Let’s give a warm welcome to Christopher Paul Davies, author of the genre mashup novel The Time of the Chinese Dentist!
If you could be an extra on a TV show or movie, what would it be and what would you be doing?
I would be quite happy to be an extra sitting there pushing buttons on the bridge of the Enterprise. If a Star Trek cameo is good enough for Jeff Bezos, it is good enough for me. Kirk crew, though, not Picard. If I can briefly stroke the shoulder of the Great William I will waive my fee. I look like an alien anyway.
What do you think is the best pun ever told?
What time did the Chinaman go to the dentist? Tooth hurtee. (No this is not racist, people. One of my heroes is Mr O, from Macau). Well I would say that wouldn’t I? Who would have thought that one could base a massive satirical space-time adventure on that pun? Well I did. I also like: how are you feeling? I am using my hands mostly.
What was the first major news story you remember as a child?
Watching the Apollo moon landings with my father. Then the strikes in the 70s. The electricity workers turned off the power half way through Jon Pertwee confronting the Sea Devils. I have never got over that. It was only thing I loved on telly.
If you could have a signed copy of any novel what would it be and why?
I deeply revere Mervyn Peake, His grave is nearby, close to Arundel. A signed copy of Gormenghast would do very nicely.
What yoga move best describes your writing style, and why?
I really don’t know anything about yoga but my ex-wife recently spent a month at the Temple of Yoga in India. This is true. I lately became a disciple and slave of Michelle Yeoh as I love her and her moves with a passion, particularly since Star Trek Discovery. So we had better say Yeoh-ga. (Pathetic eh? If not reprehensible.) But she would kick ass without killing in my universe. I want her to beat up Donald Trump so bad.
Is there a genre or literary niche that you feel hasn’t gotten its deserved amount of attention?
I feel very strongly that we need to get out of genre. My own book strives to break all the genre rules. We need to think outside the box far more. But there is an idiosyncratic strand in British writing that I deeply admire, and one could sum it up as Jabberwocky. Or maybe Edith Nesbit after too many beers.
If you could, what book or movie or TV series would you like to experience for the first time all over again and why?
The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan. Outside any genre and an amazing combination of intelligence and stylishness. There has never been anything like it.
Millions of generations into the future, you are an alien archaeologist come to Earth to sift through the ancient remains of humanity. What is the oddest thing you find?
A Gavioli fairground organ. If you don’t think these are the most wonderful things then you are to be banished into Darkness.
You are stuck in space in dire straits. Which science fiction authors would you want with you?
Arthur C Clarke because he was always optimistic about man’s future in the stars. CS Lewis could in such an eventuality read Out of the Silent Planet to me (marvellous work, as is Perelandra). Michael J Straczynski – not only is he still alive, which is helpful, but his Babylon 5 is the most superb achievement and underrated. He outdid Star Trek with that show.
Would you prefer to visit Earth in 2100 or travel back to 1900 for a short visit? Why?
1900 because I and my devoted agents could avert the World Wars. I fear 2100 as idiot leaders are currently ruining the planet and the poverty levels are going to be indescribable by then.
If you could sit down and have dinner with 5 dead authors, who would you invite to the table? What would they order?
Leaving out the ones I have already mentioned…
Alain-Fournier. Roasted quail.
Marcel Proust. He took the novel to its highest form and will never be transcended. Luxury steak served with the finest truffles, plenty of garlic and Champagne.
JRR Tolkien. Steak and kidney pie with buttered mashed potatoes and lovely green veg. A careful selection of specialty mustards.
Tolstoy. Christmas dinner. Fine wines. Very good quality brandy butter on the pud,
Robert Holmes (TV script writers are authors too and are so often hidden; Holmes wrote the best Doctor Who stories with exceptional skill that understood his audience). Chinese roast duck with hoisin sauce in pancakes. The best rice wine you can find in Tokyo.
What is a recurring or the most memorable geeky argument or debate you have taken part in?
Space travel as envisioned in Star Trek is impossible and always will be. We are not going anywhere. Likewise, gravity on star ships and noise in space. We are watching nonsense. Feelgood nonsense, but the idea of man having a space empire is ridiculous. We could never afford it. Space 1999 was considered ridiculous scientifically but Star Trek not? Still, although I have never been geeky, some Star Trek is awesome for its storytelling and characterisation, and Bill is far greater than the other Captains.
Finally, what upcoming events and works would you like to share with the readers?
We need a new form of adventure that leaves behind commercial empires’ obsession with killing. My own humble effort is The Time of the Chinese Dentist, currently two volumes in. I have no interest in ‘writing for a market’; I just wanted to do a compelling story where no one dies; the plotting is harder that way, right? In my world, the day is saved by cookery. And singalongs. Though there is a lot more to it than that. It’s about joy, ultimately. There are spaceships and fights and disappearing cities, and what not, not to mention a few scenes set in a hairdresser. What more do you want?
About the Book The Time of the Chinese Dentist
Enough of doctors.
It’s Time for The Dentist.
The satirical space adventure fantasia, with plenty of food, drink and music
Amazon verified reviews of Volume 1
“Very well written. Great start for a promising new author *****”
“A cleverly written satirical take on life, human nature and the universe. Some of the most colourful characters I’ve ever read *****”
“A maddening, ambitious romp. Reads like a fevered dream combination of Douglas Adams and Robert Anton Wilson. There is much fun to be had here. ****”
The editors of The Time of the Chinese Dentist sequence decided after much deliberation to open the definitive account of this catastrophic chapter for mankind with two volumes that focus on the events that led up to and, in some sense, created the Time.
They decided to create a straightforward and above all cohesive account of the abduction of the city of Derby and the revelation of the Equinox project, based on the most reliable accounts in the New Derby Library, striving above all for accuracy, and one clear narrative without annotations. Where the editors could not verify the truth of the account, they were most judicious about what they included.
The first two volumes will soon be available in print for those of us who remain with eyesight.
Check it out on GoodReads ~ Check it out on Amazon
