{"id":1940,"date":"2013-12-24T08:01:07","date_gmt":"2013-12-24T08:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/?p=1940"},"modified":"2013-12-24T08:01:07","modified_gmt":"2013-12-24T08:01:07","slug":"recordando-a-iain-banks-guest-post-ian-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/recordando-a-iain-banks-guest-post-ian-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Recordando a Iain Banks : Guest post Ian Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Banks\"<\/a>Ian Sales<\/strong> conoci\u00f3 personalmente al objeto de nuestro homenaje Iain Banks <\/strong>y ha sido tan amable de escribir para nosotros un post especial sobre \u00e9l e incluso mandarnos una foto de su archivo personal. Me he permitido traducir su mensaje al espa\u00f1ol con la inestimable ayuda de Cristina Jurado.<\/em><\/p>\n

Iain Banks – My Part in his Success<\/p>\n

I first encountered Iain Banks at university in 1986 – a housemate shoved a copy of “The Wasp Factory”<\/strong> at me and urged me to read it. So I did. As promised, it was sick and twisted and very, very good. In fact, parts of the book have remained with me to this day, which is testament to its quality. I remember reading some of his other novels soon afterwards – I especially liked “Espedair Street”<\/strong>. Then I joined the British Science Fiction Association<\/strong><\/a>, and learned he\u2019d written a science fiction novel, “Consider Phlebas”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In 1989, I went to my first science fiction convention – it was local and seemed like a good opportunity to see what a convention was like. I enjoyed it. Later that same year, I attended another, this time in Glasgow. Banks was the Guest of Honour<\/strong>. “Canal Dreams”<\/strong> had been published that year, and I recall the convention booklet describing it as a \u201ctaunt thriller\u201d<\/em> instead of a \u201ctaut thriller\u201d<\/em>. I also learned that Banks had quite a reputation – cat-burgling at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton, for example, was an oft-repeated story. It was, of course, based on a small incident that had been blown completely out of proportion. But such stories seemed to attach to Banks, as if he were larger than life, much as his science fiction was larger than the genre seemed capable of containing. I was even a witness to one addition to the Banks mythology at that Glasgow convention, when during a room party I saw him pretend to drink from a bottle of massage lotion.<\/p>\n

\"banks\"<\/a>During that time, Banks was a fixture at British science fiction conventions. I next saw him at the Eastercon in Liverpool in 1990. Use of Weapons was launched there, and I bought a copy and had it signed. The Observer magazine<\/strong> had published Banks\u2019s story about the Lockerbie bombing<\/a>, \u2018Piece\u2019, late the year before, so we all knew his star was definitely on the rise. But there was no bad feeling about this – if sf needed an ambassador to the wider world of literature, then Iain Banks was well-qualified for the job. During the con, Chris Reed<\/strong> of Back Brain Recluse magazine arranged an interview with Banks, but couldn\u2019t find anywhere quiet enough to do it – so I volunteered my hotel room. Around a dozen of us sat around and listened to Banks as he talked about Lockerbie, bridges, women\u2019s underwear and science fiction. As far as I know, the interview has never been published.<\/p>\n

I remember reading “Use of Weapons”<\/strong> several months after the convention and being blown away by its clever structure and ending. Iain Banks has often been credited with kicking off the British New Space Opera wave<\/strong>, and novels like “Use of Weapons”<\/strong> make it easy to understand why.<\/p>\n

That year, Banks seemed so ubiquitous in the genre press that I put \u201cSPECIAL ISSUE: NO IAIN BANKS INTERVIEW\u201d<\/strong> on the cover of a fanzine I edited. I showed him a copy at the 1991 Eastercon in Glasgow, and he signed the fanzine for me. I\u2019ve since lost the copy, which is a shame.<\/p>\n

In 1996 – I was living in the Middle East by then – I returned to the UK on holiday, as I did each year, and at a convention in Birmingham bought “Excession”<\/strong>. Banks was present, so he signed it for me. I think it was at that convention where we had the bar conversation in which we tried conflating the opening lines from his “The Crow Road”<\/strong>, \u201cIt was the day my grandmother exploded\u201d, and John Varley\u2019s<\/a> “Steel Beach”<\/strong>, \u201c\u2018In five years, the penis will be obsolete,\u2019 said the salesman\u201d. The results are probably unprintable.<\/p>\n

