Return to “Everything & Anything”

Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#274
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Surface Reflection wrote: Ever heard about a ship called Prosthetic Conscience ? How about No More Mr Nice Guy ? Honest Mistake? Ethics Gradient ? So Much For Subtlety? or one of my favorites... Frank Exchange Of Views?
Now, those are some ships, let me tell you. What a bunch of characters :lol:
sounds like Ian Banks' culture series.

:lol:
Those are indeed Iain M. Banks characters, yes.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#276
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
Scytale wrote: Those are indeed Iain M. Banks characters, yes.
i'd have to finally read the series... not only one book out of a giant universe.
Man, I'd love to recommend it without inhibition, but I have to tell you in my opinion they're awesome about 50% of the time. They're kind of hit and miss, I think.

But I would definitely recommend, out of the culture series: the Player of Games, and Excession. I have a friend who would recommend Use of Weapons above all things but I disagree, not that it was a bad book. Consider Phlebas I think is an excellently meaningful book, but I never really liked it very much.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#277
Scytale wrote: Man, I'd love to recommend it without inhibition, but I have to tell you in my opinion they're awesome about 50% of the time. They're kind of hit and miss, I think.

But I would definitely recommend, out of the culture series: the Player of Games, and Excession. I have a friend who would recommend Use of Weapons above all things but I disagree, not that it was a bad book. Consider Phlebas I think is an excellently meaningful book, but I never really liked it very much.
Use of Weapons is indeed one of the most important novels of Science Fiction ever written. But it is a hard story to read. Deals with some very heavy themes and isnt actiony or entertaining like some trashy pulpy sci-fi. Definitely not a material for those that search for usual mass market "fun".

As far as im concerned All Culture novels are great, each in their own unique way, except the last two which were of the bit lower quality but only when compared to the previous ones. Sadly, a sickness took away mr Ian Banks before he could rise to his usual heights again. (he only used the M when writing Culture novels...)

Flatfingers wrote:Gotcha.
In Limit Theory, we will be more like Helga....
Hah, i certainly hope not.

Atleast that wont be too hard to mod.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#278
Surface Reflection wrote:
Use of Weapons is indeed one of the most important novels of Science Fiction ever written. But it is a hard story to read. Deals with some very heavy themes and isnt actiony or entertaining like some trashy pulpy sci-fi. Definitely not a material for those that search for usual mass market "fun".
That's interesting, I didn't perceive it that way. Maybe I should give it another read - doing that certainly seemed to help in the case of Consider Phlebas.
I tend to be a broken record in how I think Dune holds the supreme title in the category of science fiction that does what it does well. My problem with the Banks science fiction novels is that (I think) he uses his (very inventive) ideas to push agendas rather than as an exploration. I think this is a good and even proper way to use science fiction, it just doesn't appeal to me.
(he only used the M when writing Culture novels...)
Sure - I prefer putting the M. in because I haven't read his literary fiction and get the strong impression his science fiction bibliography is in a wholly different paradigm, and since he used different names for his two paradigms, I think it's important for us to recognize that. But it's splitting hairs, hey.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#279
Although I've read a pretty fair amount of science fiction, I haven't read any of the "Culture" novels.
Scytale wrote:My problem with the Banks science fiction novels is that (I think) he uses his (very inventive) ideas to push agendas rather than as an exploration.
And now I have the information I needed to know that I don't need to read those novels.

So: rendering individual NPCs as people is one of the limits of Limit Theory.

Any other big ones?
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#280
Scytale wrote: That's interesting, I didn't perceive it that way. Maybe I should give it another read - doing that certainly seemed to help in the case of Consider Phlebas.
Definitely. That novel is more of a character study set in a tragedy then some type of action SF, like Excession is a super fast mega ultra super hyper space ships battles porn like nothing else ever written.
I tend to be a broken record in how I think Dune holds the supreme title -snipped-
I agree with this part. Dune is also one of the supreme titles of SF. I would say they both belong to the top 100 list.
My problem with the Banks science fiction novels is that (I think) he uses his (very inventive) ideas to push agendas rather than as an exploration.
Yeah i know about that kind of critique for Ian`s Culture series. I dont see any of it in them. Those are false accusations that dont have any truth to them. He was on the left/socialist part of the political spectrum during life, so some dumbasses criticized his Culture novels as being some sort of "socialist propaganda" which i find utterly laughable.

Since you havent read his books but a few, it seems to me you also saw such false critiques and then found some details in his stories that seemed to support such slander. But in reality... there is nothing of it in the series. Those kinds of slanders are the same as if i would say that Frank Herbert was some sort of Islamist. The Culture is not a bloody socialist society :lol: :snort: ... its a super advanced civilization that exists in complete abundance of resources due to its super advanced technology. There is no money in Culture because it would be hyper idiotic to have money when you can have everything without any problems. Not because its a fucking socialist utopia.

The novels explore what life in such a civ would be and what that kind of civ would have to deal with. It explores how humans as we are would live in such a civ where they can have everything they want whenever they want, including immortality. It explores what if such a civ would meddle. And meddle HARD.

What he did in Culture novels is pure mouth gaping super Science Fiction awesomnium.

