#Iain banks

[the-walrus-squad]

I almost looked up something fucking UNHOLY

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Muriel is holding The Crow Road by Iain Banks book which has been spotted several times in the promos 👀

From wiki: The novel describes Prentice McHoan's preoccupation with death, sex, his relationship with his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, a missing uncle, cars, alcohol and other intoxicants, and God, against the background of the Scottish landscape.

The novel combines menace (it contains an account of a "perfect murder") and dark humour (note the opening sentence: "It was the day my grandmother exploded.") with an interesting treatment of love. Banks uses multiple voices and points of view, jumping freely in both time and character. Even minor characters like Prentice's grandmother, the fictional town of Gallanach, and his family's home in Lochgair receive careful description, giving Prentice's life depth and context.

The book follows Prentice's journey of discovery about himself, those he loves, and the ways of the world.

"The Crow Road" is the name of a street in the west of Glasgow, but serves as well as a metaphor for death, as in "He's away the Crow Road". The appropriateness of this title becomes apparent as the novel progresses.

[haileys-dreamland]

Sorry I can't be an HDG girlie; I was raised on a strict diet of Culture novels.

[figcatlists]

“Literary” speculative fiction reading list

A list of recommended sci-fi and fantasy books with high-quality prose and serious or complex themes, including works by Le Guin, Wolfe, Delany, Miéville, and Banks. This selection is drawn from a much longer list of well-written and ambitious SF that I published on my website.

[ceevee5]

[aduckwithears]

I'm literally 8 pages into reading The Crow Road and so far a major theme seems to be the having of sex in an old classic car. Just saying.

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[stainlesssteellocust]

We need less inescplicably evil ais in fiction. Screw the unironically always-nice ones too. I want to see more of what the Lasting Damage had going on:

The avatar smiled silkily as it leaned closer to him, as though imparting a confidence. "Never forget I am not this silver body, Mahrai. I am not an animal brain, I am not even some attempt to produce an AI through software running on a computer. I am a Culture Mind. We are close to gods, and on the far side.

"We are quicker; we live faster and more completely than you do, with so many more senses, such a greater store of memories and at such a fine level of detail. We die more slowly, and we die more completely, too. Never forget I have had the chance to compare and contrast the ways of dying.

[...]

"I have watched people die in exhaustive and penetrative detail," the avatar continued. "I have felt for them. Did you know that true subjective time is measured in the minimum duration of demonstrably separate thoughts? Per second, a human—or a Chelgrian—might have twenty or thirty, even in the heightened state of extreme distress associated with the process of dying in pain." The avatar's eyes seemed to shine. It came forward, close to his face by the breadth of a hand.

"Whereas I," it whispered, "have billions." It smiled, and something in its expression made Ziller clench his teeth. "I watched those poor wretches die in the slowest of slow motion and I knew even as I watched that it was I who'd killed them, who at that moment engaged in the process of killing them. For a thing like me to kill one of them or one of you is a very, very easy thing to do, and, as I discovered, absolutely disgusting. Just as I need never wonder what it is like to die, so I need never wonder what it is like to kill, Ziller, because I have done it, and it is a wasteful, graceless, worthless and hateful thing to have to do.

"And, as you might imagine, I consider that I have an obligation to discharge. I fully intend to spend the rest of my existence here as Masaq' Hub for as long as I'm needed or until I'm no longer welcome, forever keeping an eye to windward for approaching storms and just generally protecting this quaint circle of fragile little bodies and the vulnerable little brains they house from whatever harm a big dumb mechanical universe or any conscience malevolent force might happen or wish to visit upon them, specifically because I know how appallingly easy they are to destroy.

[dwarvendiaries]

Just finished The Wasp Factory. Holy fuck that was just like being slowly being bitten into by a creature. I predicted the twist a couple chapters ahead because reasons, but still have so many thoughts

[geoderocks]

Iain M. Banks was incredibly ahead of the times. The Player of Games was published in 1988, and introduces the Culture as a post-scarcity society, with no currency, or any hierarchal power structure of any kind, where everyone freely changes sex whenever they want - everyone is quite simply considered a person, regardless of gender/sex, race/species, status or physiology. This includes the human(oid)s as well as the (extremy advanced) machine intelligences.

When encountering totalitarian empires, Culture citizens find the lack of logic in these societies very confusing and are genuinely apalled by the concepts of conquering, oppressing, and (ecological and societal) destruction. But it never gets generalised/simplified or in any way ‘preachy’. Banks’ social commentary is razor-sharp and uncompromising, and his writing is of a literary level (while immensely readable). And at times, brutal. When there’s violence, he writes it as the truly horrific thing it is.

But there’s also brilliant wit and humour, incredible/insane levels of imagination, and Ship names such as ‘Youthful Indiscretion’ and ‘Just Read the Instructions’. The result is something unparalleled. Rereading this again in 2024, it all feels more relevant than ever. And I think I love these books more everytime I revisit them.

[stvrmaker]

The Good Omens gods above have blessed me, I finally found The Crow Road in my local used books store. Been looking for months but since it’s out of print it’s been a real treasure hunt.

Honorable mention to the used copy of Crush by Richard Siken that also came home with me today ✌🏻

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

(it's The Crow Road by Iain Banks, it's no longer published in czech but I found a second hand one, wahoo! :D❤)

[ticktockheartstop]

I’ve almost finished The Crow Road, and the way Prentice reads his uncle’s journals and notes over and over has me hoping that Crowley finds Aziraphale’s diaries and cries over Aziraphale’s fond accounts of their adventures.

[searching4sarahtonin]

if any of you have stopped going feral over GOS2, just read The Crow Road by Iain Banks

Read it even if you're still going feral. . . Or if by some miracle you never got sucked into the brainrot.

Just Read It.

It's so fucking good!

[theseworldsareyours]

Early Culture Star Cruise Ship by James Fletcher