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# J Wallace

The website of author Jon Wallace

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://jonwallace.co/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Megalopolis and stoner inspiration](https://jonwallace.co/2024/10/megalopolis-and-stoner-inspiration/) - Most who indulge in weed in a committed way experience it at one time or another: you’re sat there chonging away happily when suddenly you reach a state you mistake for ecstatic inspiration. You become a little short of breath, your thoughts race away into elated fireworks, and you seem to experience a moment of
- [New story in Hexagon](https://jonwallace.co/2024/12/new-story-in-hexagon/) - My first (and probably last) vampire story was recently published in issue 19 of Hexagon magazine: The story, 'This job is turning me into something I don't like.' - is all about how a simple man is rendered undead by the soul sucking vocation of estate agency.
- [Attack of the Clones: 5 easy upgrades](https://jonwallace.co/2023/11/attack-of-the-clones-5-easy-upgrades/) - Sure, it's bad. But even working within this structure, some tweaks could have salvaged something. Re-watching Attack of the Clones there are many things that are wondrous. The design for instance. Grown men have been known to invest in Lego kits of Obi-Wan's beautiful Jedi starfighter. Then there's terrific space action, like that seismic charge
- [Lennon’s Mind Games 'ultimate collection' is an ultraviolet cube of disappointment](https://jonwallace.co/2024/08/lennons-mind-games-ultimate-collection-is-an-ultraviolet-cube-of-disappointment/) - A new ‘deluxe box set’ of John Lennon’s 1973 album Mind Games came out on 12 July. The Lennon estate was busy whipping up enthusiasm all the first half of the year, despatching it far and wide across the Beatlemaniac Youtuber community - probably their leading sales avenue these days. They have tried hard to
- [Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and the year 2021](https://jonwallace.co/2022/01/johnny-mnemonic-1995-and-the-year-2021/) - We might giggle at the graphics today, but 1995's Johnny Mnemonic has plenty of interesting things to say about the year 2021.
- [The Beatles' Get Back sessions are where my wandering mind goes](https://jonwallace.co/2021/07/the-beatles-get-back-sessions-are-where-my-wandering-mind-goes/) - Beatlemaniacs are known for owning all the albums, knowing all the lyrics, and reading all the books. The Get Back sessions let us get way weirder than that.
- [God, Top Gun: Maverick is weird](https://jonwallace.co/2022/06/top-gun-maverick-is-so-fucking-weird/) - Tony Scott's 1986 Top Gun imagined that US Navy pilots could shoot down Soviet MiGs without igniting World War Three, which was plain silly.
- [On kids' stationery](https://jonwallace.co/2022/09/on-kids-stationery/) - Manufacturers of kids stationery are determined to create as much landfill as possible competing to produce the cheapest, nastiest stationery imaginable.
- [Let it be (1970)](https://jonwallace.co/2024/05/let-it-be-1970/) - You have to be a pretty committed Beatlemaniac to consume 7 hours of Peter Jackson's Get Back epic, and then find the time to take in Michael Lyndsay-Hogg's original 1970 feature. Well, here I am - and strange to say, it feels oddly like a worthwhile exercise. Some youtubers claim that they can't understand why
- ['McCartney: A Life in Lyrics' is criminal tosh](https://jonwallace.co/2024/04/mccartney-a-life-in-lyrics/) - Creating a podcast about the lyrics of Paul McCartney will always be a potentially dodgy scheme. Paul has not exercised consistent quality control in this area. The man behind Blackbird is also the man behind Ob La Di Ob La Da. The man behind Fixing a Hole is also the man behind Hello Goodbye. That
- [Living in the Material World (2011)](https://jonwallace.co/2024/01/living-in-the-material-world-2011/) - I never watched this when it came out, and now that I view it, I trust my initial instinct. It's not a bad film. It's well made - of course it is, Marty is putting it together. Scorcese doesn't bother too much about rigid adherence to timeline and tune. There's a bit of footage I'd
- [Godzilla Minus One - I wept at a monster movie](https://jonwallace.co/2023/12/godzilla-minus-one-i-wept-at-a-monster-movie/) - It so happens that during a stay with a friend in November I took in a number of Godzilla movies. He has a beautiful Criterion book-set of the Showa-era films, from which we chose 1963's King Kong vs Godzilla and 1974's Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. We also watched the 2021 Godzilla vs Kong US remake -
- [Space Sweepers (2021)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/12/space-sweepers-2021/) - Watching Space Sweepers, its easy to start thinking about Aliens - a movie that is a little more sophisticated in its depiction of an innocent child.
- [New story in Electric Spec](https://jonwallace.co/2023/12/new-story-in-electric-spec/) - I've bene published by electric Spec for the first time, which feels tres bien. You can read my little flash tale, The Tank and the Grasshopper, right here. https://www.electricspec.com/Volume18/Issue4/wallace.html
- [New story in Robot Ambitions collection from Apex](https://jonwallace.co/2023/12/new-story-in-robot-ambitions-collection-from-apex/) - Thrilled to say that I have a new story published in a new Apex collection, Robot Ambitions. Life has dragged me away from short stories over the past few years so to get this one published is a nice feeling aftrer such a long hiatus. Everything else is advertising, based on an idea from my
- [Bride of Frankenstein (1935)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/09/bride-of-frankenstein-1935/) - Bride of Frankenstein refuses to pick a mood. It is terrifying, slapstick, surreal and moving all in one. It kind of gets away with it.
- [Knock at the Cabin (2023)](https://jonwallace.co/2023/03/knock-at-the-cabin-2023/) - Even the most middling cinema can provoke a strong reaction, leave us with questions long after the screening. Knock at the Cabin is one such.
- [No time to decide (big fat spoilers)](https://jonwallace.co/2021/10/no-time-to-decide-big-fat-spoilers/) - James Bond has been in love before. And this inversion of OHMSS is notionally brave; choosing to riff off perhaps the most maligned movie In the franchise is definitely a decision. But it’s not a decision that is fully realized. The film doesn’t do anything completely. It edges towards interesting pathways, then backs off. It
- [All Things Must Pass: Super Deluxe (2021)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/04/all-things-must-pass-super-deluxe-2021/) - Over the years All Things Must Pass took a regular place in my CD rotation, but I always skipped to my favourite tracks. The rest was, to me, a muddy mess.
