[polishgenius]

I'm getting into Banks now, it took me a while to adjust to his style (of his sci-fi at least) but I'm devouring now. Read Consider Phlebas a while back, just finished Excession (I clicked about halfway through) and am now devouring Look to Windward.

From what I've read, he's astonishingly yet very subtly verstitile - while I read CP first, it doesn't seem to matter too much which book you read first for enjoyment, but which order you read them in has an impact on the way you percieve the culture because of the perspective it's presented from: CP from the view of an outsider at war with the culture, Excession focusing on the Minds, and Windward partly from the view of an outsider who's been there a while and is sympathetic to them.

[ObsoleteResolve]

Is The Algebraist one of his good novels?

I just bought in.

In TPB. I've been hearing about him on several of the forums I frequent...

[The .303 bookworm]

I've read all of the Culture books (Including Inversions), and I currently have "Feersum indjin" and "Against a dark background" ready in my next amaznon uk order.

I Love him, he's probably one of my top 8 Sci-Fi writers (Blame it on my foible for A.I's or computers/robots;) )

[Tom]

Banks is awesome. There are throwaway mentions in his writing that you could write whole books about - so many concepts and ideas.

Chronologically, the only books we're sure of run in this order.
Consider Phlebas
Excession
Look to Windward

By the way, whatever anyone may say to you, Inversions is not a Culture novel. There's *one* allusion to a 'magical faraway land' and the possibility that the good doctor is protected by a modified knife missile of some kind, but Banks himself has vehemently denied the fact.

Edit: The Algebraist is very different to any of his other novels. I found it a bit... not sure. Mayhap the somewhat bolshy nature of his writing, I dunno. It's still very good. But Look to Windward ftw.

[polishgenius]

I'm reading the Algebraist at the moment. It's different to his culture novels, with a more traditional type of surroundings than those, but so far it's still rather awesome.
There appears to be an argument for this being a culture novel in the far future of it too, but it's patently not. The first thing being that they can't do ftl travel, they have to use wormholes. I don't know what need there is to tie everything he does to the Culture anyway, that just limits him.

[Tom]

It's also been postulated that The Algebraist is set in the distant past, before the Culture came into being. Someone thought races dissappearing was a reference to them 'Subliming'. But it is annoying when people take every book and make it a Culture novel - ZOMFG!!!1111 its a cultrue novl!!!!111 Cultre r the pwnzorss!!!111 Heck, even 'Walking on Glass' has links to the Culture if you read enough into it. I mean, those two people stuck in the castle are *clearly* disgraced agents of Special Circumstances, aren't they? /sarcasm.

[Morgoth]

@Tom - do you have any sources to back up your statement that Banks denies Inversions being a culture novel? From other interviews and his wiki article, the impression I get is quite the opposite. There is at least no clear denial as far as I have found.

[Tom]

I'll research it. But I'm pretty sure he's said it's not.

[stone monkey]

@ Tom: We can be sure that The Player of Games takes place after Consider Phlebas because of the Limiting Factor having been in mothballs for approx 500 years (the Culture/Idiran War having taken place approx 1100-1300AD). This puts it before Use of Weapons which takes place sometime after Diziet Sma was on Earth (during the 1970s viz. The State of the Art). The problem this leaves with chronology, to my mind, is placing Excession & Look To Windward wrt Use of Weapons.
I've always been tempted to place them afterwards because of the technology advances.

[Dolorous Menhir]

Inversions is definitely a Culture novel. The faraway land the bodyguard talks about is the Culture, and the philosophical disagreement he had with his friend (the Doctor) is the old Culture dilemma about active and passive interference. Character names are escaping me at the moment.

The ironic thing is that the roles are reversed from expected. The Doctor - the healer, the helper, the female - is the active one, murdering lots of people to influence things, and the Bodyguard - the fighter, military man, the male - is the passive one, trying to subtly change things from behind the scenes. This is one of the "Inversions" of the title.

And I'm fairly sure Banks has acknowledged that Inversions is a Culture novel, though not in an important way. The Doctor actually makes a reference at one point to being influenced by "special circumstances".

The wikipedia article has a long list: http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Inversions

[Dolorous Menhir]

The Algebraist is one of his weaker books. Consider Phlebas, his first sci-fi novel, is considered the best introduction to his work. The Player of Games is also a good point to begin at.

All the books stand alone though, you can read any of them first.

[drinksinbars]

player of games is an amazing novel. i honestly think it is his best with use of weapons a close second:)

[polishgenius]

The Algebraist is decent enough (so far) but as an introduction to his work I'd go with earlier stuff.

Oh, it definitely isn't pre-Culture, because iirc his first Culture story was a short about them visiting Earth in the seventies (though I haven't read it). Plus, it's just too different a galaxy.

[Tom]

Concerning the Inversions wiki - Yeah, I read it. Guess I was wrong after all - I honestly can't remember if someone told me Banks had said it or if I read it somewhere, so from the wiki page - which quotes Banks - I can accept that it is one. /humility.

[councilor]

can you guys recommend anything for me to start on? i've been staring at his book in the local book shop for a few days now, but am really not sure where to begin.

[Illuyankas]

For his sci-fi books, Consider Phlebas is the typical start point, then pretty much any of the others, though they work well in order. I can't say about the others though.

[drinksinbars]

consider phlebas, then player of games, then use of weapons, thne any of the others:)

[Dagger]

Excession is a must read. Gives a better look into the sarcastic, cynical and slightly insane Ship Minds. The scene where GSV Sleeper Service makes its "exit" from a space station and GSV Yawning Angel realizes going on is one of the most memorable scenes in any space opera I have read.

[williamjm]

"Excession" is a unique book, there are some great scenes in it and there are some great conversations between the ships. Unfortunately, the 'human' characters can be a bit irritating, which does seem to be a common them in the culture books, mostly of the Culture humans are not particularly likeable and the best (biological) characters tend to be the non-Culture people like Zakalwe.