BookWyrm

acidman rated The Dark Tower IV: 4 stars

Stephen King, King, Stephen: The Dark Tower IV (Paperback, 2003, New English Library)

The Dark Tower IV by Stephen King, King, Stephen (Dark Tower (4))

[The Dark Tower][1] IV

Part IV of an epic quest. Roland the Gunslinger and his followers have to contend with …

acidman rated A Closed and Common Orbit: 4 stars

Becky Chambers: A Closed and Common Orbit (Hardcover, 2016, HODDER & STOUGHTON)

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #2)

Once, Lovelace had eyes and ears everywhere. She was a ship's artificial intelligence system - possessing a personality and very …

acidman rated The Will to Battle: 4 stars

Ada Palmer: The Will to Battle (Hardcover, 2019, Tor Books, Macmillan)

The Will to Battle by Ada Palmer (Terra Ignota, #3)

The Will to Battle is the third book of John W. Campbell Award winner Ada Palmer's Terra Ignota series, a …

acidman rated Mona Lisa Overdrive: 4 stars

William Gibson (unspecified): Mona Lisa Overdrive (Paperback, German language, 2000, Heyne)

Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (unspecified)

Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final novel of the William Gibson's cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy.

Living in the vast computer landscape …

acidman rated The Poppy War: 3 stars

R. F. Kuang: The Poppy War (Hardcover, 2018, Harper Voyager)

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (The Poppy War, #1)

A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of …

acidman rated Fangirl, Vol. 1: 3 stars

No cover — Gabi Nam, Sam Maggs, Rainbow Rowell: Fangirl, Vol. 1 (2020, Viz Media)

Fangirl, Vol. 1 by Gabi Nam, Sam Maggs, Rainbow Rowell

acidman reviewed The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks (Culture, #2)

Iain M. Banks: The Player of Games (1997, HarperPrism)

The Player of Games is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, …

Review of 'The Player of Games' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Good book. Great for it's length and scope even.

Some comments:

Did he really have to make the Azadians bug eyed baby eating monsters to show the evils of authoritarianism? Did he really have to go so far? I for one thought that was too much but I suppose some people need it spelled out for them.

I'm a fan of the Culture. I've only read Consider Phlebas before but it's one of my favorite Utopias (somewhat disappointed we don't get to see more of it in this one). It aligns with my Anarchist tendencies. And basing it off the Singularity sells it better than most and I like that. And thus I want them to be the good guys. Now, what Marhwin Skel said to the emperor before the last match, that flew right in the face of good guys stuff.
I know that Banks doesn't really intend to …

Good book. Great for it's length and scope even.

Some comments:

Did he really have to make the Azadians bug eyed baby eating monsters to show the evils of authoritarianism? Did he really have to go so far? I for one thought that was too much but I suppose some people need it spelled out for them.

I'm a fan of the Culture. I've only read Consider Phlebas before but it's one of my favorite Utopias (somewhat disappointed we don't get to see more of it in this one). It aligns with my Anarchist tendencies. And basing it off the Singularity sells it better than most and I like that. And thus I want them to be the good guys. Now, what Marhwin Skel said to the emperor before the last match, that flew right in the face of good guys stuff.
I know that Banks doesn't really intend to give them the good guy cape out of the box (if ever), considering their treatment in the first book, so I wasn't surprised. But I couldn't stop thinking about what Skel did until it struck me, the whole book's supposed to be an expose, if you will, of Hierarchical Authoritarianism, right? And what's a better admonishment than one man having the power to topple the system just like that? Even if the imperial guard were more loyal to Azad than their Emperor (I.e. if the system worked as intended), the whole thing depended upon a single castle full of people. I suppose it's all stating the obvious but I thought what Banks did was very clever there.

Do any of the Culture books explore the issues within it as opposed to other societies?