From that point on, I bought each new novel by Iain Banks in hardback as it was published. He became a fixture of my reading each year. If I was disappointed by any of his novels, it was only because I had such high expectations of them. And yet, even in the most disappointing of his books, he usually managed to rise to those expectations at some point – and occasionally, he would even exceed them. I loved his books for his voice, his wit, the fact that his science fiction novels were more than just adventure stories in outer space, despite their bright candy-coloured visuals and vast panoramas. Though I\u2019d only met him a handful of times, he felt like a friend and reading his novels felt like a conversation with him.<\/p>\n

When I started a blog in 2007, I wrote about Banks\u2019s new sf novels as I read them – he\u2019s the only author I\u2019ve ever done that for. I think the Culture is one of British science fiction\u2019s great achievements, and Banks\u2019s Culture novels an excellent series – although, perversely, my favourite of his sf novels, “Against A Dark Background”<\/strong>, isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

Iain Banks often seemed like the face of British science fiction, especially to someone who was active in fandom – attended conventions, read UK genre magazines, and corresponded with other British sf fans. Banks wrote space opera that was highly-regarded by sf fans, but he also wrote best-selling literary fiction (his literary fiction outsold his sf, he admitted, \u201cby a ratio of about three or four to one\u201d). He had proven that it was possible to be taken seriously as a writer – and so, by association, a reader – of science fiction. Non-genre readers had heard of him, and some were even aware he also wrote science fiction. He had broken down the wall of the ghetto.<\/p>\n

It would have been nice if others had followed Banks lead, but sadly no one did. While JG Ballard<\/strong><\/a> did drift into literary fiction, he also deliberately distanced himself from his genre beginnings. I can\u2019t offhand think of another UK genre writer who has books published both by a genre imprint and by a literary imprint. Many have blurred the lines, but no one but Banks has so comprehensively trampled it into the dirt. Some people were fans only of his sf, some only of his literary fiction, but many – and I count myself among these – were fans of all his books.<\/p>\n

Iain Banks left behind\u00a0 him an enviable body of work, and I suspect many of his novels will remain in print for a long time. It has been a number of years since I last read some of his books, and I certainly plan to reread them again soon. I suspect I may well end up rereading them a number of times over the years.<\/p>\n

Iain Banks \u2013 Mi parte en su \u00e9xito<\/p>\n

Me encontr\u00e9 por primera vez a Iain Banks en la universidad en 1986. Un compa\u00f1ero de piso me dio una copia de “The Wasp Factory”<\/strong><\/a> y me anim\u00f3 a leerla, as\u00ed que lo hice. Como me hab\u00eda prometido, era retorcida y enferma y muy, muy buena. De hecho, hay fragmentos del libro que han permanecido conmigo hasta el d\u00eda de hoy, lo cual da prueba de su calidad. Recuerdo haber le\u00eddo alguna de sus novelas poco despu\u00e9s \u2013 me gust\u00f3 especialmente “Espedair Street”<\/strong>. Despu\u00e9s me un\u00ed a la British Science Fiction Association<\/a> <\/strong>y as\u00ed me enter\u00e9 de que hab\u00eda escrito una novela de ciencia ficci\u00f3n “Consider Phlebas”<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

En 1989 acud\u00ed a mi primera convenci\u00f3n de ciencia ficci\u00f3n. Era un evento local y parec\u00eda una buena oportunidad para ver c\u00f3mo era una convenci\u00f3n por dentro. La disfrut\u00e9. Ese mismo a\u00f1o acud\u00ed a otra, esta vez en Glasgow. Banks era el invitado de honor<\/strong>. Acababa de publicar “Canal Dreams”<\/strong>, y recuerdo que el folleto de la convenci\u00f3n lo describ\u00eda como un \u201ctaunt thriller\u201d (thriller de burla)<\/em> en vez de un \u201ctaut thriller\u201d (thriller tenso)<\/em>. Tambi\u00e9n supe que Banks ten\u00eda cierta reputaci\u00f3n: una de las historias que m\u00e1s se repet\u00edan sobre \u00e9l hablaba de c\u00f3mo sol\u00eda colarse en el Hotel Hilton Metropole de Brighton. Esa leyenda urbana estaba basada en un peque\u00f1o incidente que se hab\u00eda magnificado, pero esas historias parece que persegu\u00edan a Banks -como si \u00e9l mismo fuera m\u00e1s grande que la vida- de la misma forma que su propia ciencia ficci\u00f3n era m\u00e1s grande de lo que el g\u00e9nero parec\u00eda poder abarcar. Incluso fui testigo de una nueva muestra de la mitolog\u00eda Banksiana en la convenci\u00f3n de Glasgow: durante una fiesta le vi hacer como que beb\u00eda de una botella de crema para masajes.<\/p>\n