- [End of Days (1999)](https://jonwallace.co/2023/07/end-of-days-1999/) - The concept of casting Arnold Schwartzenegger as cop with a past who has let himself go is richly amusing. The first time we encounter Arnie in End of Days, the camera pans around his apartment to find an ocean of boozy detritus. Arnie is sprawled on the sofa, drunk and considering shooting himself. Roused by
- [The Beeb under attack should piss us all off](https://jonwallace.co/2022/12/the-beeb-under-attack-makes-me-sad/) - On its 100 year anniversary, the BBC finds itself endlessly shelled by both sides in the feeble culture war. How did it come to this?
- [Revolver: Super Deluxe (2022)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/11/revolver-super-deluxe-2022/) - The new Revolver super-deluxe edition received five stars in the Guardian. But what is it about this reissue that is worthy of five stars?
- [Delicatessen (1991) and City of Lost Children (1995)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/09/delicatessen-1991-and-city-of-lost-children-1995/) - Terry Gilliam hangs over Jeunet/ Caro movies like one of his Holy Grail god cartoons. Or maybe it's fairer to say that they fed off each other's work.
- [Super Mario Bros (1993) and Waterworld (1995) - a tale of two Hoppers](https://jonwallace.co/2022/07/super-mario-bros-1993-and-waterworld-1995-a-tale-of-two-hoppers/) - Both these movies have extinction events at the core of their worldbuilding. That's fitting, as both helped exterminate the careers of those involved - the husband and wife directors of Mario Bros, and Kevin Costner's in the case of Waterworld. Both, in their own way, would attain legendary status, if for the wrong reasons. Waterwold
- [Macca and Cheese](https://jonwallace.co/2022/07/macca-and-cheese/) - Macca's set was very good. He should have had fun and made life harder for us with some of the horrific relics of his early 80s period.
- [Get Back (2021) - the review](https://jonwallace.co/2022/01/get-back-2021-the-review/) - Get Back is a mighty piece of work by Peter Jackson. He does everything right. He lets the '69 Beatles speak for themselves. We take it for granted that he resisted the temptation to commentate, but others might have. Equally he's sure not to seek perfection. At first it is surprising to see a Peter
- [McCartney 3, 2, 1 (2021)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/04/mccartney-3-2-1-2021/) - If there's one thing McCartney 3,2,1 achieves, it's to remind the old and wizened beatlemaniac exactly what a let-down the Beatles Anthology project was. To the bootleg collector, the third Anthology album omitted far too much, even just from George - the Sour Milk Sea Esher demo; All things must pass and Let it Down
- [Manipulating the weather creates perfect conditions for scifi](https://jonwallace.co/2019/01/manipulating-the-weather-creates-perfect-conditions-for-scifi/) - Many of our earliest stories were shaped by the weather, as the struggle for survival was decided in significant part by the success or failure of crops. It’s easy to see how, helpless before nature’s fickle distribution of light and rain, early minds thought weather the work of cruel gods, drought and famine manifestations of
- [Trains in SciFi: transport through war, revolution and time](https://jonwallace.co/2018/11/trains-in-scifi-transport-through-war-revolution-and-time/) - For an invention getting on for 200 years old, rail transport has a remarkable durability as a badge of prestige among nations. China, France, Japan, Spain and Turkey are proud of their glimmering high-speed infrastructure, while nations such as India, Morocco and Saudi Arabia are all striving to join the bullet train club. Even in
- [Implants and the ‘transhuman’ in science fiction](https://jonwallace.co/2018/04/implants-and-the-transhuman/) - Last month, The Engineer reported on progress towards bionic eye implants. An array of silicon nanowires arranged in an electrode grid, implanted behind the retina and linked to a wireless device, has potential to restore sight. Once again engineering news astounds and delights – the scifi eye given life.Technological implants play a solid role in
- [How money in SciFi helps sell motives, characters and worlds](https://jonwallace.co/2018/10/how-money-in-scifi-helps-sell-motives-characters-and-worlds/) - Money is a simple method by which scifi writers establish the world of their stories. Our dependence on and hunger for currency has helped define human history since around 700BC. We can hardly imagine society without it, and so naturally it plays a crucial role in story, as corrupting motive or hunted treasure. Crucially, creating
- [The distrubing future of autonomous weapons](https://jonwallace.co/2018/09/the-distrubing-future-of-autonomous-weapons/) - What exactly is it that we find so unnerving about the proliferation of autonomous weapon systems? Reporting on the 2017 International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, The Engineer quotes one robotics developer’s fears that “unlike other potential manifestations of AI [that] remain the realm of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems… have a real potential to
- [The humbling of the world's great navies](https://jonwallace.co/2018/08/the-humbling-of-the-worlds-great-navies/) - Ever since HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds, in which HMS Thunderchild engages Martian tripods off the Essex coast, the world’s navies have fired the imaginations of science fiction writers. Perhaps this is no great surprise. The ocean dramas played out in human history, from Actium to Lepanto, from Jutland to Midway, offer tales
- [The enormous threat of the asteroid](https://jonwallace.co/2018/06/the-enormous-threat-of-the-asteroid/) - Perhaps more than any other apocalyptic scenario, the asteroid strike holds the potential to expose humanity’s hard-won evolutionary supremacy as little more than a brief spark in an unimaginably vast darkness. The more we learn about asteroids (or ‘near-Earth objects’) the more we realise how helpless we are before them, and how blind we are
- [Tunnels are portals to future worlds](https://jonwallace.co/2018/05/tunnels-are-portals-to-future-worlds/) - To the 21st century citizen, the tunnel is one of those engineering accomplishments that’s easily taken for granted, or barely noticed at all – unless it is as a source of disgruntlement. The British love to complain about their tunnels, either as frustrated commuters trapped in Dartford and Blackwall traffic, or as opponents to new
