Spectacular reading of a cult sci fi classic

Iain M Banks is one of my favorite authors, and this early culture book is possibly the best one to start with - it has the most accessible and linear plot but is still though provoking and gripping. Peter Kenny does an outstanding job reading this as well as other Iain Banks books (Surface Detail for instance). I must have read this book at least half a dozen times since it first came out almost 20 years ago, listening to Peter Kenny made it seem brand new. I can't recommend it highly enough.

17 people found this helpful

Great introduction to The Culture series

On the surface this is a great adventure story in which the playing of games becomes as exciting as a physical combat scene in an action movie. Underneath it is a provocative discussion of how intelligent individuals who live as part of larger social groups might best arrange their relationships with each other. The themes are abstract, brilliantly captured in the game play itself, yet never, ever tedious or boring. I agree with reviewer Guy that this is a great introduction to the The Culture series, so this is especially recommended for those who have not previously encountered Banks. Peter Kenny read the story brilliantly, doing an exceptional job of giving each character a unique voice.

20 people found this helpful

Culture, Contact, Special Circumstance its genius!

I enjoyed this book immensely, even more than Consider Phlebas and I really hope that Peter Kenny will narrate Use of Weapons, The State of the Art and especially Excession of which I've heard great things. Please release these books on Audible. The Culture Series is fantastic. Thanks to Banks for this work of art and Kenny for narrating. If you enjoyed The Player of Games then please take a moment to write the publishers or contact audible and ask them to release the rest of the series on audio.

8 people found this helpful

Great culture story

Would you listen to The Player of Games again? Why?

Yes! This is one of my favorite Culture novels. It presents the story of a cuture citizen traveling to a non-Culture world to play a game. The visit, of course, is engineered by Special Circumstances so you KNOW something will happen. When it does, of course, it's marvelous and even better than you are thinking.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Player of Games?

Love the tiny twist at the end of the story... listen to the very very end!

Which character ??? as performed by Peter Kenny ??? was your favorite?

The droids! Of course. :)

7 people found this helpful

Not as great as I hoped

I've heard a fair amount of praise for this author, and this was supposed to be his best. I had tried starting with his first book (Consider Phlebas) and it failed to grab me, to the extent that I gave up around halfway through. Disappointed in that, but thinking that 'Hey, an author's early work is usually poorer,' and knowing Banks' books to be more episodic than not, I thought I would give him another chance, but alas.

It's hard for me to describe why I grow so easily bored with this author. I can say that some of it stems from feeling unattached to most of the characters, the main protagonists especially. Gurgeh, the main for this book, was too close a Mary Sue for my tastes. I cared very little as to whether he would succeed or fail, especially after some rather cartoonish efforts were made to make his opponents (a whole civilization) out to be thoroughly vile and contemptuous.

Spoilers (sort of?) from this point on.

The fact that Gurgeh was shown to be obviously capable of breezing through every obstacle in his path, yet still had to be manipulated into doing "what needed to be done", and therefore was not so much the glorious hero as a selfish but useful buffoon, didn't make him any more interesting or respectable, it just made me feel all the more disappointed for giving *his* story any attention. The perspective of his handler(s) might have been more interesting, but on the whole, the lack of any real conflict/challenge means it would likely feel stagnant either way.

5 people found this helpful

Cerebral

This is an idea book. And there are lots of good ones. The world building is amazing. Not a ton of action an adventure and the main character is not terribly likable. I was tempted to quit reading at one point because I wasn't sure if I cared what happened to him, but I did finish and was glad I did. I think I will try a few other books by this author.

4 people found this helpful

Chess with Planets

Player of Games focuses on Jernau Gurgeh, a famous game player in galactic utopia known as the Culture. Gurgeh is unwillingly(?) drafted into a gaming competition with a less enlightened alien empire, with stakes as higher than he could possibly imagine. Imagine a spy thriller set in space and you'll have some idea about how this goes.

I was on the fence about starting this novel, since Ian Bank's first Culture novel left me feeling very "Meh." That said, I am very grateful to a friend for pushing me to give the second book a shot, because this novel is superb! I'll certainly be checking out future Culture novels after this!

Finally, Peter Kenny's narration is absolutely on point. He has grown dramatically better since Consider Phlebas. If you love science fiction, you need to give this a listen. Very highly recommended!

3 people found this helpful

Guy Play's Game

The story had substance, but the premise was a little cheesy and anticlimactic. The story is slow and boring for 3/4 and the last 1/4 is fast and short. story is heavily focused on the title subject, at the cost of content on the games being played.

3 people found this helpful

I wish we were there

A great story. Lately I became tired of the 'kill the evil superior technologically aliens with our low technology but right to exist and propagate in our primitive ways values' kind of science fiction. So I tried to find something of a different kind. And this is just what I was looking for. There is just a tiny obligatory overtone of the above theme. Well developed story. Narration is also excellent.

3 people found this helpful

Excellent! Another Culture gem.

Where does The Player of Games rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best Si/Fi stories yet.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The little drone. Flir Imsol.

Have you listened to any of Peter Kenny’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, equally well done, love his reading of the Culture series.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The good vs evil concept.

Any additional comments?

The most creative and innovative authors in his genere.

2 people found this helpful