Alastair Reynolds

I don't like a lot of what's published as hard SF. Much of it is right-wing, reactionary crap. ”

Daleks scared the hell out of me, to the point where I wouldn't go round to another boy's house because he had Dalek wallpaper in his bedroom. ”

I'm not actually that bothered about the 'science fiction-ness' of 'Doctor Who.' ”

Doctor Who' is part of my science fictional DNA. You could take it out of me, and I'd probably still have ended up being a writer, but almost certainly not the same one. ”

I think the danger with using the term 'trilogy' is that it sets up particular expectations in the reader's mind. ”

If there's a story I absolutely cannot tell without faster-than-light travel, then I am quite prepared to accept it - even though I don't personally believe it is possible. ”

I prioritise story over science, but not at the expense of being really stupid about it. ”

To be remembered at all is an achievement of sorts. ”

One of the big breakthroughs I had as a writer was when I stopped agonising over every word. ”

I despair of reality television, but I've never met anyone who watches it. Or people say, 'I watch it, but I hate it.' I've never met anyone who loves it. It's like, it's there, and we have to accept it. ”