Colm O’Shea is a Clinical Associate Professor with the Expository Writing Program at NYU. Today he joins us to talk about his first science fiction book, Claiming De Wayke. It’s a marvelous dystopian novel set in the near future in a post-plague apocalyptic Ireland. Colm weighs many interesting topics in his book: What is the nature of consciousness? What does it mean to be human, and where does dignity lie? What is important, and what is fulfillment? Tayto is a charming tour guide for the reader into and out of his favorite place – the world he experiences through his VR halo – and a highly reluctant participant from time to time in reality, called by him de Wayke.
- Colm’s website
- Twitter @ColmOShea10
Buy his book! Claiming de Wayke. It’s going to win awards!
Mentions from Episode 167:
- Alma Alexander
- Cant
- Trainspotting
- Unreliable narrator
- James Seymour Guinneyan – The book’s cover illustrator
- Ready Player One
- James Joyce’s Mandala – by Colm
- Words invented by Lewis Carroll
- Once upon a time, people donated their CPUs to good causes rather than mining bitcoin
- Iain Banks – Culture Series – Asked the question what do humans do when they don’t need to do anything?
- Colm’s essay on college essays
- Chaz’ Chough birds
- QWERTY or Dvorak keyboards