Iain M Banks

[Circus Cranium]

I've been struggling to read Inversions. I loved his non-scifi work so much, i thought I'd be able to devour anything he wrote. I'm about a quarter way through. Can anyone tell me if it gets any better??

[Brys]

A question on the culture novels - do they have to be read in published order? I've seen a lot of recommendations for culture novels, such as Use of Weapons and Excession, but do you need to have read the earlier novels?

I've also read the Wasp Factory - an excellent novel that convinced me I need to read more Banks.

[iansales]

No, you don't need to read them in order. Each one stands alone.

Having said that Consider Phlebas *is* a good introduction to Banks' SF. My favourite, however, is Against A Dark Background. It's not set in the Culture, but it's his most fun SF novel.

[Rane Longfox]

Basically, with the Culture novels, the earlier books are from earlier ages of the Culture, with less advanced technology etc. And its possible to miss a couple of references if you don't read them in order.

But apart from the ones with Diziet Sma in them (don't ask me which ones, I can't remember) the order they are read in is generally unimportant. Then again, they are all damn good. The ones that can be read best independantly are probably Player of Games and Use of Weapons, which also happen to be two of the best. It would be better to read the ealier ones before you tried Excession though...

[Alan]

He's a genius - I love his stuff. I'm halfway through the Algebraist (how the hell do you spell that anyway?) but I've put it down to read American Gods. I'll be back to it any time now though.

[The DeadMan]

I just finished Look To Windward, and while it wasn't his best work, it was still a very good book. It is another of his Culture books, all of which I have enjoyed very much!

[Dave]

I agree with everything that has been said about the order in which to read the Culture novels. Consider Phlebas is definately earlier, but they can be read in any order. The short story in The State of the Art brings in present day Earth, so puts the rest into a context time-wise. I like Use of Weapons, and Player of Games best of the Culture stories, but Against a Dark Background best of all.

All of his books are weird, even if not classed as SF, they have fantasy elements. The Bridge is very surreal, the Wasp Factory just very strange.

My favourite of his books has to be Whit - one of the funniest books I've read. I love the curried Haggis and stuff. I really want it to made into a film.

If you like Scotch Whisky read his Raw Spirit.

[jackokent]

I find the problem with Banks is that his titles don't particularly reflect the subject matter. Therefore, I have no idea what I've read and keep buying books I've read before. So saying I've never not enjoyed one.

I also found the Bridge surreal but was a tiny bit disapointed with Dead Air.

Thanks for the tip about Raw Spirit. Looking forward to that one.