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Jet Jaguar posted:Does anyone know why Inversions and Feersum Endjinn are not available on Kindle in the US? I suspect I have a copy of the former lying around in paperback somewhere but I have no idea where it walked off to. The Amazon/Hachette slapfight is my guess. Same likely reason several of the audiobooks aren't available here.
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Aug 22, 2016 04:08
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I bought a bunch of his books that aren't available in the US during my honeymoon in Scotland last year.
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Aug 22, 2016 04:10
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Yeah, The State Of The Art isn't available on kindle either, it's kind of a pain.
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Aug 22, 2016 06:37
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I'm on a read-through of the Culture novels now. I'm almost done, except for Hydrogen Sonata. I associate that one with Banks' death, so I'm having a little trouble making myself start it. I honestly don't remember if I liked it or not. I do remember thinking that the protagonists' quest to play the actual Hydrogen Sonata was kind of lame as a plot point. Does anyone else find themselves wishing Banks was still alive, just to feel selfish for thinking that? I miss seeing new Culture novels in the bookstore. 
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Sep 12, 2016 00:57
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alienhunter3 posted:Does anyone else find themselves wishing Banks was still alive, just to feel selfish for thinking that? I miss seeing new Culture novels in the bookstore. You are not alone.  
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Sep 12, 2016 01:01
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Sometimes I hope Banks woke up with the word "Simulation" floating at the bottom of his vision.
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Sep 12, 2016 01:07
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Every time I remember that Banks isn't around anymore I genuinely get that heart-sinking feeling.
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Sep 12, 2016 07:09
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Agreed, he was the author who pretty much nailed what I wanted out of sci fi, and it's just properly poo poo that he's not here any more. I've still yet to read Hydrogen Sonata because that's the last one I have left, and I don't want it to end. It sucks too because I remember reading somewhere that he said he had ideas for loads more Culture novels too.
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Sep 12, 2016 08:51
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I almost wish this thread didn't exist because it keeps reminding me.  On the third Ancillary book now, it's not Banks, it's not even closeto Banks, but she's a good way ahead of a lot of the competition, and at least Ann Leckie has an interesting setting. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the fact Leckie is nowhere near Banks whilst still being quite good shows what a stellar talent he was.
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Sep 12, 2016 10:09
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I definitely recommend the Revelation Space books by Alistair Reynolds. They've got that epic scope, post human thing that Banks had, just less playful.
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Sep 12, 2016 11:22
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:I definitely recommend the Revelation Space books by Alistair Reynolds. They've got that epic scope, post human thing that Banks had, just less playful. Seconded. I enjoyed the hell out of those books. I was always a sucker for those epic, slightly spooky kinds of scifi novels.
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Sep 12, 2016 12:11
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alienhunter3 posted:
Hydrogen Sonata. I mean, that's kinda the point, in the end. The novel, the Sonata, the march of the elements, the protagonists' mission, the whole religion, life, whatever- all one big, showy, impossible mess of a dream that, even played perfectly is still dissonant and weird and unsatisfying, ultimately one big cosmic joke that got taken too seriously, played for the sake of... playing? Played to an empty city... I mean, it's nihilistic as gently caress, but it's really loving good. Seriously, the chutzpah.
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Sep 13, 2016 09:38
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Much as I wish it hadn't been the end, it does make a fairly apt finish I think. That and The Quarry, which apparently he'd written practically the whole thing before he even found out he had cancer, pretty hosed.
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Sep 13, 2016 21:46
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Inspired very much by catching up with this thread I've recently been re-reading (and listening to) Banks, going through Raw Spirit, Matter, Hydrogen Sonata, Wasp Factory, Walking on Glass, Consider Phelbas, Excession and Inversions over the past month. And discovered much to my surprise that I hadn't actually read Inversions before. Was like a gift of water to a man dying of thirst in the desert, glorious, and with so many of the themes it deals with having been played with before and expanded in 'later' novels, it was a fantastic case study in the actions of Special Circumstances, even if these are never fully illuminated in the book. And I really enjoyed trying to piece the relationship between Vosill and DeWar based on the stories of the friends in Lavishia, and considering them alongside the much later discussions in the novel Matter where Hurliss discusses with Holse a tale relating to the Culture following and undoing the works of capable people who go rogue. Trying to see if anything Vosill did in some way directly or indirectly seemed to threaten or undo what DeWar had done, I couldn't conclude she had. It left feeling mellow and sad in equal measure. Right now, in its glorious afterglow, it has become one of my very favourite Culture novels and interestingly probably one of the few that cannot really stand alone due to most of the context to understand who and what Vossil and DeWar really are and why such an argument that would lead them on their separate paths might come about has to be your previous knowledge of the culture. And I'm going to say Peter Kenny, what a narrator. I'm now going to have a serious wee dram of Laphroig and toast to the Ghost of El Bonko Banks, before tomorrow starting The Bridge.
