Author Archives: Damien Walter

Kraken by China Mieville

China Miéville has a passion for London. The multi-award winning author has reflected the city’s surreal side in Un Lun Dun, set it to a drum’n’bass beat in King Rat, and inundated it with vampire imagoes in The Tain. Now, in his new novel, Miéville threatens to destroy the nation’s capital entirely in the tentacledContinue reading “Kraken by China Mieville”

Is there any decent Bizarro fiction out there?

So the term Bizarro fiction has crossed my path three times in as many days. That trips my curiosity circuits, which in turn activate my data collection probes, which tell me that I need to read some of this stuff. Bizarro fiction styles itself as ‘literature’s equivalent to the cult section at the video store’.Continue reading “Is there any decent Bizarro fiction out there?”

The Internal Editor

One of the things about reviewing (and blogging, and developing literature) is that it determines your reading. At any given time I can have a dozen or more books being read in one professional context or another. And while many of the books are wonderful, its always a joy when you get the opportunity toContinue reading “The Internal Editor”

End-of-the-world literature

I’m on the Guardian book podcast again this week, discussing literature of the apocalypse as the Angry Volcano God put us all in that frame of mind. At the end I call Kraken ‘H.P.Lovecraft via J.G.Ballard’. Not sure if that will make it into the final review, but it certainly has a ring to it!Continue reading “End-of-the-world literature”

Is fantasy just entertainment?

Just because fantasy is everywhere doesn’t mean it has to appeal to the lowest common denominator. We must keep sight of its roots in ancient storytelling and its power to transform. There are few things people love more then a well-told tale. We’ve been gathering around the fire (or that 20th-century equivalent, the television set)Continue reading “Is fantasy just entertainment?”

What have I kreeated!!

Three hours of writing in the library this evening (praise good for university libraries open until 2 am!) and I have found the ending of a new story! Kree Ah Tor has been sitting on my desktop, slowly accruing words for some months. The main sticking point has been the end. I started the storyContinue reading “What have I kreeated!!”

My Lovesick Zombie Boy Band

First published in Electric Velocipede #22/23. Podcast in Dark Fiction magazine. My Lovesick Zombie Boy Band by Damien G. Walter I am excavating an eight pointed star onto the pages of my text book when I catch the boy looking at me. I keep the pen moving, the shiny blue ink bubbling and frothing, soakingContinue reading “My Lovesick Zombie Boy Band”