Por aquel entonces Banks era un personaje fijo en las convenciones brit\u00e1nicas de ciencia ficci\u00f3n. La siguiente vez que le vi fue en la Eastercon en Liverpool, en 1990. “Use of Weapons”<\/a> <\/strong>se lanz\u00f3 all\u00ed y compr\u00e9 un ejemplar para que me lo firmara. The Observe<\/strong>r hab\u00eda publicado \u201cPiece\u201d, la historia de Banks sobre el atentado de Lockerbie<\/a>, a finales del a\u00f1o anterior, as\u00ed que todos sab\u00edamos que era una estrella en alza. Pero no hab\u00eda sentimientos encontrados al respecto. Si la ciencia ficci\u00f3n necesitaba un embajador en el mundo de la literatura, Iain Banks estaba bien preparado para el trabajo. Durante la convenci\u00f3n, Chris Reed<\/strong> de la revista Back Brain Recluse quiso entrevistarlo, pero no encontr\u00f3 ning\u00fan lugar adecuado para hacerlo y yo ofrec\u00ed mi habitaci\u00f3n. Una docena de personas asistimos a la entrevista y escuchamos a Banks hablar sobre Lockerbie, puentes, ropa interior de mujer y ciencia ficci\u00f3n. Por lo que s\u00e9, esa entrevista nunca se public\u00f3.<\/p>\n

Recuerdo leer “Use of Weapons”<\/strong> meses despu\u00e9s de la convenci\u00f3n y quedar maravillado por su inteligente estructura y su final. A menudo se le ha acreditado por haber dado el pistoletazo de salida a la British New Space Opera<\/strong>, y novelas como “Use of Weapons”<\/strong>\u00a0 hacen f\u00e1cil entender por qu\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Aquel a\u00f1o Banks aparec\u00eda tan asiduamente en la prensa de g\u00e9nero que cre\u00e9 una portada especial del fanzine que editaba titulada \u201cSPECIAL ISSUE: NO IAIN BANKS INTERVIEW\u201d<\/strong>. Le ense\u00f1\u00e9 una copia en 1991 en la Eastercon de Glasgow y me la firm\u00f3. He perdido esa copia, lo cual es una l\u00e1stima.<\/p>\n

En 1996 \u2013 por aquel entonces yo viv\u00eda en Oriente Medio- volv\u00ed al Reino Unido de vacaciones, como hac\u00eda cada a\u00f1o, y en una convenci\u00f3n en Birmingham compr\u00e9 Excession. Banks estaba presente, as\u00ed que lo firm\u00f3. Creo que fue en esa convenci\u00f3n donde mantuvimos aquella conversaci\u00f3n tabernera en la que intentamos conjugar las primeras l\u00edneas de su \u201cThe crow road\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cIt was the day my grandmother exploded\u201d),<\/em> y de \u201cSteel Beach\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 de John Varley<\/a><\/strong>, (\u201cIn five years, the penis will be obsolete, said the salesman\u201d)<\/em>. Los resultados de aquel encuentro son probablemente impublicables.<\/p>\n

