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The Banksoniain # 20 an Iain (M.) Banks Fanzine The Banksoniain #20 An Iain (M.) Banks Fanzine February 2014 Editorial A Personal Note This edition unfortunately mainly looks back Issue #1 of The Banksoniain was posted on to the illness and death of Iain Banks. This the twentieth anniversary of the publication of has meant that there has a great deal of media The Wasp Factory, which was Iain’s fiftieth coverage to dissect in the Media Scanner birthday as well. article. The story of Iain’s final book is There had been a previous Banks fanzine, somewhat entwined with his death especially The Culture, run by a couple of guys from given the nature of his illness and the subject Manchester, and for which your editor had matter of the book. The article on The Quarry contributed a couple of articles. After that on page #2 will attempt to document the came to an end I eventually started this as I timeline of the book and Iain’s health. missed the regularly reading about Iain and The opera/music theatre version of The Wasp his books. Writing my own fanzine gave me Factory had its premiere in Austria before the opportunity to be nosy about something I performances in Berlin and London in 2013 enjoyed and wanted to know more about. I and coming in 2014, Cork and Amsterdam. sent a copy of the first issue to Iain via his This issue reports on the production and its agent and got a letter in reply beginning a reception. correspondence of nearly ten years that generally consisted of me asking questions to Banks in Translation looks at some recent clarify things for articles I was writing, and he Chinese publications with some great SF patiently responding but usually very quickly, covers, and we have an interview with Mark and often taking the trouble to check his Ecob who has been creating a set of UK diaries when I wanted to check dates. This paperback covers that has now all been was usually because I pointed out had released. inadvertently contradicted himself in separate There are Banks related events to report on interviews. Perfectly understandable when and books by and about him being published. recalling events of twenty or even thirty years Plus we dig Iain’s appreciation of Edwin ago, but The Banksoniain has always striven Morgan out of the Banks Obscura archives. to be as accurate as possible. Whilst there are news and events to report on I came to know his schedule of generally The Banksoniain will continue to do so, writing letters on a Sunday, so would post most likely at yearly intervals unless there is a mine to him on a Thursday, hoping that the particular need. We can expect translations, reply would be with me on Tuesday. His adaptations, and there is the possibility of responses were somehow both anonymous unpublished Banks works being made and distinctive, a white windowed envelope, available, perhaps with the Iain Banks with a typed address and a first class stamp, Archive now at the University of Stirling. On but my wife learnt to spot them and let me 16 February 2014 it was announced on know one was waiting for when I got home. www.iain-banks.net that in February 2015 a Iain did send me his email address, but I collection of Iain and Ken MacLeod’s poetry wrote back that I would prefer to write letters will be published. Iain had mentioned this in order to have something to physically wave possibility in his interview with Stuart Kelly, at people if they asked for the my source, and see page #4. being the man he was he indulged me in this. The Banksoniain Issue #20, Page #1 The Quarry of the book “If I'd known it was going to be my last book, I'd have been quite disappointed What turned out to be Iain’s last novel was that I'm going out with a relatively minor originally listed for publication in October piece; whereas something like Transition, a 2013. It was brought forward and published wild splurge of fantasy, sci-fi and mad reality on 20 June, less than two weeks after the frothed up together . now that would have author’s death, although he did get to see the been a book to go out on. I'm still very proud finished product. The dedication reads, “For of The Quarry but ... let's face it; in the end all my friends, family and fans, with love.” the real best way to sign off would have been with a great big rollicking Culture novel.” Iain started writing the book in January, The Guardian (15/06/2013). having previously worked out the plan as usual. At the beginning of April in a personal Cory Doctorow on boingboing3 enjoyed it statement which was published on his ending his review by describing it as “a website1 he revealed the back pain to jaundice goodbye letter to the world and all of its to gall bladder cancer progression that wonder and terror.” Five starts out of five was accompanied the writing of the book. Iain was the view of Jake Kerridge in The Telegraph around 87 thousand words, about 90%, into (11/06/2013) “dark satire about old friends, the book before he got his diagnosis, although lost dreams and approaching mortality”. In some of the press coverage called the book a The Scotsman (15/06/2013) Alan Massie reaction to his illness this is not the entire spared a thought for the writer’s fans, “Many story. The diagnosis had come in early March, will read it with pain. Yet, if, thanks to its and Iain had his laptop in hospital with him inventiveness and vitality, you are able to and wrote one of Guy’s cancer rants – “I shall forget the author’s condition when he wrote not be upset to leave this country”. it, you are also likely to read it with a smile on your face; remarkable.”, and described it The publication date of the book was moved as “wonderfully exuberant”. Rosemary forward, with Amazon sending out emails in Goring the literary editor of The Herald the third week of March to that effect before (15/06/2013) called it “a powerful and knowledge of Iain’s illness was publically affecting book.” announced. The new publication date was 20 June. Iain saw copies, they are piles visible in A novel “full of rage and defiance” was Phil the Kirsty Walk interview, but he died on the Baker’s view in The Sunday Times morning of the ninth before the official (16/06/2013) who managed to get six publication date. This led to much media asterixed words into his review, which ended coverage see Media Scanner pages #3-4. by saying, “it's the testimony of a writer There was also heavy discounting of the book refusing to go quietly, and with its with process going as low as £3.99 at posthumous publication Iain Banks has got Amazon and Sainsbury’s, which drew a the last word.” On Amazon the average of the reaction from independent sellers not able to near 150 reviews is 3.9 (out of 5), just nine of match that price2. The book peaked at #4 in them single star reviews.. the charts in The Bookseller (28/06/2014). A couple of characters from the book work Reviewers often had trouble disengaging for a fictional search engine company called Iain’s illness and death from the subject Grayzr. On 26 June 2013 the domain matter of the book. The reviews fit into some grayzr.com was registered by a reader who sort of spectrum which went from “stinker”, did not want a web marketing site set up on Helen Lewis in the New Statesman the address. It currently displays a simple (8/7/2013) to “very, very good” Brian Morton tribute to Iain M. Banks, along with a link to Independent (14/06/2013). Iain himself said the search engine: www.duckduckgo.com. 1 http://www.iain-banks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal- statement-from-iain-banks/ 2 http://www.thebookseller.com/news/anger-dramatic- 3 http://boingboing.net/2013/07/26/iain-bankss-the- discounting-banks-quarry.html quarry.html The Banksoniain Issue #20 Page #2 in/around London. There is a report in Ron Media Scanner 5 Gemmell's special fanzine . There has been a vast amount of coverage of In May 2013, The Hydrogen Sonata was one Iain’s death and before that his cancer of 13 books listed for the juried John W. announcement. For both events Iain Banks Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of was trending on Twitter, and they were on the the year (2012). It eventually lost out to Jack list of most shared articles on the BBC News Glass: The Story of a Murderer, by Adam website, and the news was further spread via Roberts. Facebook and Twitter posts. Iain’s Wikipedia page saw more edits on 3 April 2013 than it The interview with Kirsty Walk was 6 had over the previous six months combined. broadcast in Scotland on Wednesday 12 June in an hour long slot, and in the rest of the UK The day after the cancer was made public his on Tuesday 18 June but half the length7. It picture was on the front page on many of the had been shot just three weeks before. It was UK’s broadsheets. He explained this to Kirsty here that Iain said he had had a “brilliant life” Wark by claiming it was a slow news day.
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