Iain M Banks

Trojan

I've never been able to read Feersum Endjinn

ixoy

Trojan wrote: »

I've never been able to read Feersum Endjinn

Give it another try - I found it very interesting when I read it. The dyslexic portions are certainly unusual...

Shiminay

I've had real difficulty getting through Feersum Endjinn possibly because I have slight dyslexia myself

I just started re-reading Consider Phlebas. Use of Weapons and Player of Games are outstanding books, Look To Windward also excellent and Against a Dark Background is quite dark and the ending left me knocked sideways. It just felt abrupt or something.

I have more of his stuff on my bookshelf that I haven't tackled yet, I just fancied getting back into it with something familiar so went with Phlebas and will move onto whatever I haven't read after.

the_monkey

In the middle of Consider Phlebas, enjoying it, also a few weeks ago I read TRANSITION, (as Iain Banks) - wasn't that impressed at all.

muppeteer

Well I've read all of the Culture books and now I have readers remorse as there are no more to read until October:) I feel like I've been spoiled by being immersed in an ethically aware utopia. A familiar and deep universe where most of my sci fi pet peeves were absent, mostly things like telepathy, the paranormal and unrealistic or at least unexplained or illogical technology.

So what do I do next? I've seen a couple of suggestions on the thread for The Night's Dawn Trilogy and maybe the Foundation series. They look like they might be worth a try but does anybody else have any suggestions for something to follow on from the Culture Universe?

I suppose my favourites would be Use of Weapons and Player of Games for both the action and grappling with the ethical issues of messing about with your civilizational lessers for their own good:).

ixoy

muppeteer wrote: »

So what do I do next? I've seen a couple of suggestions on the thread for The Night's Dawn Trilogy and maybe the Foundation series. They look like they might be worth a try but does anybody else have any suggestions for something to follow on from the Culture Universe?

Neal Asher's Polity universe is a bit like the Culture but with a much more warlike bent and some great action scenes.

mcgovern

ixoy wrote: »

Neal Asher's Polity universe is a bit like the Culture but with a much more warlike bent and some great action scenes.

Can't go wrong with them
The universe of Night's Dawn is close match in some ways (some sentient ships, more stable technological progression, giant habitats), but the story is very different than anything of Banks I've read, and it could be argued that a significant amount of it is supernatural, and doesn't really get properly explained.
It sounds like you like harder sci-fi, so you might like Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space series. Be warned though, it is much, much darker than Banks.
Greg Bear and Greg Egan would have some hard sci-f space opera too. Could add Vernor Vinge too.

muppeteer

Thanks guys. Those suggestions look interesting and different to the other books recommended for Culture fans that I've seen.

I do like the hard stuff all right but I also don't mind a black box marked "FTL engine with technical sounding name":)

GCU Flexible Demeanour

Just on Iain Banks, I found "The Wasp Factory" - which isn't science fiction - a very good novel. It mixes a bizarre story with an ordinary setting, and the style is recogniseably him. I'd just mention it as something that people who liked his Culture books might enjoy.

Shryke

GCU Flexible Demeanour wrote: »

Just on Iain Banks, I found "The Wasp Factory" - which isn't science fiction - a very good novel. It mixes a bizarre story with an ordinary setting, and the style is recogniseably him. I'd just mention it as something that people who liked his Culture books might enjoy.

That was him at his earliest. He has much better like The Crow Road, which to my shame I only read recently.

InvisibleBadger

His non-sci-fi The Business has a similar feel to The Culture series with a strong female lead, intrigue, nefarious organisations and conspiracies.
Delighted to hear that there is a new Culture novel arriving soon:)

fly_agaric

Funglegunk wrote: »

Just finished Surface Tension (edit: Detail), absolutely crackin' read. Some of my favourite bits:

Pavulean Hell

He has a real knack for imagining the grotesque and disturbing and conveying it to the reader (someone else posted about the over-the-top cannabilism descriptions in "Consider Phlebas" making them feel ill).

I'd love to see him write a stright-up horror novel some day (don't think he has?).

