Welcome to www.Iain-Banks.net
Welcome to the new-look Iain [M] Banks website. This site contains a wealth of information on the fiction of Iain Banks and the science fiction of Iain M Banks. New content is being added to the site on a regular basis. If there's anything you'd particularly like to see on the site, please contact the site editors and let us know.
Latest Iain [M] Banks Books
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MatterOrbit Books (UK / US)Hardback January 31st 2008 (UK) / February 27th 2008 (US) 978-1841494173 (UK) / 978-0316005364 (US) more info |
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The Steep Approach to GarbadaleAbacus Books (UK)Paperback February 28th 2008 (UK) 978-0349119281 more info |
Latest Iain [M] Banks News
‘Matter’ reviewed for Wired.com’s GeekDad blog
April 29, 2008Over at blog.wired.com/geekdad/, reviewer John Baichtal takes a look at Matter and definitely likes what he sees: "By the time I'd read fifty pages, not only was I hooked, but I was sure Matter was this year's Hugo award winner."
Well, I think that's the sort of sentiment we can all get behind. But wait, there's more:
"The fact that so much of the background info is difficult to parse, and yet the book is so readable, demonstrates Banks' writing skill. The characterization is complex and unexpected, and the setting, despite its complexity, is totally consistent and believable. Banks has a gift for apt phraseology, especially the courtly speech of the principal characters. But it's the subtle touches that make this setting so rich."
Nicely put, Mr Baichtal. Read the full review over at blog.wired.com/geekdad/.
Bloomer, Harrison, McCalmont and Raven on ‘Matter’
April 24, 2008Four of the UK's top genre bloggers / reviewers / commentators - James Bloomer, Niall Harrison, Jonathan MacCalmont and Paul Raven - have been holding a round-robin discussion of the latest Iain Banks Culture novel, Matter.
The team-review starts with a general over view of Iain Banks' place in the respective reviewer's hearts and libraries in Part One, before moving on to the meat of the Matter at hand as they discuss the novel itself in Part Two and then concluding with an analysis of the novel's major thematic elements and central message in Part Three.
Part One - does it Matter to you?
Part Two - mind over Matter
Part Three - the heart of the Matter
Comments are enabled on all three posts (they've been posted across three of the contributors' blogs to maximise the link-love for all, which is a nice touch) so do feel free to join in and let the contributors know what you think of their conclusions.
Gwyneth Jones reviews ‘Matter’ for Strange Horizons
April 16, 2008Award-winning author Gwyneth Jones has penned a long, thoughtful and insightful review of Matter, which has been posted online at Strange Horizons.
Gwyneth draws intriguing parallels between certain plot elements the new Culture novel and a certain ring-themed classic of the fantasy genre and also makes some interesting observations on the nature of Space Opera and the way in which Iain - whose left-wing political views are well known and thoroughly documented - handles the more violent tropes of the sub-genre:
"Space Opera is no longer out of fashion, but what about the other problem, the moral issue? There’s no denying that this sub-genre glorifies war. Worse, it tends to position the reader back at the chateau with the generals, being pragmatic about those casualty figures. ... Banks is certainly aware of the difficulty, and always runs damage limitation alongside the joyous mayhem. This is the difference between Old Space Opera and New Space Opera, after all. It’s about having fun in permanent warfare world, without supporting the Military Industrial Complex in real life: about having liberal, enlightened values and enjoying the odd Death Star Demolition Derby."
Well worth reading the full review over at www.strangehorizons.com, and the associated comments thread is shaping up nicely as well.
‘Matter’ reviewed by Nick Ryan for The Daily Express
April 14, 2008Nick Ryan has reviewed Matter for UK newspaper The Daily Express. As well as describing Iain as "quite simply, a prodigy", he concludes his review with a ringing endorsement:
"It's grand, stirring stuff with a hint of the space opera to it. A more than welcome return of the master of sci-fi."
Read Nick's full review at www.express.co.uk.
Iain Banks’ ‘The Steep Approach to Garbadale’ reviewed for Readers in the Mist
April 11, 2008Via Google Alerts, we learn that 'Readers in the Mist', a blog set up to allow for Blue Mountains (New South Wales, Australia) city council libraries members to share news and book reviews, has posted a short but concise review of The Steep Approach to Garbadale by contributor Vikci ('Alba'), who says:
"Alban's story unfolds with flashbacks and revelations by dotty aunts and there is a wonderful twist at the end. Family secrets, divisions and machinations are deftly described with a wee dig at corporate America."
Read the full mini-review at readersinthemist.blogspot.com.
Quickfire Iain M Banks interview online at SciFi.com
April 10, 2008John Joseph Adams talks to Iain [M] Banks about Matter, over at SciFi.com.
[Thanks to Gary W for the heads-up]
‘Matter’ reviewed for GlobeandMail.com
April 10, 2008Matt Kavanagh dropped us a line to say that his review of Matter has been posted on the Globe and Mail website. Here's what he said in his introduction:
"Named one of the top 50 writers in postwar Britain by The Times of London, Iain Banks boasts the greatest range of any of his contemporaries. Celebrated for his shocking experimental narratives (The Wasp Factory), gripping family sagas (The Crow Road) and witty dissections of life in executive class (The Business), Banks has also mastered the art of the ripping space yarn.
