Not long ago, somebody read a paragraph aloud to me and told me that it was really good. I must have looked confused, because the reader-aloud then said: “Don’t you recognize that? It’s the opening of Bloody Waters!” It wasn’t that I didn’t recognize my own work, it’s just that something else was going through […]
Iain Banks, another of my heroes, died last night. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22835047 Banks was only 59. He was diagnosed barely two months ago–right as he was finishing up what will now be his last book, The Quarry, which is about a man dying of cancer. Banks’ announcement about the diagnosis was calm and exhibited his usual understated […]
Jack Vance is dead. http://www.locusmag.com/News/2013/05/jack-vance-1916-2013/ Ninety-six years old–he didn’t live to see the Earth die, but that’s still a hell of a run. I only recently became a fan of Jack Vance’s, because I’m a bit of an idiot, but Vance’s work has been a huge influence on my own work anyway. How’s that, you […]
It’s convention time again, folks! Continuum 9 is this weekend, right here in Merry Old Melbourne. This is probably the last one I will do for the year, so if you want to meet me or listen to me jabber on this is your best opportunity until next year. I will be participating in the […]