Charlie StrossJul 30, 2023
Psst: if you're on my crit list on Dreamwidth (closed, not taking new applications, thanks), you might want to check out what I just uploaded there.
Show threadCharlie StrossJul 30, 2023

Addendum: this is draft 2 of the space opera that, well, my elevator pitch was "Iain isn't writing any more, alas, so let's see if I can do something that makes readers feel the same way as his Culture novels without in any way being derivative of the Culture".

It's probably a failure on those terms, but I had to try, right?

Show threadCharlie StrossJul 30, 2023
I will note that there is a lot more to the Culture universe than chatty starships with odd names: Iain was a litfic author writing in a space opera setting, so there's that.
Show threadCharlie StrossJul 30, 2023
A lot of people picked up the superficial furniture of Banksian space opera—snarky AIs, starship names, hyperviolent interludes—but missed the philosophical enquiries disguised as thematic elements. And few authors in the SF/F field are remotely as good at characterisation as Iain. (Shout-out for @aliettedb on that note).
Show threadFirefighterGeek 
@cstross @aliettedb Nothing makes me miss Banks more than when I'm reading Asher.
Jul 30, 2023 at 10:28pmWeb
Show threadCharlie StrossJul 31, 2023
@FirefighterGeek @aliettedb I've been completely unable to read Asher because his political outlook is inimical. (Last time I looked he was not only a Tory, he was a climate change denialist. That was before COVID so I wouldn't be surprised to see he's a Brexiter and anti-vaxxer too.)
Show threadFirefighterGeek Jul 31, 2023
@cstross @aliettedb I haven't followed his politics, but he does seem like a kind of "dude do you even lift?" bro type from the few things I've seen him say/write outside his books. His fiction is so far out there that mostly I can ignore any political bias behind it.