Well, here we are. It looks like it’s going to be a great event. Hosted in the Convention Centre, on the banks of River Clyde and in front of BBC Glasgow, the area is as suitable for an event as it is for a leisure stroll – especially considering that we are blessed with a Mediterranean-style sunshine. Intervention of the supreme powers, for sure, or some uncanny kind of magic – not so unlikely, we have some fantasy specialists here: in the long run, they may well have developed useful skills.
The final programme http://www.satellite4.org.uk/programme/index.php is a good and well-balance combination of guest of honour solo talks (hey, we have Juliet McKenna speaking tomorrow) and panels addressing a series of topics.
(Note: for all panels I am going to talk about I will use the so-called Chatham House rule: you quote the comments, but not the speaker. It’s the one in use for very controversial topics, thus it seems more than a safe choice when dealing with wizards, goblins and aliens: they are not going to sue, or so I hope).
My pick of the day have been The Voyager Programme in Argyll 2 (Robert Law) on outer solar system exploration (an obvious choice); Diverse styles of fantasy writing, in Castle 1, a panel discussing old favourites and new trends. I found quite interesting – and certainly correct – the linkage of Game of Thrones with soap opera, not only for some of the themes, but also for its pace. And to end it in style, a session called Grand Designs, addressing the complex problem of worldbulding in speculative fiction. (Considering my special interest in this one, I am going to dedicate a separate post to it – not today. Rapidity and accuracy don’t sleep well together, let alone relevance).
Between one session and another, I’ve also decided to have a go with Mediavel Dragons, a great solo talk by Edward James. Not my cup of tea, for sure, but who can resist somebody explaining the symbology of the Lord of the Ring? I will never look at it with the same eyes again…