Name: The State of the Art
ISBN: 9781597800747

Iain Banks

The first ever collection of Iain Banks' short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella, The State of the Art. This is a striking addition to the growing body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The other stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks' staggering talent.

The State of the Art

Kyle S

Meh. The Culture series is by far my favorite book series since The Dark Tower and I've loved every single book in this imaginative utopian universe Banks created, but this book is just lacking in everything that makes his stories so good. I think Banks is a better long form writer than a short story writer, his books are great at letting the characters and the world breathe so a short story collection like The State of the Art isn't the best place for his strengths to come out.

Even the title story, The State of the Art, which is more of a novella than a short story, is weak. I thought I would enjoy it more because it's about The Culture's first visitation of Earth in 1977, and stars fan favorite Sma from Use of Weapons, but it's less of an adventure of a Culture agent in a familiar setting and more of a philosophical discussion on whether Earth is worth contacting or being left as a "control." Somebody on reddit aptly described that it reads more like fan fiction than anything else, which I agree.

So far I haven't read a book in the series I didn't like, despite this being the lowest scored Culture book in my reviews so far it's still worth the read just to appreciate Banks' prose and world building. However I wouldn't put it as required reading for the rest of the series, skip if if you want, but if you want more Culture in your life it wouldn't hurt to pick it up.

Shane Segal

Sherry

Gavin

Kevin Finlayson

Scordatura

Iain M. Banks

The first ever collection of Iain M. Banks's short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella, The State of the Art. This is a striking addition to the growing body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The other stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks's staggering talent. Praise for the Culture series: 'Epic in scope, ambitious in its ideas and absorbing in its execution' Independent on Sunday 'Banks has created one of the most enduring and endearing visions of the future' Guardian 'Jam-packed with extraordinary invention' Scotsman 'Compulsive reading' Sunday Telegraph The Culture series: Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons The State of the Art Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata Other books by Iain M. Banks: Against a Dark Background Feersum Endjinn The Algebraist