The Failed Cities Monologues
Matt Wallace writes and Rick Stringer produces in this new collection, The Failed Cities Monologues.
In a hardboiled dystopian future, one major American city has been divided in two. Separated by much more than a river, one side is an unfinished technological marvel populated by mega-skyscrapers where the wealthy live, work, and play. The other is a forsaken wasteland where order is strictly maintained by a rogue group of cleric soldiers known as the street preachers. But this dichotomy is about to change. Slowly, quietly, clandestine forces are working to undermine the small piece of redemption the street preachers have brought to their concrete flocks. In the face of watching their second chance crumble to dust, some will fight to stop it. Others will kill to make it happen.
A bold experiment in podcast fiction, The Failed Cities Monologues are told from the shifting perspectives of the characters who inhabit this world, twisted noir archetypes and cyberpunk warriors. Their lives and their stories are linked together by conspiracy, fate… and blood.
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November 6th, 2006 at 9:56 am
I’ve been a big fan of these stories since their first run on the Variant Frequencies podcast, and recommend them very highly to new listeners!
November 6th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
I am so glad to see The Failed Cities Monologues come to Podiobooks. I was starting to worry about Rick Stringer’s bandwidth on his Dot Mac account, whenever I recommended this podcast to other people.
Matt Wallace is a very creative and imaginative writer, and this experiment in storytelling is a great showcase of his talent. I recommend that new listeners load up 2 to 4 episodes and listen to them in one day to get a sense of the narrative… At least, that is how I did it, and I got hooked.
November 10th, 2006 at 8:57 am
I think these are a great collection of stories! They are well written and leave you wanting more! I suggest everyone give this series a listen!
November 29th, 2006 at 10:47 am
These are pretty impressive — definitely above and beyond the general run of sci-fi. I also appreciate that they’re aimed for an adult audience.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:13 pm
I just listened to the 7th chapter.
The overall quality of this is truly above par for most of what I am used to reading or finding for free online. I tip my hat to the writer and performers who make this truly unique story a reality here.
Excellent job so far, this is truly a character driven story. I look forward to seeing whats to come.
December 5th, 2006 at 10:49 am
Hey everyone, I just want to say how much we appreciate your feedback about The Failed Cities Monologues. It is jus so fantastic that you are enjoying our story.
Thanks!
Rick Stringer
Producer, Variant Frequencies
December 18th, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Great story- I always look forward to the episodes. The atmosphere is wonderfully dark and gritty and the characters are really well created with lots of facets. A great listen all round!
December 20th, 2006 at 5:21 am
Thanks for the comments Philippa. We are glad that you are enjoying the story.
It is great to see comments from everyone.
January 5th, 2007 at 6:30 am
Absolutely great podcast! I love how the voices of the characters have been captured so well by the actors. Great story, great pacing, great characters. Thanks!
January 5th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Dave, we are vary glad you are enjoying The Failed Cities Monologues. It has been a fantastic experience for all of us. The best part is getting feedback from all of you fans.
Tell your friends!
Thanks!
Rick
January 26th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Hey, all of you who have left comments and ratings for The Failed Cities Monologues. THANK YOU!
We really appreciate all of the feedback.
Rick
February 7th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
I hate Matt Wallace.
Just because I subscribe to his book on here, giving his oh-so-cool book a ratings boost, so he can then flaunt it in my face that he is superior for one shining moment, does NOT mean that I support him.
I hate you, Matt Wallace …
February 7th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
All that I can say is “WOW!!”. I have listened to a dozen or so podcast novels and most have been very good but “The Failed Cities Monologues” is easily a step above the rest. The music, the sound effects, the characters and the story line are all fantastic. I don’t want it to end….
February 9th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Thanks Bob. that is very high praise. Don’t worry, we have some other good stuff planned for after “The Failed Cities Monologues.”
Thank you too Scott. We know that your ranting is just your form of praise. I don’t think you have really done much in podcast fiction until you have been threatened by Scott Sigler.
February 9th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Well then, Rick, consider this HIGH PRAISE, because you’ll be lucky to make it out of February alive. Or at least by luck to make it out without a sever limp. That or a hangnail. Maybe a splinter, I don’t know, it’s hard to control evil mojo from across a continent.
February 22nd, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Hats off to Matt!!!
Love the story and the characters. I do wish that the audio quality was a little better so that I could listen to the book in the car.
February 23rd, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Alan,
I’m curious, why can’t you listen to it in the car? I listen to every episode in my car.
Thanks.
Rick
March 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Rick,
It is particularly Constable Klimenko that give me problems understanding whats going on while I’m driving. I love the story and the way that it is being told.
March 11th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Thanks for the feedback Alan. Did you listen to the Podiobook version of Klimenko? We rerecorded him for that version. Admittedly, the original version of Klimenko was very hard to understand. That is why we redid it.
Rick
March 11th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Very dark, gritty, and noir. I can really picture this semi-post apocalyptic city and the lives there. The production quality is really amazing and gives a big bonus to the atmosphere of the story.
March 12th, 2007 at 3:27 am
Thanks Chris!