"In Matter, he returns to form - and the Culture - of the far-future, space-faring civilization that is the subject of his best work. Taken as a whole, Banks's sequence of Culture novels are among the most important science fiction written by anyone, anywhere, in the past 20 years."
If you want to read the full review you'll have to cough up a few Canadian dollars. We have asked Matt if he's posted the full text anywhere else, maybe on a blog or forum, but he hasn't gotten back to us just yet.
Download ‘The Wasp Factory’, FREE, via The Independent and Audible.co.uk
April 8, 2008The Independent and Audible.co.uk have teamed up to bring you a free, yes, that's right, a completely FREE - audio download of the new audiobook version of The Wasp Factory.
The Independent explains:
"Over the course of the week [the offer went live on April 2nd*] you will be able to download the chapters from this celebrated novel and by Friday April 11th you will have all of the parts you need to make up the complete 6-hour audiobook."
Full details of the offer are available from www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books.
And check out www.audible.co.uk/iainbanks for a special offer on a range of Iain Banks audio titles from Audible.co.uk, which are available at a 30% discount until April 18th.
*Apologies for the late posting of this one, folks... if you're quick, you can still catch it!
Sue Arnold reviews the new audiobook of ‘The Wasp Factory’ for books.Guardian.co.uk
April 7, 2008Sue Arnold really likes the new audiobook of Iain's classic debut novel The Wasp Factory. In her review for books.Guardian.co.uk Sue says:
"At last, only 24 years after it was first published, I've finally got hold of a version of Banks's extraordinary first novel with a reader who does it justice ... Peter Kenny is the one reader (I've heard five) who brings out Banks's glorious sardonic wit. Good things are worth waiting for."
[Thanks to Gary W for the heads-up]
Adrienne Martini reviews ‘Matter’ for the Baltimore City Paper
April 3, 2008Alongside some familiar musing on Iain's bemusingly low profile in the US market, reviewer Adrienne Martini says in her piece for the Baltimore City Paper:
"Like most other [Iain] M. Banks books, Matter twists in completely unanticipated ways and offers up ampules of philosophy along with its plot. His characters - even the most minor - are fully drawn and fascinating. A reader can feel her mind twist around Banks' more fantastic ideas and marvel at the complicated whimsy he creates. That alone is worth the price of admission."
‘Matter’ reviewed by Mutable Matter blog
March 31, 2008Mutable Matter is "an interactive project about our relationship with matter – the stuff that surrounds us, that we are made of and that increasingly comes up in public debates around new technologies."
In a recent entry, the blogger, Angela, who is writing Mutable Matter as part of the research for her Open University Phd course, muses on the nature of matter in Matter, concluding:
"...in a way, Matter really is the parody of heroic fantasy/science fiction it appears to be at the beginning (only much darker and despite bouts of heroism from some of the characters) where the futility of war (especially upholding ‘noble aims’ in war), excessive monitoring and destruction with increasing levels of technologies, and the disturbingly purpose-giving, intoxicating effects of war are painfully rendered. Yet what happens in the novel is only painful, because the scenarios and wording ("appropriate level of interference") trigger parallels with past, but especially current, events: computerised warfare, monitoring of wars in 'less developed' countries (Rwanda is just one example), war-promoting regents with 'noble' intentions (e.g. George W. Bush) are just some examples.
It definitely makes for an interesting take on the book. Go, read, leave a comment if you feel so inclined. I'm sure Angela would appreciate the feedback.
Iain Banks interviewed for The Edinburgh Evening News
March 25, 2008Iain talks to Edinburgh Evening News interviewer Sandra Dick about his writing habits, his political views and his hankering for the Tesla Roadster...
‘Matter’ reviewed by RJ Barker for SFCrowsNest.com
March 23, 2008In a lengthy and detailed review for www.computercrowsnest.com, RJ Barker says:
"Dipping back into 'The Culture' felt like a joyous return to a long missed and familiar place. Banks has such a clever way with words that he makes it seem effortless and you don't realise how cleverly he constructs brilliantly clear images."
Iain Banks to appear as GoH at 2008 Oslo Science Fiction Festival
March 22, 2008Iain will be making an appearance as Guest of Honour at this year's Oslo Science Fiction Festival, which takes place from Thursday July 31st to Sunday August 3rd at Helga Eng's House, Blindern, University of Oslo.
More information on the Festival at www.oslosf.no.
[Thanks to DaveH of 'The Banksoniain' for the heads-up]
Cumbernauld Theatre Company touring ‘The Wasp Factory’, April - June 2008
March 21, 2008Doug Martin of Glasgow's Tron Theatre has been in touch with the details of a forthcoming tour of the Cumbernauld Theatre company's production of The Wasp Factory.
Here's the press release:
The Tron Theatre is thrilled to announce that Cumbernauld Theatre will premiere their new production of Iain Banks' celebrated cult novel, The Wasp Factory, at the Tron, from 17th – 26th April, before embarking upon a Scottish tour.
