March 21st - 24th 2008
Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow

If you have never ventured to a science fiction convention before, you could be forgiven for expecting to be surrounded by Goths, people dressed as Klingons and other folk clad in faux-medieval garb – which isn’t too far from the truth.

However, the Orbital programme boasted things that, as a reader, made my book geek heart beat a little faster. Guest of honour speeches from Neil Gaiman (pictured), China Mieville, Tanith Lee and Charles Stross; Joe Abercrombie joining panels on ‘Roughening up Fantasy Land’ (and he should know!); and interesting sessions for blossoming writers such as ‘Writing The Near Future – Predicting the Next 50 Years’. And less thrillingly – ‘Why Blake 7 is Still Popular’ (really?).

Stranger still, the programme also featured ‘Japanese Rope Bondage’. In short, when venturing to a Con, be prepared for anything.

China Mieville’s talk, entitled ‘For God’s Sake, It’s Just Story: A Reader's Guide to Ruining SF’, was a roller coaster ride about the naïve views some readers have about the subtext and influences of their favourite literature. It was genuinely very exciting to hear someone hold forth passionately about books in an informed, erudite and frequently funny manner.

The dealer’s hall was, as you would expect, teeming with battered paperbacks and editions of every stripe. Particularly amusing was the impromptu gathering of authors around the Gollancz table on Saturday afternoon, including Joe Abercrombie, who happily signed books aplenty and was generally very funny (click here to read our Last Argument of Kings review). China Mieville was equally approachable, chatting to many attendees and book dealers.

All in all, this was a great opportunity to meet and hear many authors at the top of their game, discussing not only their own work but also ideas within the framework of science fiction as a whole. Den Patrick