Iain M Banks

[Deep Black]

He's doing quite a few other signings & readings etc.
http://www.iainbanksforum.net/forumd...ks-Appearances

[vonbloodbath]

I read "Stonemouth" last week (a non-M Banks) and it was great; he's on familiar territory - young protagonist, left rural home in Scotland to the big city, coming back some time later - but it's really sharply written. Given the quality of Transitions and Surface Detail, I have high hopes for his next Culture book.

[Deep Black]

Transition was a welcome return to form for the non"M"s, Surface Detail was very good. I was less keen on Stonemouth.

My thoughts:

Stonemouth kicks off in grim style with a bridge and thoughts about suicide. Stewart Gilmore (don't call him Stewie) is back to attend a friends funeral, after being run out of town some years previously. The novel is set over the weekend of his return and we gradually get a picture of the things that happened in the past leading up to Stewarts less than triumphant home coming. Stonemouth (the place) is run primarily by two small time gangsters, to whom the police turn a blind eye as long as they keep things in order. It was to one of these, big fish in a small pond, that Stewart fell foul of & it's this relationship that leads to the main tension throughout the book.

Whilst the story is set in the present day, much of the book is carried along with flashback scenes which - whilst mostly entertaining within themselves & could almost be looked at as separate short stories - often don't seem all that relevant to that "main" story of Stewarts return. This made the book seem somewhat lacking for a central plot, with the whole "back for the funeral" thing coming over as a bit thin to me.

There seem to be more contemporary references sprinkled through the story than I can recall from Iain's other works. Much of the conversations during the story are written using Scottish phonetic speech, which could make it hard going for anyone not too clued up on strong Scottish accents. I found the advice Stewart was given for a long and happy marriage particularly amusing.

I shan't give anything away here, but don't expect it to be a mind blower. In the end it's all a bit too nice, sure there is a bubbling sense of threat just under the surface but it never really rises. When the big climax finally arrives, it perhaps seems all the more dramatic because of this, but even then we are left with few repercussions. The novel is well written, of course (& I learned two new words: Sommelier and Unctuous), but it seems that Iain is just treading water here before the next "M" novel. Whilst Transition was a nice break from the more recent norm, I wonder if Iain will ever stop writing the non"M"s?

[pmyumjr]

Originally Posted by Deep Black

He's doing quite a few other signings & readings etc.
http://www.iainbanksforum.net/forumd...ks-Appearances

thanks for the link, i've been wanting to meet some of my fav authors for ages now, but never know how to find out when they are in the North West.

At least if i keep an eye on this i wont miss Iain next time he's up/down/left/right here.

[Bigsmak]

Just want to say hi and let you know that I am a little late to the M banks party and in the last couple of months have read Consider Philebus and Player of Games and am a few chapters into the Use of Weapons..

Already I have started looking around the internet for ways to join the culture and leave this 'insert appropriate deity here' forsaken planet.

If you guys have any good links or forums that I should join, please let me know..

[Big Orange]

Here you go.

[Bigsmak]

Originally Posted by Big Orange

Here you go.

Thanks

SIgned up as

I am Paul

I'm trying to get away from the Bigsmak username that I've been using since 1995

[Dave Bradley]

Hey folks

Couple of interesting things about Iain M Banks...

1/ Remember he's launching his new book (The Hydrogen Sonata) on 4 October in SFX's local bookshop. Come on down!

2/ Want to ask Iain M Banks questions about his new Culture book? You could do it in person in Manchester on 11 October, if you're our lucky winner! I'll be going along with our photographer and you could have the chance to join us for some private time with Iain to ask him questions about his universe. Enter here: www.orbitbooks.net/InterviewBanks

Interested? Jolly good. Be seeing you, Dave

[vonbloodbath]

Anybody read the Hydrogen Sonata yet? I'm about 3/4 of the way through and enjoying it so far...

[issue 3]

The Hydrogen Sonata just finished reading it, found the interaction between the minds/ships (the AI’s running the culture?) and the way they seem to conjure humans to help or bear witness fascinating. The interview with Banks at the end of the book is a great addition.