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Post by Trace on Jun 13, 2018 2:46:31 GMT
Finished The Sand That Speaks His Name (these titles are very poetic). Reminded me of The Voodoo Amulet, by the same writer, in that the plot revolves around a pair of characters running around a city like it's a scavenger hunt. A golem in New York takes me back to Murder on 81st Street from The Confessions of Dorian Gray I thought of Dorian when I read that synopsis too. Also, there is a golem story in one of the Gold Key Dark Shadows comics!
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Post by omega on Jun 13, 2018 3:16:35 GMT
The Hollow Winds That Beckon. An important stage in Maggie and Quentin's relationship, and a lovely callback to the black and white era (as is usual in a Cody Schell story).
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Post by omega on Jun 13, 2018 3:23:44 GMT
Better Side watch: The Collinsport Inn diner (which has gotten a lot busier, and no longer serves the Wallace Haggerty special).
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Post by barnabaslives on Jun 13, 2018 20:57:01 GMT
I'm about at a loss for words... I think everyone involved has outdone themselves here. I'm very seriously about saving the last story since aside from the still-mostly-mythical Bloodline (and a vague, non-committal hint about Dr. Cooper), it's the last Dark Shadows that I actually know about. The first three stories from The Lovers' Refrain are all truly outstanding, in my opinion . I wasn't going to listen to that many, but I couldn't help wanting to hear more, especially Cody's story - which I'm pretty sure managed to be my favorite of the three in spite of some incredible competition.
I think the most exciting thing has to be just Maggie opposite Quentin, I've been ruminating lately how long since it's been since the 1970 PT story, where Quentin isn't exactly in the best light for how good he is there at sharing his thoughts and feelings :-) so it's very easy for the whole thing to seem brilliant just because it seems so long overdue if you think about it, and moreso for these venerated leads to have turned in such fine performances on top of such well-written stories - but I've also been especially impressed with the supporting cast, particular Daisy Torme.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2018 3:37:07 GMT
Well, that was great! Honestly, I know that I know Dark Shadows through Big Finish, but (so far) The Girl Beneath The Water and The Paper to The Flame are the best stories (so far) of an always innovative and brilliant range, in a league of their own. While I imagine it's exciting for fans to sneak past Vegence at Collinswood, this worked as a great flashforward for those like me who came to Dark Shadows through Big Finish. To see Maggie push away her (and I'm not denying) just anger and channel into something more productive was great to see. Jackie being a Doctor was a great reveal, but there's plenty of trouble she can get into while looking for an outlet in the meantime and there are plenty of ways to walk onto the path she's on....Honestly, I was just glad to hear Jackie happy and satisfed.
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Post by Audio Watchdog on Jun 21, 2018 0:04:03 GMT
The Dark Shadows Day Book: June 20-Episode 785: Sam Hall and company have given up pretending that Quentin is a product of New England and capitulated to the truth; he’s a Tennessee Williams philosopher-cad who’s strolled into a more interesting genre., is just about the best summation I've ever read about Quentin Collins.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2018 17:35:40 GMT
Finished the Tony and Cassandra mysteries series 1 box set and thoroughly enjoyed so am looking forward to purchasing Maggie and Quentin soon after I get through Crimson Pearl,Curse of Shuafa and Dreams of Long ago....David Selby just has a wonderful voice for audio much as Tom Baker and David Warner do.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2018 5:05:18 GMT
An excellent Quartet of stories.Each of the four scripts delivers and direction is tight.These two characters shine through,Quentins description of how and why he fell in love and his description of marriage is touching.A newbie like myself can follow the stories which is great.Great Stuff between the two main characters.More please.
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 5, 2018 17:20:48 GMT
I'm finally sitting down to write up my thoughts on this. Giving it a listen to for the first time since the initial excitement around the launch.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2018 17:26:37 GMT
I'm finally sitting down to write up my thoughts on this. Giving it a listen to for the first time since the initial excitement around the launch. I always find it good to let the dust settle relisten and contemplate i did enjoy the set
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 5, 2018 18:43:02 GMT
Maggie & Quentin: The Lover’s Refrain - The Girl Beneath the Water (Quentin & Maggie Collins - 20xx, sometime after Return to Collinwood)
First off, I love the theme tune mix for this. Quite lovely, quite moody.
Aside from the titular couple, Clark Alexander and Zara Symes do a stupendous job as Ronan and Emily Collins, and I really hope they continue to be regulars to the range. Johnny Myers also does a wonderful turn as Mr Brewer and Daisy Tormé(!) returns to do a splendid housekeeper in Ms Bailey. Glad to see she’s become a bit of a regular cast member after Bloodlust and Blood & Fire.
We start out not knowing just how long it’s been since Return, heck, it could be contemporary, or even near future, with Maggie & Quentin keeping the family history mum, Ronan making a bit of a werewolf quip, etc. Then we slowly start to get trickles of things being wrong, detail more than just handwaved, outright wrong, Maggie and Quentin having memory issues as they almost remembers things and then reality seems to plaster over the cracks. Sometimes violently.
And then there’s that painting in the hallway.
What is it about the stories about water that make the authors go full surreal?
An excellent story, an excellent tale. An good examination of Maggie & Quentin’s relationship through the lens of everything they want, but can’t have.
