Donna Bowman reviews 'Matter' for The Onion's AVClub.com

February 29th, 2008 in Global, Reviews

Another terrific review of Matter, this time over at The Onion's A.V. Club. Reviewer Donna Bowman really gets under the skin of the novel's over-arcing plot devices in Matter, concluding that with Matter, our author:

"...achieves an urgency born of fascinating, fallible, but always relateable characters in microcosm to balance his enormous science-fiction edifice in macrocosm. Then he refuses to settle for the easy answers and predictable arcs that his adventure-genre plotting would lead readers to expect."

Read the full review over at www.avclub.com. Many thanks to Alex Lencicki of Orbit's US office for the heads-up.

New issue of 'The Banksoniain' fanzine out now

February 29th, 2008 in Global, Resources

Been meaning to mention for a while now that the new issue of regular Banks-fanzine The Banksoniain is available now to download from banksoniain.netfirms.com.

The latest issue, #13 includes a round-up of Matter reviews, info on a new touring season for the stage adaptation of The Wasp Factory, write-ups of a couple of Iain's recent appearances, a list of his forthcoming appearances, and more. Go. Download. Read.

Out Now: 'The Steep Approach to Garbadale' UK paperback edition

February 28th, 2008 in Book News, UK-Specific

Another official Iain Banks release date today, this time for the UK paperback edition of The Steep Approach to Garbadale, although copies may already be available in UK bookstores.

Click on the cover image to read an extract from this novel of families and the games they play:

Out Now: 'Matter' – US hardback edition

February 27th, 2008 in Book News, US-Specific

Today is the official publication date for the US edition of Matter (although there's a good chance you may already have seen copies of the book in US stores).

Click on the cover image to read an extract from the new Culture novel, courtesy of publisher Orbit Books:

Anatomy of an interview: Craig McGill posts his Iain Banks source material

February 26th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

Journalist Craig McGill has posted a piece on his blog that offers an insight into the journalistic / editorial processes of the UK's tabloid papers.

Craig recently interviewed Iain Banks for The Scottish Sun. In his blog piece he has posted the original audio file of the interview, along with the copy that he submitted to The Sun and a pdf of the final article as it was printed in the paper. He also invites journalism students to prepare their own piece from the audio transcript and submit it to the site for comparison purposes.

Paul Cornell to adapt 'State of the Art' for BBC Radio 4

February 25th, 2008 in Global, TV, Radio & Film

Over on his LiveJournal, science fiction writer Paul Cornell has announced that he has been commissioned to adapt the Iain Banks novella 'State of the Art' into a play for broadcast on BBC Radio 4 later this year.

Paul, who is best known for his work as a writer for Doctor Who and also writes novels and comics, said of the project:

"My producer is the wonderful Nadia Molinari, and we're looking to keep all the SF goodness of the original. I'm enjoying how serious and thoughtful the brief is. The story is about Banks' spaceborne utopian civilisation, the Culture, encountering Earth. Some interesting casting of a Ship voice ahead, I should think, and who should be Diziet Sma? I'm anticipating the process hugely."

Further details as they become apparent...

Iain Banks chats to The Cambridge Student online

February 25th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

There's a quick-fire interview / chat with Iain Banks over at The Cambridge Student Online. Iain talks about his writing habits, touches on politics and religion, and then finishes with mention of an intriguing new creative angle, which he plans to explore over the summer:

"I shall be using a staggeringly complicated but brilliantly capable music processing program called Logic 7 to make music on. Objectively the results might be unlistenable rubbish but as I can finally hear through my ears what I've only ever heard in my head all these years, I remain resolutely tickled pink by the whole process."

We'll be doing our best to blag some MP3 downloads for the site, of course, but can make no promises whatsoever...

Iain Banks interviewed for The Australian

February 25th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

Peter Wilson, Eurocorrespondent for The Australian, visited Iain Banks in Edinburgh and wrote up an interview that's available now on the website under the tag-line Two Curmudgeons for the Price of One.

Iain talks more about his life than his writing in this one (or at least, that's how it's written up), so it makes for some interesting background reading.

Quick reminder: Iain Banks signing tour starts Monday Feb 25th

February 22nd, 2008 in Appearances & Events, UK-Specific

Iain Banks will be meeting his public and signing copies of his brand new Culture novel Matter (and, most probably, the paperback edition of The Steep Approach to Garbadale) at City Books in Hove, Waterstone's Bristol, Waterstone's Norwich and Waterstone's Lincoln from Monday to Thursday next week.

Full details can be found in the Appearances section of the Extras page of the site.

Iain Banks named in Times list of '50 greatest postwar writers'

February 21st, 2008 in Awards & Accolades, Global

Iain Banks has been named alongside 49 other British literary luminaries in the (London) Times' list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

In their quick summary of Mr Banks' achievements to-date, they note:

"Although reviewers of Iain Banks

io9.com Iain Banks interview + 'Matter' review

February 20th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

io9.com blogger Annalee Newitz posted a double-dose of Banks-related content yesterday.

