Do you prefer Iain Bank's SF or 'normal' fiction novels?

[Little Rascal]

Hi! Though I loved Crow Road and Complicity, neither of these holds a candle to his Culture series. Feersome E' was a mouth full to read and left me a tad dis-appointed.
A.a.DBack-Ground & the Algabraist, tho not Culture stories are both crackers!

btw; State of the Art has more than 1 Culture story in it. ie; S.ot.Art A Gift from the C. Even Odd Attachment and cleaning Up could possibily be culture. (The technology is Culture based!
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Inversions? Is it a Culture story??? The debate rages!

[Dave]

I've read all the SF except Matter and many of the Iain Banks books now. I've just read The Steep Approach to Garbadale. Trying not to spoil, while I guessed the big secret from about half-way through, after his second meeting with Blake in Hong Kong, I was still thrown completely by the second last page of the book. I didn't understand why that was necessary to happen. I thought it had a little too much of Bank's usual but confusing moving back and forth in the timeline. It also has two places where the Alban gives us political rants which could be straight out of Iain's own mouth. Still a great book though not his best. I have The Crow Road lined up to read, which most people mention as one of the best.

[chopper]

yep, that's the one that hooked me first off. as luck would have it i read it just before the tv adaptaton started.

[Dooma]

Originally Posted by Rich_SP

I am an avid reader of both his sci-fi and more hmm... non-sci fi books (i would try and say conventional but alas that would entirely miss the mark with Banks.)
I actually beliwev I have read more of his non-sci fi works, even though i would always claim sci-fi to be my genre of choice.
as recommendations go, for non sci-fi: The Bridge (yeh very surreal, almost sci-fi), The Crow Road, Canal Dreams and Complicity.
For Sci-fi: (all of them:P) definately the culture novels...except the algebriast is awesome, love the Dwellers, and Look To Windward was too much of an anti-climax. Start with Consider phlebas or Player Of Games.

I have to absolutley agree- Consider Phlebas was my first Iain M Banks novel and I haven't looked back- I find it hard to read anything now after reading all his sci-fi novels. I have read most of Iain Banks' fiction books, and they are pale and anti-climactic in comparison to the imaginative, detailed, poetic prose that is his science fiction pieces. Consider Phlebas is still my favourite. I've read it a million times, and as someone who wasn't hugely into Sci-fi, as my first step into the genre, cannot possibly, EVER go back, to whatever it was I was reading before....

[UnethicalSolutions]

I read The Wasp Factory and The Bridge before any of his SciFi, but have to confess that I prefer the SciFi to the 'mainstream' (?) novels, by a large margin on average. The only non-SciFi books of his I've really enjoyed have been The Wasp Factory, The Bridge and The Crow Road (but I still haven't read Garbadale).

[Joey Sixknuckles]

I think he is an excellent writer on anything, but it was the Culture that got me hooked, and they're the ones that in several cases I can go back to again and again.

I've never read The Bridge or the whisky one, and they both sound really appealing.

[gully_foyle]

Just finished Walking on Glass which typically ran separate story threads, one of them sci-fi come fantasy. The characters refer to archaic weapons and technology in a way that makes them sound like they are from The Culture. Doesn't hold a candle to his SF books, but I'm interested to explore. I have a copy of Dead Air in my TBR pile. Anyone read it? And I shall have to hunt down a copy of Crow Road. He seems to have a thing for crows I've noticed.

[Rodders]

I personally prefer his SF works, although i have only ever read one of his non-SF books. (Of his SF, i much prefer the more accessable Culture Stories.)

[J-WO]

Originally Posted by gully_foyle

I have a copy of Dead Air in my TBR pile. Anyone read it?

Bit of a non-stop rant, but a lot to recommend in it.

[Allegra]

Non 'M' books so far only read The Wasp Factory and Walking On Glass. I liked both especially The Wasp Factory. But, true, they are not at all as brilliant as the Culture books. And they gave me a strangely distant feeling. While I feel very much at home when reading the Culture books.

