Author Archives: Damien Walter

The remarkable Neal Stephenson interview

Neal Stephenson – legendary author of speculative fiction –  on Elon Musk and geek culture, the  NSA revelations of Edward Snowden, how negative cultural narratives are killing big science  – and the upbringing that made him the writer he is. IN LATE 2013 I had the opportunity to interview the author Neal Stephenson. Some Remarks,Continue reading “The remarkable Neal Stephenson interview”

Introduction to the Rhetoric of Story

What is the Rhetoric of Story? This section contains a few important ideas to take away: The course covers the seven basic elements of storytelling that comprise the “rhetoric of story”. Storytelling has a very long history, new techniques are always being developed, but the basic elements of story remain the same. Rhetoric is theContinue reading “Introduction to the Rhetoric of Story”

7 literary Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels you must read

Every genre of science fiction began as literary fiction. For writers and fans of SF it’s useful to get familiar with the literary origins of genre fiction. Most of us don’t have time in life to deep research the origins of the books we enjoy. But if you look deep into the history of genreContinue reading “7 literary Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels you must read”

Who will write the 21st century myth?

When Damien Walter asked Twitter to name the greatest 21st century myth he got an unexpected answer – from Neil Gaiman himself “When the 21st century myth comes along, we will know.” Neil Gaiman My new course is Advanced Science Fiction & Fantasy, writing the 21st century myth. Pre-enrollment has already attracted almost 4000 studentsContinue reading “Who will write the 21st century myth?”

The 8 Tribes of SciFi

Calling sci-fi a genre in 2016 is about as accurate as calling the United States one nation. In principle it’s true, but in practice things don’t work that way. While crime, romance and thrillers all remain as coherent genres of fiction, it’s been decades since sci-fi could be comfortably understood by any shared generic criteria.Continue reading “The 8 Tribes of SciFi”

David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and Booker nominee, is a true geek

David Mitchell is one of the world’s most successful literary novelists. He has been twice nominated for the prestigious Booker prize, and his novel Cloud Atlas was adapted to the Tykwer and Wachowski film starring Tom Hanks. He’s also a huge sci-fi fan with a long love of geek culture. Damien Walter sat down with the bestselling author to discuss his SF influences, which D&D character type he plays, and the future of the novel in a multi-media age.

Altered Carbon was always doomed

Two years ago I predicted Altered Carbon would fail after one season and get a second only because Netflix had already invested in the CGI assets….it seems I was right. Altered Carbon cancelled after two seasons via The Verge Imagine somebody wrote a novel about the cat and the fiddle, and the cow that jumpedContinue reading “Altered Carbon was always doomed”

The 3000 year old sacred story that inspired Star Wars

Star Wars : The Rise of Skywalker was a dire end to Disney’s reboot. Would the new movies have been better had they respected the tradition of spiritual storytelling that inspired them? A week out from the premiere of a new Star Wars and there is barely a word to describe the public excitement preceding theContinue reading “The 3000 year old sacred story that inspired Star Wars”

The problem with Isaac Asimov’s Foundation

Apple are making Isaac Asimov’s FOUNDATION for tv with David Goyer at the helm. All the signs are it’s going to be a disaster. Come and chat with me on Instagram. TRANSCRIPTION So I’ve just watched the new trailer for Isaac Asimov’s foundation series brought to us by none less than Apple themselves as oneContinue reading “The problem with Isaac Asimov’s Foundation”

Learn the form, master the form, break the form.

“Learn the form, master the form, break the form.” Study a martial art of any kind and you’ll likely learn this lesson. First you learn a form – a kick, block or grapple. Then you master the form form – you practice it thousands of times, in different variations, and put it into practice againstContinue reading “Learn the form, master the form, break the form.”

Transrealism: the first major literary movement of the 21st century

A Scanner Darkly is one of Philip K Dick’s most famous but also most divisive novels. Written in 1973 but not published until 1977, it marks the boundary between PKD’s mid-career novels that were clearly works of science fiction, including The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and hisContinue reading “Transrealism: the first major literary movement of the 21st century”