Books

[johnny9fingers]

The new Iain M Banks novel, Surface Detail, is again confirmation of the incredible imagination of Banks, and his ability as a writer to be able to conceptualise the Sci-Fi universe in a way that few, if any writers have ever managed. In my opinion he is without equal. I've read Asimov, Herbert, Heinlein, Campbell, Wells, Verne, and most of, if not all of those considered greats: Banks is without compare the most complex and far-reaching of those I've read. If I have one criticism it is that he can be confusing: he always needs a reread as he draws the threads of many sub-plots towards their denoument. Also his nomenclature is somewhat eccentric. I'd give Surface Detail a good 7/10, though I wouldn't recommend it to any religiously minded folk as it might cause a blood-pressure induced heamhorrage.


The Culture is an extraordinary invention of imagination. I want to live there, even though it is merely a fictional construct. Also, to be quite candid, I doubt that I could bear Austen-land for any length of time. Wooster's-World, the Disc, and Fforde's metafictional universe are perhaps the only other imaginary worlds I'd care to spend any time within: but none are in quite the league of The Culture.

Comments

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

I will take this recommendation seriously, although I have never been able to get into the genre so much -- outside of the old Dangerous Visions crowd plus Asimov and Dick.

[e4q.livejournal.com]

or - you could recommend it to lots of religiously minded people at the one time, so that there would be a spate of heamhorrage. it would be very conceptual...

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't start with this one.
'Consider Phlebas' or the 'Player of Games' is where I'd begin. Then I'd take a look at 'Use of Weapons', 'Excession', and 'Matter' before getting to this one.

'Matter' may be my favourite.

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

Thinking more....
try Phlebas, Excession, and Matter first: then hit Surface Detail.

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't think of Lenny as being your average religious sort. He's big and old enough to both take care of himself, and think for himself; besides which, I don't think his version of God would be in any way diminished by the ontological implications of Banks' imagination: I've read some of his sermons.

[e4q.livejournal.com]

i think you can trust a professional.

my brother did a degree in divinity and never a finer specimen of atheism walked god's earth.

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, Lenny ain't an atheist by any means: but his God does appear to be the God of mercy and of unconditional love, amongst other things.

[e4q.livejournal.com]

that's nice. i like a good god.

[abomvubuso.livejournal.com]

Its a real shame i've never read anything of him. I think i'm going to compensate that soon.

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

It is, of course, just my opinion, but I do think no-one has ever produced such a far-spanning vision of the Sci-Fi universe in fiction. Stapledon & van Vogt are both pretty ambitious, but I think Banks trumps them.