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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I didn'y enjoy this book very much. World building was rich, but I couldn't stand the attitude of the main character.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
The first part of the book was really rough going for me - it felt tedious and without much of a point. When Gurgeh set off for Azad, however, things did pick up considerably and I found the remainder of the book fairly interesting and pretty enjoyable at times. I'm glad I stuck it out in the end, but I don't think it's one I'm likely to pick up again.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
Pretty good! Slow to start but it really picks up and is quite interesting for a game in which I still have no idea how is actually played.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Culture series is my favorite sci-fi series. The Player of Games is one of my favorite books. I don’t rate books with five stars often.
There were small snippets of interesting elements which were sadly diluted by the unignorable agedness of the story. Some of the intricacies of the Cultural norms, logically arising from their post-human origins, piqued my interest, as did Banks' visceral and affecting depiction of the dark underbelly of the non-Culture alien society. Nevertheless, overall the story moved too slow for my tastes and there was a jarring moment of characterisation for the protagonist which didn't feel believable at all for me (I won't be more specific for fear of spoilers). Overall a serviceable classic sci-fi novel but not enjoyable enough to draw me into the rest of the Culture series.