In her interview with Iain Banks Annalee asks questions like: "Do you suspect that a little weirdness is a necessary component of longevity for a species or civilization?" (answer: "Absolutely...") and in her accompanying review of Matter, she declares:

"Told with Banks' usual nihilistic humor and flair for outlandish description, this is a novel that will grab you by the shorthairs, scream at you about realpolitik, and then smack you on the head with a laser blast. And of course, you'll love every minute of it."

Head on over to io9.com to read the full interview and review.

James Lovegrove reviews 'Matter' for The Financial Times

February 19th, 2008 in Global, Reviews

Author James Lovegrove was suitably impressed with Matter and said so in his Financial Times review last week. He begins:

"When Iain Banks slots the middle initial between his forename and surname, you can expect science fiction on a grand scale, replete with brain-busting concepts and a dry wit..."

and concludes:

"Does Matter matter? Matter of fact, it does, and its action-propelled narrative means that any newcomer to Banks's universe could do worse than start here. The already initiated will be anything but disappointed."

Read the full review over at www.ft.com.

Site update: forthcoming appearances info added to Extras

February 15th, 2008 in Appearances & Events, UK-Specific

Just a quick note to say that information on a number of Iain Banks' forthcoming public appearances has been added to the Extras section of the site.

Currently listed are Iain's forthcoming signing tour to promote Matter, as well as later appearances at the 'Aye! Write' festival in Glasgow (March '08), the Lincoln Book Festival (May '08) and the Newcon4 sf convention in Northampton (October '08).

He's also making an appearance (so we understand) at the Islay Book Festival / Port Ellen Book Festival, but details are currently a bit sketchy. Info will be posted as soon as the details have been confirmed.

Iain Banks interviewed for The Socialist Review

February 13th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

The February 2008 issue of The Socialist Review carries an interview with Iain, conducted by Patrick Ward. As you'd anticipate, there's plenty of political discussion, along with questions about both Matter and The Steep Approach to Garbadale and some thoughts on 'The Culture as Utopia'.

Iain also talks about his current plans for the next book...

"I'm thinking about thinking about the next book. I'm going to start typing it in October. So I'm not thinking about it. I'm thinking about thinking about it. There's a distinction I hope you appreciate."

...just in case you were wondering.

You can read the full interview at www.socialistreview.org.uk, as well as Patrick Ward's (brief) review of Matter.

io9 says 'Welcome to The Culture'

February 13th, 2008 in Resources

To mark the release of Matter, science fiction mega-blog io9 has posted a handy, print-out-and-keep guide to the Culture, including a synopsis / mini-review of each Culture novel to-date, plus a link to an essay that Iain wrote back in 1994 to explain a few things about the Culture, that was originally posted to the rec.arts.sf.written newsgroup by Ken MacLeod.

Quick reminder: Iain Banks interview in Interzone #214

February 12th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

Just a quick reminder for anyone who missed issue #214 of Interzone, the UK's longest-running original short science fiction magazine, this particular issue (January 2008) contains a lengthy feature interview with Iain, conducted by Paul Raven of Velcro City Tourist Board and Futurismic.com.

Iain tells Paul about the background and inspiration for the major themes in Matter, the conceptual basis of The Culture, and his brief flirtation with short fiction. Well worth tracking down a copy.

Andrew McKie reviews 'Matter' for the Telegraph

February 10th, 2008 in Global, Reviews

Andrew McKie sounds like a dyed-in-the-wool Culture fan (good man!) who says, at the conclusion of his Telegraph.co.uk review of Matter:

"I have returned repeatedly to the early Culture novels, particularly Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games. This is a major sequence for anyone who cares about science fiction, and I recommend it to all but those seriously allergic to spaceships."

Read the rest of Andrew's review at www.telegraph.co.uk.

Iain Banks interviewed for The Guardian

February 7th, 2008 in Global, Interviews

The Guardian's Sarah Kinson has conducted a quick-fire interview with Iain, that's available to read at The Guardian Unlimited.

The topic of the interview is 'Why I Write', and Iain talks about his inspiration and motivation for living the writer's life, plus the joy of getting up and writing at 4 a.m. if that's when inspiration happens to strike: "Which is good because then I can finish my allocation of words for the day by breakfast and have the day off."

Iain Banks talks to John Naish for the Times Online

February 3rd, 2008 in Global, Interviews

John Naish talks to Iain for the Life & Style section of The Times Online about his increasingly laid-back, green and low-octane approach to life. The opening paragraph reads:

"Iain Banks lifts a corduroy trouser leg to reveal a nasty-looking scar line just below his kneecap. It's the last physical mark of the best-selling author's rock'n'roll days as he renounces his decades of high-octane, health-shunning hedonism and embraces rather calmer ways of greener, cleaner living."

Read the full interview over at women.timesonline.co.uk.