Scottish writer Ian Banks: biography, creativity and books

Scottish science fiction writerthe fifty best writers in Britain, Tarantino from literature, in the opinion of literary critics and journalists, Ian Menzies Banks was born in February 1954 in the Scottish city of Dunfermline. Few would have managed to leave as much memory as 59 Banks Ian in just 59 years ago. A brief biography contains not only books. The name of Ian Banks is an asteroid.

The writer lived the same way he wrote, honestly. And what happened to him on earth, even the most seemingly insignificant event, all this unfolded colorfully and widely in a completely different world - science fiction. However, for a completely normal school of realism, he worked a lot. The author signed the fantasy so - Ian M. Banks, and the reality is just Ian Banks. Such a split happened.

The main milestones of the road

Ian Banks graduated from Stirling University(University of Stirling), where he studied English, psychology and philosophy. After that he lived in London until 1988, and after returning to his homeland in 1992, he married. The marriage was happy, but lasted only fourteen years. After the divorce, Ian Banks for a long time could not come to his senses and for four years did not publish his works.

In 2013, he felt ill, turnedto doctors who diagnosed cancer of the gallbladder. How would an ordinary person behave? Hard to say. More often than not, people finally remember some trifles. Ian Banks acted differently. He declared to numerous admirers of his work that he was deadly sick and he had few months to live, so he asked him not to disturb him any more.

Stopping public activity, he suddenlymarried his old friend. Probably, offended by God, he did it on Good Friday 2013, when Christ was crucified. Or maybe, on the contrary, by this step the best-selling author Ian Banks wanted to give the dying God some joy. Since the writer married on March 31, and on June 9 he was no more. Too little time was left for joy. Ian Banks did not want to cry a single day.

World outlook reference points

Such a plan eccentric actions have been andearlier. For example, the case of a passport in 2003. The Scottish writer Banks Ian adhered to left-wing political views, that is, the principles preached by the British Labor Party, were not alien to him. Labor leader and Prime Minister of England was at that time Tony Blair - the record holder, by the way, by the time of stay at the helm with him, only Margaret Thatcher could compare.

And the act was eccentric, that's why. Ian Banks was disappointed with the politics that Tony Blair's office was conducting. As we recall, 2003 was sadly marked by the invasion of Iraq by US forces and the coalition, which included the United Kingdom. The world-famous author Banks Ian broke his passport in protest and sent scraps to Blair. In addition, the writer was always for the independence of Scotland and put his signature under the declaration, initiated by the Scottish Socialist Party.

Humanoid Banks

Most interesting are sci-fibooks, united by the author in the cycle "Culture". This is about the supercivilization of humanoids of absolutely unearthly origin, which are not people in the conventional sense of the word. Artificial intelligence of this world has far surpassed the human.

In an unrestrained fantasy reveals the writerBanks Ian, whose books make the reader move to the world of intelligent stars, drones, Razumov (highly intelligent cars that live in each orbit) and, of course, representatives of intelligent races that evolved biologically.

Banks's Utopian world is fascinating: there you can be immortal, there is no disease, hyperspace is conquered, so travel can be as distant as possible, taking a minimum of time, orbitals are not planets, but artificially constructed asteroids in space where absolutely any desire can be satisfied. There is no authority as such, it is created as necessary (adhokratiya), worlds-starfish, worlds-asteroids.

Problematics and plot construction

When a society of universal abundance is built andprosperity (see the old programs of the British Labor Party, again this is the terminology of their dreams, faithful and forgotten), a fascinating plot can not be built by any writer. Naturally, Banks also could not do without adventures in the pages of his books.

The reader encounters in the novel "Think of Phlebe"with hostile cultures, in "Excess" - with events that came with "the world from the outside", in "Inversion" - with insufficiently intelligent civilizations. An interesting moment when the culture ship lands in 1977, where we meet it ("The last word of technology"). No less interesting novels such as "Reliable tool", "On the other side of darkness", "Algebraist" and "Transition" do not belong to the cycle "Culture".

"The Aspen Factory"

This is the first of Banks' published books (1984),his business card. The novel is provocative, very harsh. The opinions of readers and critics did not coincide with this book: along with the elegant style and beauty of the narration, the plot itself contains scenes of cruelty and violence.

In the story, a teenager named Frank createsown world, where he assigns himself the right to kill insects. And he does it ingeniously and ritually. By fencing off the space he calls an island, Frank dominates the lower creatures through an aspen factory. His brother Erik escapes from a madhouse and promises to come soon. Frank waits for him, walks around the island with a reader who more and more learns about his brothers, and even the causes of their psychosis become clear. But it turns out that the reader was mistaken in everything - completely and completely.

"Crow Road"

The book came out 12 years after the "Aspen Factory",and during this time Banks began to recognize literally from the first lines. This novel is much more populated - the family saga, where each character has his own way through various adventures - to death, as usually happens with the characters Ian Banks.

In addition to the psychological disclosure of internalthe world of heroes, Banks brings in the descriptions of many pictures of the beautiful Scotland, talks about the war in Iraq and much more. Reviews for "Crow Road" also differ in opinions, but all are marked by interest. According to this book in the 90's the series was shot.

"Steps on the glass"

Here the narrative is divided into three partsaccording to the subject, they are all related to the game, where there are also society, and consciousness, and sexuality. The first is a thematic story about an ordinary love triangle, the second is phantasmagoric, it tells about veterans of various intergalactic wars that can not leave the castle until they answer the question posed to them. Well, the third, as usual, is about the nutcase.

Despite the strangeness of the story lines andthe capriciousness of construction, the unusual behavior of characters, the reader gradually clarifies the logical chain, comes the understanding that otherwise people themselves do not behave this way. It is interesting to the reader to find out for himself, what kind of complexes will he get out of himself in the extreme situations that have developed in this way?

"Song of the Stone"

This time, the author chose the appropriatepsychological studies of the characters background - here is a war where the moral foundations are much easier to break down and people are hardened to beast-like animals. The war, especially not domestic, but civil, just as brutal as all that we know. Two lyrical heroes are considered - Abel and his wife Morgan, who can not escape from military operations. On the contrary, they are in the heat, despite the fact that they are at home, in their own castle. Both heroes act as they should to people with their moral organization: they seduce and seduce, they lie, betray and mercilessly take revenge on each other.

"Player"

This work is from the latest fantasy books by Ian M. Banks. The second novel about the supercivilization from the series "Culture". Again, intergalactic games, the main character of the novel - Gurdj. He carries out the assignment on behalf of the Department of Special Circumstances and must take part in an unthinkable adventure. Empire games - Azad, and the winner in the game gets the imperial crown. The notion of destiny comes to the fore. The whole cycle "Culture", even in style, is radically different from all other books written by Ian Banks. The reviews are nevertheless eloquent and numerous on books under all of his pseudonyms.