Author Archives: Damien Walter

What’s so great about Iain M Banks?

The Tales From The Bridge crew invited me for a return appearance on their fine podcast to defend the honor of Iain M Banks from their skepticism. We have a great chat about good writing, bad writing, the genius work of Iain M. Banks, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,  theContinue reading “What’s so great about Iain M Banks?”

Andor and the middle-aging of Star Wars fandom

Extended thoughts on Andor and the age clash of Star Wars fandoms, with audio from the short video essay on the same topic.

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The Peripheral – episode 1 analysis

A brief update on the Science Fiction podcast during our season break and a short analysis of The Peripheral episode 1

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SEASON 1 FINALE : Writing the 21st Century Myth

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Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/

The Rhetoric of Story
https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/

Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

On criticism and creativity

Why critique science fiction? I do get asked this question, after some years writing criticism on science fiction for The Guardian, BBC, Wired etc, and with the Science Fiction podcast in the Apple charts in a few dozen countries. So in the penultimate episode of season 1 of the Science Fiction podcast I give a few answers, and some suggestions for my fellow critics.

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Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/

The Rhetoric of Story
https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/

Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

So. What did I think of The Rings of Power?

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Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/

The Rhetoric of Story
https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/

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The Truth of Myth : JRR Tolkien and the return of the mythos

Lord of the Rings is the best-selling English langauge novel ever. And its close competitors – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter – share an important feature.

They are all works of mythopoiea…myths for the modern world.

JRR Tolkien had a very important insight. He saw that the modern world had lost its myths. Indeed, the modern world had run screaming from myths like god or heaven. Tolkien believed that was a mistake.

He wasn’t alone. When the philosopher Nietzsche said God Is Dead his point was that, without the old myths, men would invent new ones. And they would be much, much worse. Freddy was proven right as Communism and Fascism burst into the world, killing millions in war and genocide.

Tolkien lived through the wars and mass murder of the 20th century. He believed the world needed its myths back, so he wrote Lord of the Rings. The success of his great myth inspired many other creators, and sparked the return of the mythos to the modern world.

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Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
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What does a metamodern future look like?

We’re in a civilisational war between the pre-modern, the modern, and the post-modern. Or to give them their “culture war” names – the Reactionary, the Neoliberal…and the Woke. We need a better future for our civilisation. A future some people are starting to call the Metamodern.

In this episode of the Science Fiction podcast I think about what a Metamodern future might look like. It’s a not a cyberpunk dystopia or a solarpunk utopia.

Instead I think our Metamodern future might look like…a theme park.

Watch my original critique of Hanzi Freinacht – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpR-TwJ-gc

Read Oliver Amrowson’s full question – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJpR-TwJ-gc&lc=Ugx436_Gbl2ip_plwbd4AaABAg

Learn more at the Metamodern Spirituality community on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/groups/metamodernspirituality

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Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/

The Rhetoric of Story
https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/

Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

Why ‘The Boys’ failed – thoughts on mythopathic storytelling

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Access the full podcast archive and all my courses as a member for ANY monthly donation…

Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/

The Rhetoric of Story
https://damiengwalter.com/the-rhetoric-of-story/

Join the discussion on the Science Fiction community https://www.facebook.com/groups/324897304599197

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman – The High Cost of Fantasy

There’s a reason why Neil Gaiman is the most famous writer scifi, horror & fantasy ever made. That rockstar reputation didn’t start with appearances on The Simpsons.

By the age of 32, when most writers are just getting started, Gaiman had already written a masterpiece of fantasy. The 75 issues of The Sandman are a tour through the mythos of humanity, and a masters thesis on the uses, and abuses, of fantasy.

But the origin of The Sandman in comic books kept it a cult classic for over 30 years. Gaiman became better known for novels like American Gods and stories for children. (The Sandman is NOT for children.)

Now a new Netflix adaptation, created by Neil Gaiman himself, is a chance for The Sandman to meet the mainstream. Will it succeed where previous adaptations of Gaiman have failed? I feel quietly confident the answer is yes.

Audio extracts from The Sandman audiobook produced by Dirk Maggs
https://amzn.to/3ox9qox

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Advanced Scifi & Fantasy Writing
https://damiengwalter.com/advanced-scifi-and-fantasy/

The Rhetoric of Story
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