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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > No Gravitas Allowed -- The Iain [M.] Banks thread
 
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flamingmuse
Aug 31, 2001

Woof!
 I found a pile of these on eBay, so I bought almost all of his Culture books at the same time. I never read Inversions or Feersum Endjinn, or I should say I started them and never finished them. I really like his epic sci-fi, the fantasy elements didn't do that much for me.

In any case, Use of Weapons is probably my favorite Culture novel and I think -heretically I'm sure- that Against a Dark Background is my favorite overall. There was so much in that to love, the monastery, the shoot out on the ski lift and the Lazy Guns. Holy poo poo are they cool. I haven't gotten the Algebraist or Matter yet, but there on the list.

As for his Non-M stuff, I read the Wasp Factory which is still really bad rear end. I started Song of Stone but it just didn't seem to be going anywhere, and I read another one ofthe Non-M books, but I'm not sure which one it was. All I remember is a scene where a girl is talking to her boyfriend while leaning out a window as another man screws her.

I definitely reccomend any of his sci-fi. The Culture universe is so well thought out and interesting that it keeps surprising you at every turn. The standard fiction is not my thing, but I think I may have gotten some of the not-so-good stuff.

* # ¿ Feb 9, 2009 21:48
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# ¿ May 2, 2024 23:21
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flamingmuse
Aug 31, 2001

Woof!

Megazver posted:

I think I'm actually going to do this. Just 'cause I can.

And I've read it once already and while I enjoyed it I was left with a nagging feeling that all the structural mindfuckery wasn't actually necessary.

I guess I will find out.

He wrote about that specifically somewhere. If I'm not completely crazy, a friend suggested he swap the chapters around.

Fake Edit from Wikipedia:

quote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_of_Weapons
According to Banks, he wrote a much longer version of the book in 1974, long before any of his books (science fiction or otherwise) were published.[3] The book had an even more complicated structure ("It was impossible to comprehend without thinking in six dimensions") but already introduced The Culture as background for the story of Cheradenine Zakalwe.[3] The book's cryptic acknowledgement credits friend and fellow science fiction author Ken MacLeod with the suggestion "to argue the old warrior out of retirement" (to rewrite the old book) and further credits him with suggesting "the fitness programme" (the new structure).[3] MacLeod makes use of similar structures in his own novels, most notably in The Stone Canal.

Pretty cool that he had the idea in place pre-culture.

* # ¿ Feb 16, 2009 16:20
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flamingmuse
Aug 31, 2001

Woof!
 I found a used copy of The Algebraist this weekend. Maybe it was this thread. Can someone start a thread on autographed Cormac Mccarthy books next? ;)

* # ¿ Feb 23, 2009 16:01
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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > No Gravitas Allowed -- The Iain [M.] Banks thread