Rick
March 12th, 2007 at 11:18 am
A compelling story, told with great imagination, became a completely involving experience in your podcast. All aspects of your production were wonderful, but I especially enjoyed all of the great voices and the superb music! I plan to venture further into the Variant Frequencies world to hear what you have to offer. Thanks for having The Failed Cities Monologues on Podiobooks!
March 12th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Thank so much TiaMija. Getting feedback like this is what makes it all worthwhile. I hope you enjoy the rest of Variant Frequencies as much as you have FCM.
Rick
April 25th, 2007 at 4:09 am
These stories are brilliant! The writing style is great and I love the dystopian future setting. Very steam-punk and gritty. I also think the quality of the recordings, voices and incidental sounds are a cut above most other podbooks. I think it’s great hearing someone with the courage to explore other means or story telling i.e. the shifting point narrator/point of view, rather than just a straight down the line narration. I look forward to hearing and reading other contributions by Matt Wallace.
April 27th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Thank you Oli. We really appreciate the compliments. You can find other Matt Wallace stories at http://www.variantfrequencies.com.
July 13th, 2007 at 7:17 am
FCM is in the top ten for Podiobooks Top Overall Rating! Thank you to all of you who have ranked us!
July 16th, 2007 at 4:58 am
We are a finalist on the Podcast Peer Awards. Cool! Congratulations to our Podiobooks members who also made the finals.
http://www.podcastpeers.org/finalistsPPA3.html
August 13th, 2007 at 4:47 am
The Failed Cities Monologues is a finalist for not one, but two Parsec Awards – Best Audio Drama (Long Form) and Best Audio Production.
http://www.parsecawards.com/2007Finalists
November 15th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Awesome…just frickin awesome!
I have missed cyber-punk type stories….the archtypes, the settings, the gadgets…its all in there. Haven’t seen or heard of many for awhile, except Gibson….and how many times can you read Neuromancer before wanting something new. …
I am so glad you guys did this podcast. This would make one hell of a movie if done right!
Thanks and congrats on your award nominations!
December 24th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Wow, I really enjoyed the style of writing. Eight different points of view made for an engrossing experience. I highly recommend this podibook.
December 25th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Thanks for the comments Joshua and TruckerRich. We are very happy that you enjoyed The Failed Cities Monologues.
And, check it out. We made the Podiobooks Best of 2007 list!
http://www.podiobooks.com/blog/best-podiobooks-of-2007/
Thank you to everyone who subscribed.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Excellent! Good stuff, one of the best audio books I have heard. Excellent narration, good story. Very “Frank Miller”, but in a good way. Keep up the good work!
July 9th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I can’t believe I waited so long to listen to this. I’ve heard some of Mr. Wallace’s shorts on Pseudopod and Variant Frequencies, so I shouldn’t be surprised at how well written this is, but wow!
Great narration too! Thanks!
July 11th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Thank you Anadrea and Woody. We really appreciate the comments. This story was so much fun to create. We love hearing from you.
(Sorry it took me so long to respond to Woody)
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
This was SO much better than the Failed Vagina Monologues.
Seriuosly tho, this book was awesome. I did not want it to end!
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:24 am
This was a wonder-filled experience. Throughout the shifting of the viewpoints, the storyline remained visible — not too clear, but visible — and the shading from the various views only served to make the narrative all the more authentic. After all, in real life we seldom see the full picture, the complete details, the bare truth. Here, we simply came to grasp the understanding little by little, and I loved the feeling.
Moreover, I think I fell in love with Sally’s and Rev. Ethan’s voices.
July 4th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
What a nice review Juuro. Thank you.
July 5th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Read my review of TFCM here:
http://podagogue.blogspot.com/2009/07/podcast-novel-review-failed-cities.html
“Wallace is more than just a superb storyteller; he is writer of some of the best modern prose I have read or heard in a long time. He gets under his characters’ skins, and through them, under his readers’/listeners’ skins. You’ll feel him crawling around there, wishing you could scratch him out, but not really wanting to either.”
Follow the link to read the full review.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I thorougly enjoyed the story and the characters. The development wasn’t drawn out too much, but the characters did take the forefront in this story. It is a unique concept and I felt that it was executed extremely well. It kept me awake and wanting to know more about the characters. The voice acting was great as well. Thanks for a great story!
July 14th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Thank you for the great comments. By the way, we are working on something new for FCM. I think you are going to like it.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Review of this podiobook: http://www.alterati.com/blog/?p=2281
August 7th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Wow… I just finished this and I thought it was awesome.
The production quality was great with the music and sound effects, and the voice characterisations were excellent.
It was a compelling story that hooked me right from the beginning. The characters were fascinating and complex. And the prose…
Matt, you sure can write. The words just flowed, full of vivid imagery. They just rolled over me and took me along. They made the city and it’s inhabitants real. Some of the prose, especially that of the character Trucker (The Conductor), reminded me *very* much of some of Jack Kerouac’s work, particularly his novel “On The Road”. It had that same edgy, descriptive quality to it and the same type of vivid imagery.
I listen to a lot of audio books. This is one of the best I’ve heard. I look forward to a sequel.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Great story telling. Outlandish characters. Stellar writing. Well done, Matt and crew.
but what about the pink tennis shoes??