Antolius reviewed The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks (Culture, part 2)
The Culture - a human/machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great Game Players, …
Review of 'The Player of Games' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Read even if you disliked the first Culture series novel [b:Consider Phlebas|535073|Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1)|Iain M. Banks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1340803242l/535073.SY75.jpg|14366].
Good:
classic sci-fi premise space emperor elected through an ultimate board-game competition
relatable protagonist
works on both sociological & psychological levels
story is well paced & nicely wrapped up
Bad:
would be more interesting if the empire wasn't sadistically evil
using masculine pronouns for 3rd alien gender feels like a wasted opportunity