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Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

foliosociety.com

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Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#21

Post by r00fus »

dekhn wrote: post #10
buserror wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly my favourite. My dog-eared copy is signed... twice... too. He used to come and read in Windsor, UK on occasion...

my least favorite. The Player of Games, Excession and the Hydrogen Sonata for me.

Surface Detail for me after Player of Games, though I've read all of his Culture series. The Mind of picket ship has got to be one of my favorite characters in the series.

All by audiobook, which honestly is a completely different experience than a physical read - perhaps I should check out one of his books and re-experience via text?

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#22

Post by lancesells »

blueridge wrote: post #13

I love a properly made book, though I don't buy Folio Society books due to the illustrations. Don't get my wrong, they're beautiful, but any time a book has illustrations it feels like I don't get to use my imagination (as much) for world building. The drawings seem to overwrite my own image-making process for characters, environments, etc. I don't like it. Another example: I was re-reading the Lord of the Rings rece…

I feel exactly the same way. I would love to buy these books with the beautiful cover and production without the illustrations. The magic of a book of fiction is you get to imagine.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#23

Post by jaqalopes »

Consider Phlebas was such an odd entry point into the Culture series. In a way it makes more sense as a prequel, to be read after you understand the world and the general conceit of the series. In fact, I think Consider Phlebas is better upon rereading than it was going in cold. In this light, I'm kind of surprised I went on to read the other books after starting with this one. But, I'm incredibly glad I did, and I recommend them to anyone with an interest in far-future sociological sci-fi.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#24

Post by dekhn »

r00fus wrote: post #21
dekhn wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

my least favorite. The Player of Games, Excession and the Hydrogen Sonata for me.

Surface Detail for me after Player of Games, though I've read all of his Culture series. The Mind of picket ship has got to be one of my favorite characters in the series. All by audiobook, which honestly is a completely different experience than a physical read - perhaps I should check out one of his books and re-experience via text?

The ship AIs in the culture are clearly the most interesting characters. The exchanges between the AIs in Excession (the Interesting Times Gang) are absolutely hilarious.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#25

Post by nottorp »

blueridge wrote: post #13

I love a properly made book, though I don't buy Folio Society books due to the illustrations. Don't get my wrong, they're beautiful, but any time a book has illustrations it feels like I don't get to use my imagination (as much) for world building. The drawings seem to overwrite my own image-making process for characters, environments, etc. I don't like it. Another example: I was re-reading the Lord of the Rings rece…

> I was re-reading the Lord of the Rings recently and I couldn't get Peter Jackson's big screen images out of my head while reading.

Why? You shouldn't be able to get Alan Lee's illustrations out of your head while watching the movie :)

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#26

Post by goodlinks »

Sad i dont have more of his books signed. I did go to a signing, but the only books of his i had to hand were from the library.. so i got them signed and didnt say anything when i returned them incase i was charged for damaging the book.

He just chuckled and did the dedication to the library directly.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#27

Post by substation13 »

jaqalopes wrote: post #23

Consider Phlebas was such an odd entry point into the Culture series. In a way it makes more sense as a prequel, to be read after you understand the world and the general conceit of the series. In fact, I think Consider Phlebas is better upon rereading than it was going in cold. In this light, I'm kind of surprised I went on to read the other books after starting with this one. But, I'm incredibly glad I did, and I r…

It's a fun action novel; I loved the part with the cult on the island. But yeah, it has nothing on Player of Games.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#28

Post by jonathanlydall »

iamacyborg wrote: post #3

I'm still disappointed that Subterranean Press only published Use of Weapons. It's a fantastic publication, fwiw. https://subterraneanpress.com/use-of-weapons/

Use of Weapons horrific big moment made it particularly memorable to me and definitely not unusual for Ian M Banks.

Feersum Endjinn differently horrifying with its core premise of an actual hell and heaven existence for beings.

And finally The Wasp Factory is all about a very disturbed individual.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#30

Post by a4isms »

lreeves wrote: post #4

I can't think of an author I miss more but 155CAD for a book with 6 illustrations seems crazy, especially when Banks isn't exactly making profit from this.

You can buy a print of a single image from Susan Kare's original Macintosh iconography for USD 160, and it doesn't come with any words! This edition gives you five more prints and a whole book.

I think it really is a matter of this being a "collectible," or "personal treasure" rather than some kind of exercise in market economics. If the six illustrations speak to you and the presentation speaks to you and $155 is affordable for you, great. If not, no problemo, it's a niche product and you are not in the niche.

The other thing you bring up—the author getting paid—is a different matter, and one that I take seriously as well.

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