- [Robot tales: breaking and cherishing our programming](https://jonwallace.co/2018/03/robot-tales-breaking-and-cherishing-our-programming/) - There’s nothing quite like a robot to help spin a good story. Automatons offer scifi scribblers an opportunity to create our own Frankenstein tales: of cursed human genius and overleaping ambition, and of the creatures themselves, holding up a mirror to their creator’s imperfections. Some of our most enduring 20th century science fiction characters are
- [Flying cars: Expect queues at your showroom](https://jonwallace.co/2018/02/flying-cars-expect-queues-at-your-showroom/) - For decades the idea of the flying car has helped shape our vision of the future, every bit as much as the robot and the rocket ship. For Popular Science enthusiasts of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, the air car would be the inevitable culmination of aeronautical and automotive engineering. Even Henry Ford said flying
- [Mars: the mythic arena](https://jonwallace.co/2017/11/mars-the-mythic-arena/) - One might have expected the science fiction fan to have given up on Mars by now. To the Moon-shot optimists of the 1960s its colonisation seemed moments away; its surface would be littered with the structures of the civilisation promised by 19th century science: Lowell’s canal builders and Tesla’s radio hams. The Moon’s conquest would
- [The super soldier of the future](https://jonwallace.co/2017/10/the-super-soldier-of-the-future/) - Super soldiers are not the easiest subject matter for the science fiction writer in search of heroes. Too many soldiers with too much technology inevitably wield too much power, and consequently fail to gain a reader’s sympathy. Overwhelming strength takes on an oppressive character in the imagination, and armies more often serve as antagonists, stormtroopers
- [The shape of things to come - Mr HG Wells](https://jonwallace.co/2017/09/the-shape-of-things-to-come/) - Mr HG Wells, author of popular scientific romance The Time Machine, turns the pages of The Engineer for clues as to the shape of our future It is with trepidation that I approach my new commission: to consider the engineering marvels of the moment and speculate on their application in this approaching 20th century. The great
- [Where are driverless cars taking us?](https://jonwallace.co/2017/09/where-are-driverless-cars-taking-us/) - Scifi writers use cars as a defining element in their future worlds, as the most intimate expression of man’s relationship with engineering.
- [Something new under the sun](https://jonwallace.co/2017/07/something-new-under-the-sun/) - Our star suffers from a rather reduced role in science fiction. Strange, when it was the centre of entire cultures’ foundation tales – the original fantasy fiction – whether as the eye of Ra, as a luminous disc pulled by Helios’ chariot, or as Tonatiuh, bloodthirsty deity of the Aztecs. Sol enjoyed a prized status
- [The nanotech swarm](https://jonwallace.co/2017/06/the-nanotech-swarm/) - Legions of microscopic robots fascinate scifi writers, from Star Trek’s Borg nanoprobes to the power-outage swarm of Revolution. In each case nanotech is a tyrant, reducing people to little more than slavery – to a soulless, technological ‘hive mind’ in the first; to a brutal, pre-electric dictatorship in the second. Our primitive understanding of microbiology
- [New engineering column coming in 2016!](https://jonwallace.co/2015/11/new-engineering-column-coming-in-2016/) - Delighted to announce that from 2016 I'll be contributing a science fiction column to The Engineer magazine
- ['Smart Dressings': All dressed up and nowhere to go](https://jonwallace.co/2017/01/smart-dressings-all-dressed-up-and-nowhere-to-go/) - For many science fiction writers the human form, and man’s attempt to alter or augment it, offers a rich seam of stories. We like to ask: how far do skin and bone define our humanity? Living beyond corporeal concerns of sex, age, pain and emotion, what will be left of us, and what else might
- [Bugs and SciFi: Imagining the new beetlemania](https://jonwallace.co/2017/02/bugs-and-scifi-imagining-the-new-beetlemania/) - Insects can get something of a bad rap in science fiction, deployed by authors to play on primal fears of a swarming, ravenous, elemental threat
- [Picturing a future of human invisibility](https://jonwallace.co/2017/04/picturing-a-future-of-human-invisibility/) - Invisibility holds a continuing fascination in popular culture, straddling both fantasy and scifi, from The Lord of the Rings to The Invisible Man.
- [Bacteria: making the most of the microbes in SciFi](https://jonwallace.co/2017/05/bacteria-making-the-most-of-the-microbes/) - Ah, microorganisms. Is there anything they can’t do? Microbiological agents such as viruses and bacteria have become a popular tool for writers seeking to destroy civilisation. The ‘Outbreak’ scenario allows us to strip our characters of law and order’s protections, placing them in exciting future frontiers. We normally follow a plucky group of survivors picking
- [Robotic limbs: the future in our grasp](https://jonwallace.co/2017/03/robotic-limbs-the-future-in-our-grasp/) - This month, The Engineer reported on A-Gear, robotic arm supports developed by researchers at The University of Twente as aids for those affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The active support is designed to amplify residual function in the arm, restoring a measure of independence to its users. This noble effort is one of many exoskeleton
- [Open your eyes (1997) and Better than Life (1990)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/03/open-your-eyes-1997-and-better-than-life-1990/) - Halfway through Open your eyes, I found myself remembering Grant Naylor's 1990 novel, Better Than Life. And thinking how much better it tells the same story.
- [The bloody awfulness of Space Truckers (1996)](https://jonwallace.co/2022/03/the-bloody-awfulness-of-space-truckers-1996/) - There is something mysterious about Space Truckers' bloody awfulness, something that leaves the viewer with serious questions.
- [John Carpenter's Vampires: 5 easy upgrades](https://jonwallace.co/2017/08/john-carpenters-vampires-5-easy-upgrades/) - Some simple fixes that could have elevated proceedings nicely.
- [Alien 3](https://jonwallace.co/2016/07/alien-3/) - Neil Blomkamp's planning an alternate Alien 3. Do we really need one?
- [Ghost in the Shell (1995)](https://jonwallace.co/2015/12/ghost-in-the-shell/) - A reader recently compared Steeple to 1995's Ghost in the Shell, Mamuro Oshii's hugely popular manga adaptation.
