- The Orbit Team - March 2nd, 2009
BBC Radio is currently running Sci-Fi Season on Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 7, a worthy endeavour of which we heartily approve! What’s more, we’re delighted to inform you that if you happen to be near one of those new-fangled wirelesses this Thursday at 2:15pm, you can listen to an adaptation of the wonderful Culture story The State of the Art by Iain M. Banks, starring, among others, Sir Antony Sher.
And in the unlikely event that you need an even bigger incentive, The State of the Art has been adapted for radio by Paul Cornell, who some of you may know from the adventures of a certain Time Lord, so on Thursday 5th March at 2:15pm, we trust you’ll all be tuning your dials to Radio 4.
by The Orbit Team • 1 Comment • Posted in: All posts, Audio, News, Orbit UK
- Alex Lencicki - April 28th, 2008
Over at Wired’s GeekDad blog John Baichtal reviews Matter and writes:
“Of all the books I’ve read of ultrapowerful galactic civilizations, this one does it best. Incredible tech and a huge scope, yet telling a very human story that stands out among the vastness.”
Check out the whole review here.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Alex Lencicki - March 21st, 2008
If you haven’t discovered the Culture yet, check out this post at Slashdot by reviewer (and astrophysicist!) Simon DeDeo. For US newbies we can heartily recommend either Consider Phlebas or The Player of Games, both out this month from Orbit.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Orbit US
- Alex Lencicki - March 3rd, 2008
In this week’s Time magazine, Lev Grossman reviews Matter:
The Culture novels (there are eight of them) are about the challenges of a world in which thinking beings must deal with one another across vertiginous gulfs of cultural and technological difference–a world, in other words, both completely different from and identical to our own.
And in an interview at the NerdWorld blog he asks Banks if the Culture is a utopian society, and if he’d live there if given the chance:
Good grief yes, to both! What’s not to like? …Well, unless you’re actually a fascist or a power junkie or sincerely believe that money rather than happiness is what really matters in life.
You can read the complete interview here.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Alex Lencicki - March 1st, 2008
There’s a terrific review of Matter over at the Onion’s A.V. Club.
“Kings, princes, evil viziers, treachery, and court intrigue share the stage with galactic civilizations, manufactured hollow worlds, interstellar spies, and terminal technologies in Matter, the triumphant new novel in Iain M. Banks’ loosely connected Culture series.”
Read the whole review here, and be sure to check out the lively discussion in the comments.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
- Alex Lencicki - February 20th, 2008
The official Iain (M.) Banks website has been re-launched at www.iain-banks.net. Check it out for all the news and reviews, along with some very interesting contests coming up…
Meanwhile, in an interview at io9.com Banks reveals the hidden Thunderbirds influence that runs through the Culture novels:
“Thunderbirds gave me a love of big explosions I’ve yet to shake off. It’s kind of ingrained by now. Almost the first thing I think of when I’ve come up with an idea for a Really Big Artifact is how you could blow the living bijeesus out of it…”
And in the i09 review of Matter, Annalee Newitz sums up her thoughts on the book in the headline: “Iain M. Banks’ New Novel Kicks Ass on a Galactic Scale.”
While at BookPage Gavin Grant writes:
Matter is Banks in top form. His characters—whether human, alien or drone—are spiky, opinionated, diverse, occasionally short-sighted and tragically believable
Matter is available from Orbit in the US and the UK.
by Alex Lencicki • Post a Comment • Posted in: Contents, Interviews, News, Orbit UK, Orbit US, Reviews