Desde entonces he comprado cada nueva obra de Iain Banks en tapa dura en el momento de su publicaci\u00f3n. Se convirti\u00f3 en un fijo en mis lecturas de cada a\u00f1o. Si alguna de sus novelas no me convenc\u00eda, era solo porque mis expectativas sobre ellas eran muy altas. Y a\u00fan en los menos atractivos de sus libros, se consegu\u00eda colmar esas expectativas en alg\u00fan punto, en ocasiones, incluso superarlas. Amaba sus libros por su voz, su inteligencia, el hecho de que sus novelas de ciencia ficci\u00f3n fueran algo m\u00e1s que meras historias de aventuras en el espacio, a pesar de sus brillantes im\u00e1genes de colores pastel y sus vastos panoramas. Aunque solo coincid\u00ed con \u00e9l en unas cuantas ocasiones, sent\u00eda que era un amigo, y leer sus novelas era como mantener una conversaci\u00f3n con \u00e9l.<\/p>\n

Cuando empec\u00e9 un blog en 2007, escrib\u00eda sobre las nuevas novelas de ciencia ficci\u00f3n de Banks conforme las iba leyendo. Es el \u00fanico autor con el que lo he hecho. Creo que la Cultura es uno de grandes logros de la ciencia ficci\u00f3n brit\u00e1nica y las novelas de la saga son una serie excelente aunque, de un modo perverso, mi novela favorita de g\u00e9nero de Banks es “Against A Dark Background”<\/strong><\/a>, que no pertenece a la serie.<\/p>\n

A menudo Iain Banks parec\u00eda ser la cara de la ciencia ficci\u00f3n brit\u00e1nica, especialmente para alguien que fuera activo en el fandom,\u00a0 yendo a convenciones, leyendo revistas brit\u00e1nicas de g\u00e9nero y manteniendo correspondencia con otros fans de las islas. Escrib\u00eda space opera que estaba muy bien considerada por los fans del g\u00e9nero, pero tambi\u00e9n escrib\u00eda best-sellers<\/em> de ficci\u00f3n literaria (su producci\u00f3n en este campo vend\u00eda tres o cuatro veces m\u00e1s que su ciencia ficci\u00f3n). Demostr\u00f3 que era posible ser tomado en serio como escritor (y por asociaci\u00f3n, como lector) de ciencia ficci\u00f3n. Incluso quienes no le\u00edan g\u00e9nero hab\u00edan o\u00eddo hablar de \u00e9l, y algunos incluso sab\u00edan que escrib\u00eda tambi\u00e9n ciencia ficci\u00f3n. Derrib\u00f3 el muro del gueto.<\/p>\n

Hubiera sido bonito si otros hubieran seguido su camino, pero tristemente nadie lo hizo. Mientras que JG Ballard <\/a><\/strong>se inclin\u00f3 hacia la ficci\u00f3n literaria, tambi\u00e9n se distanci\u00f3 deliberadamente de sus inicios en el g\u00e9nero. Ahora mismo no se me ocurre otro escritor del Reino Unido que tenga libros publicados en una editorial de g\u00e9nero y en una generalista. Muchos han difuminado las fronteras, pero s\u00f3lo \u00e9l las ha destrozado. Algunas personas solo eran fans de su ciencia ficci\u00f3n, otros solo de su ficci\u00f3n literaria, pero muchos \u2013 entre los que me incluyo \u2013 eran fans de todos sus libros.<\/p>\n

Iain Banks dej\u00f3 tras \u00e9l una obra envidiable, y sospecho que muchas de sus novelas permanecer\u00e1n a la venta durante mucho tiempo. No leo un libro suyo desde hace unos a\u00f1os y planeo releerlos muy pronto. Sospecho que los releer\u00e9 varias veces en el futuro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ian Sales conoci\u00f3 personalmente al objeto de nuestro homenaje Iain Banks y ha sido tan amable de escribir para nosotros un post especial sobre \u00e9l e incluso mandarnos una foto de su archivo personal. Me he permitido traducir su mensaje al espa\u00f1ol con la inestimable ayuda de Cristina Jurado. Iain Banks – My Part in … <\/p>\n

Continuar leyendo “Recordando a Iain Banks : Guest post Ian Sales”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,228],"tags":[200,4,205,229,41,140],"class_list":["post-1940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ciencia-ficcion-2","category-guest-post","tag-calendario-de-adviento","tag-ciencia-ficcion","tag-cristina-jurado","tag-guest-post-2","tag-iain-m-banks","tag-ian-sales"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5fEpk-vi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1940"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1948,"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940\/revisions\/1948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fantasticaficcion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}