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Khanstant posted:Finished Inversions. I'm a little annoyed to never learn the name of either of their drones but I love Doctor Vossil leaving an excuse note subtly mentioning Special Circumstances. It's likely that Vosill's dagger was a disguised Knife Missile (with the beads on the dagger being nanomissiles) rather than a full-blown drone, and Knife Missiles are usually subsentient.
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Dec 29, 2025 17:51
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Khanstant posted:Gotta pick out a next one. Probably State of the Art or Look to Windward. Also at that point where I can start to see the end of the series, a little sad. I guess could still be a ways off for me if I keep going through at the rate of one or so per Christmas break. State of the Art is a short story collection btw, there's only two Culture stories in it.
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Dec 29, 2025 17:55
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Huh, I don't think I ever read Inversions. 
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Dec 29, 2025 17:57
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Three. State of the Art is seven short stories and one longer novella. The novella and two of the short stories are Culture. I'd personally go with State of the Art first.
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Dec 29, 2025 17:58
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Look to Windward is my personal favourite. I didn't get a lot out of Inversions, but I think that might be me not appreciating it properly.
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Dec 29, 2025 18:01
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MikeJF posted:It's likely that Vosill's dagger was a disguised Knife Missile (with the beads on the dagger being nanomissiles) rather than a full-blown drone, and Knife Missiles are usually subsentient. Ah true. If it had been a drone, likely would've at least had Oelph catch her at least once having a dialogue with seemingly nobody. I suppose nonverbal communication would be possible too. But still, given it's a literal knife it would make most poetic sense to be a knife missile lol.
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Dec 29, 2025 19:20
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Battleshort posted:Look to Windward is my personal favourite. I didn't get a lot out of Inversions, but I think that might be me not appreciating it properly. I felt the same way but a second reading had me like it a lot more. Personally State of the Art is more hit-and-miss for me lollin at the Lockerbie Bombing redditor atheist story and the main one about Earth was too self indulgent for me.
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Dec 29, 2025 20:05
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MikeJF posted:[re. Inversions] It's likely that Vosill's dagger was a disguised Knife Missile (with the beads on the dagger being nanomissiles) rather than a full-blown drone, and Knife Missiles are usually subsentient. It's this. The Culture does love its deadly sardonic puns.
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Dec 30, 2025 03:42
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MikeJF posted:It's likely that Vosill's dagger was a disguised Knife Missile (with the beads on the dagger being nanomissiles) rather than a full-blown drone, and Knife Missiles are usually subsentient. Which is interesting, because SC agents are usually paired with a drone, both as backup, and insurance in case they go native
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Dec 30, 2025 06:54
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I got asked to do a cover for Inversions but the publisher said they didn't like it and then ghosted me, which was odd! So I don't feel comfortable posting it. Spoilers just in case: I wasn't sure about it either, it was based on a map of the Inversions world with Marain text, as if it was from her papers. I had got his art book and he liked to draw maps a lot, it was a homage to that but eh. I never really considered it a "proper" Culture novel, probably because the UK editions never carried "A Culture Novel" on the cover, so I skipped doing a cover for it back in the day. Maybe because it's a spoiler? Banks called it "a Culture novel that wasnt" edit: gently caress it, it's Christmas. Here's the map itself rather than the cover: 
BastardySkull fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Dec 30, 2025 |
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Dec 30, 2025 20:59
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https://www.newscientist.com/video/2509124-author-ken-macleod-on-the-life-and-work-of-the-late-iain-m-banks/ I enjoyed this. half hour interview with Ken MacLeod about The Player of Games, and a bit about Banks and the Culture more generally.
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Jan 3, 2026 13:40
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The cynic in me hears 'oh yeah he wanted me to write his last book but I magnanimously decided not to' and immediately my bullshit alarm goes off. I also think two cash ins of his drawings and manuscript notes are kind of gross as well.
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Jan 3, 2026 19:52
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Those are his estate, via his wife I think. They involve MacLeod because they were mates and he's also a sci-fi writer. The drawings book is pretty tasteful really, it's a foreword and then tons of notes and drawings. Having read his most recent trilogy he's nowhere near as good as Banks and probably knows it.
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Jan 4, 2026 09:39
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I have the drawings book, did the other book about all his world building notes ever come out? Searching for it is pretty hard since there's that old essay 'a few notes on the Culture that comes up instead.
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Jan 4, 2026 11:25
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