tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post5022986121076908531..comments2024-02-22T12:02:20.922-07:00Comments on The Next 50: The Player of Games / Iain M. BanksWandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-51017872068724551832016-12-13T11:02:52.741-07:002016-12-13T11:02:52.741-07:00Hi Guy! I think you're right, the cheating th...Hi Guy! I think you're right, the cheating thing was all in the set-up to push Gurgeh into the Azad Empire. My impression was the Mawhrin-Skel was only pretending to be banished and was manipulating him. Gurgeh got played! I'm looking forward to more Culture novels, for sure.<br /><br />Nice to see you the other day! Enjoy Christmas!<br /><br />WandaWandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12731311054637831837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4126862445245993591.post-58984818195734074792016-12-13T08:13:59.688-07:002016-12-13T08:13:59.688-07:00Hi Wanda
I was a bit confused initially as to why...Hi Wanda<br /><br />I was a bit confused initially as to why Banks had introduced the element of Gurgeh cheating. In the end it seems that is to allow him the be blackmailed into taking the assignment and helping the drone Mawhrin-Skel get into the agency, but that setup seems overly long. I guess it was to introduce a game within a game that is almost as significant as the game on Azad but then I wanted more about it at the end. I did feel the interaction between the Emperor and Gurgeh was interesting but could have been more developed and of course the details of the actual game are very vague. I do not know if Player has the scope of the other culture novels, I have not read enough of them. All in all a good read, I am finding the post human and post scarcity SF very enjoyable. I tend to tire quickly of the psychologically fraught SF at present and I don't think anyone is in the mood for more dystopian futures with the way things are trending. I like big ship, aliens and cool ideas so Banks is fine with me.<br /><br />Happy holidays.<br />Guy<br /><br />Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12546069846136464138noreply@blogger.com