The Wasp Factory, the controversial debut novel which launched Iain Banks to literary acclaim, is told from the perspective of the sixteen year old protagonist Frank. A perfectly ordinary sixteen year old serial killer, whose mother has deserted him, whose father measures his own eccentricities on an imperial scale and whose brother, confined to a secure hospital for setting fire to dogs, has recently escaped.
A tale of childhood and growth towards maturity within the insular confines of a small island and a warped family, the novel caused storm and controversy as many readers found Frank's view of the world more than a little disturbing.
Brought to the stage for the first time in 1992 at Glasgow's Citizens' Theatre, Cumbernauld Theatre Director Ed Robson remounts Sutherland's adaptation with a cast that features Nicola Jo Cully as Frank, Robbie Jack as Frank's psychotic brother Eric and Ian Sexon as his emotionally detached and highly eccentric father.
Plus, join Director Ed Robson and the cast of The Wasp Factory after the performance on Wednesday 23rd April, as part of the Tron Theatre's on-going 'RE: PLAY' post-show discussions series, in association with The Herald.
And here are the tour dates:
Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Previews: Thu 17 – Sat 19 April
Tue 22 – Sat 26 April, 8.00 p.m.
Tickets: Previews: £7
Tue – Thu £10 (£6), Fri + Sat £14 (£10)
Box Office: 0141 552 4267
www.tron.co.uk
Audio Described and BSL interpreted performance Thu 24 April.
Full Scottish Tour:
- Tue 29 + Wed 30 April - Macrobert, Stirling
- Sat 3 May - An Lanntair, Stornoway
- Thu 8 May - Brewery Arts, Kendal
- Thu 15 May - Regal, Bathgate
- Fri 16 May - Ryan Centre, Stranraer
- Sat 17 May - Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock
- Mon 19 – Wed 21 April - Cumbernauld Theatre
- Thu 22 – Sat 24 May - Dundee Rep
- Tue 27 May - Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy
- Wed 28 + Thu 29 May - Eden Court, Inverness
- Fri 30 + Sat 31 May - Byre Theatre, St Andrews
- Tue 3 June - Falkirk Town Hall
- Wed 4 - Sat 7 June - Traverse, Edinburgh
- Thu 12 – Sat 14 June - Lemon Tree, Aberdeen
Please contact the individual venues listed above for ticketing information, and see the Wasp Factory Tour website for updates.
Iain Banks and Ken MacLeod AyeWrite! appearance - video available
March 20, 2008If you didn't manage to get to Glasgow for the AyeWrite! Book Festival earlier this month and therefore missed the on-stage appearance of Iain Banks and Ken MacLeod, then do not despair, you now have a chance to catch up...
A video excerpt of the reading and discussion session has now been posted over at the AyeWrite website. And you can download a full MP3 recording of the event if you prefer to listen at a later date, which has also been posted as a Podcast to iTunes.
[Thanks to DaveH of 'The Banksoniain' for the heads-up]
Iain (M) Banks confirmed as Guest of Honour for Satellite 2, July 25th-26th 2009
March 19, 2008Iain Banks will be the Guest of Honour at Satellite 2, a convention being be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow over the weekend of July 25th and 26th, 2009.
Early days yet, so more details will be forthcoming at a later date, but memberships are already available from www.satellite2.org.uk.
[Thanks to DaveH of 'The Banksoniain' for the heads-up]
‘Matter’ review posted on Slashdot
March 19, 2008Reviewer Simon DeDeo has posted a review of Matter up on Slashdot. Simon makes a very intriguing point about the underlying 'Britishness' of The Culture:
"Banks' prose is free-flowing and liberally dosed with a kind of cynical, post-colonial British humanism; as the Culture meddles and blunders Banks' narrators look on with a sad half-smile. The British charm appears also in his characterization of the artificially intelligent machines, who often play Jeeves to more fallible, biological, Bertie Woosters."
Read the full review over at books.slashdot.org. And check out the (long and mighty) comments threads that ensue for a wide-ranging discussion on Matter, The Culture, the best Culture books to read, other space opera authors to try, all sorts of good stuff...
[Thanks to Gary W for the heads-up]
Iain Banks to appear at Latitude Festival 2008
March 19, 2008Iain has been confirmed as one of the leading lights of the line-up for the Literary Arena at this year's Latitude Festival, which takes place at Henham Park, Southwold in Suffolk from Thursday 17th to Sunday 20th July.
Iain will be appearing on the same bill as fellow literary heavyweights Hanif Kureishi, A L Kennedy and Irvine Welsh. Check out the Latitude 2008 website for the full line-up of bands, writers, comedians and poets.
[Thanks to DaveH of 'The Banksoniain' for the heads-up]
SFX Book Club: Tom Holt on ‘The Player of Games’
March 14, 2008SFX has posted an archive of Book Club articles from the print edition of the magazine, which includes author Tom Holt's notes on The Player of Games.
Mr Holt sums up the book: "By Banks's standards it’s a conventional book (because what’s a game except a set of
conventions?) but within its self-imposed limits it's perfect, a flawless exhibition by a master at the top of his game."
[Thanks to Gary W for the heads-up]
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