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Notes -
I just finished the 4th Culture novel, "The State of the Art".
Easily the worst entry so far, and it's not close. It started with a couple of vignettes that shifted both tone and setting from the previous novels, and then the back half was back to a more typical entry.
It just wasn't interesting. Basically, yet another screed about how communism would work if it wasn't for those capitalist dirty tricks. How awful the earth would seem to an advanced, egalitarian race in a post-scarcity economy. Ian Bank's superiority complex barely shrouded through fiction. The only connection to other books was a one-character cameo.
Despite its shortness compared to the other entries, I'm frustrated because it seems like it was a waste of time. So far, the fifth book is starting off much better.
That’s my next one. Use of Weapons was great, as was Player, unsurprisingly. Phlebas didn’t do it for me. I still read Look to Windward out of order, though, and it was perhaps my favorite. So there’s hope.
I was actually planning to skip Excession after hearingthe Mind-Mind interactions were better offscreen than as chatrooms . But I understand mileage may vary.
Question though - after UoW and Player, did Phlebas grow on you a little?
In particular, I think having the main character be an avowed enemy of the "main character" of the rest of the series is just such an excellent expository vantage point. The world was built around The Culture before you started seeing things from its point of view. It was a multi-hundred-page prologue.
I'm not going to read the spoiler because I'm 10% into Excession but... now I'm nervous. Damnit.
Don’t worry, it’s not a serious concern. More of an aesthetic preference.
I read Phlebas second, having heard Player was a better starting point. So the comparison was always going to be biased. But I’d say my problems with the book were more about structure than vantage.
It’s a series of set pieces. Some of them were pretty neat, but they really don’t go anywhere until the finale. In hindsight, it sort of reminds me of The Last Jedi, adding destinations more for visuals than for advancing the plot or characters. The characters live on top of the setting rather than in it. In contrast, the other novels have a better linkage between place and purpose.
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