A review by fermentingbog
The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

My first time reading Iain M Banks and damn what a fun read! I love a sci-fi world where idiots still exist lol. Li never going to earth or having any experience with earthlings, yet feeling entitled to captain the ship(a ship whose intelligence is god like compared to Li) because he watched, like, one episode of Star Trek was genuinely entertaining and made me laugh at multiple points. I also just love how unpretentious Banks’ writing is. It immediately grabs you with minimal set up. World building? Yeah we’ll get to that, don’t worry.