Iain M Banks

the_monkey

Hi
I was looking at some of Iain M Banks ... they look good....

I was wondering what people prefer .. his Culture series or ... other's

like The Algebraist looks good .... and as it's stand alone maybe better
to start with this ....

cheers...

BurnsCarpenter

I've been reading the Iain M Banks books at random, Culture and non-Culture, no particular order. It doesn't matter really from what I can see.

The Algebraist was the first one I read. I've re-read it since - great book.

BossArky

I've read a fair few of his Culture books. Some of them are terrible.

I think my recommendations are as follows:

• Non culture - Wasp Factory
• Culture - Player of Games

tman

Culture - all fairly "meh" from what I've read... Consider Phlebas (sp!) was alright.

Non culture - hard to find a bad one tbh (I think Dead Air is the only one I haven't enjoyed)
Complicity is one of my faves*, followed by Whit, Crow Road, Wasp Factory and The Bridge (pretty much in that order)
*Keep meaning to watch the film adaptation of it...

BurnsCarpenter

FYI, Culture Vs. non-Culture doesn't correspond to Iain M Banks Vs. Ian Banks.

About half of the Iain M Banks stuff isn't set in the Culture universe.

tman

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!:o

In that case, they're all crap.

BurnsCarpenter

I really enjoyed the sci-fi stuff I've read but didn't really like the Iain Banks 'literary' stuff.

That said, all I've read has been Dead Air and A Song of Stone so maybe I chose poorly...

Saint Ruth

BurnsCarpenter wrote: »

FYI, Culture Vs. non-Culture doesn't correspond to Iain M Banks Vs. Ian Banks.

About half of the Iain M Banks stuff isn't set in the Culture universe.

Indeed it doesn't.

Iain M (MMMM!) Banks is SF.

Iain Banks (no M) is fiction (though some can be surreal like The Bridge or be a bit SFy like Walking On Glass or his latest book, Transiton, whch I didn't really like).

The best Culture ones are Consider Phelbas, Use Of Weapons, and Excession IMHO. EDIT: Player of Games ain't bad either...

For Fiction, The Wasp Factory, Complicity, and The Crow Road.

Lucifer31

The Sci-Fi I've read from himself includes:

Inversions
Consider Phlebas
Against A Dark Background
The State Of The Art (short stories)
Look To Windward
Excession (Found this quite hard to get through, due to the style of writing)

Fiction:
The Wasp Factory (don't think I can recommend this one highly enough)

Currently reading The Steep Approach To Garbadale, which I really like so far.

Anyone read Use Of Weapons? I have this on the book shelf for a couple of years, but haven't gotten round to it yet.

Monkeybonkers

I would recommend Use of Weapons. It was my first SF book by Banks and still rates as my favourite.
Strange how tastes differ. I thought The Wasp Factory was rubbish.

Funglegunk

Lucifer31 wrote: »

Excession (Found this quite hard to get through, due to the style of writing)

You should try reading Feersum Endjinn. The most excruciating book I have ever attempted to read! I could not finish it and I count Banks as my favourite SF author. Entire chapters written in an awful hybrid of phonetic/txtspk.

CuLT

I wanted to punch Banks in the face after finishing Matter.

Use of Weapons is probably my favourite; think I read all the Culture novels (apart from Matter) around the time Look to Windward came out, which is about ten years ago now so my memory is hazy.

ixoy

CuLT wrote: »

I wanted to punch Banks in the face after finishing Matter.

Why? I just finished it yesterday. Far from his best, but I didn't wish him physical harm after reading it.

Kai

Use of Weapons, Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, Algebraist are recommended. I have read others but none were as good. Look to Windward contained a certain belief in a "version" of immortality or at least returning after death that I found completely ridiculous, ruined the book for me.

annR

I've read most of his books over the years and enjoyed most of them but one of my big favourites has to be the lesser known fiction 'The Business'.