Variant Frequencies » Failed Cities

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness – complete

Rick Stringer — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:13:27 +0000

The complete Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness in one episode!
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Philippa Ballantine, Rick Stringer, Jan Dalton, Tom “Devo Spice” Rockwell, Anton Buntic, Benjamin Grundy, Neil Stringer, Ian Jones, and Anne Stringer

Music

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Mario Ajero
http://marioajero.blogspot.com

Neil Stringer

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 08 – Doctor Lady

Rick Stringer — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:08:47 +0000

A woman with no name and a past filled with mistakes to atone for. If you’re hurt or sick on the wrong side of the river, the Doctor Lady will fix you up. Tender mercies are the hardest commodities to come by in the Failed Cities, but there are stockpiles if you know where to look…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Anne Stringer

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
Silent Night
http://www.abneypark.com

Mario Ajero
http://marioajero.blogspot.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 07 – Truck

Rick Stringer — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:20:10 +0000

Any job that involves high-risk and high-speed is right up Truck’s alley, at least for the right price. And it doesn’t get higher in the risk department than piloting a high-tech big rig up mountain switchbacks in a freezing snowstorm. At least until you add one Feral Twin into the mix…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Ian Jones

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
We Three Kings
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 06 – Ferus

Rick Stringer — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:03:24 +0000

When you look up on Christmas Eve and see a shape streaking across the night sky above the Failed Cities, it’s not Santa’s sleigh, it’s death incarnate, also known as Ferus…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Neil Stringer

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
Rudolf
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 05 – Operative 853

Rick Stringer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:57:45 +0000

Like Santa Claus, The Nicodemus Consortium has their own sack of gifts to distribute on Christmas Eve. Unlike St. Nick, however, the Consortium is willing to do whatever, and whoever it takes to retrieve their stolen merchandise. And Operative 853 is no elf…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Benjamin Grundy

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 04 – Constable Klimenko

Rick Stringer — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:09:48 +0000

The yuletide spirit hasn’t made Valeri Klimenko any less reluctant to take a dangerous case. Unfortunately it hasn’t changed his luck when it comes to being thrust into such cases, either…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Anton Buntic

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
Carol of the Bells
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 03 – Sterne

Rick Stringer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:06:01 +0000

Sterne, the hardboiled wordslinger, doesn’t believe in Christmas stories. He’d certainly never write such a tale. Living thru one, however, well that’s another story altogether…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Tom “Devo Spice” Rockwell

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
Dance of the Sugar Plumb Fairies
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 02 – The Maven

Rick Stringer — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:26:24 +0000

Your sins don’t forget you during the holidays, and for The Maven, master street mediator, sometimes they haunt you in the form of an urgent call to a life-or-death hostage crisis. They say old soldiers never really die. At least The Maven certainly hopes so…
***
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Jan Dalton

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
Little Drummer Boy
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promo
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness 01 – Ethan

Rick Stringer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:38:46 +0000

It’s the holiday season, even under the acid-washed black snowfall that covers the Failed Cities. For Reverend Ethan Grant, the holidays are about balancing brief moments of joy with long nights of blood. And the night has just begun…

***

Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Rick Stringer

Sponsor: GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/podcast

Music
Abney Park
Winter Wonder Land
http://www.abneypark.com

Digital Juice
http://www.digitaljuice.com

Neil Stringer

Promos
The Failed Cities Monologues
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-failed-cities-monologues/

Jake Bible’s Dead Mech
http://jakebible.com/category/dead-mech-podcast/

Tuning in to SciFi TV
http://tuningintoscifitv.com/

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness
Copyright 2009 Matt Wallace
http://www.matt-wallace.com

Variant Frequencies
Copyright 2009 Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

***

The Failed Cities: Hath a Darkness

Rick Stringer — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:11:47 +0000

As a special gift to all our listeners this holiday season, Variant Frequencies is happy to present THE FAILED CITIES: HATH A DARKNESS, an exclusive 10,000-word eChapbook written by Matt Wallace and available as a free .PDF download.

