Forum: Iain M Banks

Out of all the comparatively primitive interstellar humanoid civilizations to feature in the Culture series, the one that I still find horrifyingly...

After due deliberation, I have decided to return to the forum. My idea is to slowly reread (in deference to Deep Black's reading abilities—though he...

OK, so TMH has scotched (haaaaaaaa!*) any notion of officially coming up with rules for Azad. But, if I/someone else/Batman were to throw up a wiki,...

s p o i l e r s , b i t c h e s s p o i l e rs It's a perfect problem, the Mercatoria and it's hideously rigid vertical (and comical)...

I'll start it off with a scene from Consider Phlebas. I'm paraphrasing since I don't have my copy of on hand. I'll post the exact excerpts when I...

Hi all, I just finished the final Culture novel, and having read them all am excited to finally discuss all things Culture without fear of spoilers. ...

I know, I know, The Hydrogen Sonata was just published. But what topic(s) would make the next Culture novel most...

So what are your favorite moments of humor from the Culture Novels? Two that come to my mind are the The Fate Amenable to Change's reaction to an...

Name says it all. What are the best action scenes that Banks has written? The one that sticks out in my minds is the climactic showdown in Player of...

I was just watching Ep. 1x09 of Dr. Who (2005) and this part totally made me think of an ROU traveling through hyperspace (see screenshot). ...

Like Fal 'Ngeestra from Consider Phlebas: http://www.goodjudgmentproject.com/

Hubs are the management center of orbitals , located in the middle of the orbital. You'll have to apologize my bad memory for any references...

Hello all, For a while now I've had a fantasy about what could happen if The Culture existed and finally made Contact. I like to try and think...

ROU Space Invader GCU Like A Virgin GSV Totally Tubular

Warning: SPOILERS galore. I've sometimes been criticized when I've claimed Banks is the best SF writer ever. So here's a bit of proof to back it...

dra·ma·tis per·so·nae noun plural \ˌdra-mə-təs-pər-ˈsō-(ˌ)nē, ˌdrä-, -ˌnī\ : the characters or actors in a play, movie, story, etc. ...

What is the least enjoyable "M" book to you, and why? For me, Against a Dark Background wins (or loses) the prixe. It had lots of promise but...

I posted the following on Usenet a little while ago and either not many people were reading it or no-one is any more elightened than I am about the...

Hi all, I finished SD and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a few questions that I was able to find answers to on the forums, but a few that I still have...

Anyone know if the Secret Courtyard can be got as a download? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks see here for description...