---
title: "Ancestor rocks like a (creepy) rocking thing"
date: 2005-10-05T14:00:17-04:00
url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2005/10/05/ancestor-rocks-like-a-creepy-rocking-thing/
author: Les Orchard
tags: [asides, podcasts, earthcore, ancestor]
---

# Ancestor rocks like a (creepy) rocking thing

The [Ancestor][anc] podcast, like its predecessor [EarthCore][ec], is a fairly formulaic sci-fi slasher tale.  But, it sure as hell beats anything on the [SciFi Channel's Saturday][sci] nights.  And, as I've started to get sucked into [NBC's Surface][sur], I keep finding myself comparing it to [Scott Sigler][ss]'s work.  So far, he's better by a hair in my opinion—but that might as well be better by a mile, since NBC's the one with all the money and presumed talent at their disposal.

[ss]: http://www.scottsigler.net/
[sur]: http://www.nbc.com/Surface/
[ec]: http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/
[anc]: http://www.project-daemon.net/
[sci]: http://scifi.com/onair/movies/

<div id="comments" class="comments archived-comments">
            <h3>Archived Comments</h3>
            
        <ul class="comments">
            
        <li class="comment" id="comment-221087669">
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                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.scottsigler.net"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=40267a2ef2b56c42fbb808662a6b3332&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.scottsigler.net">Scott Sigler</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221087669" class="permalink"><time datetime="2005-10-07T06:00:39">2005-10-07T06:00:39</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content"><p>Fairly formulaic sci-fi slasher? Is that what you think of Ancestor? Well, you're dead-nuts right. I love the formula, and I love SciFi Channel's Saturday Nights (sure, some of those films are stinkers, but I don't have the money sitting around to pay someone to create a monstrous version of 'Snakehead Terror' so I'll take what I can get).</p>

<p>Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you liked the story. I consider my work "Popcorn Fiction," named for the summer blockbuster popcorn movies that pack the theaters every weekend while some higher-brow work plays on a dozen isolated screens across the country. </p>

<p>But, trust me, Ancestor is not completely formulaic. The primary focus of Ancestor is to let you see the monster grow from a single cell to man-eating proportions. That's a really tough thing to do as a writer -- and through this experiment, I've learned why almost every monster story begins with a hapless victim being eaten, but the reader can't quite see what did the eating. You have to bait the hook to get the reader intersted, and without a full-grown monster that's a challenge. Hopefully, I pulled it off, and you're hooked.</p></div>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221087670">
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                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.decafbad.com"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=2377f34a68801b861c3e54e1301f0dce&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.decafbad.com">l.m.orchard</a>
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                <a href="#comment-221087670" class="permalink"><time datetime="2005-10-07T11:10:06">2005-10-07T11:10:06</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content"><p>Well, hey, look!  It's the author himself!  :)</p>

<p>Yeah, though I guess calling your stuff "formulaic" sounds like a slight, it's not necessarily bad if the formula's a good one done right.  (I mean, there's a reason there's a formula in the first place.)  "Popcorn fiction" sounds about just about right.  </p>

<p>I'm certainly liking your stuff better than SciFi's typical "giant snake versus giant snake III", "pterodactyls in the jungle", "chupacabra on a boat", or "vampires on a spaceship" crap.  Now that's a formula that feels a lot more like someone filling out a Mad Libs sheet for a plot.</p>

<p>The other thing I appreciate is that your scenarios are not totally dumbed down, and actually have some thought &amp; research behind the more technical parts.  It all comes off to me as a much more solid story and even with the creative license taken, it still tickles my nerd brain.</p>

<p>Thanks for dropping, man!  Oh, and I have to say that I dug the mentions of Detroit in EarthCore—since I used to work in the Renaissance Center and was working a block or two away in Comerica Tower when I was in the thick of listening to EarthCore.  Hello from Michigan!  :)</p></div>
            
        </li>
    
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