The Player of Games (Culture, 2): Banks, Iain M.: 9780316005401: Amazon.com: Books

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The Player of Games (Culture, 2) Paperback – March 26, 2008

by Iain M. Banks (Author)

4.5 9,138 ratings

Book 2 of 9: Culture

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The Culture — a human/machine symbiotic society — has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy.

Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game. . . a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life — and very possibly his death.

The Culture Series
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
The State of the Art
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata

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Book 2 of 9

Culture
Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Little, Brown
Publication date

March 26, 2008
Dimensions

5.5 x 1.04 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

0316005401
ISBN-13

978-0316005401
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The Player of Games (Culture, 2)

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Customers say

Customers find the storyline intriguing and captivating. They praise the writing style as brilliant and easy to read. The book explores culture, artistry, and games with interesting world-building and societal details. Readers appreciate the well-developed characters with distinct personalities. The ideas are clever, fun, and intriguing.

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Story quality Readability Writing quality Culture Character development Idea Gaming content Pacing

198 customers mention "Story quality"168 positive30 negative

Customers find the story engaging and well-crafted. They describe it as a better story than Consider Phlebas, with an intriguing storyline that keeps things interesting at both small and large scales. The writing is excellent, with a satisfying twist at the end. The plot is tightly paced, with a dramatic second half.

"...It was well done, and dramatic, but lacked just a bit of the subtlety I was expecting. That said, I highly recommend this novel." Read more

"...An engaging read for any person, science-fiction fan or no, looking for a novel of substance whose plot and characters remain alive and vibrant...." Read more

"...The book is pretty well written and the story is much more orderly compared to the previous train wreck Culture novel [..." Read more

"...Everyone sucks in one way or another. But the story is *EXCELLENT*...." Read more

161 customers mention "Readability"161 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and well-written. They say it's compelling and well-balanced. The book is proofread with minimal typos and grammar errors. Readers also mention it's amusing.

"...exactly what I expected it to be indicates to me that the author did a good job." Read more

""The Player of Games" (1988) is another amusing, easy-to-read tale from Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)...." Read more

"...Yet the background of the Culture makes this book as compelling as the first novel in spite or maybe because of these differences...." Read more

"...A really great read and I give it a 4 rather than a 5 because I did think the ending was not really worthy of the rest of the book...." Read more

94 customers mention "Writing quality"94 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's writing style. They find the story well-told with lots of detail and fresh ideas. The author shows great imagination in constructing and describing these places. The book is easy to read, with subtle subtext and no slow spots. Readers consider the author one of the best Sci-Fi writers they have come across.

"...The book is pretty well written and the story is much more orderly compared to the previous train wreck Culture novel [..." Read more

""The Player of Games" (1988) is another amusing, easy-to-read tale from Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)...." Read more

"...And sci-fi to boot. Arrrr! So I began with the novel consider phlebas which was Bank’s first Culture novel...." Read more

"...Player of Games is like a many faceted diamond and can be read on several different levels...." Read more

83 customers mention "Culture"80 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the book's culture exploration. They find the world-building interesting with good pacing. The societal details are intriguing and relatable, with plenty of allusions to real-world issues. Readers appreciate the fresh ideas and concepts presented in the story. Overall, they describe the book as a gripping tale of an idyllic society that manipulates its members.

"...The novel tells the powerful and compelling story of the game player, Gurgeh, journeying to the Empire of Azad to play the great game of Azad,..." Read more

"...The game powerfully shapes the society, and is the basis of leader selection and promotion in the hierarchy...." Read more

"...science fiction, there are plenty of corollaries and allusions to our real world issues, which ultimately makes the book worth reading; more than..." Read more

"...The author shows us great detail of the Empire, from Imperial palaces to red light districts to slums...." Read more

58 customers mention "Character development"49 positive9 negative

Customers find the characters interesting and imaginative. They are fully developed personalities in their own right, easy to follow, and with less characters and systems to keep track of than some of his other books. The story is well told with lots of detail, fresh ideas, and concepts.