Funglegunk

There is a new Culture novel coming out next week (4th October). The Hydrogen Sonata.

Here is the synopsis:

The Scavenger species are circling. It is, truly, the End Days for the Gzilt civilization.

An ancient people, organized on military principles and yet almost perversely peaceful, the Gzilt helped set up the Culture ten thousand years earlier and were very nearly one of its founding societies, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Now they've made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions of other civilizations; they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence.

Amid preparations though, the Regimental High Command is destroyed. Lieutenant Commander (reserve) Vyr Cossont appears to have been involved, and she is now wanted - dead, not alive. Aided only by an ancient, reconditioned android and a suspicious Culture avatar, Cossont must complete her last mission given to her by the High Command. She must find the oldest person in the Culture, a man over nine thousand years old, who might have some idea what really happened all that time ago. It seems that the final days of the Gzilt civilization are likely to prove its most perilous.

If it's as good as Surface Detail then we're in for a treat.

Gurgle

Funglegunk wrote: »

There is a new Culture novel coming out

Those words are all too rare.

ixoy

Yeah, "Hydrogen Sonata" is on a wish list. The Kindle price though is too high ($17.40) so I'm going to wait for it to drop.

Dades

Good stuff. Should finally be finished Leviathan Wakes in time.

ixoy wrote: »

The Kindle price though is too high ($17.40) so I'm going to wait for it to drop.

$17.30? Boo! :mad:

stevenmu

Hydrogen Sonata is out now. I picked it up in Hodges and Figgs on Dawson street (I'm really impressed with their sci-fi/fantasy collection btw). Large format paperback was €16.99 which isn't too bad.

Shryke

Starting chapter 2.

InvisibleBadger

Just finished Hydrogen Sonata. Really liked it although there wasn't anything particularly new introduced into the universe. It reminded me of Excession as it is quite Mind heavy. Also Banks seems to have quite a thing for

strong females coupled with devastating state of the art warships

Raging_Ninja

I've been reading through the Culture novels, started with Consider Phlebas (good), then Player of Games (brilliant - reminded me how much I missed chess and so got an epic board for myself), The Use of Weapons (really good), The State of the Art (good), Excession (I really enjoyed it - seeing things from the ships'/drones' points of view was interesting).

Since herself got me book vouchers for the anniversary will be Inversions and Look to Windward ordered soon.

Funglegunk

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

I've been reading through the Culture novels, started with Consider Phlebas (good), then Player of Games (brilliant - reminded me how much I missed chess and so got an epic board for myself), The Use of Weapons (really good), The State of the Art (good), Excession (I really enjoyed it - seeing things from the ships'/drones' points of view was interesting).

Since herself got me book vouchers for the anniversary will be Inversions and Look to Windward ordered soon.

Edit: Deleted what, upon reflection, could be considered a spoiler for Inversions.

Bits_n_Bobs

Grabbed the new one yesterday and munched my way through 20% of it - sci-fi goodness with lots of snarky minds and the story developing nicely. Been wayyy too long since a decent culture book

Pawwed Rig

mcgovern wrote: »

It sounds like you like harder sci-fi, so you might like Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space series. Be warned though, it is much, much darker than Banks.

I got 2 of this series today in a charity shop (50c each they must be worth a read at that price). I was wondering though I got Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap which I believe are part 2 & 3 of a trilogy. Can they be read as stand alone books or should I get my hands on the first book (and short stories)?

Thoughts anyone?

mcgovern

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I got 2 of this series today in a charity shop (50c each they must be worth a read at that price). I was wondering though I got Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap which I believe are part 2 & 3 of a trilogy. Can they be read as stand alone books or should I get my hands on the first book (and short stories)?

Thoughts anyone?

You could read them, they aren't a trilogy as such but I'd recommend starting with Revelation Space. There are characters from the first that appear in the 2nd and 3rd.

Pawwed Rig

mcgovern wrote: »

You could read them, they aren't a trilogy as such but I'd recommend starting with Revelation Space. There are characters from the first that appear in the 2nd and 3rd.

Ok thanks for the advice. Will hunt arount for that today then:)