- [Escape from LA: 5 easy upgrades](https://jonwallace.co/2018/03/escape-from-la-5-easy-upgrades/) - Once again I'm picking holes in John Carpenter 90s movies. I've nothing better to do.
- [5 things about "In The Mouth of Madness"](https://jonwallace.co/2018/09/5-things-about-in-the-mouth-of-madness-1994/) - We return to normal service with a review of another 90s John Carpenter effort - worth viewing as a gateway to Sam Neill.
- [Memoirs of an Invisible Man](https://jonwallace.co/2019/10/memoirs-of-an-invisible-man/) - Review of John Carpenter's brief attempt at comedy in 1992.
- [John Carpenter's Village of the Damned (1995)](https://jonwallace.co/2020/10/john-carpenters-village-of-the-damned-1995/) - I review the much (and deservedly) maligned 1995 movie.
- [1992's Nemesis: the strange future of Pyun and Gruner.](https://jonwallace.co/2022/02/1992s-nemesis-the-strange-future-of-pyun-and-gruner/) - Nemesis, starring the richly bizarre Olivier Gruner, is a bad film. Yet any teenaged boy of the 1990s would surely have savoured its many strange flavours.
- [The Thing - and other things](https://jonwallace.co/2021/04/the-thing-and-other-things/) - 2011’s remake of The Thing tries hard to live up to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic… and ends up impersonating the 1951 original.
- [John Carpenter's Dark Star (1974)](https://jonwallace.co/2015/01/dark-star/) - A few words on Dark Star, which I saw for the first time just before Christmas.
- [They Live (1988)](https://jonwallace.co/2016/04/they-live-1988/) - John Carpenter's They Live fizzes with mischief.
- [Christine: 5 good and bad things about John Carpenter](https://jonwallace.co/2018/06/christine-5-good-and-bad-things-about-john-carpenter/) - 5 good and bad things about John Carpenter
- [John Carpenter's Halloween: I still don't get it](https://jonwallace.co/2018/11/john-carpenters-halloween-i-still-dont-like-it/) - Halloween is the Carpenter movie I never got. I always suspected I was missing something. Close friends set their horror watches by it. But it always bored me. 
- [John Carpenter's Starman: not as good as ALF](https://jonwallace.co/2018/12/john-carpenters-starman-not-as-good-as-alf/) - Some claim Starman as the misunderstood gem in John Carpenter’s back catalogue.
- [John Carpenter should be known for his silences as much as his music.](https://jonwallace.co/2019/07/john-carpenter-should-be-known-for-his-silences-as-much-as-his-music/) - John Carpenter should be known for his silences as much as his music.
- [Too many cooks: John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Prince of Darkness (1987)](https://jonwallace.co/2020/05/too-many-cooks-in-john-carpenter-films-big-trouble-in-little-china-1986-and-prince-of-darkness-1987/) - I review Big Trouble in Little China and the more unloved Prince of Darkness, a picture with a Kurt Russell shaped cavity where its heart should be.
- [John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars; 5 easy upgrades](https://jonwallace.co/2020/12/john-carpenters-ghosts-of-mars-5-easy-upgrades/) - A few excuses are made for the condition of Ghosts of Mars: the studio insisted on Ice Cube; evil Hollywood suits prevented Carpenter making his Escape from Mars; oh, and it was only ever meant to be silly fun. Well, Ice Cube could be just fine, if he weren’t, once again, hemmed in by a
- [John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) and Neil Marshall's Escape from Glasgow (Doomsday) (2008)](https://jonwallace.co/2020/12/john-carpenters-escape-from-new-york-1981-and-neil-marshalls-escape-from-glasgow-doomsday-2008/) - So much is written about Escape From New York already, it’s hard to know how to come at it. It’s harder still for me, because the film influenced my writing, to at least some degree. The theme of a walled-in, rotting future city, sealed off from a diminished imperial nation, must at least have tickled
- [John Carpenter's The Ward (2010)](https://jonwallace.co/2020/12/john-carpenters-the-ward-2010/) - Sad, in a way, that it's all just...sort of OK. Workmanlike. Not a disaster, nothing to be ashamed of. We leave A, reach B and move on to C. There is a pretty decent central performance from Amber Heard and a few genuine jumps. There is also a nice, schlocky bow tied around the story.
- [Magic Walk 2: Barbican](https://jonwallace.co/2019/10/magic-walk-2-barbican/) - There's an excellent walk to be found through the brutal maze that is Barbican.
- [The new London cab is bringing the old future](https://jonwallace.co/2019/06/the-new-london-cab-is-bringing-the-old-future/) - What should we make of the new London Taxi design?
- [London's Range Rovers: Have we all gone quite mad?](https://jonwallace.co/2017/05/londons-range-rovers-have-we-all-gone-quite-mad/) - I've been blogging over at Civilian Reader about the curious phenomenon of big black Range Rovers in London.
- [The curious carving and painting of London](https://jonwallace.co/2015/07/the-curious-carving-and-painting-of-london/) - While writing Steeple, I began to take pictures on my strolls about London.
- [Alita: Battle Angel - 5 easy upgrades](https://jonwallace.co/2019/03/alita-battle-angel-5-easy-upgrades/) - Alita has lots of features to recommend her. James Cameron\'s involvement is not chief among them.
- [The Fountain (2006)](https://jonwallace.co/2018/09/the-fountain-2006/) - Two promising batshit tales are smothered in the name of love in Aranofsky\'s 2006 problem picture.
- [tsundoku](https://jonwallace.co/2018/07/tsundoku/) - I can\'t stop buying books.
- [Rig in Forbidden Planet best of 2017](https://jonwallace.co/2018/02/rig-in-forbidden-planet-best-of-2017/) - Rig, part 3 of the Kenstibec trilogy, is listed with some awesome company.
- [Joint interview with Antonia Honeywell](https://jonwallace.co/2017/12/joint-interview-with-antonia-honeywell/) - I chat with Andy Chamberlain and Antonia Honeywell
- [The Quartermass Xperiment (1955)](https://jonwallace.co/2015/08/the-quartermass-xperiment-1955/) - The Quartermass Xperiment is not a classic, but creeps close through Val Guest's direction and some extraordinary music from James Bernard.
