Children of the Sun > Reading & Writing
Banks
nacho:
--- Quote from: Matt on May 16, 2006, 12:50:14 PM ---"It's a gift. Books aren't meant to be lent out."`
--- End quote ---
Come on October!
Matt:
Yeahaaa!
nacho:
Always space to revive an Iain Banks thread. Now with the Wikipedia entry on the Culture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture
Cassander:
so i finished Wasp Factory yesterday and I must admit, I was somewhat dissatisfied, which is odd since everything else you've recommended to me has been great. I really loved the kid's life, his little ceremonies and constructions because they reminded me a lot of what i did as a kid roaming the woods (only i never really played with dead animals), and it also captured that type of kid who is rarely written about, the shut-off from pop culture, overzealous weirdo pseudo-anarchist misanthrope with a sensitive side. but the overall plot (his brother's imminent return, drawn out to a retarded length of time) and the every-other-chapter revelation bit just didn't jive with me. and the ending...well, whatever.
so does banks' actual writing improve in his other books? i mean, he's not horrible, but his style is a pretty straightforward one and i usually like a little more gymnastic use of language. i'll pick up complicity sometime, because wasp factory was just good enough to get me interested, i just don't think it lived up to its "TOP 100 NOVELS OF THE CENTURY IN BRITAIN!!!11!!!1!" honor that's pasted all over my copy.
oh, if anyone wants to borrow/take it off my hands, hit me up and i'll send it to you.
nacho:
--- Quote from: Cassander on May 20, 2007, 12:48:32 PM ---
so does banks' actual writing improve in his other books? i mean, he's not horrible, but his style is a pretty straightforward one and i usually like a little more gymnastic use of language. i'll pick up complicity sometime, because wasp factory was just good enough to get me interested, i just don't think it lived up to its "TOP 100 NOVELS OF THE CENTURY IN BRITAIN!!!11!!!1!" honor that's pasted all over my copy.
--- End quote ---
Yes, he does. Wasp Factory is his first novel, and became huge (making him huge) thanks to the twist. Which, 20 years ago, in the UK, was somewhat wild. I read Wasp Factory after plowing through his sci-fi and loved it, but I wonder if that's because it sort of fell into the "origins of the author" category, because you're not the first to say what you're saying to me.
Complicity is his best fiction, in my opinion. I'm a larger fan of his sci-fi, where his writing becomes more experimental (Feersum Endjinn is 300 pages of phonetic writing). I've been let down by his fiction a few times, but I'm always enthused by his sci-fi. The writing style for the two genres are, bizarrely, quite different. As if we're dealing with two distinct personalities.
You'll see his writing evolve and refine itself as time goes on. But, in the end, Banks is a love him or hate him author, and his protagonists are all the weird lone wolf type.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version