These are the voyages of the starship "Mistake Not"--um, and some others, to boldly go where...well, where lots of people have gone before. ~~Moved from GR~~ The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks Welcome to the future, where most cultures have evolved past want and need, where AI is so advanced t...
I think it's time to admit--with two of the recent Culture novels sitting half-read on myvirtual shelf for anywhere from 6 to 36 months, and pleasant-but-unexceptional responses to the couple that I've finished--that I'm perhaps full up on the series and should set 'em aside. The recent stuff isn't...
I finished this one two days before the devastating news of Iain's cancer hit. I've not been able to review it because I didn't have enough emotional distance in order to talk about the book, and not about what Banks-the-author means to me. But it's time. The review pile isn't getting any smaller. T...
I couldn't wait for this one to come up on my wish list... I checked it out from the library. The first thing I noticed was that Mr. Banks has a new jacket-flap photo. Aaagh! He looks old! That means I'm old too!I love all of the Culture novels, but some are better than others. This is one of the be...
As sometimes happens with the Christmas Gift, I received this book, which I really really wanted to read when I saw the synopsis - and then discovered it's #10 in a series. Now, do I read it anyway, series be damned, chronology is over-rated! I can always go back to the beginning after! Or do I adhe...
Good fun but feels a bit hollow. A romp through the Culture, which is always great, but not quite adding up to anything in particular. I never really formed much interest in the main plot, and it kind of didn't go anywhere surprising either. The characters were better, but not nearly enough time was...
There is a perceptive review of The Hydrogen Sonata at The Guardian website that more or less sums up what makes the Culture novels so interesting. Follow the link for a review of the Culture and a summary of the book in question so I can get on to things about the book that particularly struck me (...
...and another half star but not quite 4. Loved it of course as I love all the culture books. Not quite sure about all the ship Minds dialogue. Probably because I can't read it fast enough - began to pall. Loved the Elevenstring and enjoyed hearing more about subliming.....
I always enjoy banks culture novels. this was a special treat since it revolved a good deal around ships minds plotting and scheming which I particularly love. Excellent as usual.
Just finished. Overwhelming impression is one of a deep and abiding sorrow, a keening lamentation for the vicissitudes of real life. Banks started the Culture in a dark place, but one which held, in the form of the Culture, the prospect of a better greater future.Now, 10 books later, the mood is ins...
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