"...or no, looking for a novel of substance whose plot and characters remain alive and vibrant...." Read more

"...Basically all the machines in this novel have fantastic and distinct personalities. They were nice contrasts to Gurgeh’s own personality...." Read more

"...As for the actual story, "Player Of Games" is a tightly structured examination of one individual, the ultimate strategist and grand wizard of gaming..." Read more

"...Don’t miss this complex and thought provoking read!" Read more

33 customers mention "Idea"33 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's idea clever and exciting. They describe it as a fascinating look into a future where humans become a galactic species. The novels take place in a cool universe with lots of detail. Readers appreciate the fresh ideas and concepts, and consider the philosophy a great read.

"...Read it if you'd like to consider and inspiring, not doom and gloom AI-enriched future." Read more

"...want to like this series, the Culture novels take place in such a cool universe which sound really fun to scifi nerds like myself...." Read more

"...He has the protagonist order a mixed drink that is totally magnificent... so much so that I intend to memorize that and, next time I'm in a bar,..." Read more

"...There are robots with great AI's and fun personalities, there is genetic engineering, technology seems to know no bounds...." Read more

13 customers mention "Gaming content"13 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the gaming content of the book. They say it explores the concepts and practice of gaming and gamesmanship in the usual series context. The game within a game, multiple plot twists, and obsessive immersion are mentioned as enjoyable aspects. The sophisticated board game is well-described, with cool parts like space-sexuality and fanciful discussions of board games. Overall, the gaming content captivates readers and improves their chess skills.

"...be made to secrete a wide variety of chemicals as needed, very useful for game playing, and the capacity to change sex...." Read more

"...In this one, Gurgeh is a thinker and philosopher of games. He likes his routine and current lifestyle...." Read more

"...of one individual, the ultimate strategist and grand wizard of gaming in the galaxy...." Read more

"...There are games within games, multiple plot twists, and obsessive immersion in a violent and sexually abusive society where social station is..." Read more

50 customers mention "Pacing"32 positive18 negative

Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it fast-paced and engaging, with a slow buildup and a whirlwind finish. Others feel it starts out slowly and lacks purpose before building up to a gripping conclusion.

"...as Gurgeh leaves the Culture, the novel proceeds at a brisk, often breakneck pace sure to engage any reader as we explore the decadent, dangerous,..." Read more

"...This book was a fast read and I think the writing is superb...." Read more

"...I thought the first half was far too slow. But the second half was quite a wild, imaginative ride. And a much better final act than Consider Phloebus." Read more

"...The Player of Games is like a many faceted diamond and can be read on several different levels...." Read more

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Amazon Customer
Captivating story, challenging imagination
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2024
Verified Purchase
As we grapple with recent AI advent and with its place in human civilization, this book will give you a perspective of a future where humans and AI cooperate and share a common future. Read it if you'd like to consider and inspiring, not doom and gloom AI-enriched future.

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Robert Gamble
Fascinating sci fi novel...
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2008
Verified Purchase
This is really a 4 1/2 star effort as far as I'm concerned. It lacks that little something to push it to a 5 star classic for me, but it's close.

This is also Banks' first "Culture" novel that I've read. I'm going to attempt to not provide too many specific spoilers here. The story itself is pretty straightforward with a couple of twists and puzzles for the reader to work out. Unlike other authors (Gene Wolfe for instance), the twists and puzzles are perfectly clear once the reader has finished the novel.

At its heart, the story is about a man from The Culture who plays games professionally. He writes articles about game theory, develops his own games, etc. But he's bored, or at least looking for something bigger. He gets informed about a game that's an order of magnitude more complex than anything he's played before in an Empire that he's never heard of, and goes to participate in it. The story is partially about how he changes because of the new environment he finds himself in.

There are some interesting themes here. The juxtaposition of "The Culture" with "The Empire". Most of Banks' readers will see The Empire as a commentary on many real world societies, but I'm not sure that we aren't supposed to see that both The Culture and The Empire have both good and bad qualities to them.