As a black snowfall blankets the Failed Cities on Christmas Eve, the arrival of 99 mysterious steel chambers sets a series of far from blessed events in motion. Eight people become links in a deadly chain that will either tether innocent lives to safety or strangle any hope for their future. And as each part of the story unfolds, we learn that above all things, Christmas in the Failed Cities is a feverishly struck balance between the constant threat of violence and the
briefest, most bittersweet moments of joy.

We hope you enjoy this unique addition to the Failed Cities universe.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Variant Frequencies!

DIGG it!

Feral Twins Super Fans!

Rick Stringer — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:15:29 +0000

At Dragon*Con 2007 we met two amazing fans of The Failed Cities Monologues. Those of you who go to Dragon*Con know that there are many people who show up there in costume. Well, these two people showed up dressed as Ferus and Fera, the Feral Twins, from The Failed Cities Monologues. Here are the photos.

http://www.variantfrequencies.com/FeralPhotos/

We are so honored that these two showed up at Dragon*Con in costumes from our story.

Slava and Julie as Ferus and Fera.

Also, take a look at Matt’s LiveJournal or MySpace pages.

Failed Cities Monologues 26: The Maven

Rick Stringer — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 15:52:41 +0000

For street mediators and their watchers, life and death lives in a shot glass placed over a smashed steel slug. Only one among their ranks can wrap up the story of the Failed Cities.

The Maven is about to have the last word, and if you’ve come this far, you owe it to yourself to listen…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Jan Dalton
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 25: d’Anger

Rick Stringer — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 02:11:11 +0000

A good hustler knows when to get out of town.

A good con woman leaves on their own terms.

And a femme fatale does it in style . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Stacey Griffith-Livingston
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
Slice of SciFi
http://sliceofscifi.com/

Podiobooks.com
http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110

Failed Cities Monologues 24: Klimenko

Rick Stringer — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:58:00 +0000

What’s the difference between being heroism and self-preservation? Just ask Valeri Klimenko. While the whole city celebrates him as the man who caught notorious serial killer The Conductor, the constable-turned-detective sits in his darkened apartment with a glass of scotch, taking solace only in the fact that he’s lived through the week with a few scars and a few more nightmares…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Anton Buntic
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
Geek Fu Action Grip: http://www.geekfuactiongrip.com
The Sonic Society: http://www.sonicsociety.org
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110

Failed Cities Monologues 23: Fera

Rick Stringer — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:43:00 +0000

Fera’s past is written in her own scarred flesh. Tonight, watching her lifeblood run slowly into the gutters of the Failed Cities, hear that history recounted by Fera’s own mind as she battles the one enemy that has threatened her for so long like no other: Death . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Maia “KnitWitch” Whitaker
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
Billibub Baddings: http://www.teemorris.com/billipodcast/
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110
Sound Effects from The Freesound Project: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu

Failed Cities Monologues 22: Truck

Rick Stringer — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 02:45:00 +0000

Tonight’s the night. Truck’s sharpening his blade to a razor edge, and a chance meeting with the reluctant Detective Klimenko has provided the set-up for him to carve out the revenge he’s been chasing after at a 100 miles an hour . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Ian Jones
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
Billibub Baddings: http://www.teemorris.com/billipodcast/
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110

Failed Cities Monologues 21: Sterne

Rick Stringer — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:42:00 +0000

Tonight, as street preachers poise for war, Rastafarian soldiers pray for battle, and The Stacks prepare for Judgment Day, Sterne is just trying to write the end of his novel before The Feral Twins write the end on him. And it’s anybody’s guess who’ll get the last word . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Tom Rockwell
Music: Spherical by Evan Tate
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
Silent Universe: http://www.silentuniverse.com/
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110
Sound Effects from The Freesound Project: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu

Failed Cities Monologues 20: Ferus

Rick Stringer — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:30:00 +0000

Sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes dead wrong. But for the first time in their storied and bloody careers, Ferus is the one making decisions for The Feral Twins. His strength has always been their deadliest weapon, but only when guided by his sister’s hand. Tonight, if they’re going to get out alive, Ferus will have to find a new strength . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Neil Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
Destructomundo: http://destructomundopodcast.com/
Planet Retcon Radio: http://www.planetretcon.com/
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110

Sound Effects from The Freesound Project: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu

Failed Cities Monologues 19: Ethan

Rick Stringer — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 01:26:00 +0000

There’s no chapter in the Steel Gospel on the apocalypse, but that’s exactly what the street preachers are facing tonight: Their own personal end of times. As blood and fire threaten to engulf Ethan, his brethren, and their city, the question isn’t whether or not they’ll survive to see the dawn, but whether or not the dawn will come at all.

