The Player of Games (Culture)
by Iain M. Banks
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Book Reviews of The Player of Games (Culture)
Book Review: An Absorbing, Exciting, Science Fictional Exploration of Gamesmanship from Iain M. Banks
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Player of Games" remains one of the best in distinguished British author Iain M. Banks's highly literate, quite sophisticated, "Culture" space opera series of novels. It is also among the earliest in the series, and one that is certainly most notable for its engrossingly in-depth study into the character of Gurgeh, the Culture's premier master of every game - especially those devoted to strategy - known to this long-lived space-faring human civilization. At the very pinnacle of his success, Gurgeh is bored and restless, until he accepts the seemingly impossible challenge of mastering Azad, the very game of life played by the ruling elite of the relatively primitive, autocratic, almost totalitarian, Empire of Azad, located in one of the distant Magellanic Clouds. It is a game that is rich not only in its intricate strategy, but also, in elaborate deception; an intense game whose very outcome may mean life or death for anyone playing it, especially Gurgeh. Told in incandescent, quite pyrotechnic, prose, Banks' novel comes across as a futuristic Graham Greene thriller set amidst more conventional - if elaborately descriptive - space opera settings. A splendid science fiction novel that is not merely a major landmark of Anglo-American science fiction, but one which ought to be reckoned as high literary art written by one of the foremost writers of fiction - in any genre - in the English language.
Book Review: Streches of dullness spriklend with moments of brilliance
Summary: 4 Stars
I had a tough time getting past the first 1/3 of the book. The introduction of the apathetic protagonist really turned me off to the story; it's difficult to sympathize with a main character that seems so indifferent to life. But I pushed forward, as I wanted to see the concept behind the novel fleshed out. As the book moves along, the protagonist did not get anymore palatable, but the descriptions of the game Azad and the culture surrounding it were fascinating, so I trudged on. As Gurgeh becomes deeper and deeper involved in the game of all games, the details, scope of the game, and the various matches described by the author get better and better. This is really where the book shined in my opinion.
The final crescendo involving the protagonist and his opponent do the novel justice, and I didn't really expect it to work out that way and my page turning towards the end definitely picked up in pace. This book was my introduction to Bank's novels, and I am now starting another based on my overall impressions of Player of Games.
Book Review: Civilization and the Culture (An AUDIO BOOK REVIEW)
Summary: 5 Stars
Civilization and the Culture (An AUDIO BOOK REVIEW)
This is a stunning book, that I had not read, since it first came out when I was a kid. But it was good enough to stick with me over the many intervening years. This reading is fantastic. Great interpretations of the characters. Hope the accents don't upset anybody. Highly,highly recommended. If we are lucky Mr.Kenny will be reading the rest of the series too.( He also did a great job with -Consider Phlebas) p.s please hurry with the others, I can't wait until -Excession is given the same treatment.
p.p.s Would the reviewers of KINDLE products please resist such extreme negative marking. We get it,the Kindle products are a rip off at the moment, but you don't have to destroy the ratings of the original product, just ditch the kindle 'till the price of contents becomes more realistic. Thank you in advance! MSMG
Book Review: The Player of Games
Summary: 3 Stars
The Culture is a galaxy-spanning civilization that has tapped our protagonist (a famous game-player) to go play the game that is the central organizing concept of another younger, smaller, cruder empire. The societal details are interesting (and repugnant in the case of the newbies) and we get to see our protagonist be changed and influenced by events. The notion that starships and robots are sentient and are full citizens in the Culture can have humorous drawbacks. I didn't really like the protagonist and the story resolution wasn't sufficient to overcome that problem for me. While there was nothing wrong with the character names within the context of the story, they were so odd and baroque that they repeatedly threw me out of the story and made it difficult to re-engage. Your mileage may vary.Book Review: Got me hooked on Banks
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first book by Banks that I read; and it was absolutely fantastic. I regularly lend this book out to every sci-fi fan that I meet and can not recommend it highly enough.
In terms of Bank's overall works; I believe this is the best one to start with. Also, I generally recommend that people not touch any of the Iain Banks (no M) stuff. I remember that one of blurbs printed in the Wasp Factory was something like "Stay seriously away from this book."
The story line involves an alien sent to an even more alien world to play a game. The nesting of the games and the immediate immersion in this far future universe as well as brilliant writing make this my favorite book of all time.