Iain Banks - what are your opinions?

[Aeternum]

I've never read anything by Iain Banks, and I decided to give his books a try. I was recommended this author by a friend of mine, who is usually good at choosing this stuff. From what I've heard, he had a pretty unusual style with reverse narratives and all sorts of plot twists, which sounds interesting to me.

So I bought two Banks books last week, The Wasp Factory and Use of Weapons. Haven't read them yet, since I've been too busy with real life (go away, life!), but I'm looking forward to reading them.

So, you who have read his books, what's your opinion on this author? Is he any good? What other books by him would you recommend?

[Zuzu Bolin]

His first three Culture Novels - Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons and Player of Games are pretty much perfect Science Fiction works.

The rest are excellent as well - a tip I have would be to read Use of Weapons and then Surface Detail. Can't say why though.

I haven't read all his "normal" books but of the ones I have I recommend Crow Road and Espedair Street.

[mysig]

he was one of the best writers of his generation

the ones you got are a good starting point. excession is probably my favourite although it is arguably the most idiosyncratic of the lot

[Seli]

His works are great. I like all of his SF I've read, and Use of Weapons is probably one of the best entry points for that (as are Player of Games and Against a Dark Background; even though the latter is not Culture).

The Wasp Factory packs a punch, and most of his other more mainstream works I've tried is fantastic. The man could write.

[williamjm]

I think Banks was one of the best SF authors of recent decades (I've not read his non-SF works yet). Use of Weapons is a fantastic novel and if you're looking for books with unusual structures then it should be perfect for you.

We had an old thread on his books here with more discussion.

[maarsen]

I've never read anything by Iain Banks, and I decided to give his books a try. I was recommended this author by a friend of mine, who is usually good at choosing this stuff. From what I've heard, he had a pretty unusual style with reverse narratives and all sorts of plot twists, which sounds interesting to me.

So I bought two Banks books last week, The Wasp Factory and Use of Weapons. Haven't read them yet, since I've been too busy with real life (go away, life!), but I'm looking forward to reading them.

So, you who have read his books, what's your opinion on this author? Is he any good? What other books by him would you recommend?

I read Use of Weapons many years ago and was utterly stunned. When I picked myself off of the floor, I ran out to find more of his books. The man was a brilliant writer. The Wasp Factory was enjoyable but it was his first novel. He got exponentially better with each book. His SF books are Iain M. Banks as the author, and his non-SF books have Iain Banks as the author. A lot of critics think his SF books are his best work. I liked them all. i am so jealous. discovering a writer like Iain Banks is a truly wonderful experience. Did I mention I was a fan?

[Aeternum]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'll definitely keep an eye open for more stuff by the author.

I'm starting on The Wasp Factory this weekend, since my Sunday is pretty much empty. Saving Use of Weapons till some other time, but I'm looking forward to reading it.

I've skimmed a few pages in both books, as I usually do when I get a new book. Use of Weapons seems to be written in a non-linear way, which can either be really good or really shit. Hmmm. How many of his books are written in an unconventional way?

Also, is there any reason why some of the late author's books are by "Iain Banks" while others are by "Iain M. Banks"?

[MinDonner]

M = science fiction. Some of the non-M books have loosely-SFF concepts in, but are generally set on contemporary Earth and lack spaceships.

[Aeternum]

Ah, that explains it. I also noticed in the bookshop that the Iain M books all had spaceships and supernovas on the covers, while the Iain books had artsy minimalistic covers that signalled Important Human Themes.

[Seli]

...

I've skimmed a few pages in both books, as I usually do when I get a new book. Use of Weapons seems to be written in a non-linear way, which can either be really good or really shit. Hmmm. How many of his books are written in an unconventional way?

Also, is there any reason why some of the late author's books are by "Iain Banks" while others are by "Iain M. Banks"?

As far as I can remember there are not many uses of non-conventional structures that are that extreme (the structure in use of weapons was suggested by fellow SF writer Ken MacLeod), but that can mean that they were done well and I didn't notice. There is the phonetically written viewpoint in Feersum Endjinn which might count.

