Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society • Hacker News Board

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#101

Post by PicassoCTs » Wed, Mar 22, 2023, 11:10 PM UTC

mr_toad wrote: post #87

PicassoCTs wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its a acquired taste.. it was a fascinating insight though, into a luxurious, post-scarcity societies tolerance for extremes, as long as they all did what they did out of choice, not even a machine could overrule them. I love, how the tragic choices of the "organics" are mirrored hinted as part of the PTSD of the orbital in "Look to the winward", which can "relive" the destruction of orbitals, ships and worlds in the…

> meat-fucker (Sleeper Service) The GCU nicknamed meat fucker’s chosen name was the Grey Area. It was a protégé of the GSV Sleeper Service.

Reread, you are absolutely right. Shame. I mixed up a machine that is mostly engine and dioramas with a machine that is mostly brainscans and genocide-drama.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#102

Post by KingOfCoders » Thu, Mar 23, 2023, 2:25 PM UTC

jamestimmins wrote: post #98

d1sxeyes wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of Banks's non-sci-fi fiction is... well, I wouldn't describe it as torture porn, but it's graphic and violent.

Have you read the other books in the Culture series? If so, is the island a particular low point violence-wise, or is that the norm for most of them?

I've read most (all of them? Except Feersum Endjinn, it was just too hard to read to enjoy it - but that's me) and I do think Banks has a lot of violent and sometimes gruesome parts. The Archimandrite Luseferous springs to mind (not part of the culture series, more an anti-culture book, it feels like the mirror universe in Star Trek, E.g. in DS9, but it's so culture-like, I include it).

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#103

Post by Snoken » Sat, Mar 25, 2023, 10:26 PM UTC

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 is my favorite book, and this edition may be well made, but I could not get past its cover - a Soviet submarine from the fifties, why? What does this have to do with the story? This seems like the publisher just did not care. Or is there some explanation in the foreword?