Podcast – Damien Walter

Streaming television has delivered both the best and the worst of scifi and fantasy this year. The struggle to dominate streaming tv saw literally BILLIONS of $$$$ spent on scifi shows. But while much of that money was wasted on disasters like Fake Tolkien, it was smaller shows that crept in and stole our hearts and minds.

My review of the year lists my top 22 SFF stories…of 2022…and also my 7 worst, and the themes driving our storytelling at this moment in time.

And a MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you on this journey, it’s a great time to be a scifi fan, and I’m honored so many of you are listening to the Science Fiction podcast and participating in this community.

Thank you.

00:00 22 best (and 7 worst) of 2022
04:36 Big trouble for the little novel – 22 to 17
16:09 Enter the Unreal – 16 to 9
30:47 The 7 worst
41:57 Mythopathos – 8 to 1

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Citizen Andor and the politics of Star Wars

This episode represents the essay “Andor is a Marxist Story” from the Science Fiction youtube channel in audio format, with a LONG introduction elaborating on the politics of Star Wars.

Watch the video essay on YouTube

https://youtu.be/D2rt9bDi3eQ

Subscribe to the Science Fiction podcast

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Become a member of the Science Fiction channel on youtube for full access to all content

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Or join for any monthly donation and all the same benefits via the website

https://damiengwalter.com

The deep symbolism of 1899

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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/

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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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https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/

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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https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/

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

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.

Follow the the Science Fiction podcast and become a member
https://damiengwalter.com/podcast/

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