Well That Went Exactly Where I Didn't Want It To

[maladaptive]

Consider Phlebas and Player of Games are a couple of the books recommended to get into Iain M. Banks’s Culture books, and what luck, they’re the only ones my library has!

I read a comment saying that Consider Phlebas is hard to get into until the very end when you see all the threads start coming together, but I was having a rollicking good time,

Comments

[pyrephox]

I have actually never read any of the Culture books, because I keep hearing very ambiguous things about them.

[maladaptive]

Well I can tell you that I found it extremely good, though a friend of mine hated it and hasn't read a Culture book since. If you want I can IM you with more but I don't want to say anything potentially spoil-y in the comments. Even considering the end made me go "nooooooooo" and denied me the closure that I wanted, I still feel good about the overall experience.

But the space adventure stuff is exactly what I wanted--and there is a lot of genuinely awe-inspiring space adventure. Banks also had a really great grasp on people.

Another friend describes Banks as "clearly writing for himself, and China Mieville." Though I find Mieville somewhat offputting and Banks invites you in before burning the house down.