Entertainment For Lively Minds
To M or not to M
Posted by Chris Young on 16 March 2009 - 8:50am.
I have just finished reading "The steep approach to Garbadale" by Iain Banks and very good it was too.
However I am faced with the same dilemma I have faced before when finishing one of his novels and that is whether or not to dabble in his sci-fi ouevre where he writes as Iain M Banks. I have never been much of a science fiction fan but I am tempted because I do enoy his writing so much in his mainstream novels.
But there is also the question of where to start. Are his books sequential?
Where could I possibly seek advice and find honest, informed and trustworthy opinions.
Ah, I think I know just the place
- More from Chris Young.
- Login or register to post comments
-
The Player of Games
I'm not a big fan of sci fi either but I enjoy his writing with or without an M. The Player of Games is a good place to start (& probably my favourite of his in any genre). It's not his first sci fi novel- I think that's 'Consider Phlebas' - but it is a great, pacy story really well told with lots of interesting ideas and concepts. Happy reading!
Funny that
I'm exactly the same if not worse with Banks. For the longest time, Espedair Street and The Crow Road were my favourite books but, not only have I never read any of his science fiction, I stopped reading his new stuff around the time of Dead Air, thinking he had run out of steam. Am I wrong?
If you liked
The Crow Road then do try Garbadale. I also stalled at Dead Air but this is a return to form in my view.
....
Also recommend Garbadale. But then I liked Dead Air too.
The sci-fi books are a mixed bag, generally good, with a few mediocre and one or two stinkers if you ask me.
The Culture ones are real favourites of mine. The ones set in that universe do span hundreds of thousands of years, so you find he has to set the scene in pretty much every one of them, so you can dip in anywhere. There are also books (like recent one 'Matter') where there are hints of the Culture influence but it's never directly referred to, but having read the Culture books, you recognise the signs!
Good place to start : Consider Phlebas is a cracking read. Inversions is also pretty good. I love The State Of The Art too, which is a mix of short stories (across many universes/Earth) but has a brilliant Culture short story (also called The State Of The Art) which really sets up the Culture scene.
Give it a try, I don't think you'll regret it!
As a diversion
he has also written a fabulous non-fiction travelogue/imbibers guide to malt whisky, called "Raw spirit". It's a great read, giving some input into how he operates, touching even upon his M, as I recall. If you love malt or think you might, it is for you
(In fact, as I write, surely it is Iain Malt Banks?!)
P.S. Got a bottle of Aberlour for my birthday. Top hole liquor, highly recommended.
Already a malt lover Retro
so thanks for this. I wasn't aware of this diversion at all.
Against a Dark Background
Is one of my favourite Banks books, M or no M. It's a standalone science fiction/fantasy adventure/whodunnit thingy, with some great characters and a fantastic plot that twists and turns. Crow Road with lasers and robots if you will.
But in my opinion if you like his books you will like his books, if you know what I mean. It's all Banks to me.
And I love Dead Air, it is, now I'm able to look back over his books, one of his best I think.
Thanks all
I knew I could rely on you.Maybe I should give Dead Air another go.
Banks is one of those authors
...where a second - or third reading pays off. Dead Air moved me, quite simply, and made me laugh, and was being read as I was romancing my wife to be, which probably helped some.
Then again…
… I'd say don't bother. While I enjoyed some of his earlier books such as The Bridge (his best, IMHO) and Walking On Glass, I thought Dead Air was rotten. It's one of those ones (see also The Crow Road) where Banks seems to be on some wish-fulfilment kick where he gets to 'be' the cool young dude he supposes his protagonist to be.
A Song Of Stone
Is a stunningly good fantasy as is Inversions. His latest "M' book Matter is also excellent. You can check out a review at..Ahem my review site http://www.highlandersbooks.com/2009/02/22/matter-by-iain-m-banks/
The only Banks worth investing in
I'm a huge fan of both his M and non-M novels.
Like many, I have a particular love of the Culture novels, which I find to be richly crammed with twists, detail, ideas, humour and sub-plots. The ship names alone would make a diverting sub-thread. Coincidentally, they are also the best pieces of socialist propaganda since The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists.
Consider Phlebas, Player of Games and Use of Weapons are all good places to start.
However my current favourite out of the M novels is probably The Algebraist, his last but one. It's a non-Culture novel but none the worse for that. I suspect we'll be seeing more of the particular universe it's set in.
Generally speaking though, I am a fan of all of his stuff. If I had to pick an overall favourite it would be The Bridge (and its companion piece Complicity).
Step...
away from the sci-fi. It's just not as good.
Garbadale...
was a major disappointment for me. All the old Banks tropes (family business, hidden secrets, romance with just-far-enough-removed cousin, very big house in the coun-tree) are present and correct, with nothing to differentiate it from the Crow Road or The Business.
The SF side of the concern goes from strength to strength, though. Matter is full of good stuff, wise, funny, sharp, intellegent, and chock-full of head-spinning ideas. Up for all the major awards, and well worth the investment in time and a spot of cash.
Ignore the nay-sayers. You can't go wrong with M.