Scan barcode
A review by sonice
The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks
3.0
Blended score of 3.0 stars. Overall I enjoyed this a lot and the score might be a little misleading. One short story in particular really dragged it down, however this was only about 5 pages long and so didn't detract from my enjoyment of the collection overall.
Road of Skulls: 3 stars, like a lot of these I found this to be more valuable in terms of the time I spent reflecting on it afterward, as opposed to the actual story itself. Really, a lot of these are thought pieces in that way.
A gift from the Culture: 3 stars as well. Like the above, this one is more about what the story implies about the Culture than it is about the characters or plot.
Odd Attachment: 5 stars, I laughed out loud and thought this one was super clever.
Descendant: 4.5 stars. I didn't see it coming. Very enjoyable.
Piece: 2 stars, not a Culture story at all, more of a rambling anti-religious rant, which (regardless of whether or not I agree with) just seemed off-tone for the rest of the collection.
Scratch: 1 star....I read this over twice and I have no clue what it's supposed to be.
Cleaning Up: 4 stars. Again I found this one funny, and also somewhat accurate in terms of how humanity responded to what was going on.
The State of the Art: 3.5 stars. A lot to think over here. More about the ideas, and the perspectives of the characters, than about the plot itself. I think this one will be popping up in my thoughts for a few days.
Overall, a short read and completely worth it if you're at all an Iain Banks/Culture fan.
Road of Skulls: 3 stars, like a lot of these I found this to be more valuable in terms of the time I spent reflecting on it afterward, as opposed to the actual story itself. Really, a lot of these are thought pieces in that way.
A gift from the Culture: 3 stars as well. Like the above, this one is more about what the story implies about the Culture than it is about the characters or plot.
Odd Attachment: 5 stars, I laughed out loud and thought this one was super clever.
Descendant: 4.5 stars. I didn't see it coming. Very enjoyable.
Piece: 2 stars, not a Culture story at all, more of a rambling anti-religious rant, which (regardless of whether or not I agree with) just seemed off-tone for the rest of the collection.
Scratch: 1 star....I read this over twice and I have no clue what it's supposed to be.
Cleaning Up: 4 stars. Again I found this one funny, and also somewhat accurate in terms of how humanity responded to what was going on.
The State of the Art: 3.5 stars. A lot to think over here. More about the ideas, and the perspectives of the characters, than about the plot itself. I think this one will be popping up in my thoughts for a few days.
Overall, a short read and completely worth it if you're at all an Iain Banks/Culture fan.