[williamjm]

Morgoth;124799 said:

I believe the culture woman who's in Use of Weapons reapear somwhere, or at least a person with that name.. Canna remember whether it was the culture short story in the short story collection or in inversions

Diziet Sma is in both Use Of Weapons and the State of the Art novella. I think she is the only character in multiple stories, although I've wondered if the Culture ambassador/Special Circumstances Agent in "The Player of Games" might be Zakalwe under an assumed name, it does match the character description fairly well from what I remember.

[Dolorous Menhir]

williamjm;124904 said:

although I've wondered if the Culture ambassador/Special Circumstances Agent in "The Player of Games" might be Zakalwe under an assumed name, it does match the character description fairly well from what I remember.

Shohobohaum Za?

[williamjm]

Dolorous Menhir;124968 said:

Shohobohaum Za?

I forget his name, although I seem to remember it did start with a Z (like Zakalwe) so that's probably it. Maybe closer inspection of the book would contradict the theory that he could be Zakalwe but I quite liked the idea.

[Abyss]

Reading The Algebraist now. Very enjoying.
Plus, self-contained, so Yay!

- Abyss, thinks 'prepping' may be one of the coolest, most evil, sf ideas ever.

[Binder of Demons]

The Algebraist has one particular scene which was very typically BANKS (A certain hostage scene), and I thought very funny.

It is an enjoyable book, though I wouldn't put it near the likes of Player of Games or Consider Phlebas.

On a slightly different tack, there was a BBC mini-series done of one of his straight fiction novels "The Crow Road" which was really enjoyable. A good thoughtful piece, with quite a black sense of humour (and well acted I thought).
"Annoyingly better than the novel in so many ways" - Iain Banks
Can't really say whether thats true or not as I haven't read the novel of it.

[drinksinbars]

i am reading crow road at the moment, really enjoyable book, excellent writing as always and very involving.

[polishgenius]

I want to read the Crow Road just for that first line... Hehe.

[Werthead]

The head of Orbit Books confirmed on the SFX Forum that a new Culture novel will be published in the spring of 2008.

[Morgoth]

just have to point out that Banks, especially without the M, is one of my top five favourite authors..

The Crow Road is excellent, though I liked the Wasp Factory and Espedaire Street even more..

...and walking on glass, though I need someone to discuss it with first.. There's so many things that halfway confuses me in that book

[Dolorous Menhir]

Werthead;172245 said:

The head of Orbit Books confirmed on the SFX Forum that a new Culture novel will be published in the spring of 2008.

Yay.

[Kurt Montandon]

williamjm;124904 said:

Diziet Sma is in both Use Of Weapons and the State of the Art novella. I think she is the only character in multiple stories, although I've wondered if the Culture ambassador/Special Circumstances Agent in "The Player of Games" might be Zakalwe under an assumed name, it does match the character description fairly well from what I remember.

It's been speculated, as well, that the female Culture agent in "Inversions" is Sma, though there's no real way of ever knowing.

The male freelancer (don't recall if he's Culture) royal bodyguard guy may be Zakalwe. I only read the book in the store, so I don't really remember the details ...

[Dolorous Menhir]

I don't think so - the characters of the Doctor & DeWar in Inversions are not at all similar to Sma & Zakalwe in Use of Weapons, and there's no reason to think they are the same people.

[williamjm]

Dolorous Menhir;172498 said:

I don't think so - the characters of the Doctor & DeWar in Inversions are not at all similar to Sma & Zakalwe in Use of Weapons, and there's no reason to think they are the same people.

Yes, I don't see any resemblance between Zakalwe and DeWar in terms of character, it is also implied that DeWar is from the Culture itself, whereas Zakalwe isn't. Sma and the Doctor are slightly more plausible, but I don't see any reason to think they are the same person.

[Abyss]

So i finished THE ALGEBRAIST. Great setting. Clever book. His universe was an interesting place and the Dwellers were a totally enjoyable element to read about.

On the negative side, weak ending. So many plot threads (the invasion went nowhere in particular, status quo in universe didn't change) and character arcs (Sal, Thrain, the Big Bad religious guy with the cybernetic penis) that went nowhere or at least nowhere impressive.

A good enuf intro to Banks, i suppose. Would try others of his books based on what was good in this one and other recommendations.

- Abyss, yes, cybernetic penis.

[Dolorous Menhir]

The Algebraist is technically good, but the story leaves you cold at the end. I would suggest going to his Culture novels: the best introduction is "Consider Phlebas," and the outright best is "Use of Weapons."

Seriously, Use of Weapons is amazing. Banks is so playful with words, and he deceives and entertains at every turn. I think the single best things about his books, and not just his sci-fi ones, is the naked intelligence on display. It's very exhilarating.

[Binder of Demons]

As I said above, The Algebraist is nowhere near as good as several of his Culture novels.

I personally found the Player of Games to be the easiest introduction to his style of writing, and I would consider it one of my favourite books. One of the few Sci-Fi books I actually recommend to non sci-fi fans.
It is a long long time since I've read Consider Phlebas though.


On a slightly different note, and it's ages since I read it, but I remember being very impressed by the writing style that Banks used in FEERSUM ENDJINN (Not a CULTURE novel, to my knowledge). This was actually the first Banks book that I bought, and much of that choice came from the Cool Cover, the Cool title, and that fact that I had enjoyed the Crow Road mini-series on TV.

I liked that way he had multiple storylines interwoven, with each one written in a very different style. What really stood out for me though, was that one characters storyline was written in what we would now call "Text-Speak", using a jumble of letters, numbers symbols etc. I remember finding this disconcerting at first, but quickly it became really easy to read. And this was long before mobile phones and particularly texting were commonplace.

The story itself, I can't really remember the specifics now or even how good the book really was. I suppose I should try and read it again, if my local library has it.

Anyone else offer up an opinion on FEERSUM ENDJINN.

[Morgoth]

I didn't like it much at all, and found the text speak especially tedious. Easily Banks' weakest book in my opinion. So obviously, taste varies

I also didn't find the rest of the story particularly compelling to be honest.

[Binder of Demons]

Interesting. I almost have to go back and read it now. Just to see what made me go from reading that, to wanting to read more of his books?

I did read it over 12 years ago (yikes!!!), so my memory of it's specifics ain't that clear. But i do remember that while I enjoyed the phonetic script, it did annoy lots of people at the time. I was curious as to whether the familiarity with text-speak nowadays would have made the book easier to read for newer readers?

As for it being the weakest of his novels, not sure about that, but like you said MORGOTH, taste varies.
I remember not liking Against a Dark Background much, but I really have no recollection of what it was about anymore?. I'll have to do a re-read of his novels, and then re-visit my opinions. Will give me something to do while waiting for new SE and ICE novels.

[Illuyankas]

Wow, had to go back a bit to find this thread. So, was anyone else as disappointed with Matter as I was?

[Morgoth]

yes and no.. massive build up to a weak finish.. But not awfull. Still one of the better sci fi people out there :/ ..

well.. yes, I was