Nov 2013 1 REFRACTION #1 Contents Cover Orbital Over The Forth Bridge – Iain Banks 1954 - 2013 3 Away The Crow Road – Iain Banks RIP, plus Walking Walking on Glass and The Quarry 6 Boobs and Boiled Leather – Game of Thrones 10 United State of Horror – American Mary and A Field in England 15 Is this Nottingham? – Novacon 42 Rear Doctor Who? Celebrating 50 years. Every time I go to a con or similar event I too general for what I wanted. Although always come back fired up with plenty of I’ve used it before as a business name I enthusiasm. They will be a list of books, again eventually settled on ‘Refraction’ comics, films and musical performers to mainly due to the fact that I live not a check out that I will have gathered from million miles away from where Isaac panels and drunken conversations with Newton was born. I’d already dismissed a friends. Plus, usually whilst leafing through lot of apple, gravity or mathematical the zines I’ve picked up on the train home, related titles as too obvious and went for there will be the idea to write a zine of my something related to his optical own. Books and comics get discoveries. Plus this also read, films gets watched hints at one of the things I and music gets listened to want to do with this zine – but I’ve never actually got look at slightly odd and around to creating my own crooked things in a slightly zine, no matter how many odd and crooked way. times I tell myself (and other people) that I’m going Sadly this first issue is to do it. dominated by the death of my favourite writer – Iain So obviously, after the last (M) Banks and I start off Novacon where I had been with some reminisces on the telling myself (and other impact his work has had on people) that there was no me, the time I recently met way, no how, I was ever up with some fans to walk going to do my own zine, the route through London almost as soon as I arrived that one of the characters home I was typing up my takes in Walking on Glass experiences at the con and plus a review of his final then planning other things I novel, The Quarry. Then it’s could write about. This is a discussion of one of the the result. most prominent current television shows Game of Thrones which I used to enjoy writing reviews and longer led me to the series of vast books it’s essays/articles on books, films and tele- based on. There’s a look at two different vision for various places but I’ve kinda fringe horror films American Mary and A fallen out of the habit. Hopefully this zine Field in England by two interesting indie will be able to revive that. Plus it will be a directors (well, actually three… well, you’ll place to write up the odd fannish event see) and what they might have to say that I attend. And last, but definitely not about their respective countries. And finally least, it gives an outlet and inspiration to there’s a write up of Novacon 42… and produce more art and be more focused that’s where we sort of came in, so I’ll with photography. leave it there until next time. I went through several titles – but they all Gary S Wilkinson seemed either too specific and in-jokey or [email protected] 2 Nov 2013 Away The Crow Road Iain Banks RIP From my very first time I read him, Iain perfect and it could be argued that the Banks rapidly became my favourite author quality of the non-sf dipped slightly with – not only in sf with his ‘M’ books but as a the last few but he was to the end head mainstream writer as well. For many many and shoulders my favourite writer and The years I’ve looked forward to one book of Bridge and Use of Weapons remain my either of these flavours coming out roughly favourite non-sf and sf books. every twelve months or so. I’ve read everything he’s written, much of it multiple His was one of the first, if not the first, times and he was one of the major book signings I ever went to and over the inspirations to start writing myself, both years I must have been to more Banks fiction and non-fiction (one of my first events than all other writers combined. He substantial pieces was a essay on his first was always a natural exuberant entertainer Culture novel, Consider Phlebas). His on stage for the readings and question and typically black humoured announcement of answer sessions. In the last few years I’ve his illness earlier this year, followed all too tried to catch each tour to buy his latest quickly by his death, was a real shock. He’s plus get a back issues or two signed. The basically going to be impossible to replace. first time, bar a school trip, I went up to Scotland was mainly to visit some of the And I can still remember that first time. I places mentioned in his works – several had just bought this paperback called The Edinburgh pubs, the Forth Bridges and Wasp Factory from WH Smiths, enticed by Espedair St. I was lucky enough to be in its amazingly stark cover and intriguing the audience for one of his television reviews – many of which, good and bad, interviews and also when he appeared on had been quoted at the front of the book – The World Service radio discussing The and sat down to in my local library to read Wasp Factory. a bit before I returned home… ‘I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles Last year, as usual, I went to Nottingham’s the day we heard my brother had escaped.’ Waterstones for a signing of The Hydrogen And after that I was hooked and have been Sonata. The manager of the shop gave a ever since… reading each book as it came particularly heartfelt introduction – he was along, eventually switching to hardback obviously a real fan. During the Q&A I when I had the funds and could no longer asked a particularly rambling and ill wait for the paperback or ordered library thought out question based on a recent copy. twitter discussion I’d had (basically was the computer game in Complicity real or in the I’ve a couple of other prominent memories protagonist’s imagination?). As I got my of reading his work – devouring a chapter book signed Iain graciously batted away of Use of Weapons by candlelight during a my apology for my terrible query and we power cut and polishing off Complicity in had a short chat about computer games one day, only stopping briefly for and our past mutual Civilisation addiction. refreshment breaks. But of course it’s the As I stepped out of the shop into a dark writing itself that I mainly remember – and deserted Nottingham city centre I dark, witty, literary mainstream works and never for the life of me imagined that it great stomping mind-expanding equally would be last time I would ever speak to literary sf. Of course not every book was him. 3 REFRACTION #1 Walking Walking on Glass Walking on Glass was Iain’s second novel. fell on a Friday this year and it was decided It builds on the gothic strangeness of the that it was more convenient for us to meet Wasp Factory - being not quite realism, not up on the Saturday. quite sf, not quite fantasy - that reaches a peak with The Bridge after which Banks split his work into ‘M’ and non-‘M’ varieties (until the recent Transition). There are three stories or plot strands in Walking on Glass, that while at first seeming quite separate, slowly start to come together as the novel progresses. In one a young art student Graham Park walks from his college in the Bloomsbury area of London to his girlfriend’s flat while he chats with a friend for part of the way and then thinks back over his relationship. Meanwhile another character, Steven Grout, who possibly has some form of mental Dave Haddock leading the route derangement, is fired from his job and takes a journey of his own. The third strand is more obtuse to the others and takes place in a possible parallel dimension The weather on the day was bright and or universe or just the far future or past of sunny. I actually bumped into Dave and his this one with two more characters Quiss wife before the walk when I wandered into and Ajayi playing an endless series of a small park close to the start to eat a bizarre games in a vast castle. lunchtime sandwich before I set off. Turned out they had had the same idea. In the end, fourteen of us set out. Dave guided us through the walk, pointing out where particular events of the novel happened and also other prominent places like the solicitors’ office where Iain used to work. The was an extra moment of melancholy during one of the pub stops on the way when I found out a frequent poster at the Iain Banks forum has also died recently. The walkers gather Park’s journey is clearly laid out in the novel with each of his chapters headed by the particular street or road he is walking down.