He became first known as a mainstream writer, and on publishing pure genre his publishers wanted him to use a pseudonym not to scare the mainstream readers away. The inclusion of "M(enzies)" was the compromise, even if the barrier is not that complete. Much of his "mainstream" work (eg The Bridge, or The Business) could be genre as well, a bit like Murakami.

[Qyburn's Monster]

I read the Algebraist and although it was hard to comprehend the full story at times I really loved it.

I'd have to say it's the best Sci Fi book I've read in years and I'm looking forward to reading some of the other books you all have mentioned here.

Which should I read next?

[Yohn]

I read the Algebraist and although it was hard to comprehend the full story at times I really loved it.

I'd have to say it's the best Sci Fi book I've read in years and I'm looking forward to reading some of the other books you all have mentioned here.

Which should I read next?

Personally, I'd say start with Consider Phlebas.

Corrected for spelling.

[williamjm]

As far as I can remember there are not many uses of non-conventional structures that are that extreme (the structure in use of weapons was suggested by fellow SF writer Ken MacLeod), but that can mean that they were done well and I didn't notice. There is the phonetically written viewpoint in Feersum Endjinn which might count.

Feersum Endjinn also has a non-linear narrative, although it's not initially as obvious as in Use of Weapons. I did like Bascule's phonetically written chapters, but I think they took me about three or four times as long to read as the other chapters in the book.

I think FE and UoW are probably the most experimental in terms of the narrative, the others generally have a linear narrative sometimes with a few flashbacks.

[polishgenius]

I read the Algebraist and although it was hard to comprehend the full story at times I really loved it.

I'd have to say it's the best Sci Fi book I've read in years and I'm looking forward to reading some of the other books you all have mentioned here.

Which should I read next?

I'd start with either Use of Weapons or Player of Games as the best intros to the Culture (though Consider Phlebas is first, it's slightly weaker- mind you, it's probably better than The Algebraist which I didn't enjoy the ending of so it probably can't hurt if you liked that novel anyway), or Against a Dark Background which is standalone and awesome, one of his best.

Or one of his non-SF, though of those I've only read The Crow Road and The Quarry, both of which are very good (though I find it very difficult to judge The Quarry objectively for both the obvious reason and more personal connotations of the subject matter).

I think FE and UoW are probably the most experimental in terms of the narrative, the others generally have a linear narrative sometimes with a few flashbacks.

Yeah, I don't think Banks is as narratively/structurally experimental as UoW might make him seem. Though he can be pretty out-there in other ways.

[Papirolle]

I have read The Algebraist and The Wasp Factory and thought both were very good.

I am looking forward to getting started with the Culture novels.

[Nearly Headless Ned]

Lovely, stylish writer whose work packed a real emotional wallop to them.

Funny as fuck as well.

[daremo]

I agree with Zuzu, Use of Weapons then Surface Detail. You'll see....

[Xray the Enforcer]

I agree with Zuzu, Use of Weapons then Surface Detail. You'll see....

Nice to see you around, man. :)

I agree that the first three Culture novels are a great introduction to Banks' writing. And, yeah, he was one of the best, and will be sorely missed.

[daremo]

*hijack* Thanks. Good to see someone I recognize. I might just hang for a bit. *end hijack*

[Aeternum]

Almost done with Wasp Factory, just one chapter left.

I'm a bit unsure about this one. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't breathtakingly awesome either. Banks is brilliant at getting into the mind of a mentally diseased person, though - I don't think I've ever read a book with a more convincingly insane narrator (with his own internal logic and motivations) than this one. The animal torture was a bit too much, Banks could've toned down some of that. The actual plot was rather "meh", although the twist in the penultimate chapter was a morbid surprise and made sense. IMO, it's probably a book that needs re-reading, even if it's pretty straight-forward. I was going to write a short review of the book, but since it's really hard to review and this would just spoil the plot for everyone else, I'll leave it at this.

(I caught some of the book's satire - the weird killing rituals with the wasps felt like a parody of organized religion, and whole island-as-microcosm was also obvious. A lot of Lord of the Flies homages in the book. I'm sure there's other meta I didn't catch.)

On to Use of Weapons now.