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
The Daughter of the Sun: http://www.LonnieEzell.com
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110
Sound Effects from The Freesound Project: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu

Failed Cities Monologues 18: Operative 853

Rick Stringer — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 02:24:00 +0000

You’re not the only one invested in the story of The Failed Cities. The Nicodemus Consortium is very interested in what’s been happening on both sides of the river, and one of their best operatives is about to give them a full report.

Be warned that the Consortium protects their secrecy with a vengeance. Eavesdrop at your own risk . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Benjamin Grundy
http://www.variantfrequencies.com
http://www.sohpodcast.com/mu/

PROMOS
Scott Sigler’s The Rookie: http://scottsigler.podshow.com
Podiobooks.com: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=110

Failed Cities Monologues 17: The Maven

Rick Stringer — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:04:00 +0000

What do you do when your life and your livelihood both depend on words and your voice has been locked away inside your own head? For The Maven, the answer to that question lies inward. And the only thing worse than searching for it is finding out what’s waiting when he finally opens his eyes . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Jan Dalton
http://www.variantfrequencies.com
7th Son
http://www.jchutchins.net

Failed Cities Monologues 16: d’Anger

Rick Stringer — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 19:16:00 +0000

Interlude or prelude. When it’s a romantic encounter with d’Anger you can never be sure which you’re caught up in. Learning about her past, however, you might know which to expect . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Stacey Griffith-Livingston
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Dateline Jasoom: http://www.panthanpress.com/

Failed Cities Monologues 15: Constable Klimenko

Rick Stringer — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:20:00 +0000

A new detective’s shield, an old suit, and a lethal case no one else wants. It’s not the way Valeri Klimenko, the former constable, wants to start out his night. But they may have all underestimated this simple young man from the Ukraine, who’s been pushed just about as far as he’s willing to go by the powers that be.

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Anton Buntic
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

PROMOS
PodcastPEN:http://www.tsfpn.com/
The Time Traveler Show: http://www.timetravelershow.com/

Failed Cities Monologues 14: Fera

Rick Stringer — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:17:00 +0000

Fera and her brother have murdered, maimed, and massacred on every continent across the globe, but it’s the hard, ugly lessons she learned as a girl that command Fera’s pathology. When her intended victim for the night is snatched away by a resourceful pit fighter, it sparks a recall that can only lead to blood.

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Maia “KnitWitch” Whitaker
http://www.variantfrequencies.com
http://v-frequencies.livejournal.com
KnitWitch Zone: http://www.knitwitchzone.com
Evan Tate: http://www.evantate.com
Spherical copyright 2006 Evan Tate

Variant Frequencies and The Failed Cities Monologues
Copyright 2006 Rick Stringer and Matt Wallace
September 2006

Failed Cities Monologues 13: Truck

Rick Stringer — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 23:22:00 +0000

Truck lives for the action, for life on the edge of a blade. But when a routine pick-up goes a hundred miles south of wrong, that pace comes to a crashing halt…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Ian Jones
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Sundown Lounge Podzine: http://www.larrywinfield.com/sundownlounge.htm

Failed Cities Monologues 12: Sterne

Rick Stringer — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 12:58:00 +0000

Jump into the story with Sterne. He’s about to live one of his own pulp adventures, but unlike Curly, his fearless juggernaut alter ego, Sterne is going to find out that the real bad guys don’t wear hats. And his instructors for the evening? The Feral Twins . . .

