Damien Walter

The thematic genius of Iain M Banks

I spent years searching, after I first read the Culture novels of Iain M Banks, for other space opera novels that equalled them. And this is what I discovered. Nothing else in the space opera genre even comes close to the Culture. Nothing. Zip. Nada. As Theodore Sturgeon said, 90% of everything is crap. ButContinue reading “The thematic genius of Iain M Banks”

The top 5 Iain M Banks novels

Over three decades after they were first published, the Culture novels of Iain M Banks are more popular than ever Our first image of Iain M Banks’s Culture universe is a man drowning in sewage: a stark precedent for what was to come. And 30 years after its first publication, Consider Phlebas remains a novelContinue reading “The top 5 Iain M Banks novels”

Science Fiction vs SciFi vs SF: what is the true definition?

If there’s one thing science fiction fans love, it’s an argument. And if there’s one argument they love more than all others, it’s the attempt to define what science fiction actually is, and what is or isn’t included in that definition. In perhaps the all time most fiercely contested fight over an acronym ever, fansContinue reading “Science Fiction vs SciFi vs SF: what is the true definition?”

Yes, The Bible is science fiction

There’s a theory of education called “learning thresholds” which I wrote about for my post-grad certificate, back when I was treading the academic path. It’s an idea I use widely in my professional life today, for reasons I’ll get to. A learning threshold is a point on a learning curve where a paradigm shift inContinue reading “Yes, The Bible is science fiction”

Damo’s top scifi novels to rewire your consciousness.

The great psychedelic philosopher Terence McKenna called scifi the “gateway drug to enlightenment”. It’s a description that perfectly expresses the role scifi has played in my life. If If see the world differently from many people today, it’s because of the scifi books I read from a young age. These are the scifi books thatContinue reading “Damo’s top scifi novels to rewire your consciousness.”

Retiring from social media to spend more time with my books

The problem with switching off the internet when you’re somebody who professionally writes stuff on the internet is…you see the problem there, right? Alcoholics often gravitate to heavy drinking workplaces, and people fascinated by human communication IE writers IE me and my kind are drawn to social media like cats ro catnip. I am fortunateContinue reading “Retiring from social media to spend more time with my books”

There’s a great gamer novel to be written. Ready Player One isn’t it

There have been many great American novels. The Grapes of Wrath. The Great Gatsby. Underworld. The idea, at this point in literary history, has become a kind of self referential in joke. The great American novel is what young, over-intense MFA students yearn to write. But it’s still useful as an indicator of whatContinue reading “There’s a great gamer novel to be written. Ready Player One isn’t it”

How did Billions become the best show on tv?

With its stark insight into the financial world of post 2008, Billions is a Great Gatsby for our age. Tv shows do what they say in the title. Friends is a show about friends. Star Trek is a show about a trek through the stars, and Breaking Bad is a show about a man breakingContinue reading “How did Billions become the best show on tv?”

Is there any such thing as Geek Culture?

Diagram of Geek Culture by Julianna Brion. http://juliannabrion.tumblr.com

There is no end, it seems, to the impotent outrage of geek dudes who feel hard done by because scifi films no longer exclusively feature geeky white dude protagonists. Here’s the latest dumb s*&t from those guys: Any dork hating on Ready Player One stems from jealousy since Ernest Cline seems to be living theContinue reading “Is there any such thing as Geek Culture?”

5 things that can go HORRIBLY wrong adapting The Culture

I don’t consider myself a true fan of many things, but I am an unapologetic Iain (M) Banks fanboy. Which is an easy thing to be. Banks is a brilliant, brilliant writer. A storyteller in the class of Neil Gaiman, with the muscular prose abilities of J G Ballard, and the conceptual imagination of anContinue reading “5 things that can go HORRIBLY wrong adapting The Culture”