Two short chapters are covered in this episode, and I talk about how I could have represented Dee better.

Unfamiliar with this podcast? Well, as young'un, I wrote a novel called XBook. A blend of history, sci-fi, and surrealism, it deals with aliens invading the Earth crash bang after the First World War. It was, of course, never published. 

Each episode, I read out a chapter, and then flex my critical muscles as I go into the literary (or more typically film) theory issues that surround each chapter. After all, it's my book and I get to trash it if I want to. 

However, the fiction seems to be creeping into the analysis. 

00:03:38 - Chapter 9, Ginger Gets Confused

00:08:53 - Chapter 10, William Takes a Break

00:10:54 - General Notes

00:18:30 - Psychologist's Chair

What are your thoughts on this and previous chapters? Have you spotted something that I have missed? Tell me your thoughts at [email protected]

You can also find me on Twitter at @DanielsNemesis, though nothing much happens there.

XBook, Chapter 8, and William is up to old tricks. Yep, he’s talking about the past again. But, he does manage to come into the present later in this chapter. We also get to meet some new alien characters. 

XBook, the old classic narrative of aliens invading after the First World War. But in this novel, we get to see both sides of the invasion. This is a book that I started writing in the late ’90s and I last looked at it almost 15 years ago, but I am reviving it here in audiobook form ... with added criticism. 

After I read out the chapter, I deep-dive analyse the chapter in a “Death of the Author” style. In other words, I explain too much whilst trying hard not to give away spoilers. 

In this episode, I go into worldbuilding and my more unique approach to using Film techniques to create a literary world. I quickly look at German Expressionism and Film Noir. And how did Terry Pratchett build up the Discworld? I also discuss whether William’s heavy use of exposition has been of any value. Likewise, how does all this world-building and exposition impact the narrative - have there been any story-telling advantages to this? Can there be narrative structure in exposition? 

00:02:58 - The Chapter  

00:20:27 - General Notes

00:24:16 - What Is World-Building?  

00:35:55 - What Are the Rules? 

00:37:28 - The Geography of the MotherShip  

00:41:20 - Micro-Narratives of the Socio-Economic World 

00:42:38 - William World-builds Ginger’s Terrain 

00:46:00 - World-Building and Narrative Structure

00:52:52 - Closing 

What are your thoughts on this and previous chapters? Have you spotted something that I have missed? Tell me your thoughts at [email protected]

You can also find me on Twitter at @DanielsNemesis, though nothing much happens there. 

It's XBook, Chapter 7 - Ginger Is Summoned. 

That book I wrote about half a lifetime ago returns with a new episode. Have I warmed up to the novel now that the story actually seems to be starting? 

Be warned as there is an actual plot point when Ginger receives a telephone call. 

To be fair, this is a chapter that is not for the queasy. 

Each episode, I read out a chapter and then deep-dive analyse it. The term "Death of the Author" keeps popping up in this particular episode. It's an audiobook with added criticism from the author himself. 

After I read the chapter, I talk about crucial Act 1 story elements such as the Inciting Incident, Point of No Return, and the Call to Action. I look at the movies Back to the Future, Battle Royale and Die Hard with a couple of mentions of Rincewind from Discworld to see how they deal with the same story elements that I discuss. 

I also ponder how my use of anti-narrative surrealism works with more traditional narrative story-telling. Find out why I had an issue with Luis Bunuel's Viridiana. 

00:02:49 The Chapter

00:16:47 General Notes (Story Structure)

00:40:13 Psychologist's Chair (Anti-Narrative vs Narrative devices) 

00:48:11 Conclusion

This ain’t XBook, this is CHRISTMAS DAY, the tiny little baby brother to XBook. Yeah, it’s a sub-episode, but I do actually have things to say this time, so maybe give a listen. 

I, Daniel’s Nemesis, am looking back at the first draft of XBook, written in the late 90’s. This look back makes a nice comparison to what XBook would become as I attempted to become an author, revising my story over a number of years, only to fail at being an author, a writer of science fiction, a dreamer of surreal landscapes as aliens come to make the post-war Earth of 1918 their home. 

Check out the other episodes of this series to see both versions of the book read out by myself, then dissected later on with the critical eye of someone who actually studied a Master’s in Scriptwriting from a GOOD university, and has a modicum more life experience. That’s also me, by the way. 

