Author Topic: Rate the last book you read.  (Read 194236 times)

verbALs

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #600 on: November 11, 2010, 12:15:35 PM »
Surface Detail Grade-B+


Hope nobody minds a long book review but to do this justice it needs a bit of explaining.

This is about the tenth of Banks' Culture books. He does a good job of giving introductory explanations of the story elements that have carried over from the other books. However, those explanations don't help when these elements combine in this new story. DON"T read this book if you haven't read some of the early Culture story its just confusing. But the beauty of a continuing series like this is that complex elements can be explored further. I should try to explain some of the elements;
1) The universe is so old that civilizations have risen and fallen many times, new ones are advancing still. The Culture is one of many at the end of its development. Infinitely resourced, have anything you want. Old civilisations don't die (unless someone blows them up) they move to another phase of existence called subliming. Different levels of civ exist next to each other, the older ones struggling to contain the younger ones who would blow themselves up if they got their hands on more advanced technology. It is frowned upon to interfere with less advanced civs but the Culture do like to meddle; thinking they know whats best for others.
2) Mind and body are loosely linked. Copying personalities is old tech so if you die you can be revented; your mindstate put into a new body or any body type or machine- you choose. Story threads with people wearing armoured tanks etc are common.
3) Artificial Intelligence has grown far beyond human intelligence. Civs have to choose how much trust to put in their machines ie war ships run by AI,. The Culture just lets the machines run everything. It is not clear if these Minds are running things for the humans benefit or for their own.

OK enough, technobabble, Banks isn't interested he never uses maths or engineeering to explain much. He is more interested in machine personalities or what is like to live in different bodies. Most of his books read like Travelogues visiting more exotic worlds and habitats. But he does have a way with action, BIG action sequences- wars run by machines.

His new theme in Surface Detail regards mind states and virtual reality. Some advanced civs having kept their religious beliefs and a belief in celestial reward and punishment after death recreate their heavens and hells to place mindstates in. Some other civs disagree with this barbaric looking practice. How The Culture feel about this isn't ever clear but this book is about a war to destroy these virtual hells. I know how daft this sounds, like I say it makes more sense as the tenth book not the first.
Characters include a woman killed early on, revented and then travelling back to take revenge on the man who killed her; an AI in a worryingly advanced warship's body with a deranged personality, some cute aliens getting a bit too big for their boots, and a horrible businessman with too much knowledge about where the Hells are being stored; trying to blackmail everyone with that knowledge.

Banks' books are structured like Ellroy, a chapter for each main character and then back again each storyline colliding by the end. His books slow when he goes on a travelogue flight of fancy about some strange new world, or when describing some less advanced civ which is a bit dull compared to The Culture's bells and whistles. When he gets it right (books like Look to Windward, Excession & Matter) it is poetic, funny, taut, majestic. When it doesn't quite work like here it gets a bit flabby. There is always the danger of Deus ex Machina interventions by the Culture in the less advanced civ plotlines. This happens here but it is still cool throughout.
Banks has the advantage over a lot sci-fi writers of being a great literary figure first and an imaginer of worlds second. Insights about the nature of existence filtered through the view of advanced tech (really you can't die) are incredibly original, Shakespeare would approve.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #601 on: November 11, 2010, 05:50:36 PM »
Surface Detail Grade-B+


Have recently discovered Banks (Transition) and was very impressed - I have the 1st two of the culture series on my Kindle in queue. :)
Hey, nice marmot!

verbALs

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #602 on: November 11, 2010, 09:23:46 PM »
Surface Detail Grade-B+

Have recently discovered Banks (Transition) and was very impressed - I have the 1st two of the culture series on my Kindle in queue. :)
How did you like Transition? I have never gotten into the non-sf books {strangely}
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

StarCarly

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #603 on: November 11, 2010, 10:27:31 PM »
Freakonomics -

I was looking for another non-fiction book to read ravenously after I finished "Stiff" and this fit the bill. I finished it in under 24 hours and I wish it were longer...never ending even. It's really just fascinating. Only one of the stories really blew my mind, but they were all great. Can't wait to read the sequel.

Grade: A
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St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #604 on: November 12, 2010, 08:34:37 AM »
Surface Detail Grade-B+

Have recently discovered Banks (Transition) and was very impressed - I have the 1st two of the culture series on my Kindle in queue. :)
How did you like Transition? I have never gotten into the non-sf books {strangely}

It's SF - people who can slide between parallel universes and times to directly affect the course of history throughout all of them.

It's a very good book - jumping back and forth between times sort of reminded me of The City & The City by Meiville and it disjointed yet compelling narrative.
Hey, nice marmot!

verbALs

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #605 on: November 12, 2010, 10:32:01 AM »
Surface Detail Grade-B+

Have recently discovered Banks (Transition) and was very impressed - I have the 1st two of the culture series on my Kindle in queue. :)
How did you like Transition? I have never gotten into the non-sf books {strangely}

It's SF - people who can slide between parallel universes and times to directly affect the course of history throughout all of them.

It's a very good book - jumping back and forth between times sort of reminded me of The City & The City by Meiville and it disjointed yet compelling narrative.
OK missed that one thanks.
I used to encourage everyone I knew to make art; I don't do that so much anymore. - Banksy

Adrienne

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #606 on: November 15, 2010, 04:58:49 PM »
verbALs - just finished Glitz, which I very much enjoyed.
Like his writing style and the character of Vincent, of course.
Have to say he reminds me a lot of Ed McBain (or vice versa, who came along first?)

Jared

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #607 on: November 18, 2010, 11:15:04 PM »
Just finished God Emporer of Dune, the 4th in the series.

After loving the first book, the second book was a bit of a decline, and the third was wayyyy too muddled. Book 4 was my favorite sequel thus far....with Herbert achieving the terrific balance he found in the first.

I really liked it. Got another book or two Im looking into before I get to book five in the series, but Im looking forward to it.

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #608 on: November 18, 2010, 11:42:33 PM »
Hurm. It's okay. I like 2 a lot, 3 is solid. 1 is still my favorite. 5 and 6 are just gaudy trash.  :P

oldkid

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Re: Rate the last book you read.
« Reply #609 on: November 18, 2010, 11:53:13 PM »
The fourth is my favorite, at this point of multiple re-reads, even over the first.  It gets to the main points Herbert hints at in the third, and we can see what Paul was both trying to achieve and what he rejected in the first two books.  It all makes sense now-- both the promise and the abomination.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

 

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