The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks

Advantages: Imaginative plot, well written
Disadvantages: Only for Sci-fi fans

...also writes Science fiction under the slightly different name of Iain M Banks. His first foray into science fiction was 'Consider Phlebas' (1987) in which he introduced the concept of 'The Culture' later to form the basis of many of his other sci-fi novels and short stories. 'The Player of Games' (1988) was his second Sci-fi novel and expanded his vision of humanity's future. THE NOVEL In a far distant future humanity has developed to the extent ...
...achieved between human and 'machines'. The super intelligent computer entities have rights and freedoms equal to the organic life forms. Spaceships and other 'technology' are considered as individuals. Humans are free to change their appearance even their gender thanks to the advances that have been made, disease and poverty has been eradicated. Humans have to a large extent been genetically modified all having special glands that can be used to ... Read review

Advantages: an interesting read, holds your attention
Disadvantages: may not like it if you don't like sci-fi!

...really been a fan of the science fiction or fantasy genres - when I was younger, my parents bought me numerous Terry Pratchett books, which just lay unread on my bookshelf for years, gathering dust. So when a friend offered to lend me "The Player of Games" last week, telling me that it was an amazing science fiction novel, I was slightly dubious, but decided to give it a go. Much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! The novel is by Iain ...
..."Consider Phlebas" in 1987. Dropping the "M", he publishes under the name Iain Banks when writing his non-sci-fi creations, such as "The Wasp Factory" and "The Crow Road". "The Player of Games" is set in a society known as "The Culture" - a symbiotic society where man and machine live in harmony. This society is very technologically advanced - the machines living there have amazing abilities, and even the humans' jobs are quite astounding - Yay, ... Read review

Advantages: Quite an Easy Read for one of Iain M.Banks' science fiction novels, original
Disadvantages: Some people might find some of the concepts difficult to understand

...reading Iain M.Banks science fiction. The book is the second of his science fiction novels following on after Consider Phlebas and personally I found it an easier read. The novel takes place in Banks’s imaginary civilization known as the culture. The culture is a kind of egalitarian utopia where humans and machines with artificial intelligence live in symbiotic co-existence. The book is relatively easy to read because it explains certain concepts ...
...a mind. The drones are robots who float around in the air and do unpleasant activities that humans would rather not such as fighting in wars, cleaning and maintenance of machinery. A mind on the other hand is a highly intelligent entity usually contained on a space station, minds tend to do all the decision making in the Culture. The Culture is such a technologically advanced civilization that it can create its own planets for humans to live on, ... Read review

Advantages: good story but....
Disadvantages: takes a while to get moving

...complex universe set millenia into the future. Banks's complex imaginary universe throws us Jernau Gergeh, a man who has devoted his life to games, the master of every board. Gergeh is part of the Culture, a hedonistic, genetically engineered to perfection society ruled by super intelligent computers. Everyone gets what thet want because technology allows anything to be reproduced whenever you need it. There is no greed, or war and the culture is ...
...When Gergeh is offered the chance to travel outside the culture's bondaries to an empire of viscious, brutal and less technologically evolved humanoids, to play a game so complex, so addictive that it basically dictates the entire empire he can't refuse. The story starts off very slow, I almost stopped reading it a few times because I was getting bored, Banks takes a long time describing the background and setting the scene and I found this tiresome. ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent plot, compelling characters
Disadvantages: None

...well be for you. The book is set in Bank's "Culture" universe, following an incredibly advanced society run by super intelligent AI's called minds. This serves as a backdrop for an intruiging look at human nature and what it really means in terms of cultures and societies. The book in the spirit of true art holds up a mirror to life and invites us to travel through the looking glass to gain a deeper insight into what really makes us act the way ...
...and exceedingly compelling. The main character is a master of games of strategy, sent on a mission to a newly discovered civilization that bases its society around such a game as an ambassador. It follows his experiences and the revelations that he faces dealing with them...in Bank's style though there is a multitude of excellent twists and turns right up until the last page. The twists are always well thought out and make perfect sense and yet are ... Read review