[gully_foyle]

Originally Posted by Allegra

Non 'M' books so far only read The Wasp Factory and Walking On Glass. I liked both especially The Wasp Factory. But, true, they are not at all as brilliant as the Culture books. And they gave me a strangely distant feeling. While I feel very much at home when reading the Culture books.

I suspect he doesn't do the real world half as well as his invented worlds.

[Rackon]

I don't know that I have a preference, and there is a bit of overlap besides. I suspect Banks has more fun with his SF, and that's contageous. But I enjoy both his literary and speculative work.

The thing is I like the way Banks writes, whatever genre he's working in. There are a couple books where I felt the rants got a bit in the way (e.g. Dead Air). Canal Dreams was just not that well done IMO, either, though I'm not sorry I read it.

The first Banks novel I read was The Bridge, which I loved then and which remains among my favorite books today. It's very well written, too...this stands as one his best MO, of either genre. I also read and liked The Crow Road, Complicity, Whit and Espadair Street. I haven't read Garbadale. The Wasp Factory...I don't know what I truly think of it, a thoroughly nasty, brilliant little tale with a great twist at the end, darkly comic, but rather distressing. In the US, Transitions is an "M" book. I liked it a lot, but it's very SF to me.

I can truly say with hand on heart that I haven't read a Banks SF novel I haven't enjoyed or liked, including The Algabraist and Feersum Endjinn. The Algabraist takes a little while to get rolling, but when it does it's a glorious read. I loved Feersum Endjinn...and I confess I enjoyed Bascule's dialect - in the end it was quite...touching.

I'm not as fond of Consider Phlebas as a lot of you, it doesn't seem as polished as his other SF. Use of Weapons is probably my favorite Culture book, but Player Of Games is prolly the easiest place to start for most people...naturally, I didn't start there, lol.

I haven't managed to read Excession and Look To Windward yet, they're next...and looking forward to Surface Details.

[fightoffyourdemons]

I've only read the non-sci-fi ones so far as my local library's sadly lacking in anything in the science fiction vein. Anyone got any suggestions which sci-fi ones I should start with?

[TheTomG]

I would recommend reading Excession after you read at least 2 or 3 other Culture books. It has such a focus on the Minds that I don't think it can be fully enjoyed until you have become familiar with The Culture first.

Favorite Culture novels are Player of Games, Use Of Weapons, Consider Phlebas and Excession.

I love both his SF and mainstream though. I like how he often gives breath and life to being Scottish in a way that few others do, and in a way that reminds me of Trainspotting. Scotland often only appears in literature as a place of history and clans, and I enjoy works that capture something of what it is to be a Scot in this modern world. I felt perfectly at home in many of his non-SF works too.

Favorite non-SF are The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road, The Bridge, Walking On Glass, Espedair Street, and Complicity.

The televised adaptation of The Crow Road was very good too. I saw The Wasp Factory as a play and really enjoyed that too, it was an interesting modern production using television sets and things.

By and large it is Banks' characters I like. They always seem very believable to me, full of all the flaws and nobility that I find in most people. Even the 'perfect' Minds are full of their flaws. And perhaps I feel so at home because his politics and world view are ones I can relate to - the concept of The Culture where everyone is free to do as they wish as there is no longer disease, money, and all that, is very appealing! And the Star Trek version of that seems kind of bland and banal in comparison to the vibrant canvas of The Culture where people indulge in all sorts of strange things, just like people would if given that freedom.

So, I actually like both of sides of his works. He does have some novels I don't much care for too, again on both sides. That said, though, he is one of only two authors where I own pretty much ALL their books

PS - been trying to find the movie of Complicity (renamed Retribution over in the US) for some time, but not tracked it down yet. Trying just to rent it rather than purchase it, just in case I don't like it that much! Anyone seen it?

[TedKeller]

I certaintly prefer his macabre surreal fiction. His space opera is a bit bland language-wise, like a throwback to the Norton/Poul Anderson generation.