A few short weeks ago the FPI Blog Logs featured a very interesting new book – a debut SF novel from a small British press (UKA) by Doctor Ian Hocking called Déjà Vu. The novel has garnered some choice reviews and praise (including from Jon Courtenay Grimwood in the Guardian and Andy Sawyer on the Alien Online) and I decided that it was time we learned a little more. So in what I hope will be the first of many such mini-interviews, FPI are pleased to bring you a short Q&A with Ian Hocking – enjoy.
Author photo © Mimika Cooney 2004
FPI: Thank you for speaking with us, Ian. To begin with, could you perhaps tell our readers a little about Déjà Vu?
IAN: Déjà Vu is a novel set in the near future (2023). It is, at heart, a technothriller about the hunt for an alleged terrorist, but I’ve tried to explore some science fiction ideas along the way. These include nanobots, artificial intelligence, and – gulp – time travel.
FPI: One of the central characters, David Proctor, is being hunted for an alleged terrorist attack, which he doesn’t remember committing, but the authorities maintain he did. It’s obviously an interesting dramatic device, but does it also perhaps allow you as an author to comment on current events and the way governments present us with villainous terrorists to be feared and hunted?
IAN: Like many people, I’m puzzled by our government’s treatment of alleged terrorists. I deplore terrorism in general (if it can be spoken of in the general terms) but I’m conscious that the legal process must apply equally to all people. House arrest without evidence is still arrest without evidence, even if the individual is allowed to watch the telly. It is not something twenty-first century Britain should condone.
FPI: The nature of reality comes up in two very interesting ways in Déjà Vu – we have David of course, with his memories at odds with the official account of what he has supposedly done and also Saskia, the agent hunting him, who is realising that she may not be who she thinks (or has been told she is) either. Secondly we have part of the story in a virtual reality environment – again a clash between what is real and what is not, what memories we can trust and which we cannot. Is it fair to say this struggle to comprehend our reality and to know if we can trust our perceptions is an area you are fascinated by?
IAN: I’m fascinated by this as a person and as a writer. When I saw Bladerunner as a kid, I was very taken with Sean Young’s character: she believed she was human because she had memories of a childhood. So, more than perception, I’m interested in the fictional power of memory. Psychological research shows that memory is a constructive process, and in Déjà Vu I found myself asking, ‘What if somebody else did the constructing?’
FPI: It struck me that there was perhaps a closer correlation between the book and our own lives – although we don’t live in a virtual reality per se (at least hopefully not!) a large part of our view of the world is constructed artificially from the media and government information sources. Some of the recent debate about the veracity of such information, especially in regard to terrorism threats made me think very much of David’s dilemma. Was this something you were conscious of while writing? Another (possible) layer of artificial, mediated reality?
IAN: I think that, as any person grows to maturity, so too does their cynicism. As kids we might have believed everything our parents said, and likewise the media and the government, even without the stark evidence of Tony Blair misleading the House of Commons. We can’t totally protect ourselves from the versions of reality that come our way via these information sources, but the struggle to interpret and divine is important to everyday living, and makes for an interesting narrative device.
FPI: Déjà Vu is your first full-length novel, but I know that you have been writing in diverse genres for some time. The novel has picked up some very good reviews (deservedly, I may add) – can you tell us what’s next for Ian Hocking?
IAN: At the moment, I’m writing a comedy novel set in the Cornish ice-cream business. It’s fun but flippin’ hard work. The first chapter is posted on my website. After that, I want to write a sequel to Déjà Vu set in the present day. There is more to be told about Saskia Brandt. Oh, and I won’t be calling it Déjà Two. Unless I can’t think of a better title.
FPI: Doctor Ian Hocking, thank you very much for chatting with us.
IAN: Thank you, Joe. It’s my pleasure. Keep up the good work over at FPI!
Wed, Apr 6, 2005
Books, Interviews