Such a weird choice. I'd love a copy of Use of Weapons or maybe Excession.
Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
41–50 of 103 posts
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#42...It's NOT the Polio Society...?
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#43Consider 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…
I just finished reading Consider Phlebas, and am starting Player of Games now! I tried to find reading order lists online and most just recommended publication order. I hope I didn’t ruin anything.
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#44As a massive fan of the Culture series, does anyone have recommendations for other excellent sci-fi books?
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
What was special / good about that publication? It's signed by somebody I can best understand as "Not Ian M. Banks", and the description doesn't really tell me anything about "hardware", nor do they have a photo of the product :-/
Yeah, I mean, Ken McLeod is a decent enough writer, but he's not in the same league as Banks. Can't imagine why I'd want to pay that much for a copy of a Banks book signed by him.
I wouldn't mind an edition of H.P. Lovecraft writings signed by August Derleth, or a Tolkien book signed by C.S. Lewis (or vice versa), and so on. A Discworld novel signed by Neil Gaiman.
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#46I 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…
When I read norse mythology, I can't unsee this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159017125X (D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths)
Very nice, thank you.
Tangent: "Originally, they used stone lithography for their illustrations. A single four-color illustration required four slabs of Bavarian limestone that weighed up to two hundred pounds apiece."
(Stone stone-writing stimulates my department of redundancy department ...)
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#47Consider 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…
Your comment makes me wonder if I should give the series another chance. I only read Consider Phlebas and didn't continue with the series because I found the book so frustrating. It felt like there was a ton of context missing. I kept expecting it to provide some details about the culture that would justify the protagonist's antipathy towards it, but a coherent explanation for his world view never materialized.
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#48Consider 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…
Your comment makes me wonder if I should give the series another chance. I only read Consider Phlebas and didn't continue with the series because I found the book so frustrating. It felt like there was a ton of context missing. I kept expecting it to provide some details about the culture that would justify the protagonist's antipathy towards it, but a coherent explanation for his world view never materialized.
That was my experience, but I am glad that I tried again. Player of Games is much more explicit in the world building (almost too much), and then a good balance is found in Use of Weapons. So I always recommend reading those two first before circling back to really understand the value of Consider Phlebas as an outside view on the Culture (and really, The West).
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#49Consider 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…
Your comment makes me wonder if I should give the series another chance. I only read Consider Phlebas and didn't continue with the series because I found the book so frustrating. It felt like there was a ton of context missing. I kept expecting it to provide some details about the culture that would justify the protagonist's antipathy towards it, but a coherent explanation for his world view never materialized.
Yeah, I would pick up another book in the series. Consider Phlebas is set in the same universe but almost seems like a different genre.
Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
They make nice gifts, like an even more expensive version of the penguin cloth bound classics: https://www.penguin.co.uk/series/CLOTBO/penguin-clothbound-c...
I'd actually really recommend against the Penguin clothbound classics. Unless they changed something recently, the designs on the cover wear off very easily from the sweat/oil on your hands and you end up with an ugly book after one reading. If you want less expensive high-quality classic books I'd recommend Library of America (for American authors), Modern Library, or Everyman's Library.
LOA's great if you don't mind bible-type thin paper and smallish type. Wonderful for saving space on a bookshelf, solid binding. I often wish they did British authors, too. Modern Library and Everyman are excellent mid-range readers' hardbacks, not fancy but solid and reliable, often (though not always) exhibiting excellent taste in selection of translations and introductions and other extras. Penguin Classics paperbacks are my go-to if I'm not shooting for a hardcover (though they recently and inexplicably changed what had been maybe the single best cover design in all of publishing to make it worse, which is irritating—at least it's still not as bad as the old yellow-cover design they used years back, god those were ugly).
The French version of LOA is La Pléiade. Similar deal, smallish print, thin paper, focus on classics and important works.
There are several mostly-kinda-shitty "fancy" series (Folio's not one of them) often in fake leather binding, but among the "fancy" sorts, one that really delivers is the (defunct) Limited Editions Club (LEC to book nerds). The name's awful, but if you want an edition you could put on a lectern in the library of a 15th century French chateau and have it look like it belongs, short of springing for real-leather binding, they're a good candidate. HUGE—seriously, big—often bound in heavy-duty cloth, well-selected illustrations, thick, nice paper. Not a lot of other extras, though. But if you want a book to feel like Serious Business, they're a good choice. Heritage Press is (well, was) the "budget" version of them, reprinting LEC in usually somewhat scaled down (though still large) and less crazy-good (but still good) binding. Much friendlier to normal shelf heights, and easier on the wallet.
About the only paperback publisher I have an opinion on, other than Penguin Classics, is Dover. If you're going budget, might as well go all the way. Plus, hell, half the time I prefer theirs to slightly-more-expensive offerings. Love 'em.