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Oct 27, 2016 21:46
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Agreed, Inversions is the second to last Culture novel I read and certainly one of my favorites. It was WAY better than I expected, but knowing Banks, I shouldn't have been surprised at all.
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Oct 27, 2016 22:02
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E: yeah wow, wrong thread.
a kitten fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Oct 29, 2016 |
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Oct 29, 2016 06:25
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I remember when I first read Inversions I super hated it, "gently caress this, this isn't scifi", then while reading my mood slowly changed as I learned more and more about DeWar & Vosill. It was so weird though
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Oct 29, 2016 14:42
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Anyone here tried reading Use of Weapons in chronological order (I-XIII, numbered chapters, prologue, epilogue)? Is it worth doing?
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Nov 28, 2016 18:15
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Strawman posted:Anyone here tried reading Use of Weapons in chronological order (I-XIII, numbered chapters, prologue, epilogue)? Is it worth doing? Honestly, it had never occurred to me. I think that would make the pacing kind of lopsided. It would also make the childhood flashbacks run backwards chronologically, which in their case doesn't seem like an improvement.
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Nov 29, 2016 14:37
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Toast Museum posted:Honestly, it had never occurred to me. I think that would make the pacing kind of lopsided. It would also make the childhood flashbacks run backwards chronologically, which in their case doesn't seem like an improvement. Yeah, I don't think it'll be a good reading experience. The one two punch of the last (in book order) 4 chapters only really works as written. You'd be reading the emotional climax of the story right from the beginning otherwise.
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Nov 29, 2016 19:39
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Strawman posted:Anyone here tried reading Use of Weapons in chronological order (I-XIII, numbered chapters, prologue, epilogue)? Is it worth doing? No. The written ordering is only confusing when you don't quite grok what's going on yet. Once you understand the structure (one story going forward, intercut with vignettes going backwards) it's pretty easy to follow.
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Nov 29, 2016 23:24
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It is definitely intentionally misleading, with the first few chapters happening on a beach / island that seem similar.
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Nov 29, 2016 23:37
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Arrival has what I believe to be a fairly subtle reference to Iain Banks in it. I thought that was nice.  It's also a really good movie.
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Dec 12, 2016 06:48
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Mordja posted:Arrival has what I believe to be a fairly subtle reference to Iain Banks in it. I thought that was nice. What was the reference? Good movie, in any case.
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Dec 12, 2016 08:41
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Toast Museum posted:What was the reference? Good movie, in any case. The two main characters' names are Iain Donnelly and Louise Banks and while it's possibly just a coincidence, I'm hoping it's not.
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Dec 12, 2016 15:16
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Maybe. It was Gary Donnelly and Louise Banks in the story.
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Dec 13, 2016 04:19
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No poo poo tears from me at that movie. Best thoughtful scifi flick in years.
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Dec 14, 2016 05:12
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I just finished my last Banks book (Hydrogen Sonata. I actually started with Algebraist and then read the Culture series in publication order). I am now starving for more good scifi. My favorite of the Culture books is Look to Windward by far (mostly because I didn't even realize what he was saying me until nearly the last page when I realized that oh, morally it is find and in fact perhaps sometimes for the best when an individual seeks to end their own life, and in fact those that force them to hold on past when they're ready to go may be doing them real harm. It was probably the only mature discussion of the right to end your own life that I'd ever read. I cried. My second most favorite is probably Excession just because I love reading the ships interacting. That aspect of Hydrogen Sonata really scratched that itch too. Looking around on google for recs mostly leads to sad puppy reading lists on reddit (gross), but I did see recs for Ursula K Le Guin and A Fire in the Deep. I ordered the latter and will be browsing my used book store for the former since everything on amazon was used anyway. What else should I put onto my reading list? I'd be especially interested in any woman or poc authors that might be out there, though obviously I'll read anything that isn't loaded up with weird fascist overtones.
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Dec 20, 2016 03:37
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The general scifi and fantasy thread would probably be a good place to ask, several posters there make a point of regularly pointing out good new work from PoC and women, and I've had a lot of good recommendations from it. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3554972
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Dec 20, 2016 03:41
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A Deepness in the Sky, Embassytown, The Dispossessed.
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Dec 20, 2016 03:44
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Yeah, A Fire in the Deep and A Deepness In The Sky by Vernor Vinge (mathematician who e: The computer singularity that is so central a point in all of Banks Culture novels. e2: Reading up a bit, Vinge didn't invent but rather elaborated on work by others including Von Neumann but he has been central to the discussion since almost the beginning. Murgos fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Dec 20, 2016 |
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Dec 20, 2016 19:43
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I like how the Culture has technically hit the singularity but decided that kicking around in modified but ultimately pretty inefficient humanoid bodies is Cool and Good. Right up until everyone decides that being a bush or whatever is fashionable as gently caress.