Some people have complained that "The Culture" isn't very well explained, and it's true that many elements are quite vague. I can't say that I understand what the government is like for instance (Republic, Democracy, Dictatorship). A lot of your understanding of The Culture will come through the juxtaposition with The Empire (which is described in far more detail), and for me that's fine. I picked up all that I needed about The Culture to understand the story. In the same way, while The Game that the main character goes to play isn't described in complete detail, the reader is given enough information to understand the scenes involving it.

Where Banks shines I think, is in description. Few authors make me truly envision scenes, especially action scenes. While most of the book is somewhat deliberately paced, the action scenes seem to almost explode with intensity and clarity. Make no mistake, this isn't an 'action' story, but those scenes will stand out all the more because of it. He also does a very good job of describing emotional responses in ways that don't hit the reader over the head. In fact, I found myself, through the description of events, almost feeling as if I knew what the character would feel himself before it was described that he did.

My only quibble was with the ending, and here I refer to the climax of the story, not the 'epilogue' (final chapter). It was well done, and dramatic, but lacked just a bit of the subtlety I was expecting.

That said, I highly recommend this novel.

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AlphaTheRed
Darkly powerful
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
"Player of Games" was the first of Mr. Banks Culture novels that I read, and it did not disappoint. The novel tells the powerful and compelling story of the game player, Gurgeh, journeying to the Empire of Azad to play the great game of Azad, around which the entire Azadian culture is based.

The novel starts slowly, but this is necessary to establish the character of Gurgeh and the society of the Culture, which are vital to Gurgeh's character development later on. As soon as Gurgeh leaves the Culture, the novel proceeds at a brisk, often breakneck pace sure to engage any reader as we explore the decadent, dangerous, triple-gendered society of Azad.

The substance of the novel is found in its subtlety. The narrative itself makes no judgments about the actions of Azadians or Gurgeh. We see only their actions and the results. Banks often masks Gurgeh's inner thoughts on motivations, leaving the reader guessing, only to reveal in a single dagger-like moment of clarity a part of Gurgeh that we haven't previously seen.

Banks does not dwell on long explanations of technology or spend pages upon pages exploring their implications. He simply presents the societies of Azad and the Culture to you - living and breathing and so alive you have no choice but to accept them as real as he continues his story.

An engaging read for any person, science-fiction fan or no, looking for a novel of substance whose plot and characters remain alive and vibrant.

(One word of warning - this novel is not for children or readers who are easily upset. The content of the novel is at points disturbing, violent, and sexual - usually all three together in a way not meant to titillate. Banks pulls no punches in exploring certain implications, and readers should be aware that the novel is quite explicit.)

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Top reviews from other countries

Andrew
Great book, fun read
Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2024
Verified Purchase
Entertaining read, and I'm looking forward to the next one. Iain has a fun writing style that makes it easy to keep going.

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DavidD
Great read.
Reviewed in France on October 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
Starts slow and builds up and up. Iain Banks writes so well with such intricate plots. I will read another soon.

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Mirela Mus
Best Intro into to The Culture
Reviewed in Germany on July 1, 2024
Verified Purchase
The first 100 pages are a bit slow, you won't be able to put it down after. If you want a quicker intro book into The Culture Series, try Use of Weapons (Memento Style, lots of small stories from various missions and time in the life of the main character)

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Amazon Customer
Fantastic
Reviewed in India on May 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
I love the immersive, vivid worlds Banks creates. This book is the second in the series of Culture novels (and the second Banks novel I've read after Consider Phlebas, also excellent) and follows a jaded game player who becomes involved in the most important game of the known universe where his own life and much more is at stake. Like Consider Phlebas, it portrays the clash of civilizations with very different philosophies towards life. The alien worlds and Orbitals are beautifully described, a visual treat for the plot in which it is set.
Definitely recommended!

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Felipe
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Reviewed in Brazil on February 4, 2021
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