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  • The State of the Art

  • Culture Series, Book 4
  • Written by: Iain M. Banks
  • Narrated by: Peter Kenny
  • Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (29 ratings)

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The State of the Art

Written by: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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Publisher's Summary

The works of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. With breathtaking imagination and extraordinary storytelling, they have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.

The State of the Art is the only collection of Iain M. Banks's short ­fiction and includes the acclaimed Culture novella of the same name.

From science ­fiction to horror, dark fantasy to twisted comedy, all eight stories bear the inde­finable stamp of Banks's staggering talent.

The novels of Iain M. Banks:

The Culture series
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
The State of the Art

Other books by Iain M. Banks
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist

©1991 Iain M. Banks (P)2013 Hachette Audio

What the critics say

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

What listeners say about The State of the Art

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun read!

Loved this one. It was a fun read and entertaining. Iain M Banks always delivers!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Decent listen

I love culture books but this was my least favourite so far. Perhaps it’s because we have entered Cold War 2.0 or perhaps it is a bit disjointed but it just didn’t engage as much as possible previous books in the series.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disjointed and noisy

I think the author is losing his grip on coherent storytelling. Earlier books are better.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

My new fav Culture novel

I've been reading the Culture series in order, and this is my new favourite. Second place is Player of Games.

This is a collection of short stories, mainly a novella State of the Art. It's about a Culture ship and crew that encounter and interact with Cold War era Earth.

It's dripping with that Ursula K. Le Guin philosophical dialogue goodness. Lots of discussion about ethics, values, comparing (ridiculing, really) Earth and the Culture. Enjoyable listen and good narrator as always. Possibly the only minus is that it's a short entry, even by Culture series standards. Might not want to spend a credit on it, and hope it goes on sale instead?

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