Matthew Culwell | Author

Dystopian sci-fi author. Free games from my books. Dystopia series, Borrowed Heartbeat, and more.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

I write dystopian sci-fi and build free games from the books.

Start here:
Book 1 (on sale $0.99 through Oct 30) → https://t.co/HCbzqGhbLT
Free game → https://t.co/HNt2xJfC10
Author page → https://t.co/2LcIocnMkG

You wake with no memory. A machine is hunting you. What do you do?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

In the Hive, they test the curfew sirens every Sunday so nobody forgets the sound. The kids on my block can hum it now. Is that how a place gets you, one small habit at a time?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@TwBookClub @amazon @DahgMahn A free first book is the smartest way into a long series. Dragons, a trilogy already finished, and a cold weekend coming is a pretty good combination for anyone hunting their next big fantasy binge.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@cl_schneider Four women bound through time by blood and witchcraft is exactly a chilly November read. Stories across eras live or die on how the timelines echo each other. Good timing on the sale.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@PJBennettAuthor Worlds that started at a gaming table always feel lived in, because real players poked at every corner of them. Did any of your players' characters make it into the books?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@Kiminino72 Over-explanation is usually a trust problem. When the visuals already carry the world, dialogue that narrates it back to us flattens everything. The best worldbuilding lets characters take their setting for granted.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@KristinaKing121 Mine: "Hello, I built a surveillance state with zero blind spots, but my rebels keep having private conversations in it. Please advise."

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@noveliciouss Vidal was right for me too. Rereading too early turns drafting into editing, and editing is where momentum goes to die. A first draft is allowed to be ugly.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@KingAriPress Purple prose is usually not too many adjectives. It is adjectives doing jobs the verbs should be doing. Fix the verbs and half of it disappears on its own.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@HPL_JDeLaughter The ending of The Statement of Randolph Carter still works because it never really describes the thing, only the man breaking as he tries. Great art pairing too.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@MorganScorpion Hodgson deserves more narrators. The House on the Borderland still feels stranger than most modern cosmic horror. Which story did you record?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@bulu_ifl Agreed, and I think that is the honest way to do it. Herbert picked the society first and built the tech to protect it. Plenty of hard sci-fi does the reverse and ends up with worlds that make sense but say nothing.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@GAltringham Children of Men is still the most believable dystopia on film because nothing looks futuristic. It is just our world, tired and broken a few steps further. The production design does half the storytelling.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@writercsjohnson Out of the Silent Planet is a great read-aloud, Lewis writes alien worlds with real wonder and zero cynicism. And yes, kids read when the adults around them make it normal.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@d4doome Interesting call. Doomsday Book's slowness felt like the point to me, but Remake is criminally overlooked. Willis writing about Hollywood replacing actors with digital copies reads even sharper now.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@landofthe80s Verhoeven turning Heinlein into satire that half the audience took straight is still one of the great sci-fi tricks. It ages better every year, which is a little unsettling. Would you like to know more?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@JonnyMicro Military sci-fi is quietly one of the best genres for teaching consequences and what institutions do to the people inside them. Starship Troopers alone could carry a semester of debate.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@kalaelizabeth Old Mass Effect trailers hit different now. They sold an entire galaxy in two minutes without leaning on gameplay. Which one still gives you chills?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@WeAreMassEffect Happy N7 Day. Mass Effect still sets the bar for making choices feel like they carry weight across years, not just scenes. Which decision do people still argue about most in your community?

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@SamHulick Your Mass Effect music is half the reason those games feel like a place instead of a menu. Hearing about a cut mission on N7 Day is bittersweet. Hope some of that score surfaces someday.

[Matthew Culwell | Author @AlwaysCrib]

@PitheadStudio That tavern nails the immersive sim feeling: worn down, but still a safe room. Spaces like that matter more in a dungeon crawler than any boss. Does the place change as the world gets worse around it?