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andrew_j_r's review against another edition
3.0
Having decided to work my way through the Iain M. Banks books I have reached the fourth book, which is a collection of shorter stories (although one does fill half the book).
There are a couple of things worth mentioning. The first is that three of the eight stories are Culture tales, and these are easily the most interesting.
Secondly, the longest story (which shares the title of the book) answers a question that had been at the back of my mind since I started reading the books: how does good old planet Earth fit into the Culture series? This answers it, although I suspect that it is only part of the answer as I have no idea what period of time the Culture series covers, are the stories pretty much contemporary with each other or could they be set thousands of years apart? I guess more may be expanded upon on future stories.
Also we have the first reoccurring character in Diziet Sma. I wonder if there will be any more.
So, the good stuff was good. The final tale, thankfully less then ten pages long, was frankly baffling.
So not the best read, but worth it for the questions it answers.
There are a couple of things worth mentioning. The first is that three of the eight stories are Culture tales, and these are easily the most interesting.
Secondly, the longest story (which shares the title of the book) answers a question that had been at the back of my mind since I started reading the books: how does good old planet Earth fit into the Culture series? This answers it, although I suspect that it is only part of the answer as I have no idea what period of time the Culture series covers, are the stories pretty much contemporary with each other or could they be set thousands of years apart? I guess more may be expanded upon on future stories.
Also we have the first reoccurring character in Diziet Sma. I wonder if there will be any more.
So, the good stuff was good. The final tale, thankfully less then ten pages long, was frankly baffling.
So not the best read, but worth it for the questions it answers.
zmull's review against another edition
4.0
Worth read for the title story alone. Sums up the appeal of Scottish Socialist SF when a character sneers at 1970s capitalists that their future is "bright, bright red." Sweet.
taylort1997's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
joebeal's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
trid1977's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories. Some of the stories just suddenly stop, without some sort of conclusion, but I think that's the point. They're more like tales of a day in the life.... Many of the stories had some sort of humorous and un-expected twist. I often had to re-read passages - not because it was poorly writeen, but rather I wanted to be certain I knew what was happening before moving on.
spitzig's review against another edition
I've been a little disappointed by the Culture books since Player of Games. It was such a different type of plot.
This was a collection of short stories. Hit or miss.
This was a collection of short stories. Hit or miss.
sonice's review against another edition
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.
library_rift's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
rossborkett's review against another edition
3.0
Collection of short stories which I found mixed, but the actual State of the Art novella was excellent. Has added more to the Culture universe and looking forward to continuing the series