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Anyone read the new Ian M Banks?

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  • 09-02-2008 9:51pm
    #1
    CiDeRmAn
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,590 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    Sound the bells!

    Iain M. Banks new opus "Matter" is out!

    It's in Borders for only €15, down from their marked price of €20 or so!

    I got mine today, just getting started, seems like a departure from Excessions and Look to Windward, perhaps a cross between the bleakness of Use of Weapons and the old world feel of Inversions.

    This is one I won't be putting down for a while, I give it a week 'til it's finished.


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    #2
    giftgrub
    Registered Users Posts: 1,309 ✭✭✭giftgrub


    Just saw it in the shops, didnt get a chance to even read the back of it?

    Anyone read it? is it a culture novel? i wasnt mad about The Algebraist


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    #3
    mcgovern
    Registered Users Posts: 4,267 ✭✭✭mcgovern


    The thread directly below this is about it :confused:


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    #4
    azezil
    Registered Users Posts: 11,397 ✭✭✭✭azezil


    **abracadabra**


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    #5
    CiDeRmAn
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,590 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    So far so good, shaping up to be a nice mix of intrigue at court, special circumstances and a hint of comedy, this is a fine book as yet.

    Also, on an even brighter note, LTW had all the hallmarks of being the final Culture novel, given it being so closely related to the original CP, yet here we are with a new Culture novel, could this point to more wonderful stories set in the Culture universe? I hope so.

    And Mc Govern, what exactly did that link have to do with the topic in hand? So you are a Halo 3 freak, so what? If there is some reference to Iain M Banks latest opus great but otherwise please feck off.

    I think the mods should say something about this plank


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    #6
    mcgovern
    Registered Users Posts: 4,267 ✭✭✭mcgovern


    CiDeRmAn wrote: »
    And Mc Govern, what exactly did that link have to do with the topic in hand? So you are a Halo 3 freak, so what? If there is some reference to Iain M Banks latest opus great but otherwise please feck off.

    I think the mods should say something about this plank

    Before you start spouting off and calling people planks, you should perhaps have a clue about what you are talking about.
    The post in this thread before mine, was from a seperate, new thread in this forum which was later merged in by azezil, hence his post.
    I merely stated that the thread directly below it i.e. this one, was about the same thing, implying he should post in it instead of creating another thread on a topic with zero replies.
    I also didn't post any links, so please put your head back where ever you temporarily removed it from.


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    #7
    azezil
    Registered Users Posts: 11,397 ✭✭✭✭azezil


    Now ladies, play nice ;)


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    #8
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,991 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    CiDeRmAn wrote: »
    And Mc Govern, what exactly did that link have to do with the topic in hand? So you are a Halo 3 freak, so what? If there is some reference to Iain M Banks latest opus great but otherwise please feck off.
    Umm the link is the one that's part of his sig. Attack the post, not his sig :) *serves you humble pie*


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    #9
    CiDeRmAn
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,590 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Okey Dokey, I think, mmmm.... humble pie, I could live on this stuff...


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    #10
    ixoy
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 17,991 Mod ✭✭✭✭ixoy


    CiDeRmAn wrote: »
    Okey Dokey, I think, mmmm.... humble pie, I could live on this stuff...
    I was trying to somehow tie the metaphor in with a great big Culture ship name - something like Big Ass Pie Eater Orbital - but I'm not quite as witty as Mr. Banks.


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    #11
    CiDeRmAn
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,590 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Best ship name so far...

    Death and Gravity,

    As in "you can only be certain about 2 things, death and taxes", except the Culture doesn't have any taxation and gravity is a little something that matters a bit more to a ship with an Ultradrive, of course given the ubiquitous nature of the AG devices available to the Culture it would seem "Gravity" isn't so certain either, and given they can also have you "backed up", death isn't what it used to be!

    Where does that leave us?

    Where on earth was I going with this?

    not sure....




    Regardless, one of the major characters in Matter has a few things to say about ship names, well worth reading and her views are certainly paralleled by many readers out there, just not by me!




    And McGovern, please consider my head removed from where it had been, it's a long week and I was bored, forgiveness from you I beg, and typing like yoda I perhaps will stop...


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    #12
    CiDeRmAn
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,590 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Just finished Matter last night.

    WOW!

    GREAT!

    As you can guess this one is superb,
    An interesting trawl through the Culture universe, even though the bulk of the book isn't even set within the Cuture proper, giving an insight into the many varied and sometimes contrary High Involved civilisations operating in our galaxy, and the politics therein.

    Goes to prove really that Mr. Banks has plenty of life left in the Culture universe, now all we have to do is weather the next 6 odd years 'til it gets written!

    Typically we'll get an Iain Banks novel next, followed by a non-Culture Sci Fi novel from Iain M Banks, another Iain Banks book, perhaps about more scotch, then maybe, just maybe a Culture book again.

    Well, he keeps us hanging on, that's for sure!


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    #13
    Mantel
    Registered Users Posts: 1,342 ✭✭✭Mantel


    I'm slowly getting through this one. I can't say I like it as much as the other culture novels, it feels more like a Robin Hobb or George R. R. Martin with the medievil style relationships/plots/other stuff. Even the parts with Djan experiance of the culture in the first half of the book seemed a bit hollow compaired to some of the other main story characters Mr. Banks has produced. I'm just about half way through and I'll keep going to the end, hopefully I start to enjoy it a bit more :)


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