- [Double Bill: A Boy and His Dog (1975) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)](https://jonwallace.co/2015/08/double-bill-a-boy-and-his-dog-1975-and-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-1976/) - God the cinema could be a grim old place in the mid-70s.
- [The Manitor: New story in Kaleidotrope](https://jonwallace.co/2017/10/the-manitor-new-story-in-kaleidotrope/) - I've had a new story published in kaleidotrope Mag. Read Read Read!
- [Interview at Gollancz towers](https://jonwallace.co/2016/06/interview-at-gollancz-towers/) - Listen to me bang on about my books with the legend that is Ed Wilson, agent.
- [Valerian: some questions](https://jonwallace.co/2017/08/valerian-some-questions/) - I have some questions about Luc Besson's 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'
- [#GollanczFest line up announced](https://jonwallace.co/2017/07/gollanczfest-line-up-announced/) - The line up and dates for this year's Gollanczfest including ME.
- [Forbidden Planet loves Kenstibec](https://jonwallace.co/2017/06/forbidden-planet-loves-kenstibec/) - A smashing review for Rig and the Kenstibec series
- [Barricade and Steeple are cheap as chips for a limited time!](https://jonwallace.co/2017/04/barricade-and-steeple-are-cheap-as-chips-for-a-limited-time/) - Parts 1 and 2 in the Kenstibec series are just £1.99/$2.50 on Kindle for a limited time!
- [DS9: Sleazeball to the rescue](https://jonwallace.co/2017/04/ds9-sleazeball-to-the-rescue/) - Harris Yulin rescues season 1 of DS9.
- [Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)](https://jonwallace.co/2016/02/kingdom-of-the-spiders-1977/) - A trashy bug movie too easily became justified as 'research'.
- [The Intruder/ Shame (1962)](https://jonwallace.co/2016/12/the-intruder-shame-1962/) - As we approach 2017, movie lovers in search of guidance could do worse than take in this Roger Corman '62 Shatner fest
- [Fatty in colour! (Thanks to the Beano)](https://jonwallace.co/2016/11/fatty-in-colour-thanks-to-the-beano/) - MCM gave me the chance to draw Fatty on the appropriate scale - and in colour!
- [This pleases me](https://jonwallace.co/2015/10/this-pleases-me/) - H has carved me a Steeple pumpkin.
- [Interstellar](https://jonwallace.co/2014/12/interstellar/) - For a starving world, Interstellar’s United States is a very calm place.
- [Outlander (2008)](https://jonwallace.co/2014/08/outlander-2008/) - Outlander is the first movie I watched on my new telly.
- [Robocop (2014)](https://jonwallace.co/2014/02/robocop-2014/) - I wonder how Joshua Zetumer slept the night he found out his first produced script was going to be a Robocop remake? Not well, probably. On top of the excitement there must have been a cold current of fear in his blood. Because one thing is for sure: if you’re going to remake Robocop, you’re
- [Star Trek Into Darkness: A Khan fan's review](https://jonwallace.co/2013/05/star-trek-into-darkness-a-khan-fans-review/) - am a big Wrath of Khan fan. For me it is the only completely satisfying Star Trek film before the 2009 JJ Abrams reboot.
- [Holy Drokk on Toast! Dredd is good!](https://jonwallace.co/2013/02/holy-drokk-on-toast-dredd-is-good/) - When I was 14, I drew my own 2000AD comic.
- [Mad Max, Interviews, reviews, Travelodges and Cons](https://jonwallace.co/2015/11/mad-max-interviews-reviews-travelodges-and-cons/) - Just time to post a quick update after a pleasantly busy October.
- [Steeple cover reveal + other cover art](https://jonwallace.co/2015/02/steeple-cover-reveal-other-cover-art/) - I'm delighted to reveal the cover for "Steeple", the sequel to my debut novel "Barricade".
- [Steeple: proof week](https://jonwallace.co/2015/03/steeple-proof-week/) - Gollancz has sent through the proofs for Steeple, my second novel and the sequel to Barricade.
- [Mini Barricades are in!](https://jonwallace.co/2015/03/mini-barricades-are-in/) - A treasure box full of the new Barricade paperbacks arrived today.
- [Kenstibec's Twitter Story: Part 1](https://jonwallace.co/2015/04/kenstibec-twitter-story-part-one/) - Barricade is published in paperback today! To celebrate I thought I’d publish the first part of lead character Kenstibec’s twitter story.
- [Barricade Blog Tour Blogs Blog](https://jonwallace.co/2015/02/barricade-blog-tour-blogs-blog/) - I thought I would post something about last year's Barricade Blog Tour,
- [Barricade German Cover Reveal](https://jonwallace.co/2014/12/barricade-german-cover-reveal/) - I have received a very special Christmas present: thrilled to bits to see the German cover for Barricade (Barrikaden) out there on Amazon.
- [Science and fiction: why we need dystopia](https://jonwallace.co/2013/07/400/) - Every now and then another article appears about a scientist, futurist or engineer who has a beef with gloomy scifi.
- [Doodling Barricade](https://jonwallace.co/2015/04/doodling-barricade/) - So I ran a little Barricade competition the other day.
- [Steeple signing!](https://jonwallace.co/2015/05/steeple-signing/) - I'll be popping up at Forbidden Planet in London on 25 June to do a signing of book two in the Kenstibec series, Steeple.
- [Steeple Interview on Tor.com](https://jonwallace.co/2015/05/steeple-interview-on-tor-com/) - Really pleased that I had the opportunity to answer a few questions for Niall Alexander at Tor.com
- [The Magic Walk](https://jonwallace.co/2015/06/the-magic-walk/) - Last month the German edition of Barricade came out, and I jumped at the opportunity to produce an article for Nautilis Magazine
- [Launching Steeple](https://jonwallace.co/2015/06/launching-steeple/) - All sorts of things have been occurring over the last couple of weeks to herald the launch of "Steeple", the second novel in the Kenstibec series.
