Alastair Reynolds's Blog, page 21

Some musical matters

The excellent London band Hat's off Gentleman It's Adequate (fronted by Malcolm Galloway) have released a new album entitled Nostalgia for Infinity:

https://hatsoffgentlemen.bandcamp.com/album/nostalgia-for-infinity


Quoting from Malcolm:

"The theme of the album is the frailty of civilisation, from a variety of perspectives, including 7 tracks inspired by the science fiction novels of author and former astrophysicist Alastair Reynolds, and others relating to nanotechnology, the Second World War,...

When you're asleep they may show you aerial views of the ground

Friday saw Peter Hamilton and I driving to the fine city of Swansea, where in the equally fine surroundings of Brangwyn Hall we attended a concert by the French-Canadian band The Musical Box .


The Musical Box are a Genesis tribute band, or more accurately THE Genesis tribute band, in that they are the only one endorsed by the band members themselves. Their show isn't just about meticulous, note-for-note reproductions of Genesis songs, but also incorporates equipment and stage effects from...

Permafrost on Audie award shortlist

I'm delighted to learn that Permafrost, my Tor novella from 2019, is on the science fiction shortlist for this year's Audie Awards, as hosted by the Audio Publisher's Association. I am very grateful to all at Tor and Macmillan Audio who helped see this book out into the world, with particular thanks to Ruoxi Chen, Caro Penny. Mordicai Knode, Jonathan Strahan and Natasha Soudek.


Here are the finalists:

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin, narrated by Jason Isaacs, published by Brilliance Publishing

...

Ode An Die Freude

O friends, no more these sounds!Let us sing more cheerful songs,more full of joy!Joy, bright spark of divinity,Daughter of Elysium,Fire-inspired we treadThy sanctuary.

I have a new book out.

It's publication day for Bone Silence:


"Return to the third book in the Revenger Trilogy, for another thrilling tale of piracy set among the stars . . .

Quoins are accepted currency throughout the thousands of worlds of the Congregation. Ancient, and of unknown origin and purpose, people have traded with them, fought for them, and stolen quoin hordes from booby-trapped caches at risk to life and limb throughout the Thirteen Occupations. Only now it’s becoming clear they have another purpose . ....

A long-form interview with Reaktor magazine

The Estonian magazine Reaktor recently ran a long interview with me, conducted by Reidar Andreson. Very kindly. I've been allowed to reproduce the interview here, in its original form. I hope it's of interest.


Reaktor: Being mostly researcher and small-time writer myself I would like to ask about the change in your career – from astrophysics to a full-time writer. What affected you to leave behind your job as an active scientist and focus on writing only? Studying space sounds infinitely...

RIP Neil Peart

And so it ends

Naomi Ackie on an alien space horse. Did she ever ride side-saddle in the film itself?


By now, I suspect that everyone who has any intention of seeing The Rise of Skywalker will have done so, and it is safe to talk about the film in very general terms.

I have seen every Star Wars film in the cinema upon its release, except for The Last Jedi. There was no particular reason for that omission, other than that it came out at a busy period and by the time I felt motivated to see it, it was no longer...

Alasdair Gray 1934-2019

My dog-eared but much loved copy of Lanark:


I first encountered this marvellous, undefinable book around thirty years ago, while living in Scotland. It's a wonder - part fantasy, part realist novel, part metatextual experiment - an entity like no other book I'd ever read. Told in four parts, it begins with Book Three.

I wish I could put my hands on my hardcover of Poor Things, because then I could show off the gorgeous design worked into the inner covers. My immediate thought was: if they can...

Eat my dust, Hamilton.