The Official Iain M Banks Thread

[Festoon]

I like Use of Weapons, but it's no Player of Games. Look to Windward is a wiser book, and Excession more of an enduring mystery.

[K]

I had a nice surprise today. I’ve always wanted a hardback copy of Excession, because the book came out just when I was getting into Iain M Banks. There was an extract of the first chapter in an issue of Wired, the ultra slow-motion sequence with the drone trying to escape the ship that’s being attacked by some unknown force, which absolutely blew my mind at the time.  I’d never read anything with such a dynamic, kinetic style and such an amazing command of pace.

 

I never bought it at the time as it was £16 in  hardback, but decided to buy one off eBay the other day as I wanted to re-read it and it was only a few quid. It turned up without the dust jacket, which was quite disappointing, but then I opened it up and saw this:

 

 

From what I can see, it looks like a real signature. There’s no indication that it was a signed copy, so I can only assume the sellers didn’t notice. He must have signed a lot of them, so it’s not rare, and it’s not in incredible condition (the pages are a bit yellowed) but it’s not like he can sign any more of them, and it’s nice to have something that the big man literally made his mark on. 
 

I don’t suppose anyone could sell me an Excession dust jacket, could they?

[Danster]

Looks legit signature

 

[ZOK]

I tried to give away a signed copy of State of the Art in here a few years ago - iirc no-one wanted it and it went to the charity shop!

[Ste Pickford]

I've got the Excession hardback with dust jacket, but don't really want to part with it.  Will swap you the dust jacket for the signed page?

[K]

I kind of want to hang onto the signed page too. Would you accept 75% of the unsigned pages?

[Nick R]

1 hour ago, K said:

I kind of want to hang onto the signed page too. Would you accept 75% of the unsigned pages?

 

I'm willing to trade the remaining 25% of unsigned pages for this signed page from Doug Naylor's Last Human. (Which, like you, I did not know was signed when I bought it second-hand.)

 

Think about it: then you'll have one copy of Excession signed by two British sci-fi authors! 🤑

 

[Pete]

Matter

 

Really enjoyed this one, the first time there has been a fact filled appendix and lots of aliens interacting with each other. But maybe because it doesn't focus on the minds or AI, it is also one of the least interesting on a philosophical level. It makes up for it though with some strong characters and the concept of a shellworld is brilliant, if a bit mad. I also actually laughed quite a bit, the Oct in particular were good value and I hope they return.

 

Already cracking on with Surface Detail now as my friend who I'm borrowing these from is leaving my work, I must say I am getting weary of anything with virtual worlds (and time travel or multi-verses) but this is Banks so I feel I'm in good hands.

[Sidewaysbob]

I love surface detail. I think it was the high point of his later work. The culture war ship is just a superb character in this. 

[K]

Interesting factoid that I stumbled across in the Culture subreddit the other day. Well, less a fact, more an aspect of the book that had completely passed me by when I had read it previously - in Excession, in the absolutely badass sequence where the Killing Time takes down the rogue Culture ship, the Killing Time uses its effector to convince the Attitude Adjuster to commit suicide. 
 

Looking back at it, it seems quite obvious - the Killing Time scans the Attitude Adjuster, seemingly without recognising it, but immediately afterward the AA starts having serious doubts about its mission that quickly spiral into suicidal thoughts. It’s obvious when you know what you’re looking for (or maybe I’m just not very observant) but still subtly done, and a nice twist on the classic space opera battle sequence. 

[The Boatman]

There’s a book of Banks’ Culture drawings coming out later this year:

 

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-culture-the-drawings/iain-m-banks/9780356519425

[ZOK]

Interesting - have any of these ever been seen before?

[Padaxes]

Any examples?