Thursday, September 10, 2009

Caveat Lector

Genre cross-dresser Iain Banks gives an interview to the Guardian about his new mainstream novel "Transition". The paper notes:

Readers of both Banks's mainstream work and his hardcore science fiction (published under the name Iain M Banks) agree that the quality of his science fiction has held up much better over the years; the "M" novels Look to Windward (2000) and Matter (2008) were among his most ambitious and accomplished works in the genre. And, although Banks's publisher wouldn't supply me with sales figures, it's perhaps telling that Transition is being marketed in the US as an Iain M Banks novel. "I sell better as a science-fiction writer over there," he admits.

The article begins amusingly:

Dear me, have you noticed how many middle-aged, bearded blokes are around these days? It makes Iain Banks terribly difficult to spot in a crowd. Maybe that 70s polytechnic lecturer look he has assiduously adopted for so many years is finally in fashion.

Let's hope so.....

1 comment:

JRSM said...

This may have swayed me on buying 'Transition'--'Steep Approach...' was so bad I thought I might have to swear off his non-SF work forever. All the mainstream stuff since 'Complicity' has felt pretty half-hearted.