The Swoony, The Clinical, and the Baaaad
Walter Jon Williams on sex in novels. (SFW, assuming your work doesn’t object to Nabokov)
Iain M. Banks: Website News and Book Reviews
The official Iain (M.) Banks website has been re-launched at www.iain-banks.net. Check it out for all the news and reviews, along with some very interesting contests coming up…
Meanwhile, in an interview at io9.com Banks reveals the hidden Thunderbirds influence that runs through the Culture novels:
“Thunderbirds gave me a love of big explosions I’ve yet to shake off. It’s kind of ingrained by now. Almost the first thing I think of when I’ve come up with an idea for a Really Big Artifact is how you could blow the living bijeesus out of it…”
And in the i09 review of Matter, Annalee Newitz sums up her thoughts on the book in the headline: “Iain M. Banks’ New Novel Kicks Ass on a Galactic Scale.”
While at BookPage Gavin Grant writes:
Matter is Banks in top form. His characters—whether human, alien or drone—are spiky, opinionated, diverse, occasionally short-sighted and tragically believable
Kevin J. Anderson Interview
Fantasy Book Critic has posted an in-depth and engrossing interview with bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson. The interview covers a host of topics, including Kevin’s many collaborative efforts, as well as information about The Ashes of Worlds, the epic conclusion to his Saga of Seven Suns series.
The Ashes of Worlds will be published in the US in July 2008, following the mass market publication of Metal Swarm (book 6 in the series) in June 2008.
Ditmar Shortlist
More award news, with the shortlist for the 2008 Ditmars being announced over the weekend, and we’re delighted to see Sean Williams’ Saturn Returns and Marianne de Pierres’ Dark Space on the shortlist for best novel. Sean and Marianne were also both shortlisted for the Aurealis Award, and we’ve got our fingers crossed that one of them will win this time. Or perhaps both – is a tie too much to ask for?
Awarded since 1969 in recognition of outstanding achievement in Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror, the Ditmar is one of the premier awards for Australian speculative fiction. Previous winners of the Ditmar for Best Novel include Garth Nix, Peter Carey, George Turner, Victor Kelleher, Greg Egan and – on no fewer than five occasions – Sean Williams.
The Ditmars will be presented at Swancon, the 47th Australian National Science Fiction Convention, to be held over the Easter weekend. Guests of Honour include Orbit’s very own Ken MacLeod and Glenda Larke. Ken’s The Execution Channel is, of course, on the shortlist for this year’s BSFA Award for Best Novel (also to be presented over Easter), and Glenda’s Song of the Shiver Barrens was shortlisted for last year’s Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
On the whole, we’re rather pleased with the way 2008’s shortlists are developing.
Mike Carey Yatters (Doesn’t Everyone?)
Iain Emsley has posted a very interesting interview with Mike Carey over at Yatterings. It was largely conducted at last year’s Fantasycon, and covers Mike’s work on the Crossing Midnight and Lucifer comics and, of course, his masterful series of Felix Castor novels: The Devil You Know, Vicious Circle and Dead Men’s Boots. At the risk of annoying Castorphiles the length and breadth of the country, I can also reveal that Mike has delivered the fourth Castor novel, Thicker Than Water, and that it is a magnificent addition to the canon. You’ll have to be patient until January next year for that, I’m afraid, but don’t look at it as waiting – look at it as the perfect opportunity to re-read the first three books.
An Animated Introduction
Ian Irvine has put together a punchy intro to his latest series, the Song of the Tears, and you can catch it now on YouTube. It’s suitably dramatic with music, animation and a fine collection of Ian’s (many) book covers … and what more could you ask from a video clip?!
The Curse on the Chosen was out at the end of last year, and fans can look forward to the end of this year for the epic finale.
Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Orbit is thrilled to announce that we have pre-empted a three-book urban fantasy series by debut author Jaye Wells in a six-figure deal with agent Jonathan Lyons of Lyons Literary LLC. The first volume, RED-HEADED STEPCHILD will be published in 2009. (more…)
More Great Reviews for Matter
Iain M. Banks’ new Culture novel, Matter, is getting lots of well-deserved praise from reviewers! Lisa Tuttle reviews Matter in The Times and calls it ‘Unexpectedly savage, emotionally powerful and impossible to forget’.
The latest issue of SFX gives it a 5-star review:
Throughout the book, people are observed covertly or even have concealed weapons trained on them – sound like any place you know? But as always with Banks, this is not preachy, and the author’s trademark wit is everywhere. His wry character observations are a joy to read, and the book has a rich seam of humour. . .this long-awaited return for both a writing legend and his finest creation is a delight.
And Starburst’s February issue says:
Banks can bring across the essence of a character with one sentence where others might hammer things home over the course of a chapter. . .Matter is as engrossing as you’d expect a Banks book to be.
Iain M. Banks has also been recently interviewed in The Times and The Guardian Unlimited. You can get details of his England tour here and read an extract of Matter here.
Great Scott!
There’s a terrific interview with the ever-thoughtful R. Scott Bakker over at Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. The questions cover a wide range of topics, culminating in an insightful discussion on generic Fantasy tropes, with particular emphasis on worldbuilding. As always, Scott is eloquent and intelligent, and gives further proof (not that it’s needed) that he is one of the brightest new fantasy writers to have emerged in recent years.
As mentioned in the interview, Scott returns to the world of the Three Seas in January next year with the first book of The Aspect-Emperor trilogy, currently titled The Judging Eye. Those looking for ways to kill time until the new book is released could do worse that go back and re-read The Prince of Nothing trilogy: The Darkness That Comes Before, The Warrior-Prophet and The Thousandfold Thought.
Debating Face
Debatable Space is on Facebook! Give us a poke here and become a fan of the sci-fi debut of the year, which the Guardian is calling:
So crammed with startling ideas, scintillating prose, incredible aliens and plot twists that it evokes wonder and admiration . . . Palmer has achieved the very difficult feat of presenting big ideas that don’t overshadow the human element. It’s a debut of rare accomplishment.
Don’t have a Facebook account? You can still get all the latest news at Philip Palmer’s website and read an extract here.