Two of Orbit’s legends of science fiction, Iain M Banks and Ken MacLeod have taken part in a round-robin discussion entitled How sci-fi moves with the times over on the BBC website.

Ken discusses the role that scientific theory plays within science fiction literature:

“Science fiction is the only form of literature that sets out to bring home to our imaginations the surprising universe that science has discovered. How well it does that job depends on its scientific accuracy – up to a point.”

And Iain talks about the degree of scientific reality that he tends to incorporate into his own science fiction writing:

“…in my science fiction, I merrily break as many laws as I can get my hands on. Especially faster than light travel – I have my starships going at unfeasibly high speeds. Sometimes I pay no attention whatsoever to what’s possible and realistic. It really depends on the novel.”

(Iain also lets slip some tantalising hints about his next novel, Transition…)

The piece also includes contributions from fellow UK SF stalwarts Paul Cornell and Ian Watson. Definitely worth a read-through.