Something named in honor of Iain M Banks?

Uridium

Uridium
deusx_ophc said:
+rep

and you must be my long lost twin - scary as few people like that combination :eek: :cool:
Click to expand...

Pretty sure my copy of The Wasp Factory is signed too (as well as my Player Of Games)
I was lucky at university, that my local comic shop used to run a lot of book/comic signings. So I got to meet quite a few great Sci-Fi authors.
 

Draggin

D
Love Sci-Fi

Salute sir!

I am not trying to derail your thread. My whole life I have been reading sci-fi/fantasy, and I have never heard of this person. What would be the time frame of his writings? My favorite writer personally was Isaac Asimov. I grew up with him and Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and a couple of others I can't remember the names of.

I completely understand the relationship you develop with the writers of the future. Isaac Asimov's writings did the same for me... Again I apologize if (and don't want to) I turn this thread into a multi writer discussion, I was just trying to relate to you my understaning of how powerful sci-fi writers can be.

Salute! and cya in the stars!

CMDR Draggin

Right along those lines, Star Trek-Original series I grew up with as a kid, was pretty influential too. Not just for the bad acting, but the programming sent along with the programs. Right along with Lost in Space.... :eek:
 
Last edited:

Milky82

M
Draggin said:
Salute sir!

I am not trying to derail your thread. My whole life I have been reading sci-fi/fantasy, and I have never heard of this person. What would be the time frame of his writings? My favorite writer personally was Isaac Asimov. I grew up with him and Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and a couple of others I can't remember the names of.

I completely understand the relationship you develop with the writers of the future. Isaac Asimov's writings did the same for me... Again I apologize if (and don't want to) I turn this thread into a multi writer discussion, I was just trying to relate to you my understaning of how powerful sci-fi writers can be.

Salute! and cya in the stars!

CMDR Draggin

Right along those lines, Star Trek-Original series I grew up with as a kid, was pretty influential too. Not just for the bad acting, but the programming sent along with the programs. Right along with Lost in Space.... :eek:
Click to expand...

Draggin, trust me if you have never read Banks then you are missing out on a real treat, start with "Consider Pheblas" I promise you its worth your time :)
 

Dubious_Squirrel

D
Great author, it makes me sad that we'll never see another book from him. His Culture series is brilliant, I especially like the AI minds. Worthy of a nod somewhere in ED.
 
Last edited:

ZZleeZZ

Z
Banks is my all time favourite author. My love affair with Consider Phlebas will never die.

Pretty sure I saw an NPC called Perostek Balveda in the game, but then again I may have dreamed that.

I do know that our beloved exec producer Mr Brookes is a big Iain M Banks fan so would not be at all surprised to find more references to the culture in the game.
 

Ytheleus

Y
Michael Brookes said:
My favourite novel is Excession so yes, there is a tribute to him in game :)
Click to expand...

Thanks then, for already doing what we're asking for.
Look forward to seeing it in the game somewhere.

Excession is also my favourite novel, though it has some faults (The Affront, too many tedious biologicals getting in the way of the action), but the descriptions of the drone Sisela Ytheleus escaping, and GSV Sleeper Service going on its journey are beyond brilliant.
 

Pixeldemon

Pixeldemon
Michael Brookes said:
My favourite novel is Excession so yes, there is a tribute to him in game :)

Michael
Click to expand...

The Culture as a major Faction confirmed. Hope everyone enjoyed the combat part of the game, because after they make contact we'll all just be living in a post-scarcity anarcho-utopia, with no need for money or violence.
 

casusbelli

C
Draggin said:
Salute sir!

I am not trying to derail your thread. My whole life I have been reading sci-fi/fantasy, and I have never heard of this person. What would be the time frame of his writings? My favorite writer personally was Isaac Asimov. I grew up with him and Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke and a couple of others I can't remember the names of.

I completely understand the relationship you develop with the writers of the future. Isaac Asimov's writings did the same for me... Again I apologize if (and don't want to) I turn this thread into a multi writer discussion, I was just trying to relate to you my understaning of how powerful sci-fi writers can be.

Salute! and cya in the stars!

CMDR Draggin

Right along those lines, Star Trek-Original series I grew up with as a kid, was pretty influential too. Not just for the bad acting, but the programming sent along with the programs. Right along with Lost in Space.... :eek:
Click to expand...

No worries! I'm glad that you discovered a new writer that you will possibly like, and you're completely right about the power sci-fi writers have over some of us. Banks deals with themes a bit different from the classic sci-fi authors, mostly dealing with the relationship between an ultra-advanced, post-scarcity society and and the more uncivilized, up and coming societies of the galaxy. Of course, that is not all there is to it, but if I had to summarize it in a sentence that would be it.

If you're interested in reading some of his work, as stated above, Consider Phlebas is a good starting point. That or Player of Games and Use of Weapons. You really can't go wrong. Hope you enjoy them.

Michael Brookes said:
My favourite novel is Excession so yes, there is a tribute to him in game :)

Michael
Click to expand...

I'm really happy to hear that. It's also something of a coincidence, since I finished reading it for the second time today. I'll keep a look out for suns older than the universe itself when I'm exploring :).
 

SelectThis

S
Another massive Iain M Banks fan here, would love to see the "Culture" universe live on in some form in ED. Imagine giant GSV's plowing their way across the Galaxy and flying onto one for a lift to the other side of the galaxy arm...
 

adflet

A
More recent Banks convert here and have only read several of them but loved each of them. Alastair Reynolds writes some great cyberpunk scifi but can be a bit bubblegum-ish sometimes.

Without meaning to be too disrespectful and derail the thread, if you're after some truly mind blowing scifi, try David Zindell's Neverness, and the following Requiem for Homo-Sapiens trilogy - amazing stuff.
 

Zenicetus

Zenicetus
Gwyvern said:
Oh my god somebody else who likes Alastair Reynolds? i thought id never find one!
Click to expand...

Raises hand!

Alastair Reynolds is my favorite among recent authors, but I'm an old guy and I've been reading sci-fi for a very long time. So it's hard to put anyone like Reynolds or Banks (who I kinda bounced off of) in some higher category than Larry Niven or the other progenitors. Is there a Kemplerer Rosette out there somewhere as the Puppeteer homeworld? Samuel R. Delaney wrote some great "alternative" hard sci-fi. The list goes on.

And how far back do we go, in honoring great sci-fi authors? Asimov and Clarke deserve something, surely. Edgar Rice Burroughs.... is there a Barsoom out there somewhere? I have a collected works book of hard sci-fi that includes a story written in the 1930's that sounds, almost exactly, like a pilot episode for Star Trek. And it would be nice to see a nod to the female authors in the genre too, like Ursula LeGuin (Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed) and the pseudonymous James Tiptree Jr.

I guess what I'm saying here, is that it's a great idea to honor sci-fi authors in this game. But let's not be too myopic and focus on the last decade or two, or just one author.

This is your official Grandpa Zeni post of the day. :)
 
Last edited:

DWorth

D
The Culture as a major Faction confirmed. Hope everyone enjoyed the combat part of the game, because after they make contact we'll all just be living in a post-scarcity anarcho-utopia, with no need for money or violence.
Click to expand...

I'm looking forward to the parties :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom