He is an amazingly talented writer but in the few stories I've read of his, the endings are always a bit disappointing. They are sort of anticlimactic, in "Matter", most of the characters and conflicts you grow to be interested in are really quite irrelevant to the greater story which is hinted at, but only comes to fruition at the very end. I loved how the story started and then built up the tension and anticipation, but in the end my reaction was, huh. That was lame.
@siasti Serious Hardware, Lost In Translation, Oh Forget It, Don't Ask Me, Praise God And Pass The Ammunition, Marshmallow Shrapnel, That's Amore...these are mine ;-)
@Geekman333 Great names! (Actually, I expected more of a reaction from fans but yours is the only the second reply). I'm currently reading sci-fi novels by Neal Asher. Highly recommended!
@siasti Have only just discovered Banks. Read Excession, now reading Use of Weapons (nearly finished it last night) and have Algebraist waiting in the wings...I'm a big fan of Greg Bear but I think I prefer Banks. Excession had at least four 'laugh out loud' moments. Favourite ship names are; 'I Blame My Mother' and 'I Blame Your Mother'. Wicked!!
read all his long culture books, aka not the short stories of The Sate of the Art, and just started Matter. Apprehensive over the reviews as the generic consensus is that its a good book, but not up to standards that his earlier novels were!
It sort of flounders around a bit I thought by the time I'd finished, it's a cracking book in its own right. But stacked up against Use of Weapons or Look to Windward, it just doesn't reach as high.
An Outside Context Problem was the sort of thing most civilisations would encounter just once, and which they tended to encounter rather in the same way a sentence encountered a full stop.
Ah the master who, from my POV, created the greatest utopian society in all of fiction. If one were to have a choice of heavens in the afterlife, I would choose the Culture...every time. Surely there floats in space a GSV, just beyond the Kuiper Belt, waiting to execute a pick displacement. I'm ready.
WishingYuri67, -Consider Phlebas -Player of Games -Use of Weapons -The State of the Art (novella and shorts) -Excession -Inversions (not listed as a culture novel but it clearly is) -Look to Windward -Matter -untitled new work starting in 2010* Diziet Sma, SC Contact agent, appears in Use of Weapons and The State of the Art. Apart from that the novels are pretty independent. They are almost chronological, so I suggest reading them all in order, cuz i am an obsessive nerd :P Brilliant stuff.
Ive just finished matter and thought it was good...but i agree with a few of you, it certainly wasnt the best culture novel...i love banks and i hope his nxt book is back to his best!!
Was I alone in thionking that matter was lazy and a little churned out for the cash? I love Iain M banks. This was such a let down though. Aside from an interesting new planet type, nothing to hold me. The characters were weak, the plot stunted. Boo!
Hey Slydathief, I watched your video evidence of your acquaintanceship with Iain and it has to be said that he's much smaller than I imagined(ha ha ha!). Where did the name 'Slydathief' come from? My name's purely down to algebraic algorithms and peanutbutter, but I have a feeling that your name has more meaning ..................
I love this author; he's so enviably modest and oustandingly talented. Judging by his style of writing he should try his hand at poetry, I bet he'd be quite good.
No one else seems able to use the English language with such originality and skill.
The man, the myth, the LEGEND. He probably smokes a little bit of the old 'I don't want you smoking that stuff in my house' stuff! Nice one Iain! Your books are smashing!
Damn it, you got me! I'll just get in my jet car and retreat to my crevace where I will reminisce about 'slydathief' and all the components of 'slydathief' that make him such a genuinely sarchastic bastard of a cuntmuscle! If you're reading this Iain ('cos Iain's ma pal, see. I can spell his name!) please answer my question that was submitted to your websie about the RFID chips and the 'culture' contact 'already happened?' scenario type question thingy,.....okaydokey. Cheers! Bigupyaself!
Sorry 'slydathief', I'm not judging you personally(well ,......not seriously anyway!), but I was just jesting with you, just having a bit of a fart and a giggle. I have no intention of making any problems here apart from maybe starting a debate on psychotropic substances and Mhairi McCaskells daughter!
Truce acheived. Sorry for calling you Mhairi...your actually Mhairis daughter(just shows how much of a tube I am). Iain's in good company if people as reasonable as yourself are in his circle. Stay sweet!(I stole 'Stay sweet!' from the movie 'Hot Rod'hahaha)Peace-out!
I would like the inside of my throat filled and reinforced by carbon fibre foam. Thanks.
dazmalski 6 months ago
Just finished Matter today. Gripped until all the way through, but couldn't believe how abruptly it ended.
gmorris010 7 months ago
He is an amazingly talented writer but in the few stories I've read of his, the endings are always a bit disappointing. They are sort of anticlimactic, in "Matter", most of the characters and conflicts you grow to be interested in are really quite irrelevant to the greater story which is hinted at, but only comes to fruition at the very end. I loved how the story started and then built up the tension and anticipation, but in the end my reaction was, huh. That was lame.
ackman81 7 months ago
jUST STARTED READING tRANSITION ON THE TOILET - Thought I'd let you know.
dazmalski 1 year ago
REally? I'm so surprised he made this. Cos, to me, Matter was hardly funny at all. It, like, was missing that black shit that made Excession so good.
aculturemind 1 year ago
Ian has fun with his spaceship names. Here's mine: Infinite Perspective.
siasti 1 year ago
@siasti i like frank exchange of views myself
dimwitsixtyten 1 year ago
@siasti Serious Hardware, Lost In Translation, Oh Forget It, Don't Ask Me, Praise God And Pass The Ammunition, Marshmallow Shrapnel, That's Amore...these are mine ;-)
Peace (Makes Plenty)
Geekman333 10 months ago
@Geekman333 Great names! (Actually, I expected more of a reaction from fans but yours is the only the second reply). I'm currently reading sci-fi novels by Neal Asher. Highly recommended!
siasti 10 months ago
@siasti Have only just discovered Banks. Read Excession, now reading Use of Weapons (nearly finished it last night) and have Algebraist waiting in the wings...I'm a big fan of Greg Bear but I think I prefer Banks. Excession had at least four 'laugh out loud' moments. Favourite ship names are; 'I Blame My Mother' and 'I Blame Your Mother'. Wicked!!
Enjoy.
Geekman333 10 months ago
LOL, the man's barking,love it!
Tegenaria 1 year ago
read all his long culture books, aka not the short stories of The Sate of the Art, and just started Matter. Apprehensive over the reviews as the generic consensus is that its a good book, but not up to standards that his earlier novels were!
bobbocesu19 2 years ago
It sort of flounders around a bit I thought by the time I'd finished, it's a cracking book in its own right. But stacked up against Use of Weapons or Look to Windward, it just doesn't reach as high.
Excession is still my personal favourite.
xNeverthought 2 years ago 7
@xNeverthought
An Outside Context Problem was the sort of thing most civilisations would encounter just once, and which they tended to encounter rather in the same way a sentence encountered a full stop.
Best read i have ever had..
chereadnine 1 year ago
@xNeverthought Im currently reading Excession (first time) :3 and all I can do is simply agree with you.
MINDBLOWLYING ENJOYABLE <3
KorvanShedai 11 months ago
Use of weapons was the fucking best
just started matter..
blahdob 2 years ago
Use of Weapons was mind blowing.
xNeverthought 2 years ago
I totally agree.
Ten pages before it ended I just thougt: 'Oh, that's it? Well good book anyway..'
And then the last pages just made me go: 'Whooa!! How did he WRITE that?' It is really brilliant.
WritingEmperor 2 years ago
Ah the master who, from my POV, created the greatest utopian society in all of fiction. If one were to have a choice of heavens in the afterlife, I would choose the Culture...every time. Surely there floats in space a GSV, just beyond the Kuiper Belt, waiting to execute a pick displacement. I'm ready.
Balveda 2 years ago 12
Take me with you Balveda - I will be your Bora Horza Gobuchul any day ;)
lodestone77 2 years ago
@Balveda or maybe they will drop off a mr cheradenine zakalwe amongst us.....
dimwitsixtyten 1 year ago
What is the first culture Novel, or is there no order?
WishingYuri67 2 years ago
lodestone77 2 years ago
i love the culture novels, i loved matter. they are always massively bleak though. is it something to do with the weather in fife?
serehfa 3 years ago 2
maybe - its shit. believe me :P
DaTimeHat 2 years ago
Ive just finished matter and thought it was good...but i agree with a few of you, it certainly wasnt the best culture novel...i love banks and i hope his nxt book is back to his best!!
ananaki 3 years ago
Matter was better than most, but not quite as sharp as Use of Weapons and The Player of Games...
BigOrang10 3 years ago
Was I alone in thionking that matter was lazy and a little churned out for the cash? I love Iain M banks. This was such a let down though. Aside from an interesting new planet type, nothing to hold me. The characters were weak, the plot stunted. Boo!
gabiotta 3 years ago
You can not be more wrong.
Perhaps you are thinking of 'Dead Air'.
DogFartsSmell 2 years ago
Nope, definitely Matter. Thankyou for telling me how wrong i am though. I mean, come on, it's hardly Excession is it?
gabiotta 2 years ago
I agree. Too much waffle, and emphasis on description over plot. That's not what I'd like to see from Ian.
Darkinsigniosis 2 years ago
Genuinely sorry Mhairi, didn't realise how much of a tube I was being. All the best to you.
tricky1025 3 years ago
Hey Slydathief, I watched your video evidence of your acquaintanceship with Iain and it has to be said that he's much smaller than I imagined(ha ha ha!). Where did the name 'Slydathief' come from? My name's purely down to algebraic algorithms and peanutbutter, but I have a feeling that your name has more meaning ..................
tricky1025 3 years ago
Just reading my last Iain M. book before getting onto Matter. But I want it in paperback!
jezkemp 3 years ago
Love this guy, love this novel. matter rocks
lukearoo 3 years ago
My mum and I know him :D
The next time we see him we might take a video :D
slydathief 3 years ago
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99hollywood 3 years ago
I love this author; he's so enviably modest and oustandingly talented. Judging by his style of writing he should try his hand at poetry, I bet he'd be quite good.
No one else seems able to use the English language with such originality and skill.
wikkadoo 3 years ago
The man, the myth, the LEGEND. He probably smokes a little bit of the old 'I don't want you smoking that stuff in my house' stuff! Nice one Iain! Your books are smashing!
tricky1025 3 years ago
I know Ian :D
If you're reading this, Ian, it's Mhairi McCaskell's daughter :D
slydathief 3 years ago
Damn it, you got me! I'll just get in my jet car and retreat to my crevace where I will reminisce about 'slydathief' and all the components of 'slydathief' that make him such a genuinely sarchastic bastard of a cuntmuscle! If you're reading this Iain ('cos Iain's ma pal, see. I can spell his name!) please answer my question that was submitted to your websie about the RFID chips and the 'culture' contact 'already happened?' scenario type question thingy,.....okaydokey. Cheers! Bigupyaself!
tricky1025 3 years ago
Okay, maybe I have spelling problems. but I have a photo of him getting my mum's keys out the drain when they fell in. I can post it on YouTube
slydathief 3 years ago
And I am a girl
slydathief 3 years ago
And just go up to Iain and ask if he knows Mhairi McCaskell, and he will say yes
slydathief 3 years ago
Sorry 'slydathief', I'm not judging you personally(well ,......not seriously anyway!), but I was just jesting with you, just having a bit of a fart and a giggle. I have no intention of making any problems here apart from maybe starting a debate on psychotropic substances and Mhairi McCaskells daughter!
tricky1025 3 years ago
okay sorry ^^;
I get annoyed too easily ^^;
I have a video in my vids of a pic of Iain when he was slightly younger :D
slydathief 3 years ago
Truce acheived. Sorry for calling you Mhairi...your actually Mhairis daughter(just shows how much of a tube I am). Iain's in good company if people as reasonable as yourself are in his circle. Stay sweet!(I stole 'Stay sweet!' from the movie 'Hot Rod'hahaha)Peace-out!
tricky1025 3 years ago
okay :D
slydathief 3 years ago