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Tom “DevoSpice” Rockwell
Music: Spherical by Evan Tate
http://www.variantfrequencies.com
http://www.evantate.com/

Failed Cities Monologues 11: Ferus

Rick Stringer — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 21:54:00 +0000

Boredom’s a dangerous thing when you’re one of The Feral Twins, and not even arson, kidnapping, and back alley crucifixions can relieve it. Ferus just wants one worthy opponent before the night is through. He’s forgotten what the Chinese say about what you wish for…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Neil Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

The Failed Cities Monologues 10: Ethan

Rick Stringer — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:46:00 +0000

Reverend Ethan is a man who likes to keep things simple: a collar, a street to keep, a stick to keep them with. But tonight, with war looming just around a battered brick corner, things are about to get complicated. A missing mediator, a fallen street preacher left as a message, a mysterious lady of quality bearing a warning and a gift. And that’s just the beginning…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 09: Sally

Rick Stringer — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 01:33:00 +0000

If you’re new to the Failed Cities, there’s only one place to go if you want to be in the know, and it’s not some digital Orwellian info-matrix. It’s a tiny tarot den in the shadiest part of town. Psychic Sally is a palm-reader with a third eye on all the action, and for a fiver she’ll give you a glimpse into what’s happened so far on both sides of the river…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Maia “KnitWitch” Whitaker
http://www.variantfrequencies.com
http://www.knitwitchzone.com

Failed Cities Monologues 08: The Maven

Anne Stringer — Sun, 28 May 2006 00:22:00 +0000

When fevered streets reach their boiling point, you bring in a mediator. When it’s looking like back alley war, you need a maven. Tonight was already going to be his toughest mediation yet. Then his throat got put on the bargaining table…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Jan Dalton
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 07: d’Anger

Rick Stringer — Sun, 14 May 2006 22:15:00 +0000

In the Failed Cities, being beautiful can make you a victim. Being beautiful and smart can make you dangerous.

d’Anger has a flawless form, a Botticelli face…and an IQ of 175…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Stacey Griffith
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 06: Constable Klimenko

Rick Stringer — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 01:56:00 +0000

Constable Valeri Klimenko, whose father and grandfather were both Heroes of Ukraine, never had any intention of living up to his family’s legacy. Now he’s been made a detective and forced onto the trail of the most feared and talked about serial killer in the city’s history. If it weren’t for that damned Reuben sandwich…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Anton Buntic
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

The Failed Cities Monologues 05: Fera

Rick Stringer — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 11:54:00 +0000

Fera, alpha female of The Feral Twins. Death lives inside her, and it’s a reality she shares with all those she meets, whether they want its secrets or not. But is Fera a predator… or just the ultimate survivor?

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Maia “KnitWitch” Whitaker
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 04: Truck

Rick Stringer — Sun, 19 Mar 2006 17:23:00 +0000

The news webs call him The Conductor. He’s responsible for the disappearances of at least thirty young women, all prostitutes. Their bodies are never found. And oh, yes, you’re about to discover why…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Ian Jones
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 03: Sterne

Rick Stringer — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 01:42:00 +0000

Walk the streets between the Stacks with Sterne, a pit fighter that splits his nights between brawling for cash and spinning tales of old school tough guys and detectives. The Stacks is considered nothing more than a neo hippie ghetto. But to the folks that live here, the eve trippers and broken artists and freaked out Rastafarians, it’s a dreamland. And Sterne has his tiny crumbling place in it, filled with obsession, imagination, and some fresh wounds waiting to scar….

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Tom “DevoSpice” Rockwell
Music: “Caution” by Rick Gerics
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 02: Ferus

Rick Stringer — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 02:51:00 +0000

Within social circles linked by blood The Feral Twins are more than assassins, they’re celebrities. A predator pack of two that bring animal spectacle to murder, they have no past, just question marks that hang like sharpened sickles above their heads. Ferus is silent death, his sister’s single-minded enforcer. But there’s the voice of a young boy in his head that tells a very different story…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Neil Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com

Failed Cities Monologues 01: Ethan

Rick Stringer — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 01:40:00 +0000

Two cities separated by 16 miles of river. One side has been written off, zeroed out by its elected caretakers. Now men with white collars and nighted sticks patrol the streets. They’re peacekeepers, following a new gospel, the Steel Gospel. Ethan is one of them; part clergy, part lawman, part soldier. A shepherd in a concrete pasture, watching over hophead flocks by night. He’s also a believer. Ethan knows that nobility and justice are the cross and shield of the street preacher. But power corrupts, and in a city that has downsized police and politicians the street preacher’s power is 100 proof…

****
Written by Matt Wallace
Narrated by Rick Stringer
http://www.variantfrequencies.com