Iain Banks

[darkmagicwillow]

I was excited to read in Amber's diary that she loves Iain Banks too:

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they gave me a copy of The Crow Road (love Iain Banks) to watch

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He's one of my favorite novelists, both as Iain Banks, writer of mainstream fiction (though usually with an interesting twist on reality), and as Iain M Banks, writer of science fiction novels set in The Culture. However, I didn't know that The Crow Road had been made into a movie. Is this another thing we poor Americans will have to wait years to see?



My favorite novel of his is The Bridge. It's a complex, surreal work where an amnesiac man finds himself on The Bridge, a giant structure and society that seemingly has no end, but it's also the parallel story of (the same?) man set in our world where it appears that he's in a coma and the world of The Bridge just a dream. Or is it that simple? Not all his works are this complex or surreal, but as a fan of Borges, Helprin, and Marquez, I love this kind of story.



His SF novels are generally set in The Culture, a society where advanced technologies have created a blend of the best characteristics of anarchy (freedom to do what you want) and socialism (freedom from need to work for someone for material goods.) A popular culture adage is "Money is a sign of poverty," meaning that money is only important in a pre-abundant low tech society. Here's a short quote from the essay I linked to above:

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With his books about the Culture<7>, Iain M. Banks has presented a powerful, persuasive, optimistic and fun vision of what humans can accomplish. His vision captures and integrates the most important and beneficial philosophical, political, cultural and technological developments of our time. If you know anyone who needs a «progress boost» or a cure for nostalgia, pessimism and fear of the future - or just a reminder that liberty must be lived, not only talked about - look no further.

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In summary, The Culture a very original and well thought-out alternative to the simple futures of Star Trek or most space opera. The most accessible introduction to this universe is his recent book Look to Winward, but the tragic Consider Phlebas is my favorite Culture novel.

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"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[themagicpixie]

My favourite Iain Banks book is Whit. I just love the lead character, and it's a very funny novel.



The BBC made The Crow Road into a miniseries in 1996 and it was shown on BBC2 in the UK. It was a pretty good series, I remember everyone talking about in school at the time!



Its IMDB link is here:



us.imdb.com/Title?0115145



Not a huge amount there, but it has a good rating! It may have been re-edited as a movie for the US.

[darkmagicwillow]

Whit is an interesting book, good in a different way from his other works. Isis is a wonderfully interesting viewpoint character, beginning with her unique birth as a third-generation leapyearian with all that means for her church and continuing with all her experiences as she discovers what the world is like outside her church and home.



Thanks for the link for The Crow Road.

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"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[themagicpixie]

BTW, Joe McFadden, who played the lead role in The Crow Road (Prentice McHoan, the actor credited as Joseph McFadden) is the voice of Lord Byron in Amber Benson and Chris Golden's Ghosts of Albion.



www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts...dden.shtml

[darkmagicwillow]

Interesting ... more and more connections between Banks and Amber. Hmmm...or does two qualify for more and more? lol



Come on, surely someone else reads Iain Banks? He's one of our best modern novelists and he's got some great female characters like Sharrow in Against a Dark Background.

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"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."