Ian McDonald, author of Brasyl,
“We discuss what Brasyl is about; which part of the triptych came first and how he wove in the other two braids of the story; his previous novel, River of Gods; Suba’s São Paulo Confessions; pitching reality television programs like his protagonist, Marcalina Hoffman; Moacyr Barbosa, the man who made Brazil cry; John Hemming’s book, Red Gold; Jean-Babtiste Falcon, inventor of the earliest computer?; themes of exploitation; my interview with Lou Anders, editor of Pyr; the pressure of the expectations to have all his future novels take place in ‘exotic’ locations; why he avoided writing about Carnival; reviews of Brasyl in Brazil; how Ireland has become boring; programs that his character Marcalina pitched and developed that he might have enjoyed watching; how the Q-blades in Brasyl work.”