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/lit/ - Literature

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3421555 No.3421555 [Reply] [Original]

thoughts on The Culture series?
I just finished my second book, I think this shit is incredible.
General Banks discussion?

>> No.3421581

he cant write for shit,
but its not bad

>> No.3421596

>>3421581
>he cant write for shit
You have no idea what you're talking about, you insufferable tool.

>> No.3421598

>>3421581
i've heard that before, but to be honest I haven't really noticed.
I'm just impressed with the vastness of the world he's created, I think some of the characters are pretty neat too.

>> No.3421599

>>3421596
favorite book(s)?

>> No.3421601
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3421601

>>3421581

>> No.3421604

>>3421599
>favorite book(s)?
Favorite Banks books? "Use of Weapons".

>> No.3421618

>>3421604
just got that shit, i'm pretty excited. I just finished Surface Detail, and I had no idea who the fuck zakalwe was.

>> No.3421625

>>3421581

>he cant write for shit

Well, you can't write at all, so you're hardly in a position to judge, faggot.

Learn to capitalize and punctuate before you pollute the Internet with your jejune drivel.

>> No.3421631

>>3421625
>4chan
>criticizing internet slang

>> No.3421678

>>3421631
>in /lit/
>doesn't get that these faggots here might give a fuck about grammer
roger roger

>> No.3421690

>>3421678
who cares if they care

its just posturing

>> No.3421705

>>3421625
Agreed.

>> No.3421720

Any more thoughts on the culture series? Not Banks' ability to write, but the world of the Culture.

How about Banks' other books? Are they any good?

>> No.3421737

Banks is a great author and has very good prose for sci fi standards. He's not Mieville or Stross but there is no reason in the world to suggest he can't write. He's a great writer.

The Culture series is really good.

Read Use of Weapons, it's a great novel and in my opinion by far the best though I haven't read the latest.

>> No.3421905

>>3421737
I haven't read any Mieville, any suggestions where to start?

>> No.3421935

I gave up after reading Consider Phlebas. It felt like he gave up on his own world half way through the book. This seems very typical of certain sci-fi authors, to start panicking with the plot when they realize their grand universe cannot support the lack of character and story development. It was a huge disappoint since the culture universe was one of the more interesting ones, I've read so far.

>> No.3421990

>>3421935
I'm kind of confused, was Consider Phlebas the first Culture book you've read?
I started with Player of Games, which was pretty linear and relatively uninteresting considering the scope of his other novels, but it was a great intro to the universe (better than Consider Phlebas, I've heard, even though it was his first book in the series).

>> No.3421998

>>3421990

Yeah it was the first and only book of his I've read. I figured, if I was about to get into the Culture series, I might as well start there.

>> No.3422265

>>3421618
Read Use for Weapons. That'll clear it up for ya.

>> No.3422274

Look, that's your mistake right there: Consider Phleabas is REALLY hard to get into when Banks is still figuring out how best to lead the reader into the massive ideas of the Culture and still maintain a half decent plot device. Read the Player of Games - it's easy to follow, the protagonist is likeable, the Culture itself takes a back up role, it focuses on a really cool alien civilization known as the Empire of Azad, and it still manages to give a good glimpse into the Culture.

I still enjoyed Consider Phleabas, but that's because science fiction, particularly space opera, is my exact cup of tea, and Banks is the type of writer that I love. You've got to prepare yourself for this sort of heavy shit: read Neuromancer or some other "lighter" reads, because Banks will blow your mind if you go in unprepared.

>> No.3422299

>>3422274
To get myself on subject of the OP.

Iain M. Banks is, by far, my favorite author, and I'm not just referring to science fiction - period. Man's brilliant - his capacity for worlding, his clear and blunt style of writing, his dark tones and mature themes, his exploration of "human" nature, he's just fucking legit. But he's definitely not the easiest guy to read, and he certainly leaves one desiring a more "traditional" story or even plot structure at times - in most of his novels, the protagonist doesn't get what they want, the bad guys usually survive or at least succeed to some degree before their defeat, a lot of people die, and the Culture ends up "winning" in a totally obscure and, frankly, fucked up manner. A great example of this sort of atypical plot structure can be best seen in Banks' latest - The Hydrogen Sonata - or in Matter. Not all of them end sadly, but they never end happily, either.

The brilliance of Banks lies in his exploration of possibilities. The Minds, the super-A.I. "rulers" of the Culture - are just so fucking cool, and the Culture's anarchistic post-scarcity society is really the only utopia that I find truly satisfying - Star Trek's Federation is all nice and good and clean, but it's not HUMAN, it's too damned perfect, too exact. The Culture offers paradise, yet doesn't detract from the grim realities of existence.

Each of Banks' Culture novels have been a great read for me, and each is entirely unique. So far, I've also read two of his other sci-fi books that are unrelated to the Culture: The Algebraist and Against a Dark Background, each great books in their own right that deal with space civilizations. I've also read Transitions, his speculative piece about multiverses, which is also really fun. I still haven't read Feersum Enjinn or Look to Windward, nor any of his contemporary stuff, but I'm definitely heading in that direction.

>> No.3422326

>>3421905
I feel that The City & The City is the strongest book by Mieville that I've read but I much prefer reading the Crobuzon books despite this.

>> No.3422331

>>3422299
You might dig Orion's Arm.

>> No.3422345

>>3422331
Lookin' it up, thanks for the suggestion!

>> No.3422546

>>3422326
I just bought the first Crobuzon book, cause I really like having a series to get into. But I'll likely read The City & The City shortly after. Thanks for the pointer.

>> No.3422589

>>3422274
>>3422299

Thank you finally what I was looking for.
I am still fairly new to this world, but so far I can't get enough. I read the Player of Games first, and I've been recommending it to everyone who I talk to since because I want to be able to discuss this epic universe with my friends.

The second book I read was Surface Detail, and suddenly I couldn't believe how simplistic Player of Games was. I can see how jumping right in would be incredibly overwhelming.

I'm still in awe at how badass some of the characters were in Surface Detail. Demeisen in particular, I don't think there is the capacity to be such a stud in the universe we currently inhabit- it's like Banks created the entire Culture universe just to wax on about some of these ships being so hardcore.

I can't wait to get into Use of Weapons, so I'll finally get the significance of who Vatueil really is. Very glad I stumbled across this author, and I can't believe the series hasn't become more popular than it has.

By the way, any thoughts on Banks' non-culture work?

>> No.3422664

>>3422274

Heavy wasn't the problem, it was mostly telling a coherent story. There wasn't anything mind blowing about his universe either, I wouldn't even label it as hard sci-fi. I've read plenty of stories set within the technological vs. biological paradigm as was in Consider Phlebas. What really, for once, made it different was the ambiguous nature of which side was right and which side was wrong. It wasn't decided for us, at least not right away. Then, everything turned to shit, hundreds of pages spent on pointless side journeys, and one of the weakest endings I've ever read, pretty much telling us everything this guy went through didn't mean shit, the side he was working for lost and they weren't even really a threat in the first place. If you're going to force me to read 471 pages, at least make it matter.

Anyway, rant aside, I'll give Player of Games a try. I'm looking for my back into sci-fi book.

>> No.3422831

>>3422589
>By the way, any thoughts on Banks' non-culture work?

Crow Road is really good, I also liked the Wasp Factory a lot.

Also, the Culture is an actual utopia, fuck the haters, just sayin.