It's hard to write a good review. It's almost impossible to write one for a new author like myself without making comparisons to other writers and novels.

Slabscape: Reset got a new 4-star review this morning on Amazon Australia that compared it favourably with Douglas Adams, Iain Banks' Culture novels and Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, calling it 'an excellent blend of all three'. So, first I must express my gratitude to D.A. Robinson who, in all probability, will never see this post. Every review makes a difference. I am buoyed and excited by the praise (and often surprised) and usually nod knowingly at the criticism because I can never escape the inner voice that reminds me of my failings and weaknesses. However, many readers have made similar comparisons and I thought it was about time I responded.

Douglas Adams was, first and foremost, a comedy scriptwriter. (No, I never met him, he talked about this in a BBC Radio Four interview.) He only reluctantly admitted that he was a Science Fiction writer because a lot of his comedy involved spaceships and aliens. The very first version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a radio show. It was, in my opinion, the best of all of the different manifestations. I had the recordings on cassette (remember those?) and then bought them all again, years later, as downloads. The BBC are masters of the form: great voice actors, inspired direction, a lightness of touch that was pure joy and, of course, a brilliant script. The TV series was very well done and the books were almost a necessity but I'll avoid passing comment on the film.

If readers compare my stuff to H2G2 I am immensely flattered (and of course, it would be stupid of us not to shout about this loudly and from every roof-top in our marketing) but although I loved the original series, I'm not trying to emulate it. I don't think I could. Comedy writing has its own unique set of disciplines and strictures and it's really, really hard - mind wringingly hard. My stuff is the other way around; Science Fiction with added humour. Of course, I come from a similar background to DNA. He was four years older than me and I'm sure we grew up with the same comedic influences: The Goons, Hancock, TW3, Python, Rowan and Martin's and even Carry On. The list is almost endless, British and American comedy in the 60s, 70s and 80s was rich and varied. Remember Soap? Taxi? Not the Nine O'Clock News? Blackadder? (John Lloyd is a common thread in many of the UK's best shows as is James L. Brooks in the US ones). Naturally, I share a love of the surreal twist that Spike Milligan seemed to have invented and was enthusiastically embraced by the Pythons. I rarely use the term 'genius' but I think it can be fairly applied to Spike. I even credited him with the Gan, the universal unit of measurement of ideas. There's a joke in Puckoon that I only have to think about to start chuckling uncontrollably and I read that nearly fifty years ago. So yes, some of my humour comes from the same place as DNA and I was a big fan of the original series, but I'm not trying to step into the void he left. I just love humorous SF and wanted to see if I could entertain some people with my version of the future and explore the lives of the characters who have pushed their way into my imagination.

But when it comes to comparisons to Iain M. Banks, I can only say; 'what have you been reading?'. Yes, my future is based on a post scarcity society and set in a universe where there is a tap-dance going on between the A.I. minds and the over-indulged citizens, but I think that's where the comparison ends. Iain was a master. I had dreams of meeting him one day and was gutted when he died - I'm sure we'd have got on well. No more Culture novels! I can barely stand the thought because it was Iain who re-inspired me to write. I'd grown up reading the classics, from H.G. Wells and Jules Verne through to Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke, then Larry Niven's known space and Ringworld. I loved them all, but it was Iain's magnificent writing that made it almost impossible not to have a go. When you read what great science fiction writing can do, you either pack up your bags and give in or you start trying to write yourself. I did the latter and I am still trying. I'm a novice when it comes to what I would call 'proper writing' and Iain had so much talent and a candescent imagination. If you haven't read Excession I seriously urge you to do so, and if you have read it, read it again. It's a masterpiece. Absolutely brilliant. If my stuff ever gets even close to Iain's standard I will die happy, but I know I'm a long way off.

Regarding Sir Terry's Discworld series, I have to admit to barely having read any. I think I read Mort about twenty years ago but I can't recall any details (one of the few advantages of having a truly crappy memory is that I can re-read books as if they're new to me). I know Discworld is well loved and immensely popular and that Sir Terry's output shames amateurs like me, but witches, wizards and fantasy, even as parody, don't really appeal to me. Maybe I should give them another try one day. Not yet though. I have my own voice to develop and I get a bit worried about letting other authors, especially one with as strong a character as TP influence me.

However, if anyone wants to compare my nascent ramblings with a world-famous author who has sold over 80 million books, compare away! Compare it far and wide because I reckon if I could entice just one in every thousand Discworld fans to get into Slabscape: Reset or Slabscape: Dammit, I'd have a career. Now that really would be a fantasy.