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Dec 20, 2016 21:48
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Gravitas Shortfall posted:I like how the Culture has technically hit the singularity but decided that kicking around in modified but ultimately pretty inefficient humanoid bodies is Cool and Good. It's a pretty neat question into the whole "human nature/meaning of life" thing. Like sure, Culture people could just consign themselves into an existence free of the limitations of flesh bodies via subliming, group minds, or any number of other things, but then again what's the point of that? Humans are motivated by doing what feels good, and Culture people, by and large, can do what feels good to them without having a negative impact on themselves, the people around them, or even the universe at large. If you can do whatever pops into your head (except harm another person) without any consequences at all, what would your motivation for seeking some higher form even be. You have no way to know that that higher form will actually be better and you know you're having a great time just how you are. Pretty much I think the premise of the Culture is, to some extent, a rejection of that sort of Star Trek-ian notion that life forms will inevitably evolve to some point where they become something else entirely unbounded by the limitations of human bodies (energy beings, godlike entities, etc). There's no motivation to do that, at least on a societal scale, if you have the resources and technology to do whatever you want and don't have any religious beliefs compelling you to do it (Hydrogen Sonata touches on this quite a bit).
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Dec 20, 2016 23:23
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I still think that, for all the civilisations that sneer at the Culture for staying human like a bunch of adolescents, the Excession proves there is far more in the universe to discover. The thing can swat GCUs like flies and move between universes. In a sense the sublimed and friends are giving up by retiring to higher dimensions and acting like there's nothing else to learn or do.
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Dec 21, 2016 13:42
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There's also the Shellworld builders and the Iln in Matter - and hell the whole thrust/theme of Matter.
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Dec 22, 2016 01:00
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as I understand it, only a fraction of the consciousnesses that comprise the culture are actually incarnate -- most are in substrate. I've never had a digital copy of a banks but I vaguely recall some reference to the number of human minds stored waiting for some condition to be satisfied being at least as great as those currently aliveRoboChrist 9000 posted:There's also the Shellworld builders and the Iln in Matter - and hell the whole thrust/theme of Matter. and banks likes to make it clear that culture and its myriad spinoffs are so dense and far-flung that one could go centuries in a drug-soaked party orbital without hearing of some epoch-defining technological advance or another. Special circumstances will let you know how to build a shellworld if they decide it is appropriate. The Iln are just... different, I thought -- on a par with the culture, but a hazardous unknown due to rarity. Yeah the end of matter almost flopped for me too on my second read through because I was a little slow to recall what the Iln were. My first run through the culture series was several years of ecstasy. If the culture series doesn't count as classic literature, it better be because there is some category even more snobbish for it. Has anyone brought up Elon Musk in a banks thread yet? He seems to be a fan who isn't much fussed about the whole human or socioeconomic side of the series.
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Dec 23, 2016 04:49
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The Iln weren't more advanced or powerful than the Culture, they just had a fully weaponised system in-place against a single partially demilitarised agent. Its biggest advantage was that it had managed to compromise the Morthanveld ship. He does also say that it's possible to be advanced in different ways and different styles, but the main thing was that the Iln destroyer was... well, there.
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Dec 23, 2016 05:26
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stephenfry posted:
I had the exact same problem. My problem with Matter was that by the time there was the big reveal of an Iln at the end, it had been so many hundreds of pages of meandering since the initial explanation that my reaction was "Wait, what's an Iln? is that bad?"
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Dec 23, 2016 06:26
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stephenfry posted:If the culture series doesn't count as classic literature, it better be because there is some category even more snobbish for it. I don't know about classic, but I'd say it's considered literature by those familiar with it. Keep in mind that the whole concept of 'literature' is nebulous as gently caress. Still, I'm doing my BA Thesis on Banks right now and there's a poo poo load of academic material on his writings. A lot of it is on his mainstream post-modern fiction, but there are also quite a few academic studies on his politics and the Culture universe, utopian fiction, his tendency to deconstruct everything he touches, from genre to questions of identity to his mode of writing to the very structure of stories themselves. My interest now is how playful he is. Sometimes obviously explicit, like in Player of Games, and sometimes more subtly, like in Use of Weapons. It's fun. 
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Dec 23, 2016 12:16
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Taeke posted:I don't know about classic, but I'd say it's considered literature by those familiar with it. Keep in mind that the whole concept of 'literature' is nebulous as gently caress. Still, I'm doing my BA Thesis on Banks right now and there's a poo poo load of academic material on his writings. A lot of it is on his mainstream post-modern fiction, but there are also quite a few academic studies on his politics and the Culture universe, utopian fiction, his tendency to deconstruct everything he touches, from genre to questions of identity to his mode of writing to the very structure of stories themselves. Analysing genre fiction and pop culture stuff is all the rage in academia these days and it doesn't really mean anything in terms of the value of the work being analysed
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Dec 23, 2016 13:57
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