I prefer putting the M. in because I haven't read his literary fiction and get the strong impression his science fiction bibliography is in a wholly different paradigm, and since he used different names for his two paradigms, I think it's important for us to recognize that. But it's splitting hairs, hey.
No problem, i was just explaining that small detail so others dont get confused about it.

Flatfingers wrote:Although I've read a pretty fair amount of science fiction, I haven't read any of the "Culture" novels.
And now I have the information I needed to know that I don't need to read those novels.
Never to know a Mind... never to watch rapid offensive units dishing justice... never to meet Cheradenine Zakalwe... never to see a GSV do what they are really meant to do, never to see Excession... never to meet Gray Area, ... an Orbital...


my god.
Last edited by Surface Reflection on Tue Jan 13, 2015 8:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#281
Yeah i know about that kind of critique for Ian`s Culture series. I dont see any of it in them. Those are false accusations that dont have any truth to them. He was on the left/socialist part of the political spectrum during life, so some dumbasses criticized his Culture novels as being some sort of "socialist propaganda" which i find utterly laughable.

Since you havent read his books but a few, it seems to me you also saw such false critiques and then found some details in his stories that seemed to support such slander. But in reality... there is nothing of it in the series. Those kinds of slanders are the same as if i would say that Frank Herbert was some sort of Islamist. The Culture is not a bloody socialist society :lol: :snort: ... its a super advanced civilization that exists in complete abundance of resources due to its super advanced technology. There is no money in Culture because it would be hyper idiotic to have money when you can have everything without any problems. Not because its a frakking socialist utopia.

I hear you. For the record I've read all his science fiction works (in case I didn't make that clear), and typically I find his non-culture novels to be more reliably well-told. Feersum Endjinn was a masterpiece (and would certainly agree I didn't detect any sort of agenda) and Algebraist holds a special place for me as just an excellent adventure story.

Agenda or not, I definitely agree with this:
The novels explore what life in such a civ would be and what that kind of civ would have to deal with. It explores how humans as we are would live in such a civ where they can have everything they want whenever they want, including immortality. It explores what if such a civ would meddle. And meddle HARD.
This is a good summary of the general sense of the Culture novels. His talent is also taking this concept and wrapping it around a sub-concept which he may address in a given novel, which is what I think makes Player of Games so exceptional. Flat - what I said about agendas doesn't apply to all his novels in my view, and if the inclination struck you to read just one I'd recommend Player of Games. But, as with all things, fancy latin proverb about taste.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#282
Yeah... but Dune had Muad'Dib. A name and a weapon. Hard to beat that.

(mmmuuuuuUUUUAAAAAAAAAADDD' DIIIB! *Over image of Dirty Harry with magnum* )

I recently picked up A Player of Games, but I haven't read it yet. I did notice that Surface Detail was one of his books... (Nods name reference) I kind of like Alastair Reynolds' stuff, and Banks seemed to be in a similar vein so I decided to try out his books. Are they of similar caliber?
Libertas per Technica
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#283
Graf wrote:Yeah... but Dune had Muad'Dib. A name and a weapon. Hard to beat that.

(mmmuuuuuUUUUAAAAAAAAAADDD' DIIIB! *Over image of Dirty Harry with magnum* )

I recently picked up A Player of Games, but I haven't read it yet. I did notice that Surface Detail was one of his books... (Nods name reference) I kind of like Alastair Reynolds' stuff, and Banks seemed to be in a similar vein so I decided to try out his books. Are they of similar caliber?
Opinion time!
Banks is a bit more whimsical than Reynolds. It also depends on what Reynolds you've read - are you more familiar with the Revelation Space universe or the... uh, Blue Remembered Earth universe? I get the impression Reynolds is also a touch less cynical, but YMMV on that I think.

Banks is also a little lighter than Reynolds in my opinion, and much more meaningful in terms of what it means to be good science fiction. Also unlike Reynolds, Banks tends to frame his stories in a Sufficiently Advanced Society which gives him pretty much free reign to explore novel social considerations without having to worry about the speed of light, while with Reynolds he seems to use physical constraints as effective framing devices for stories.

In terms of writing quality itself, Banks has a way of being able to write hilariously long sentences that don't lose the reader, which is a talent I don't think I've seen in any other writer.

I think there's some recent Reynolds that I haven't been following very much, because the one or two I've come across recently are strongly out of character with his Revelation Space stories, which I read quite some time ago. I'm going to come right out and say House of Suns was one of the most beautiful and touching books I've read in recent years.
Post

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

#285
I've read most of his Revelation Space novels, and I enjoyed them immensely. Along with The Player of Games, I got The Prefect, as well as Pushing Ice (Which isn't in his Revelation Space universe as far as I know. Gonna read Rendezvous with Rama before I start on either one of those, though.) It looks like i'll have to find a copy of House of Suns now too. Thanks for the reference! :thumbup: It sounds like you are unsure about BLue Remembered Earth. As I haven't read it, what did you dislike? Or were you deciding on which book to name the universe of those books?

Nobody can beat Bradbury and his stupidly long sentences and descriptions. His sentences are like medium sized paragraphs. I doubt Banks can write a legible sentence longer. :roll:

Not to derail the thread or anything. :shifty:

*Edit: Ninja'd!
Libertas per Technica

Online Now

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests

cron