- [Steeple named in Forbidden Planet "Best of 2015"](https://jonwallace.co/2016/01/steeple-named-in-forbidden-planet-best-of-2015/) - Thrilled to say that Steeple has been named by Joe Gordon as one of his picks of 2015, over at the Forbidden Planet International blog. Steeple, part 2 in the Kenstibec series and sequel to Barricade, is listed there alongside some brilliant comics, Darren Anderson's remarkable Imaginary Cities and novels like Station Eleven. Truly distinguished
- [Kenstibec's Twitter Story Part 2](https://jonwallace.co/2015/07/kenstibecs-twitter-story-part-2/) - It's my pleasure to present part two of Kenstibec's Twitter Story, which I produced in the run up to the June 2014 publication of Barricade.
- [Steeple: 4 stars and heaps of blogs](https://jonwallace.co/2016/05/steeple-4-stars-and-heaps-of-blogs/) - Steeple has been picking up cracking reviews, plus other updates.
- [Five daft skyscrapers](https://jonwallace.co/2016/04/five-daft-skyscrapers/) - Five daft skyscraper proposals that make the thousand floor tower in Steeple look positively conservative.
- [Rig cover reveal](https://jonwallace.co/2016/02/rig-cover-reveal/) - Delighted to reveal the cover for the final part in the Kenstibec trilogy, Rig, which comes out 16 June.
- [It's publication day!](https://jonwallace.co/2016/06/its-publication-day/) - A brief summary of the goings on this publication week
- [Signing Event and other business](https://jonwallace.co/2016/06/signing-event-and-other-business/) - We'll be having an event on June 30 at Holdborn Blackwell's.
- [Rig launch](https://jonwallace.co/2016/07/rig-launch/) - thanks so much to team Gollancz and Holborn Blackwell's for organising a fantastic launch evening for Rig, book 3 in the Kenstibec series.
- [Summer events update](https://jonwallace.co/2016/07/summer-events-update/) - I'll be interviewing, Nineworldsing and Gollanczfesting over August/ September.
- [Four Stars for Rig!](https://jonwallace.co/2016/10/four-stars-for-rig/) - Most Excellent Four Star Review for "Rig" (final book in the Kenstibec trilogy) from the Sun newspaper this week
- [Jurassic World](https://jonwallace.co/2015/05/jurassic-world/) - The cinema ushers were handing out free ice creams at the end of Jurassic World. I decided not to take one
- [New story in final Jupiter Science Fiction](https://jonwallace.co/2016/03/new-story-in-final-jupiter-science-fiction/) - Trailer Trash - a scifi tale of shipwreck, survival, and escape
- [Gollanczfest and FantasyCon](https://jonwallace.co/2015/09/gollanczfest-and-fantasycon/) - I'll be taking part in a number of cool events during October
- [ISIS: Drop books not bombs](https://jonwallace.co/2015/09/isis-drop-books-not-bombs/) - The power of fiction offers a real alternative to air strikes
- [The Tortoise and the Lion](https://jonwallace.co/2015/08/the-lion-and-the-tortoise/) - Over years of living in London I'd started to think I was getting the measure of it. Now I'm not so sure.

## Pages

- [Stories](https://jonwallace.co/stories/) - List of short stories and novellas by author Jon Wallace.
- [](https://jonwallace.co/home/) - Jon Wallace is the author of the Kenstibec science fiction series (Barricade, Steeple and Rig) published by Gollancz. The end of the world has seldom been such gruesome fun Financial Times on Barricade More about Barricade Jon is also: A writer of short stories in Interzone, Kaleidotrope, Best British Fantasy and more. The Manitor: first
- [The Engineer column](https://jonwallace.co/the-engineer/) - During 2016 I'm writing a science fiction column for the UK's Engineer magazine,
- [Barricade - Kenstibec 1](https://jonwallace.co/books/barricade/) - Barricade is the debut Novel by Jon Wallace, published by Gollancz.
- [Rig - Kenstibec 3](https://jonwallace.co/books/rig-kenstibec-3/) - A fast-moving, filmic and violent SF thriller, perfect for fans of Jack Campbell. A meeting of The Road and Rogue Trooper.
- [Steeple - Kenstibec 2](https://jonwallace.co/books/steeple/) - Steeple is the sequel to Barricade, book 2 in the Kenstibec series.
- [Blog](https://jonwallace.co/blog/) - John Carpenter and other movie reviews, thoughts about London, and other odds and sods.
- [Books](https://jonwallace.co/books/) - I'm the author of the Kenstibec trilogy, published by Gollancz in England and Heyne in Germany.

