Iain M Banks

[Genus]

I just finished reading "Excession" and I must admit it's one of his better ones. Don't think it's as good as "The Player of Games" or "Inversions", but he does tell a story well.

A good read for anyone who wishes to obtain insight into the human condition.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I've never actually read his sf novels, though I have read a couple of his general fiction works: Wasp Factory and Espedair Street. Good character building.

Oh - btw - welcome to the chronicles-network.

 

[Genus]

Thanks buddy, glad to be here.


I'm the other way around. I haven't read any of his fiction catalogue but have always had them recommended, especially Complicity for some reason.

If you haven't read of the sci-fi stuff, pick up Player of Games, one of my favourite books...the Culture universe is one of the best fictional environments about.

 

[fish]

Definitely a genius...



Read only two of his novels though,

Look to windward and Player of games.



The universe Banks created is just amazing!

 

[dwndrgn]

I've picked up his books a couple of times to read but never got started. Maybe I should just give one a try

 

[Brian G Turner]

Hi fish, and welcome to the chronicles-network.

 

[Foxbat]

I don't know what it is about this guy. I love his mainstream stuff (particularly Espedair Street). But for some reason, his SciFi just doesn't do it for me.

Damn-it-all! He's a fellow Scot. I must give him another try

 

[Rane Longfox]

I love Banks' Culture books, all escept Inversions, which I couldn't get into... I haven't read any of his mainstream stuff. Escession has to be one of the best books i've read, along with Player of Games

 

[blue_cephalopod]

I've read and enjoyed all of his sf novels. Use of Weapons and Consider Phlebas are worth mentioning i wasn't too keen on inversions either.

I've also read The Wasp Factory and Dead Air

 

[ommigosh]

I love all of his books (SF and non SF). The Bridge was the my first Banks book and I have devoured everything else since.
Although lots of fans don't seem to rate Inversions very highly, I absolutely loved it. It was really interesting to see individuals from the Culture as viewed from the perspective of non-Culture people who had no idea who they were dealing with.
The sardonic humour in his SF books is very refreshing and really adds to the interest. I also like the way he often seems to throw in lots of imaginative substories which could in themselves probably be expanded into decent novels.

 

[Space Monkey]

Those two are the only ones I've read too Brian - Wasp Factory and Espedair street. I started the Crow Road and got a way into it, but TBH it was dull. I loved Wasp Factory though; that book was amazing. Loved Espedair too, but it was a little bit more chilled and less disturbing.
We have Inversions here so I'm going to give that a try soon too.

My only crit of Banks is that he tends to start books with reflections and thoughts, but you can't relate to them until you know the character, and this almost turned me off Espedair Street, which would have been a mistake. I glanced at Inversions and he was doing the same there too, but I guess if you plough through it then he'll get to the characters and action and point eventually.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Just bought "Inversions". Will read it after my Bill Hicks collection, and maybe post a review. You never know

 

[Circus Cranium]

I recently bought Inversions too; haven't read it yet. I absolutely loved The Wasp Factory.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Rather embarassingly, forgot that I've also just bought The Algebraist. This is higher on my to-read pile. Waaaaaaaaaay before Inversions

 

[blue_cephalopod]

Ive read a bit of the algebraist right now its good so far, i dont think its a culture novel though

 

[Circus Cranium]

I've been struggling to read Inversions. I loved his non-scifi work so much, i thought I'd be able to devour anything he wrote. I'm about a quarter way through. Can anyone tell me if it gets any better??

 

[Brys]

A question on the culture novels - do they have to be read in published order? I've seen a lot of recommendations for culture novels, such as Use of Weapons and Excession, but do you need to have read the earlier novels?

I've also read the Wasp Factory - an excellent novel that convinced me I need to read more Banks.

 

[iansales]

No, you don't need to read them in order. Each one stands alone.

Having said that Consider Phlebas *is* a good introduction to Banks' SF. My favourite, however, is Against A Dark Background. It's not set in the Culture, but it's his most fun SF novel.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Basically, with the Culture novels, the earlier books are from earlier ages of the Culture, with less advanced technology etc. And its possible to miss a couple of references if you don't read them in order.

But apart from the ones with Diziet Sma in them (don't ask me which ones, I can't remember) the order they are read in is generally unimportant. Then again, they are all damn good. The ones that can be read best independantly are probably Player of Games and Use of Weapons, which also happen to be two of the best. It would be better to read the ealier ones before you tried Excession though...

 

[Alan]

He's a genius - I love his stuff. I'm halfway through the Algebraist (how the hell do you spell that anyway?) but I've put it down to read American Gods. I'll be back to it any time now though.