In his sci-fi novel Lake of Darkness, Adam Roberts set out to write a utopia, a genre predating science fiction that imagines a better or perfect world. “I wanted to investigate the logic of utopia itself. Is utopia possible?” he says. Despite this, he admits that utopia novels are hard: “There can be, by definition, no conflict in the perfect realm.” In this interview with 51动漫 Book Club head Alison Flood, Roberts discusses the novel, his quest to understand utopia itself and why he could have called the novel Space Satan听颈苍蝉迟别补诲.