moving drama and are well worth a listen.

Being a fiction podcast, PodCastle has run a few stories about dragons.

Fear of Dragons and Dragon Hunt both play on classic fantasy themes, but twist them in new directions. The stories are compelling dramas and feature sympathetic monsters. They are both rated for a general audience.

Illuminated Dragon is both a fable of political resistance but also an allegory on creativity. It is rated slightly mature for some violence.

And Run of the Fiery Horse is an intriguing tale of Eastern mythology and making a deal with a demon. It is rated slightly mature as well, for sensuality and implied violence.

PodCastle the fantasy fiction podcast has run two stories by author Eugie Foster with both anthropomorphic animals and an Eastern setting.

Daughter of Botu features rabbits and shape-changing and the story of trying to leave one world and live in another. It’s rated mature for for frank descriptions of adult events.

The Tanuki Kettle is sweet story with a mischevious tanuki and is completely G-rated.

District 9 is quite a compelling movie. The film is like Alien Nation with a more interesting, realistic and gritty plot. The fact that the disabled space ship came to rest over Johannesburg, South Africa is no accident.

The film is a study of race and the mistreatment of refugees. The social critiques are obvious but deftly handled, starting out with dark humor and building into a mounting dread. There is a fair amount of violence and gore, but it feels organic to the plot as it mounts to its conclusion.

The creature effects are wonderful. They created a race of aliens which are truly alien. The bipedal shrimp-like “Prawns” are both pathetic and unnerving as they eke out their existence in the settlement camp. It’s only later when we get to spend time with them as characters do we get to identify with them more.

The plot is brilliantly economic with the back-story, not answering all the questions, but showing enough to relate to the drama of the situation. It all adds up to a very impressive and moving film.

One of the goals behind the anthology Alone in the Dark was not only to have dramatic horror, but to feature sympathetic monsters in some of the stories. The dramatic stories in Pseudopod, the horror podcast, provided inspiration for the project.

Among Their Bright Eyes and Brothers are two examples of these types of stories.

Variant Frequencies’ Under the Bed is another story which is both disturbing and emotionally affecting.

All these stories are rated mature for violence.