Invaders From Planet 3

Comedian, author, podcaster and performer Sean Cullen joins the Invasion for this episode. Sean talks about how his love for speculative fiction started with works such as Tolkien's The Hobbit, Mr Bass's Planetoid by Eleanor Cameron, Stephen R Donaldson's Lord Foul's Bane, and Asimov's Foundation and Robot stories. We discuss the ups and downs of following a series, especially a long-running collection. And he talks about what makes a good story. Sean and I dissect the Star Wars franchise, especially the prequel trilogy and the latest stand-alone focussing on Han Solo. We also talk about Space 1999 and Star Trek, and how science fiction is often a product of its time, and whether it's possible to go back to and enjoy your first loves in the genre. We then get into a discussion of more recent favourite books, including the works of Neal Stephenson, Dan Simmons, and Kim Stanley Robinson. And we reminisce about the madcap fun of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. We also talk about the books Sean has written