Iain M. Banks and Ken MacLeod
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Iain M. Banks and Ken MacLeod are two of the UK’s leading science fiction writers. On the 22nd of May Balloch Library hosted a very entertaining evening with the two of them in conversation. Iain and Ken have known each other for thirty years and the audience were treated to a wide ranging double-act which pretty much covered life, death, the universe and everything in-between. If you think that this sounds very serious and heavy you would be very mistaken – both Ken and Iain injected a lot of humour into the discussion.
Iain and Ken began by discussing the themes of their latest books, Matter and The Night Sessions. Ken’s The Night Sessions was inspired by seeing a U2 video in which the group looked like Presbyterian ministers and he wondered what it would be like to have Presbyterian terrorists. Ken asked Iain about the role of the Simulation Hypothesis in Matter (that matter might be “simulated” much as computer games objects are simulated by computer games programmers). Most of us struggled to keep up with this specific debate but it certainly provided much mental stimulation.
There then followed a discussion about religion and the nature of heaven. Iain is a confirmed atheist, as is Ken, but Ken’s father was a Presbyterian minister and he displayed more sympathy for aspects of religion than Iain. After a fascinating examination of religion the next topic was politics. Both Iain and Ken despaired of the rightwards shift of British politics, feeling that the three main parties have all taken the liberal monetarist shilling. Both pondered if we are on the brink of a revolution as disenchantment with the finance industry and corruption in politics reaches a new high.
After a light-hearted chat about football (Ken follows Hibs and Iain has a lukewarm allegiance to Morton) the two writers took questions from the audience. Topics included the literary status of science fiction in the light of establishment snobbery and technophobia; its appeal to young people, and its general lack of popularity amongst women.
This was a quite extraordinary evening; two leading writers, at the height of their powers, discussed their work and many other matters of importance, in a very entertaining, stimulating and amusing way. The warmth of friendship between the two of them was palpable and both of them made themselves available to sign books and chat to fans after the talk. Many of those who had never read science fiction said that it had persuaded them to look at it in a new light.
Iain and Ken began by discussing the themes of their latest books, Matter and The Night Sessions. Ken’s The Night Sessions was inspired by seeing a U2 video in which the group looked like Presbyterian ministers and he wondered what it would be like to have Presbyterian terrorists. Ken asked Iain about the role of the Simulation Hypothesis in Matter (that matter might be “simulated” much as computer games objects are simulated by computer games programmers). Most of us struggled to keep up with this specific debate but it certainly provided much mental stimulation.
There then followed a discussion about religion and the nature of heaven. Iain is a confirmed atheist, as is Ken, but Ken’s father was a Presbyterian minister and he displayed more sympathy for aspects of religion than Iain. After a fascinating examination of religion the next topic was politics. Both Iain and Ken despaired of the rightwards shift of British politics, feeling that the three main parties have all taken the liberal monetarist shilling. Both pondered if we are on the brink of a revolution as disenchantment with the finance industry and corruption in politics reaches a new high.
After a light-hearted chat about football (Ken follows Hibs and Iain has a lukewarm allegiance to Morton) the two writers took questions from the audience. Topics included the literary status of science fiction in the light of establishment snobbery and technophobia; its appeal to young people, and its general lack of popularity amongst women.
This was a quite extraordinary evening; two leading writers, at the height of their powers, discussed their work and many other matters of importance, in a very entertaining, stimulating and amusing way. The warmth of friendship between the two of them was palpable and both of them made themselves available to sign books and chat to fans after the talk. Many of those who had never read science fiction said that it had persuaded them to look at it in a new light.