Iain M. Banks
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- Giantfriend
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Yeah it's solid, and been out for about a year in the UK.[/quote]Now here's a book to put on the list The Algebraist
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Where are you at?It hasn't been published over here yet. Amazon is only offering it through used book sellers.
Latest Interview: George R.R. Martin
The Bodhisattva
Fantasybookspot.com
Check out the first issue of Heliotrope - featuring articles by R. Scott Bakker, Jeff VanderMeer and more!
"I think it's undignified to read for the purposes of escape. After you grow up, you should start reading for other purposes" - M. John Harrison
The Bodhisattva
Fantasybookspot.com
Check out the first issue of Heliotrope - featuring articles by R. Scott Bakker, Jeff VanderMeer and more!
"I think it's undignified to read for the purposes of escape. After you grow up, you should start reading for other purposes" - M. John Harrison
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You can order it from Nighshade Books, who released it in the U.S. in September. iI's probably a better quality edition anyway (they usually are)U.S. It lists a U.K. publisher.
Latest Interview: George R.R. Martin
The Bodhisattva
Fantasybookspot.com
Check out the first issue of Heliotrope - featuring articles by R. Scott Bakker, Jeff VanderMeer and more!
"I think it's undignified to read for the purposes of escape. After you grow up, you should start reading for other purposes" - M. John Harrison
The Bodhisattva
Fantasybookspot.com
Check out the first issue of Heliotrope - featuring articles by R. Scott Bakker, Jeff VanderMeer and more!
"I think it's undignified to read for the purposes of escape. After you grow up, you should start reading for other purposes" - M. John Harrison
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The Chairmaker . . . .Spiral Jackobs wrote:Iain M Banks is fantastic. I especially liked Use of Weapons - the big dramatic event right before the end is one of the few that ever left me literally breathless.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
I stumbled across Banks in an obscure little corner of a friend's library, picked up Consider Phlebas and was immediately hooked. I like the blend of hardcore science fiction and almost-fantasy that Banks manges to conjure up from whatever source his inspiration springs from.
I haven't read the Culture novels in order, and I think I've missed one, but Look to Windward and Consider Phlebas made a big impression on me, as I recall. I've just borrowed Feersum Endjin, and I'm looking forward to starting it today.
His imagination is quite unfettered; he seems able to roam the space of the possible without ever getting hobbled by the existing, and coupled with good, taut storytelling... well, I'm just surprised he's not better known, that's all.
I haven't read the Culture novels in order, and I think I've missed one, but Look to Windward and Consider Phlebas made a big impression on me, as I recall. I've just borrowed Feersum Endjin, and I'm looking forward to starting it today.
His imagination is quite unfettered; he seems able to roam the space of the possible without ever getting hobbled by the existing, and coupled with good, taut storytelling... well, I'm just surprised he's not better known, that's all.
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The Algebraist is great. Simply great. Bank's handling of an ancient alien race living in gas giants is wonderful. And he may have his funniest character ever: Y'sul.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
Y'Sul reminded me a lot of another character, Cullis, who featured briefly at the beginning of Use of Weapons. I think both characters are based on the kind of ex-Empire British officers and officials left dotted around various former colonies, and Banks writes them very well.
Cullis: "Medic! Zakalwe, I'm hit!"
Zakalwe: "That's wine you cretin."
Probably my favourite bit of the Algebraist is:
Cullis: "Medic! Zakalwe, I'm hit!"
Zakalwe: "That's wine you cretin."
Probably my favourite bit of the Algebraist is:
Spoiler
When Luseferous tries to force the Dwellers to cooperate by spacing one prisoner every minute until they comply, and the Dweller emissary just says "I hope you don't run out of people."
Q. Why do Communists drink herbal tea?
A. Because proper tea is theft.
A. Because proper tea is theft.
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He does have a sick mind though. Apart from the Chairmaker mentioned above, take for example the things the bad guy in The Algebraist does to his prisoners.
One of my favourite Banks scenes is from the end of Consider Phlebas:
One of my favourite Banks scenes is from the end of Consider Phlebas:
Spoiler
When that huge underground train is coming through the tunnel, pushing the air in front of it until it becomes a gale, and bursting into the cavern.
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- The Somberlain
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There's a pretty cool essay on the "history" of the Culture here: nuwen.net/culture.html
Which I was coincidentally reading last night.
And also one here homepages.compuserve.de/Mostral/artikel/marain.html on Marain, the fictional language they use. I just like it when authors put a real amount of thought into their story that barely appears in the books themselves. It does make it feel more realistic when you then read them.
He does have some pretty gruesome scenes, I'll agree. But... oh, he write them brilliantly
I also thought the Solipsist mercenaries in Against A Dark Background were a touch of genius. He's great at putting just enough humour into things to keep them from getting dragged down, while staying serious at the same time.
Which I was coincidentally reading last night.
And also one here homepages.compuserve.de/Mostral/artikel/marain.html on Marain, the fictional language they use. I just like it when authors put a real amount of thought into their story that barely appears in the books themselves. It does make it feel more realistic when you then read them.
He does have some pretty gruesome scenes, I'll agree. But... oh, he write them brilliantly
I also thought the Solipsist mercenaries in Against A Dark Background were a touch of genius. He's great at putting just enough humour into things to keep them from getting dragged down, while staying serious at the same time.
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My sentiments, exactly!The Somberlain wrote: I just like it when authors put a real amount of thought into their story that barely appears in the books themselves. It does make it feel more realistic when you then read them.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
That was pretty horrible, brought home just how tough Horza was though. Consider Phlebas really shook me as a reader, not because of the graphic sequencesLoremaster wrote:Phwi Song. The chapter about the Eaters, in Consider Phlebas was very uncomfortable to read.
Spoiler
but rather the way Banks massacres most of the cast in a shockingly short space of time. Even Yalson, of whom we've grown quite fond, is reduced to a smear on the tunnel floor within the space of a single, short paragraph. The lack of preamble or sentiment made the end of the book seem that much more brutal and real.
Q. Why do Communists drink herbal tea?
A. Because proper tea is theft.
A. Because proper tea is theft.
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Banks seems to understand this, with that interesting final section on the cost of the Idiran-Culture war. Would have been a nice link into Use of Weapons, given that book's theme.Nav wrote:That was pretty horrible, brought home just how tough Horza was though. Consider Phlebas really shook me as a reader, not because of the graphic sequencesSpoiler
but rather the way Banks massacres most of the cast in a
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!