Iain M Banks
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- detritus
att: Kelpie!
I was just scratching around for a term from Bank's sci-fi universe, to pointlessly add in that logo crit thread (three layers of distraction away from relevancy, see?) when I found out that Banks has got a new Culture book out!
Have you read it? It's about the Idiran war, apparently - I'ma gonna go get today.
WOOOOOO!
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviā¦(normal service resumes)
- detritus0
YES! THIS NEEDED ITS OWN THREAD
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !
- kelpie0
not read it yet - my brother has and says its decent though.
going to either steal it from him or wait till the paperback.
Also, I am reading Slaughterhouse 5 with Cryponomicon, Gravity's Rainbow, The Secret Agent, Blood Meridian and Ringolevio lined up next. Busy little eyes, fried little brain.
- i wouldn't bother with gravity's rainbow if i were you. crying of lot 49 is crazy superior.paraselene
- noted, cheerskelpie
- i know you will anyway. i did.paraselene
- haha, yeah I already bought it - literary masochism I reckonkelpie
- straightening by fire!paraselene
- Raniator0
wft is a 'book'?
- Spookytim0
Discuss.
- Rodimus790
I was just thinking of getting into the Culture novels. I finished up all of Asimov's Foundation stories and have been looking for a decent sci-fi series to move on to. I heard there isn't really any important relation between any of the separate Culture stories. Could someone suggest a good one to start with?
- use of weaponskelpie
- thanks!Rodimus79
- Yeah, I agree with Kelpie - though I'd consider trying 'The State of the Art' first, as it's a series of short stories...detritus
- my vote would be 'player of games'...a lot of fun, exciting and a great 'starter' book to the seriesexador1
- schismatrix plus?paraselene
- creative-0
I'll just stick to Spot the Dog thanks
- kelpie0
the culture is an analog for western civilisation, intervention by proxy and what have you, benign meddling gone wrong. Its very interesting and relevant to today.
and its utterly bonkers and quite funny on how 'humans' would turn out in a post human universe organised and basically controlled by far more intelligent machines.
- Spookytim0
Creative, have you ever checked out the Oliver Owl series? Pretty cool, especially "Oliver Owl on the farm" and "Oliver Owl counts chickens".
- detritus0
Christ, I've not heard of any of those, bar Slaughterhouse 5 - you trump my geek many times over, old boy!
After living in the area for 5 years, I finally ventured in to a drab little sci-fi and fantasy second hand bookshop on Holloway Road (originally to buy an old Harry Potter to gut and turn into a secret compartment book for my wee cousin..) and I'm an instant convert - the shopkeep's a doddering old geezer who clearly has an utter disdain for all the trappings and pretensions of modern life - I get the impression he's had his head buried in tales of the fantastic for at least 40 years. He seems to know EVERYTHING about sci-fi - and you can tell what he thinks about all the authors by the way his face wrinkles and scrunches when you ask him about stuff - the stuff he;s supposed to be trying to sell to you.
I must admit, I'm tempted to follow in his lead - I've had my fun, seen and done a lot - maybe I should spend the rest of my life living in someone else's future? Sometimes, that doesn't seem like such a bad thing.
- TheBlueOne0
You know, in the last six months I have rediscovered my Sci-fi jones. Kinda got tired of the genre after high school, but just finished up Halting State from Charles Stross and was blown away. I did read Banks' Excession a while back and found it excellent...
- kelpie0
Neal Stephenson is an absolute must for you Nairn, if you haven't already. Try out The Diamond Age then get stuck into the Baroque Cycle if you like it. Please, I have yet to meet anyone else who has gotten the whole way through 3000pgs of teh Baroque Cycle and I need another geek to bounce off.
- Stephenson is awesome, although he tends to lose the narrative sometimes..TheBlueOne
- yeah, some of the Baroque is a bit aimless. brilliant thoughkelpie
- detritus0
I read Snow Crash years ago and thought it excellent. Actually, whilst reading it I wasn't magnificently impressed - but then it took on another form in my head and has stayed with me ever since. I'm increasingly tempted to reference it with the emergence of nChan and LOLcatism - maybe we haven't got viruses that can kill just yet, but I'm sure some of these memes can lobotomise.
I'ma gonna check out your recommendations, see if they've got them down at my new hangout.
Incidentally, have you read the Hyperion Omnibus by Dan Simmons? Pretty good read (though, a slightly flat pay off) - but I found it remarkable how in tune it is with Banks' work - and I think Simmons' work foreruns (can I use that word like that?) Banks by a couple of years. It's the whole space opera schtick - gotta love a deeply-thought out universe.
- I've heard of him I think but not read any. I'll check him out, takelpie
- kelpie0
The Diamond Age is much better than Snow Crash, imo, and the later ones even better still, though less hard SF/cyberpunk; they're set in the enlightenment/restoration/hanove... succession, so kind of pre-SF
- detritus0
Seeing as we're outing recommendations.. I think I mentioned it here briefly a coupla weeks back, but I recommend 'The Killing Star' to any Sci-Fi or just Science Geeks. It's a bit dry, but is a scientifically reasoned account of First Contact - a horrifically logical one, at that.
It's by Charles R Pellegrino and George Zebrowski and likely available for 50p at the bottom of your nearest charity book bucket.
- exador10
just finished 'the diamond age' for the fifth time a few days ago (i tend to re-read books a fair bit) still an awesome story...
have just started reading 'ringworld' by Niven for the first time...so far so good...not too shabby....was a massive fan of 'the mote in gods eye' and 'the gripping hand' by niven and pournelle....so thought i'd give this a shot....
if anyone's interested, I'd highly recommend the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons...incredible story....
- detritus0
Brilliant, i think we should repeat this thread every quarter.
Thanks for the recommendations, tBO & Kelpie!