Iain Banks

[Who's Wee Dug]

When I visit up home I always made a beeline for it,then the buggers closed it and now I have to go to Stirling, hope that one is still open when I visit next month or I will be seriously peeded off.

[NightOwl]

talking of bookshops - Barter Books in Alnwick is brilliant - the old railway station converted into a 2nd hand bookshop - I even found a book by Sterling Lanier there (Hiero etc). when I am up in Northumberland, I always come home with lots of books from there.

I still haven't picked up Matter though - trying to finish one or two of the other books I have on the go.

[Tonyblack]

I try to steer clear of bookshops - once in one, I have a job to get out again.

[poohbcarrot]

I loved the Wasp Factory and I think it was the Player of Games I read of his and enjoyed that a lot too. Maybe its time I looked at some of his books again.

Same here! Both books were excellent. Another book which I read and enjoyed and might have been his was The Bridge.

[Who's Wee Dug]

My favorite is "The Business" where it owned the Roman Empire for a short time. Great guy and a fellow Scot who loves a wee dram.

[Foul ole Ron]

Good to meet another fan! Have you read Matter yet? I've got it, but I haven't had time to sit down to it yet.

No, for some reason I don't think I have. Must have overlooked it - I was trying to include a wider selection of books in my reading and must have missed it.

Iain Banks fan here too.

Matter is excellent.

[sweet oblivion]

Really love his Sci-fi stuff; Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, the Algebraist. I found Anathem pretty slow going.

Never really bothered to read his Iain Banks Novels. Are they worth it?

[Dotsie]

Yes! Although the subject matter isn't for everyone. Start with Whit - it's about religion, but religious belief itself doesn't necessarily get a bashing, and there's not much in it otherwise that would cause offence. Unlike say, the Wasp Factory

[Bouncy Castle]

Dammit.

Will you lot stop posting about other authors, my bank manager can't take the pressure!

(toddles off to play.com)

[Who's Wee Dug]

Good to meet another fan! Have you read Matter yet? I've got it, but I haven't had time to sit down to it yet.

No, for some reason I don't think I have. Must have overlooked it - I was trying to include a wider selection of books in my reading and must have missed it.

Iain Banks fan here too.

Matter is excellent.

Not yet getting a bit behind with my book reading.

[Danny B]

After a friend recommended I try him, I bought a copy of The Bridge. I did not enjoy it. The same friend said I should give his SF a go, so I found a copy of Feersum Endjinn in a shop and bought that. I did not enjoy it. I disliked both novels so much, that I stopped accepting said friend's recommendations for some considerable years.

Then just recently, someone told me I had picked easily the two worst possible books to start with and gave me a copy of The Crow Road, insisting they'd take me out for a meal at their expense if I hated it... I'm both happy and somewhat miffed to say I'll be sharing the cost of our next meal. I'm now eagerly awaiting the arrival of a copy of Consider Phlebas.

Edited to add - I should note that I didn't stop taking my friend's recommendations purely on those two novels. This was the same person who convinced me to read several other writers who I found myself disliking quite intensely. (I won't name the writers, I'd rather be nice than nasty )

[chris.ph]

come on danny who are the authors

[Danny B]

No outright naming, since I don't want to a.) start arguing with any potential fans of those writers, or b.) go too far off-topic. I'll drop a couple of hints, though.

One lady, named after a flower, who's written Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms novels amongst other stuff. One extremely young writer of heroic fantasy. With dragons in them. A fellow who writes almost nothing except novelisations and adaptations of videogames, most notably in the Star Wars and Diablo universes (Stuff it. It's Richard A. Knaak. I've yet to encounter anyone else who's read one of his novels all the way through, anyway.). Finally, the author of a tiny series of novels that no-one has ever heard of, where a girl with a terminal lack of charisma gets stalked by a sparkly vampire 90 years her senior. Who still goes to high school. And chases sixteen year old girls. And breaks into their houses to watch them sleep. And destroys their self esteem with passive-aggresive comments, before carefully isolating them from their peer groups, just like abusive partners do. You probably haven't heard of it.

[Jan Van Quirm]

[Dotsie]

Excellent review Danny.