Sayer: Say Hello to Strange
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Hello once again, Pod-heads! Yes, I am sticking with that FUNNY name. Welcome back to another review of great and new Audio Drama! Last time, I gushed on about one of my absolute favorite little town, my home away from home, King Falls. Now, I’m going to take you a bit further than that. How’s a trapped asteroid in geosynchronous orbit around the Earth that has all but obliterated what was once known as the Pacific Northwest? Yeah, THAT’LL show them hippy dippy, curry eating, legal pot smoking…...It’s Sayer.
How’s about the TL;DR beforehand:
Sayer sucks you in with his calm and serene voice, lulling you into a false sense of safety. Upon further listening, you find that this calm and serene voice morphs into pantaloon-shitting horror as the residents of Halcyon Tower and beyond are subjected to daily tasks just short of torture as corporate contracts can be. As each episode progresses, you find more and more things you didn’t even know frightened you. Over all, this sci-fi/horror Drama both terrifies and leaves you crawling back for more. If you’re a fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey and brown pants, subscribe IMMEDIATELY.
Unfortunately, I didn’t start listening to Sayer until after the show had “ended”. However, there’s a new season starting soon, so it’s forgivable. Much like my previous review, Sayer was an early grab for me, as I am heavily into Sci-fi/Space Opera/Cosmic Horror (H.P. Lovecraft is my personal Jesus). I picked the first episode up when I was laying in my dark room, attempting to sleep.
As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this was an error on my part.
The show takes you to an asteroid that has been launched back into orbit around the earth after slamming into the Pacific Northwest (Daisy Bonham, Nic Silver, Paul Sating, NOO!!!!) names “Typhon”, where you are now under the “employment” of Ærolith Dynamics. As a “Resident” of Halcyon Tower (One of many towers that populate Typhon. Jeez, my fingers are sore from all these “air quotes” OW!), you are under the…..”care” (UGH!) of the resident AI, named SAYER.
That’s really all you need to know to get started. I’d give you little snippets of episodes, but that would take away some of the mystery to it…..and because Ærolith HR has informed me that disclosing company secrets will be seen as treason, and I will need to report to them for “retraining” (STOP. THE. AIR. QUOTES.). Suffice it to say that there is nothing more horrifying than H.A.L telling you to carve out a part of your body to make yourself weigh less. Think I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, but with towers and NO sexual assault, thank Great Cthulhu.
I couldn’t get enough of this Drama. Over the course of several seasons, you do get to see Typhon and its residents change and evolve into a real world. SAYER itself develops and grows over time, and at the end of it all, you are left with a sense of travelling a great distance in storytelling, all while cowering in a corner away from all elevators and meat processors.
I highly recommend this podcast to anyone who is a fan of Phillip K. Dick, Issac Asimov, and Sci-Fi and Horror in general.
Dear Sayer crew,
YOU HAVE FORCED ME TO GIVE UP COUNTLESS HOURS OF CALM SLEEP WITH ABSOLUTE PANTS-FILLING TERROR, AND I CAN NEVER GET THEM BACK. MY MIND IS RIPPED ASUNDER AT EVERY SYLLABLE YOUR PSYCHOTIC AI PRODUCES FROM MY NEURAL IMPLANT, AND NOTHING YOU COULD EVER DO OR SAY WILL EVER MAKE UP FOR THE COMPLETE AND TOTAL FEELING OF HAPPINESS I HAVE FROM EXPERIENCED IT. SO THERE.
I hope I have given you enough to subscribe to this podcast. Like I said at the beginning, there is a new season coming up soon, so now is the perfect time to binge. For now, I AM TDPYN, AND THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN FACING MORTALITY WITH A SMILE. END TRANSMISSION…..
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