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Culture Shock

Which sci-fi novel series contains such warped starship names as "GCU Ultimate Ship The Second" and "GSV No More Mr Nice Guy"? The answer is the so-called Culture series by Iain M. Banks, a Scottish author of some eccentric contemporary fiction. This unofficial fan site titled "Culture Shock" contains pages upon pages of insightful information about Banks's sci-fi books, mainstream novels, and also about the man himself. The megacivilzation commonly referred to in Banks's sci-fi novels as "the Culture" is a hedonistic, law-free utopia, which may seem a little too "red" for some of the anti-Communists of our times. As with other sci-fi worlds, this universe has been seeded with bizarre and confusing technological babble. This website fortunately contains quite a few transcripts and articles from Iain, in which he attempts to explain and justify the quirks of his imagination. Non-profit, unofficial sites maintained by fans are very useful for that little extra flair, and as a fan of Mr. Banks's work, I have found this site to be an excellent source of interesting material for both fans and people yet unacquainted to his work.

Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:35:03 -0800