The Buying of Lot 37

This is the third volume of transcripts of Welcome to Night Vale, the podcast about the small desert town where the surreal is mundane, the mundane is surreal, and all the conspiracies are true. It features episodes 50-70 (or 70B, since that one was a two-parter), as well as the live show "The Librarian," and, as in the first two volumes, each transcript comes with a short introduction from someone involved in the making of the show.

To be honest this is not my favorite run of episodes. I remember thinking, at the time, that everything felt a bit anti-climactic after the excitement of the StrexCorp arc (which, in retrospect, probably marked the show's high point) and that they left Carlos hanging around in that desert otherworld for show more entirely too long without a whole lot to show for it. I can't say I've changed my opinion on that now, either. But, hey, even probably-past-its-peak Night Vale is still pretty good stuff, and worth revisiting. And we do get the outstanding"The September Monologues" in here, as well.

I'd almost forgotten, though, about that whole story arc in which the defeated mayoral candidates pull a bunch of shenanigans, including storming City Hall, because they refuse to accept that they lost the election. That definitely resonates a bit differently right now than it did in 2015, and I have absolutely no idea how to feel about it. show less

In case it isn't clear, I love Welcome to Night Vale. I love the novels, I love the live shows, I love the podcast, and I love these script books, too. I always have trouble focusing on audio-only stories, so I find that having the scripts for podcasts such as Welcome to Night Vale really helps me follow the podcast and understand all that is going on within it. Add to these extremely useful scripts a bunch of illustrations and a whole lot of behind the scenes tidbits, and you've got a collection of published scripts that any Night Vale fan would love. This proved true for the first two volumes of script books and it absolutely proves true for this new set, too.

In The Buying of Lot 37, Cecil deals with the stress put on his show more relationship with Carlos by Carlos being trapped in a desert otherworld and the fear and anger that comes from being used against his will to repeatedly save Mayor Dana Cardinal. Who bought Lot 37 and is controlling Cecil? Who keeps attacking the mayor? When will Carlos come home?

So, for me, season three is one of those seasons that starts off slow, but once it gains momentum, it travels like an unstoppable freight train. The first half of the season, or so, consist mainly of stand-alone episodes. There's a reference or two to the ongoing plotline (and as I've picked up on in this re-read, quite a few hints for things that will happen in the Welcome to Night Vale novel; The Man in the Tan Jacket makes appearances throughout the season where he's trying to show people where he's from and tries to give Cecil a piece of paper with something written on it) scattered throughout those first several episodes, but for the most part they're pretty stand-alone.

That's not to say they're bad episodes, though! On the contrary, one of my favorite episodes of the entire podcast happens early on in the season. The September Monologues is this experimental episode that consists of three monologues from different characters, and I adore it. I wish it was longer than the 20-some minutes it is. I just found that expanded look at the universe of Night Vale to be so interesting and exciting. Season 4 later does something similar with The April Monologues, and I hope that Fink and Cranor continue doing these episodes from time to time. It's a nice way to learn more about other citizens in Night Vale, and it also kinda breaks up the monotony of the format of the show. It's a good format, but you gotta change it up a bit here and there so the audience appreciates just how good the regular format is.

As for this season's overall arc, it's interesting. Probably the most introspective of all the Night Vale arcs thus far. I particularly like how Cecil struggles with his love for his town and his love for Carlos and all the things that he's dealing with throughout the season. For the first two seasons, Cecil's pretty much been the strong constant throughout everything, so seeing him vulnerable like this and questioning things he believes in makes for interesting drama. I appreciated the mostly positive depiction of long distance relationships that they do with Cecil and Carlos in this episode. Sure, most people in long distance relationships aren't living in two different realities, but still. That's what Night Vale does best; it takes a relatable concept and tangles it up in fantastical elements. So, yeah, Carlos is trapped in a desert otherworld, but the audience can empathize with the very realistic struggles he and Cecil have to go through in order to make their relationship work with these new constraints.

The finale itself is really strong. In particular, the bit where Carlos explains to Cecil that "Night Vale" is just a name for the place where all of Cecil's loved ones are. So wherever those loved ones are is where Cecil's home is. Yeah, it's basically a take on the "home is where the heart is" cliche, but it's true. Very rarely is home a set of walls; it's a place where you feel safe and supported and loved. And that's the point of this season. Cecil and Carlos both have to learn where their home is, and by the end of the season, they've learned it.

As for the whole business with Lot 37 and Hiram McDaniels and the Faceless Old Woman's campaign to kill Dana, that's almost a subplot to the Cecil/Carlos storyline. Much of what happens in the Lot 37 storyline impacts the Cecil/Carlos one, but the more interesting and impactful story is the Cecil/Carlos one. That being said, I did love the twist on who bought Lot 37. It was a fun twist I didn't see coming on my first listen, but when I read it here, again, I was able to pick up on the clues that were left throughout the season. It's always fun when you have the answer to a whodunnit to be able to go back and spot the clues that would've led you to that answer had you noticed them in the first place.

These script books feature some great illustrations from frequent Night Vale artist, Jessica Hayworth. Her art perfectly captures the surreal, cosmic horror that is frequently found in the Night Vale world. She sticks to the motto of never really showing what any of the main characters or locations look like, choosing instead to illustrated some of the horrors that get described in each episodes. Every episode has at least one illustration from Hayworth - though, often, there end up being multiple illustrations per episode. Her illustrations, however, are not the only new material that can be found in these script books. Each episode features an introduction by someone involved with the making of that episode. Whether it's one of the main writers - Joseph Fink or Jeffrey Cranor, a guest writer, or an actor/performer, each episode features insight from someone involved in the creation of it and that insight is just as valuable to fans of the podcast as the scripts themselves will be. I always find it massively interesting hearing from the people who made a work of art what was going through their heads as they made it. Their opinions might not influence my interpretation of their art, but it is always nice to hear from them and these behind the scenes insights are every bit as good as you'd want them to be.

All in all, The Buying of Lot 37 is a great addition to the growing library of Night Vale books. The scripts contained within the book showcase the massive amount of experimentation that happened within the third year of the podcast, allowing fans old and new access to this wonderful year's worth of stories while providing older fans with lots of new material to sink their teeth into. I love Night Vale and I love these script books and I hope that HarperCollins continues publishing them. show less

I truly missed the world of Night Vale. It's been a while since I've stepped into the world and it's truly wonderful. Having everything turned on its head was wonderfully delightful. It is like a refreshing breath of fresh air... if you were in the middle of a blizzard and are second from freezing to death. I can't wait to continue diving into the world of Night Vale.

Not quite as expected...didn't know it'd be a word-for-word transcript of the show. Still, rating it for the show itself, which of course I love. All thing's considered it's great for people who want to revisit the series but don't have that kinda time, or newcomers, or people who can't listen to the podcast in general. And I'm sure diehard fans will like the essays before the episodes, though they were perhaps a little too self-congratulatory for me to take seriously.

Loved revisiting some of my fave episodes!