Just over a week ago I set off for Glasgow and the 2024 World Science Fiction Convention. This was only my second time in Glasgow - the other was for the 2005 Worldcon. It's a great, friendly city and my only regret was that I overcommitted myself with program events to the point where I didn't get to see any part of Glasgow besides the event venue and our hotel. My wife didn't have a con membership but we managed to catch up once or twice in the day in the "public" areas of the SEC, and then made time to have nice meals in the evening back near our hotel in the West End.
The convention seems to have been very well received by all concerned, especially after the difficulties of last year and the general culture-war vibe still hanging over Worldcons from the Puppy nonsense of a few years ago. Hopefully this is the way to go. The organisers of the 2024 event are to be praised for their transparency at all times.
I found time to catch up with a few old friends. Here's Peter F Hamilton and me in the hotel lobby, before heading out for food:
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My wife and I also enjoyed hooking up with dear friends Gay and Joe Haldeman. I've been reading Joe's work since my mid-teens, when I first scored copies of Mindbridge and The Forever War, and the story notes he provided in his collections (such as "Infinite Dreams") went a long way to demystifying the whole business of "being a writer". Joe is the absolute antidote to those "don't meet your heroes" stories.
The con was very well-attended and this was reflected in generally full, or near-full, audiences for program items. Peter and I found this refreshing and commented to each other that we felt newly validated as writers. It can be a bit of a lonely, thankless profession at times, but walking into packed program rooms was the definite kick we both needed. Thanks to all who attended our events, and made them so enjoyable.
(The downside of this, unfortunately, is that Glasgow seems to have generated a bit of a Covid spike, but since I caught it back in July, I seem to have escaped unscathed.)
I also couldn't resist a picture of the Batman car:
I've no idea if this was THE Batman '66 car or just a replica, but it sure looked gorgeous, down to the classic Batman-style labelling on all the controls:
As hard as it might be to believe now, the original Batman TV series was amazingly exciting when it first appeared. Long after 1966 (probably more like 1976) my sister and I used to make sure we were home from school in time for the re-runs - or what, to us, felt like the original transmissions. I've a soft spot for the 1989 Keaton Batmobile (which I saw in the flesh at the Sydney motor show that year) but I still think the '66 version is pretty hard to beat. Remember: "Atomic batteries to power!" "Turbines to speed!". That's what we need more of now: cars with atomic batteries in them.
I didn't get any running done in Glasgow but I have been pushing on with my training for the Cardiff Half, for which I'm trying to raise a thousand pounds for Alzheimer's UK. You can read my latest update (I ran a dummy "half" yesterday) over on my Justgiving page. People have been very generous so far but with only 6 - 7 weeks to go, I want to keep pushing!
https://www.justgiving.com/page/alastair-reynolds-1713971449990
Just before heading off Glasgow I completed a new novella set in France in the distant future, entitled "The Dagger in Vichy", which I'm pleased to say has found a home and should be appearing next year. More news on that later. I know, what a tease! And now, back to novel work.
Ta,
Al R