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 5, 2018 21:08:26 GMT
Maggie & Quentin: The Lover’s Refrain - The Sand That Speaks His Name(Quentin Collins & Maggie Evans - 200x, not too long after The Girl Beneath the Water)Quentin and Maggie are off in New York after the events of the prior story for some well-needed R&R, though Quentin has some things to clean up while he’s in town. Back in the late ‘20s, after the events recounted in The Missing Reel, Quentin got caught up in some bad stuff, and now it’s all coming back to bother him in the present. This brings to mind Murder on 81st Street from the Confessions line. In fact, I wonder if the Golems within each are one and the same. But anyway, we get sort of an after-the-fact recounting, hollywood style, full of swagger and gumshoeing, from Maggie & Quentin about their noir adventure through the backstreets chasing the muddy monstrosity. All very pulp. I love it heheh. There’s less layers to what’s going on than in the previous story, but it’s no less entertaining. Good stuff. Nice setup for future stories as well
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Post by Trace on Sept 6, 2018 1:13:24 GMT
I just started these, and can tell I’m going to love them, but I’m having placement trouble! Q & M aren’t even married yet in RtC which is 2003...and in these stories they have almost-adult children (or are they adults?)....Q’s 65th birthday is mentioned, and since we know that he’s not really 65, let’s assume Maggie is. Maggie was born circa 1942. Add 65 and that puts the year as 2007. When, where and how did they marry and produce grown children in 4 years?
Do I need to let it go?—and just go with: the kids were SORAS’d (soap opera rapid aging syndrome—a real soap device, usually for storyline purposes) the same way that David, Amy and Hallie were?
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 6, 2018 4:07:55 GMT
I just started these, and can tell I’m going to love them, but I’m having placement trouble! Q & M aren’t even married yet in RtC which is 2003...and in these stories they have almost-adult children (or are they adults?)....Q’s 65th birthday is mentioned, and since we know that he’s not really 65, let’s assume Maggie is. Maggie was born circa 1942. Add 65 and that puts the year as 2007. When, where and how did they marry and produce grown children in 4 years? Do I need to let it go?—and just go with: the kids were SORAS’d (soap opera rapid aging syndrome—a real soap device, usually for storyline purposes) the same way that David, Amy and Hallie were? Just listen to the story, all will become clear
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Post by Trace on Sept 6, 2018 4:24:56 GMT
I just started these, and can tell I’m going to love them, but I’m having placement trouble! Q & M aren’t even married yet in RtC which is 2003...and in these stories they have almost-adult children (or are they adults?)....Q’s 65th birthday is mentioned, and since we know that he’s not really 65, let’s assume Maggie is. Maggie was born circa 1942. Add 65 and that puts the year as 2007. When, where and how did they marry and produce grown children in 4 years? Do I need to let it go?—and just go with: the kids were SORAS’d (soap opera rapid aging syndrome—a real soap device, usually for storyline purposes) the same way that David, Amy and Hallie were? Just listen to the story, all will become clear Ok thanks! Will do! The first 10 minutes are excellent!
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 6, 2018 17:13:21 GMT
Maggie & Quentin: The Lover’s Refrain - The Hollow Winds That Beckon(Quentin Collins & Maggie Evans - 200x, not long after The Sand That Speaks His Name)Cody Schell always does a good yarn, so you know you’re in for a treat when his name’s on the bill! Quentin hasn’t been himself since that stinger last episode, but has taken up his time restoring Sam Evans’ old boat to take Maggie out on a row. How romantic Some nice little reminiscing, and perhaps some metatextual commentary on Maggie and Quentin ending up together. Cheeky Some of Quentin’s puns are smooth as well heheh. “I don’t want to open a can of worms… but we came out here to fish, pass me the bait!” LOL And then the storm hits. Oh dear. And the pair wake up on a strange island, no moon in the sky, with a crazy woman in the woods. Oh and there’s ghosts. Of course Another in the series of examining Maggie & Quentin’s relationship through various means and lenses, which seems to be the running the theme of the set. With some nice integration of Sam Evans (and others) into the backstory of the events, and some interesting inspirations from various mythological sources elsewhere. This set continues to be excellent, moreso on relisten
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2018 14:40:28 GMT
When will we see Quentin and Lela box set?I would enjoy the pair
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Post by Zagreus on Sept 7, 2018 18:24:04 GMT
Maggie & Quentin: The Lover’s Refrain - The Paper to the Flame(Quentin Collins & Maggie Evans - 200x, after The Hollow Winds That Beckon)The final tale of this volume. Let’s see how things shake out, shall we? And one miss Jacqueline Tate is a doctor at Windcliff! Speaking of Windcliff, something is amiss (same as it ever was) Some strange influence is affecting the patients, and it seems like it has something to do with the death of Maggie’s mother. And holy shit was that a soundbite of David Ford? The trail leads to “Burrowing” (or is it Barrowing?) MA, an empty mining town that smells of sulfur. And the details of Maggie’s Mother keep resurfacing. And then Quentin’s past starts peaking in too… On a side note, I find the conceit behind the burg, that of a mine caught fire and slow-burning, the citizens forced to abandon their homes, and the village now a smokey sulfur spewing ghost town, a fascinating one. It’s what Silent Hill was based on, which was modeled after the history of real-life town Centralia, Pennsylvania. Look it up! I must say I spotted one of the twists coming an episode or two ago. But that didn’t make the reveal any less great to listen to, especially all the clever editing work that went into the scenes It’s a good, bittersweet ending, and I hope we get to see what happens next at some point But even if we don’t, Dark Shadows ends as it began, in a train on its way into Collinsport, city by the sea.
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Post by silverednickle on Sept 10, 2018 16:41:51 GMT
Thank you for writing these reviews. I always enjoying reading other people's perspectives. Certainly makes me revisit mine, especially after not listening for a while. I have been thinking that it's time to revisit some of these newer audios. I love listening through them the first (and usually nearly immediate second time), but also coming back to them after a little thinking.
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Post by fingersmash on Sept 11, 2018 13:01:24 GMT
I listened to this last night and boy is it good. Everyone sparkles and Quentin and Maggie get some great development. 10/10
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