|
I've read all of the M books except The Algebraist and Feersum Endjin. I was probably halfway through Feersum Endjin when it was stolen from me at a laundromat, and I haven't had the energy to pick it back up. Frankly I was struggling with it and had almost no idea what was going on, but I'll pick it back up again someday. I'm not surprised at the hate here for Excession. The first time I read it, I thought it was kind of lackluster. Then I read it again a few years later and I absolutely loved it. The intricacy of the plots between minds, and the scope of the novel, and it's central theme of the 'outside context problem' blew me away. If you read it before, and thought it sucked, I'd suggest another read through because I certainly didn't pick up on it's brilliance until the second time. I love the duet of Consider Phlebas and Look to Windward. The Idiran war is such a monstrous backdrop for those books...an event that could easily have spanned several novels in and of itself is used as flavor, and that's part of what makes Banks amazing to me. He doesn't hoard his ideas he uses them, and sometimes the great ideas serve as flavor to the rest of the story. I'm one of those people who was blown away by Use of Weapons, so much so that I basically had to physically stop reading for a couple of days to recover. I love the dark themes Banks touches on, and his concept of a possible future where anything is possible. The Culture books are really a great thought experiment when you get right down to it. How would people live if their every need could be met? This thread has inspired me to re-read Against a Dark Background too. One thing that I don't think gets mentioned because it's not really related to the books is the great cover art of the original trade paperbacks. I don't know why, but I love that art, especially Consider Phlebas, which as a book doesn't get enough love.
|
#
¿
Jul 7, 2009 22:07
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 21:39 |
|