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greenblack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
theaurochs's review against another edition
4.0
The Great Banks Re-Read! Book #4.
Completely the opposite to Use of Weapons, I actually enjoyed this one more than I remembered! The stories have a good range, although there's precious few in the collection.
The State of The Art, novella contained within, is really quite poignant and shows off some of the best Culture antics we've seen to date, plus some of the heavier philosophical dives where Banks's wit and wisdom really shine through. It is packed full with arguments for and against the human race; this time tackling the problem of us head-on rather than couched in metaphor like the majority of the Culture stories- here we are directly visited by these higher beings, and judged for better or worse.
The shorter tales are mostly intriguing- Road of Skulls paints a great vignette of an interesting world; Odd Attachment really is just an amusing idea; Cleaning up is a fantastic piece of cold war satirical fiction; and Descendent is deeply haunting tale of loneliness and losing hope- probably my favourite of the bunch.
Honestly had a genuine wobble after UoW when I thought there was a chance that some weren't as good as I had recalled, but after this I'm feeling much better and very optimistic about Excession, which is up next.
Completely the opposite to Use of Weapons, I actually enjoyed this one more than I remembered! The stories have a good range, although there's precious few in the collection.
The State of The Art, novella contained within, is really quite poignant and shows off some of the best Culture antics we've seen to date, plus some of the heavier philosophical dives where Banks's wit and wisdom really shine through. It is packed full with arguments for and against the human race; this time tackling the problem of us head-on rather than couched in metaphor like the majority of the Culture stories- here we are directly visited by these higher beings, and judged for better or worse.
The shorter tales are mostly intriguing- Road of Skulls paints a great vignette of an interesting world; Odd Attachment really is just an amusing idea; Cleaning up is a fantastic piece of cold war satirical fiction; and Descendent is deeply haunting tale of loneliness and losing hope- probably my favourite of the bunch.
Honestly had a genuine wobble after UoW when I thought there was a chance that some weren't as good as I had recalled, but after this I'm feeling much better and very optimistic about Excession, which is up next.
infinispace's review against another edition
2.0
A clumsy collection of short stories. Only a couple were okay, and the last story was unreadable, rambling nonsense. The long Culture story (The State of the Art) is only of interest because it involves the Culture. I would recommend completely skipping this unless you're a Culture completionist and want to read it for the 2 Culture stories (and 1 implied Culture story).
jmkemp's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked some of the short stories, especially Descendant, Piece, The State of the Art, and A Present from the Culture. Some of the others weren't so good though.
Still worth rereading from time to time. I miss Iain M Banks.
Still worth rereading from time to time. I miss Iain M Banks.
bionicbeaver's review against another edition
adventurous
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
sci_fi_si's review against another edition
4.0
A verry mixed bag of short stories.
Some were outstanding, even mind-blowing. The kind of stories that make you feel small in the universe. One or two felt very off topic (they weren’t even sci-fi).
The titular novella was a well-rounded story. The first (and as far as I know, only) culture story set on Earth. It featured two culture members, debating the value of Earth.
Some were outstanding, even mind-blowing. The kind of stories that make you feel small in the universe. One or two felt very off topic (they weren’t even sci-fi).
The titular novella was a well-rounded story. The first (and as far as I know, only) culture story set on Earth. It featured two culture members, debating the value of Earth.
jbradley98's review against another edition
3.0
Very much enjoyed the Novella State of the Art, would give that 4 stars, a couple of the other stories engaged me less hence the 3 star rating.