It’s a Death of the Author (literary theory term, not my actual death, though I do occasionally think the cringing will do that to me) podcast series that shouldn’t really work. But I’m giving it a go anyway. 

So, what are we looking at today? 

Well, we’re moving on fast with the story in this version of the audio book, moving so fast that these two “scenes” got left behind. Doesn’t matter as they are super generic, anyway. 

Marvel as fighter craft fly out of the Mothership, look aghast as the fighter craft do their business on cities around the world. 

Then comes my commentary and criticism. Listen in interest as I talk about stereotypes and archetypes. Be amazed as I talk about my lack of access to stories in Wales in the 90’s.

William acts a bit like Captain Kirk on board the Starship Enterprise (again), and he also covers some exposition (again). A lot like the last episode (chapter 5), but a new day, and William is still going on. 

Yes, it's episode 6 of this old novel by myself, Daniel's Nemesis, called XBook.

It's about an alien invasion in 1918, just after the Great War has finished and we follow both sides of the action, from the human perspective as well as the alien perspective. Unfortunately, both perspectives are a bit skewed. Think Independence Day meets Blackadder Goes Forth with a touch of Salvador Dali mixed in. I did, and I wrote about it.

After I read the chapter, I shall then dissect it and start to bring out some psychobabble as well.

Think of this as "how not to write a book". Bad fiction by a bad author who feels the need to exonerate himself by putting his many times rejected novel on to the Internet as an audiobook for all to laugh at. This isn't a mash-up of science fiction and historical fiction as both of those genres would require a modicum of research... The only fantasy in this story is that anyone would recognise it as a story. Enjoy!

This is not a normal Daniel's Nemesis podcast as I am not reading XBook. Instead, I have decided to go back to the earliest version of XBook called Christmas Day form 1998 to give you an idea of exactly how much this novel changed over the years.

I will alternate these episodes with the main XBook episodes, whenever I can. Some chapters were added later on, some removed, and some existing chapters moved around a bit, so I hope things are not too patchy.  

William acts a bit like Captain Kirk onboard the Starship Enterprise, and he also covers some exposition. 

Yes, it's episode 5 of this old novel by myself, Daniel's Nemesis, called XBook.

It's about an alien invasion in 1918, just after the Great War has finished and we follow both sides of the action, from the human perspective as well as the alien perspective. Unfortunately, both perspectives are a bit skewed. Think Independence Day meets Blackadder Goes Forth with a touch of Salvador Dali mixed in. I did, and I wrote about it.

After I read the chapter, I shall then dissect it and start to bring out some psychobabble as well. 

This is not a normal Daniel's Nemesis podcast as I am not reading XBook. Instead, I have decided to go back to the earliest version of XBook called Christmas Day form 1998 to give you an idea of exactly how much this novel changed over the years.

I will alternate these episodes with the main XBook episodes, whenever I can. Some chapters were added later on, some removed, and some existing chapters moved around a bit, so I hope things are not too patchy.  

In order to catch you up, I shall put the first couple of "scenes" into one episode. 

It's episode 4 of this old novel by myself, Daniel's Nemesis, called XBook.

It's an alien invasion in 1918, just after the Great War has finished and we follow both sides of the action, from the human perspective as well as the alien perspective. Unfortunately, both perspectives are a bit skewed. Think Independence Day meets Blackadder Goes Forth with a touch of Salvador Dali mixed in. I did, and I wrote about it. 

Each week I read out a chapter and this time, Ginger is going on holiday with his girlfriend, unchaperoned. 

After I read the chapter, I shall then dissect it and start to bring out some psychobabble as well. 

It's chapter 3, and we get to meet the second of our major characters, this time it's William. William is an alien, that's how revolutionary this story is, that we can see inside the minds of both sides of the main conflict! In this chapter, William finds a convenient way to describe himself to us. 

This chapter is a lot shorter than most of the chapters in the book. Is that alienist of me to give William less time to introduce himself than Ginger? 

After reading the chapter, I then dissect it, giving a bit of history and some vague psychobabble. 

I'd like to hear your opinions, ideas and interpretations, and comments. Let me know on Twitter at @DanielsNemesis, and Facebook, by searching for DanielsNemesis