Outside of a Dog: Banks, Iain M.: (03-03.5) Use of Weapons; "The State of the Art"

David Tate

David Tate wrote on December 18, 2008 at 10:10 PM:

Given how much I liked the other Culture novels I'd read[*], and how highly-recommended it came, I was really really disappointed by Use of Weapons. Partly it was the subject matter very much not to your taste (or mine), partly it was that I guessed the Twin Revelations (or at least half of them) just far enough in advance to be more annoyed than entertained. Who knows, maybe I was just having a bad week as well. For whatever reasons, I've never even considered re-reading it. Maybe some day.

David

[*]At the time, The Player of Games and Consider Phlebas.

Dan Blum

Dan Blum wrote on December 18, 2008 at 11:37 PM:

I agree, "The State of the Art" is not very good. I only keep the book around for the other stories, not that I remember what they are.

Kate

Kate wrote on December 19, 2008 at 9:10 AM:

David, I'd love to know how you guessed if you remember, ROT13ing as necessary of course.

Dan, I skimmed past a few of the other stories on the way to this one and didn't see anything that caught my eye, but I'm very hit-or-misson short fiction.

David Tate

David Tate wrote on December 19, 2008 at 5:08 PM:

Kate, alas, it was many years ago and I've mostly purged the experience from my mind. It may have been one of those stray thoughts, along the lines of "Man, wouldn't it be a kick in the nose if it's really [SPOILER]", that led to "Hmm. Have we seen anything yet that says it *can't* be?", and thence to "Ouch. I bet that's what's coming."

I'm sure it wasn't any particular acuity or attention to detail on my part -- I'm terrible at that sort of thing. Even "The Sixth Sense" took me by surprise, though I claim the distraction of seeing it on an airplane.

Jack Foy

Jack Foy wrote on December 24, 2008 at 3:57 AM:

Kate,

Clues that the Culture is not descended from Earth's humanity go back as far as Consider Phlebas. The frame notes mention that the book is a Contact translation from the Marain original, part of an Earth-acculturation package prepared sometime in the late 21st century.

Kate

Kate wrote on December 24, 2008 at 9:15 AM:

Jack, thanks, I hadn't remembered that. Now there's even less reason to read "The State of the Art!"