Tag Archives: Writing

"Rayguns and Rocket Ships" – Can Books Save Space Opera?

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When you think of sci-fi, the chances are you’re thinking of Space Opera. But as television turns its back on tales of “shooty-death-kill in space”, will the sub-genre continue to thrive on the printed page?

A stunning line-up of top sci-fi authors assembled at the recent SFX Weekender to confront this very question. Paul McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Dan Abnett, Jaine Fenn, Mike Cobley and Aaron Dembski-Bowden reviewed the current state of literary science fiction and raised some tantalising questions of their own. Have the harsh realities of modern life killed our dreams of exploration? Does it still count as Space Opera if the story’s set on Earth? And just what the frack is Space Opera anyway? All this and more, in the latest Impossible Podcast!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:36 — 50.0MB)

Author Interview – Simon Kurt Unsworth – FantasyCon 2011

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Hundreds of fantasy, sci-fi and horror fans descended on Brighton last weekend for the British Fantasy Society‘s annual convention. Our reviews editor, P.G. Bell, was one of them.

There are lots of good reasons to attend the annual FantasyCon. Free wine is one. The chance to meet your favourite writers and publishers in the flesh is another. And that’s why I was there. (Well, also for the free wine. But definitely not for Saturday night’s tentacle burlesque show. Honest).

I got to chat with World Fantasy Award nominated writer Simon Kurt Unsworth, who was in town to launch his new book, Quiet Houses. (If you haven’t heard our review of Quiet Houses yet, you can download it here). He told me how the book came into being, how a series of long bus journeys led to him becoming a writer, and why he likes his characters to be “baffled”. Click the link below to hear the full story, and read on after the break for some photos of the launch and the rest of the weekend!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:30 — 20.6MB)

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Big Finish Special – ‘How The Doctor Changed My Life’

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Join us for a very special edition of A Podcast Of Impossible Things, as we celebrate the latest short story anthology from Big Finish – Short Trips: How The Doctor Changed My Life, featuring our very own Caleb Woodbridge!

We have lots of interviews, including Michael Coen, overall winner of the competition, the full text of which can be read here, along with contributions from many of the other writers. We also speak to editor Simon Guerrier about the unique way in which the anthology was created, as well as his own ascent from the slush pile to publication. Plus, Doctor Who writer Robert Shearman chats to us about his own new short story collection, Tiny Deaths.

And as if that wasn’t enough, we launch our very first competition, with three copies of How The Doctor Changed My Life up for grabs. All you need to do is answer the following question: Where was Caleb working when he got the idea for The Shopping Trolleys of Doom?, the answer to which is in the podcast! The closing date is 25th October, after which we’ll pick the three winners at random. To enter, email your answer to impossiblepodcast@gmail.com. The competition is now closed.

We’ve also made the local press! The South Wales Echo ran a story on How The Doctor Changed My Life, including a mention of the podcast, though it must be pointed out that contrary to the description given, it’s not just Caleb’s podcast!

This edition’s commentators: Caleb, James, Peter and Swithun

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:25 — 8.8MB)

Big Finish: [Click Here]
Buy How The Doctor Changed My Life: [Big Finish] [Amazon]
Buy Tiny Deaths: [Click Here]