Iain M. Banks – The Player of Games
I’ve just finished re-reading (for the second or third time?) Iain M. Banks‘ The Player of Games. It tells the story of one of the best game players in the Culture, Jernau Morat Gurgeh, who travels all the way to the empire of Azad, where they play a game named after the empire. The game and the empire are one and only – the winner becomes the emperor. This is a story of deception, betrayal, violence, beauty, complexity – and of game playing (and why the book is called “The Player of Games” and not “The Game Player” – it works better in Marain).
Banks manages, without describing Azad completely, to make you get into the game, which is amazing. Another thing I like about Banks is that nothing is black and white, there are no completely evil or good characters or societies. You can relate to the choices of each side within their own set of values, which makes for a very believable story line, both in terms of logic and emotion.
And the acerbic humor always makes me laugh. The exchanges between Gurgeh and the Contact drone Flere-Imsaho are very funny. And of course the ships’ names are priceless – I find myself chuckling uncontrollably whenever a really funny one comes up.
Like all other books in Banks’ Culture universe, there’s no specific order you should read them in. If you never read any of them, this is a good a start as any (and it’s a small one at only 309 pages). You’ll probably find the writing style a bit difficult at first, just by the staggering amount of information, but trust me, once it “clicks”, you’ll be hooked for life.