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://jonwallace.co/category/uncategorized/)
- [Other columns](https://jonwallace.co/category/blogs/)
- [Short Stories](https://jonwallace.co/category/short-stories/)
- [Movie Reviews](https://jonwallace.co/category/movie-reviews/)
- [Free Stuff](https://jonwallace.co/category/free-stuff/)
- [Books](https://jonwallace.co/category/books/)
- [Engineer Column](https://jonwallace.co/category/engineer-column/)
- [Events](https://jonwallace.co/category/events/)
- [Interviews](https://jonwallace.co/category/interviews/)
- [John Carpenter](https://jonwallace.co/category/movie-reviews/john-carpenter/)
- [London](https://jonwallace.co/category/london/)
- [90s SciFi](https://jonwallace.co/category/movie-reviews/90s-scifi/)
- [Beatles](https://jonwallace.co/category/beatles/)

## Tags

- [Barricade](https://jonwallace.co/tag/barricade/)
- [Kenstibec](https://jonwallace.co/tag/kenstibec/)
- [Heyne](https://jonwallace.co/tag/heyne/)
- [German edition](https://jonwallace.co/tag/german-edition/)
- [Blog Tour](https://jonwallace.co/tag/blog-tour/)
- [Steeple](https://jonwallace.co/tag/steeple/)
- [Cover art](https://jonwallace.co/tag/cover-art/)
- [Gollancz](https://jonwallace.co/tag/gollancz/)
- [Fatty](https://jonwallace.co/tag/fatty/)
- [Al Robertson](https://jonwallace.co/tag/al-robertson/)
- [Forbidden Planet](https://jonwallace.co/tag/forbidden-planet/)
- [Tor](https://jonwallace.co/tag/tor/)
- [Interview](https://jonwallace.co/tag/interview/)
- [Jules Verne](https://jonwallace.co/tag/jules-verne/)
- [London](https://jonwallace.co/tag/london/)
- ["Street Art"](https://jonwallace.co/tag/street-art/)
- [Statues](https://jonwallace.co/tag/statues/)
- [Beasts](https://jonwallace.co/tag/beasts/)
- [Twitter story](https://jonwallace.co/tag/twitter-story/)
- [Tortoise](https://jonwallace.co/tag/tortoise/)
- [Lion](https://jonwallace.co/tag/lion/)
- [Books](https://jonwallace.co/tag/books/)
- [Bombs](https://jonwallace.co/tag/bombs/)
- [Isis](https://jonwallace.co/tag/isis/)
- [History](https://jonwallace.co/tag/history/)
- [Prince Charles Cinema](https://jonwallace.co/tag/prince-charles-cinema/)
- [Pat Cadigan](https://jonwallace.co/tag/pat-cadigan/)
- [Alex Lamb](https://jonwallace.co/tag/alex-lamb/)
- [Tom Toner](https://jonwallace.co/tag/tom-toner/)
- [Antonia Honeywell](https://jonwallace.co/tag/antonia-honeywell/)
- [Joe Hill](https://jonwallace.co/tag/joe-hill/)
- [Edward Cox](https://jonwallace.co/tag/edward-cox/)
- [Paul McCauley](https://jonwallace.co/tag/paul-mccauley/)
- [#Gollanczfest](https://jonwallace.co/tag/gollanczfest/)
- [Geek Syndicate](https://jonwallace.co/tag/geek-syndicate/)
- [Mad Max](https://jonwallace.co/tag/mad-max/)
- [Fury Road](https://jonwallace.co/tag/fury-road/)
- [Review](https://jonwallace.co/tag/review/)
- [Science Fiction](https://jonwallace.co/tag/science-fiction/)
- [The Engineer](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-engineer/)
- [Column](https://jonwallace.co/tag/column/)
- [Rig](https://jonwallace.co/tag/rig/)
- [Short Story](https://jonwallace.co/tag/short-story/)
- [Jupiter Science Fiction](https://jonwallace.co/tag/jupiter-science-fiction/)
- [Skyscraper](https://jonwallace.co/tag/skyscraper/)
- [High Rise](https://jonwallace.co/tag/high-rise/)
- [JG Ballard](https://jonwallace.co/tag/jg-ballard/)
- [Donald Trump](https://jonwallace.co/tag/donald-trump/)
- [Superyachts](https://jonwallace.co/tag/superyachts/)
- [Blackwells](https://jonwallace.co/tag/blackwells/)
- [Dystopia](https://jonwallace.co/tag/dystopia/)
- [Alien](https://jonwallace.co/tag/alien/)
- [Ripley](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ripley/)
- [James Barclay](https://jonwallace.co/tag/james-barclay/)
- [Ben Anaarovitch](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ben-anaarovitch/)
- [Jon Wallace](https://jonwallace.co/tag/jon-wallace/)
- [The Sun](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-sun/)
- [Star Trek](https://jonwallace.co/tag/star-trek/)
- [Iain M Banks](https://jonwallace.co/tag/iain-m-banks/)
- [Spock](https://jonwallace.co/tag/spock/)
- [Richard Morgan](https://jonwallace.co/tag/richard-morgan/)
- [Adam Roberts](https://jonwallace.co/tag/adam-roberts/)
- [Edinburgh](https://jonwallace.co/tag/edinburgh/)
- [Liverpool](https://jonwallace.co/tag/liverpool/)
- [Leeds](https://jonwallace.co/tag/leeds/)
- [Brixton](https://jonwallace.co/tag/brixton/)
- [Patrick Rothfuss](https://jonwallace.co/tag/patrick-rothfuss/)
- [China Mieville](https://jonwallace.co/tag/china-mieville/)
- [James Herbert](https://jonwallace.co/tag/james-herbert/)
- [Len Deighton](https://jonwallace.co/tag/len-deighton/)
- [J G Ballard](https://jonwallace.co/tag/j-g-ballard/)
- [Roald Dahl](https://jonwallace.co/tag/roald-dahl/)
- [Daphne DuMaurier](https://jonwallace.co/tag/daphne-dumaurier/)
- [Ghost in the Shell](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ghost-in-the-shell/)
- [John Carpenter](https://jonwallace.co/tag/john-carpenter/)
- [They Live](https://jonwallace.co/tag/they-live/)
- [Judge Dredd](https://jonwallace.co/tag/judge-dredd/)
- [2000AD](https://jonwallace.co/tag/2000ad/)
- [Alex Garland](https://jonwallace.co/tag/alex-garland/)
- [Karl Urban](https://jonwallace.co/tag/karl-urban/)
- [William Shatner](https://jonwallace.co/tag/william-shatner/)
- [Leonard Nimoy](https://jonwallace.co/tag/leonard-nimoy/)
- [Wrath of Khan](https://jonwallace.co/tag/wrath-of-khan/)
- [Peter Weller](https://jonwallace.co/tag/peter-weller/)
- [Robocop](https://jonwallace.co/tag/robocop/)
- [Joshua Zetumer](https://jonwallace.co/tag/joshua-zetumer/)
- [Gary Oldman](https://jonwallace.co/tag/gary-oldman/)
- [Michael Keaton](https://jonwallace.co/tag/michael-keaton/)
- [Ron Pearlman](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ron-pearlman/)
- [Christopher Nolan](https://jonwallace.co/tag/christopher-nolan/)
- [Halloween](https://jonwallace.co/tag/halloween/)
- [Beano](https://jonwallace.co/tag/beano/)
- [Comic Con](https://jonwallace.co/tag/comic-con/)
- [DS9](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ds9/)
- [James Woods](https://jonwallace.co/tag/james-woods/)
- [Kaleidotrope](https://jonwallace.co/tag/kaleidotrope/)
- [David Bowie](https://jonwallace.co/tag/david-bowie/)
- [Quartermass](https://jonwallace.co/tag/quartermass/)
- [Val Guest](https://jonwallace.co/tag/val-guest/)
- [Stephen King](https://jonwallace.co/tag/stephen-king/)
- [Hugh Jackman](https://jonwallace.co/tag/hugh-jackman/)
- [Darren Aronofsky](https://jonwallace.co/tag/darren-aronofsky/)
- [Rachel Weisz](https://jonwallace.co/tag/rachel-weisz/)
- [Sam Neill](https://jonwallace.co/tag/sam-neill/)
- [Dark Star](https://jonwallace.co/tag/dark-star/)
- [kurt russell](https://jonwallace.co/tag/kurt-russell/)
- [Village of the Damned](https://jonwallace.co/tag/village-of-the-damned/)
- [Mark Hamill](https://jonwallace.co/tag/mark-hamill/)
- [Beatles](https://jonwallace.co/tag/beatles/)
- [James Bond](https://jonwallace.co/tag/james-bond/)
- [007](https://jonwallace.co/tag/007/)
- [Lashana Lynch](https://jonwallace.co/tag/lashana-lynch/)
- [Keanu Reeves](https://jonwallace.co/tag/keanu-reeves/)
- [Dennis Hopper](https://jonwallace.co/tag/dennis-hopper/)
- [Charles Dance](https://jonwallace.co/tag/charles-dance/)
- [Stuart Gordon](https://jonwallace.co/tag/stuart-gordon/)
- [Penelope Cruz](https://jonwallace.co/tag/penelope-cruz/)
- [Red Dwarf](https://jonwallace.co/tag/red-dwarf/)
- [Bacteria](https://jonwallace.co/tag/bacteria/)
- [HG Wells](https://jonwallace.co/tag/hg-wells/)
- [Invisible Man](https://jonwallace.co/tag/invisible-man/)
- [metropolis](https://jonwallace.co/tag/metropolis/)
- [starship troopers](https://jonwallace.co/tag/starship-troopers/)
- [Douglas Adams](https://jonwallace.co/tag/douglas-adams/)
- [the fly](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-fly/)
- [Metamorphosis](https://jonwallace.co/tag/metamorphosis/)
- [Damnation Alley](https://jonwallace.co/tag/damnation-alley/)
- [beetle](https://jonwallace.co/tag/beetle/)
- [Bugs](https://jonwallace.co/tag/bugs/)
- [Altered Carbon](https://jonwallace.co/tag/altered-carbon/)
- [Futurama](https://jonwallace.co/tag/futurama/)
- [Gattica](https://jonwallace.co/tag/gattica/)
- [Ray Kurzweil](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ray-kurzweil/)
- [David Brin](https://jonwallace.co/tag/david-brin/)
- [Back to the Future](https://jonwallace.co/tag/back-to-the-future/)
- [The Fifth Element](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-fifth-element/)
- [Total Recall](https://jonwallace.co/tag/total-recall/)
- [Bridges](https://jonwallace.co/tag/bridges/)
- [Gustav Eiffel](https://jonwallace.co/tag/gustav-eiffel/)
- [Aliens](https://jonwallace.co/tag/aliens/)
- [Predator](https://jonwallace.co/tag/predator/)
- [All You Need is Kill](https://jonwallace.co/tag/all-you-need-is-kill/)
- [Ender’s Game](https://jonwallace.co/tag/enders-game/)
- [universal soldier](https://jonwallace.co/tag/universal-soldier/)
- [Joe Haldeman](https://jonwallace.co/tag/joe-haldeman/)
- [mars](https://jonwallace.co/tag/mars/)
- [Pierce Brown](https://jonwallace.co/tag/pierce-brown/)
- [Andy Weir](https://jonwallace.co/tag/andy-weir/)
- [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://jonwallace.co/tag/kim-stanley-robinson/)
- [flying car](https://jonwallace.co/tag/flying-car/)
- [robot](https://jonwallace.co/tag/robot/)
- [Blade Runner](https://jonwallace.co/tag/blade-runner/)
- [Frankenstein](https://jonwallace.co/tag/frankenstein/)
- [The Terminator](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-terminator/)
- [Battlestar Galactica](https://jonwallace.co/tag/battlestar-galactica/)
- [Ex Machina](https://jonwallace.co/tag/ex-machina/)
- [Interstellar](https://jonwallace.co/tag/interstellar/)
- [The Matrix](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-matrix/)
- [Johnny Mnemonic](https://jonwallace.co/tag/johnny-mnemonic/)
- [Elysium](https://jonwallace.co/tag/elysium/)
- [Journey to the Centre of the Earth](https://jonwallace.co/tag/journey-to-the-centre-of-the-earth/)
- [Roger Levy](https://jonwallace.co/tag/roger-levy/)
- [Deep Impact](https://jonwallace.co/tag/deep-impact/)
- [Armageddon](https://jonwallace.co/tag/armageddon/)
- [Metal Armor Dragonar](https://jonwallace.co/tag/metal-armor-dragonar/)
- [The Expanse](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-expanse/)
- [The War of the Worlds](https://jonwallace.co/tag/the-war-of-the-worlds/)
- [Groo the Wanderer](https://jonwallace.co/tag/groo-the-wanderer/)
- [Cowboy BeBop’](https://jonwallace.co/tag/cowboy-bebop/)
- [Rick and Morty](https://jonwallace.co/tag/rick-and-morty/)
- [Last Train to Busan](https://jonwallace.co/tag/last-train-to-busan/)
- [Firefly](https://jonwallace.co/tag/firefly/)
- [China Miéville](https://jonwallace.co/tag/china-mieville-2/)
- [Snowpiercer](https://jonwallace.co/tag/snowpiercer/)
- [Top Gun](https://jonwallace.co/tag/top-gun/)
- [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://jonwallace.co/tag/jean-pierre-jeunet/)
- [BBC](https://jonwallace.co/tag/bbc/)
- [Rik Mayall](https://jonwallace.co/tag/rik-mayall/)
- [Arnie](https://jonwallace.co/tag/arnie/)
- [Megalopolis](https://jonwallace.co/tag/megalopolis/)