Jeff Burk’s Shatnerquake is the story of William Shatner. Yes: Wiliam Shatner. All of the characters he has ever played are suddenly sucked into our world on a mission to hunt down and destroy the real William Shatner. As one Amazon reviewer insightfully states, if you have ever wondered what would happen if William ShatnerContinue reading “Bizarro fiction. It’s Shatnertastic!”
Author Archives: Damien Walter
Show Me the (Urban Fantasy) Money
So. Jeff Vandermeer has called on me as ‘someone who comes from the old-school urban fantasy and an appreciation for it’ to ‘investigate and report back’ on the current state of the urban fantasy genre. Now. Jeff knows of my abiding love for the urban fantasy genre, not just because I mentioned it in askingContinue reading “Show Me the (Urban Fantasy) Money”
Who reads urban fantasy?
Or indeed any other truly mass market fiction? Now, let me contextualise my question. I like urban fantasy. This is not an attack on the genre. And I understand that lots of people enjoy reading it. What I don’t understand is who reads it in the kind of bulk quantities that justify the vast numberContinue reading “Who reads urban fantasy?”
A Little Something for Us Clarionauts
Today is the two year anniversary of the start of Clarion 2008. This time two years ago I was being collected by Dan Pinney and Megan Kurashige from a random street corner in San Diego, for the drive up to La Jolla and UCSD where I and seventeen others were going to spend six weeksContinue reading “A Little Something for Us Clarionauts”
Should new writers know their SF history?
I’m between social engagements, and reading the introduction to The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction. Editor David G Hartwell offers a cogent history of the SF genre through the last century, one that considers not just the genre but the field (the former defined as the body of texts, the latter as theContinue reading “Should new writers know their SF history?”
Re-Engineering Science Fiction
Will Ellwood asked me to expand on a section of last nights blog-post, which I am also interested to do because the idea came out of left field whilst I was writing it and it seems like it might be worth exploring further. As I read the handbook, Shock is making me think some things.Continue reading “Re-Engineering Science Fiction”
Who wants to play a game of Shock with me?
I am reading Shock: Social Science Fiction v 1.1.1 by Joshua A C Newman. Not a novel but a ‘fiction game’ (Or Role-Playing Game if you are old style) handbook leant to me by the eminently cool Will Ellwood. Shock is pretty effing fascinating. The first page explains that the handbook uses the ‘DIN fontsContinue reading “Who wants to play a game of Shock with me?”
Too many ideas..ah..ah..stop them!
Kelly Link continues her blog tour around the paperback release of Pretty Monsters with a post about ideas, where they come from and why we have them. (Kind of.) (Kelly was our Week One instructor at Clarion ’08. She is a brilliant writer, an evil Mafia player and I can’t think of her without thinkingContinue reading “Too many ideas..ah..ah..stop them!”
Porthmeor
It’s my last night in St Ives. I’ve somewhat fallen in love with the place, and with much of Corwall (all the bits not Newquay). There is a storm coming in, and I’m sat on the headland overlooking Porthmeor beach, where there are thunderous white waves smashing onto the rocks and sand. This week hasContinue reading “Porthmeor”
Hepworth Sculpture Garden
There is a conflict being played out in the Hepworth Museum. The entrance space is occupied with a display on Barbara Hepworth’s life, each major step in the process of her growth as an artist expalined and illustrated. It was a process of discovery and loss, the apparent permanence of her sculpture contrasting the transientContinue reading “Hepworth Sculpture Garden”
St Ives
In St Ives and wonderfully lost. All the winding cobbled streets are idosyncraticaly identical, and any attempt to navigate to any specific place is doomed to failure. The best solution I have discovered is just to wander randomly and enjoy what you stumble upon. And you always end up back at the harbour eventualy. I’veContinue reading “St Ives”
Shoe Fail
So. My Merrell walking shoes are not waterproof. In fact, my one year old Merrell walking shoes (I’m going to keep mentioning the brand in the hope of shaming them) today did a good impression of a pair of sponges, relaying every ounce of nearby water directly to my socks. I woke this morning toContinue reading “Shoe Fail”
Damien Walter 