Tag: Writing
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The Wind Blows From The West Part 1
Since he’d last been in the city, reconstruction and urban development had overridden his memories. Now a citywide steam tram service plied the streets, alongside rickshaws and steam cars, all of them imported, all of them driven by locals. When he was a child, most road traffic was velocipedes and sedan chairs and bullock carts.…
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The Page is Not The Game
The video game is the defining entertainment medium of the times. Combining high-impact visuals, immersive sound and deep player engagement, all within the comfort of the player’s home, the video game is the epitome of technological leisure. Its influence bleeds out into other media. In writing, we see this in the immensely popular LitRPG /…
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The Page is Not The Screen
The pulp era was a different time. Dime novels, pulp magazines and radio were the primary forms of fiction. Silent films dominated the theatres until the 1920s, with musicians playing music to accompany the show. The first Technicolor feature film arrived only in 1935, and it would take another three decades until colour firmly supplanted…
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Babylon Through the Eyes of Mundanes
When embarking on a new series, I have a simple rule: do something new. With the Babylon series, I wanted to play with perspective in storytelling. Babylon Blues has one main character and five viewpoint characters. While Yuri Yamamoto, leader of Team Black Watch, is the star of the story (and the series), he doesn’t…
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The Machinations of Lesser Gods
The New Gods dominate Nova Babylonia, but in their shadows skulk a host of lesser powers. Tutelary deities, minor spirits, demons and other creatures, they squabble among themselves to sweep up what little the New Gods leave them. Following the cataclysmic events of Babylon Blues, these lesser powers have a chance to step into the…
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The Case for Polylithic Evil
Most stories keep things simple. There is the side of Good, represented by the protagonist. There is the side of Evil, represented by the antagonist and his minions. Postmodern fiction tries to spice it up, with gray versus gray or gray versus black morality. Having just two sides is the norm. If there are multiple…