Tag Archives: Iain M. Banks

Neal Asher

Neal Asher is one-third of the British triumvirate of science fiction authors who write stories that take place in a post-abundance distant future. The other two are Iain M. Banks and Alastair Reynolds. While they aren’t collaborators, their future realities have notable similarities.

I generally like their work and have written about all three [tags: Asher, Banks, & Reynolds]. Coincidentally, my preference for their work follows the alphabetical order of their last names. I’ve even said, contra Banks and Reynolds, that Asher has never disappointed me.

Until I read his Rise of the Jain trilogy.

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Banks: The Algebraist

My reaction to Scottish writer Iain (M.) Banks (1954-2013) is decidedly mixed. On multiple points. His middle initial (for Menzies) being one of the lesser ones. The 14 novels by Iain M. Banks are science fiction — most taking place in the Culture, his far-future backdrop. The 14 novels by Iain Banks, however, are mainstream, not science fiction.

Banks became notable after his first novel, The Wasp Factory (1984; mainstream). His first science fiction book, Consider Phlebas, came out in 1987. That was also the first book in his Culture series.

I recently read The Algebraist (2004), one of his few non-Culture science fiction novels. It reminded me of both what attracts and annoys me about his writing.

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