The Player of Games

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

The Culture - a human/machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer, and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game... a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life - and very possibly his death.

©2008 Iain M. Banks (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Poetic, humorous, baffling, terrifying, sexy - the books of Iain M. Banks are all these things and more." ( NME)

"An exquisitely riotous tour de force of the imagination which writes its own rules simply for the pleasure of breaking them." ( Time Out)

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.

meandering but really enjoyable

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

Loved it. This is one of my favorite Culture stories. The characters are well done, and the titular Game is rather interesting. I loved the story and the huge climax that it builds to.

What did you like best about this story?

The ending! Many culture stories kind of fizzle out at the end but this one was pretty good. I loved how it built up to a big conclusion.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

At first it was fairly slow, but once you are a few chapters in it really gets interesting and it's hard to stop listening.

Magnificent!

This is the third time I have read this book. Imagination without bounds! I can't recommend this with enough enthusiasm. What a pleasure to be so diverted and enthralled in a story.

Excellent as an Intro to The Culture

What did you love best about The Player of Games?

This was my first foray into the Culture series and I fell in love with the setting. The Player of Games is listed as book two, but its story is self-contained and serves as a fine introduction to the universe. Banks hands out little nuggets of information about his world as the story goes on, such that the reader is constantly intrigued by the characteristics and vast scope of The Culture without ever getting mired in heavy world-building.

What did you like best about this story?

The story of master game player Jernau Gurgeh is well imagined and interesting. At times while reading I thought it linear and bland, but at the conclusion of the book Banks reveals a new layer of complexity and design behind the story. I won't spoil the finish for you, but to say that The Culture is as much a character in the plot as anyone else is.

My one complaint with the story is that the characters spend much of their time playing games that are never adequately explained. I would have loved to know more about the rules and strategies of Azad and the purpose behind them. As it is, I never felt invested in the game. This hampered my enjoyment of the many game-playing sequences, though they still moved the plot along easily, and after all they aren't the most important part.

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

The drone Mawhrin-Skel. Kenny voices all of the drones well, but Mawhrin-Skel stood out as unique. Flere-Imsaho was also quite amusing. Kenny does a good job of navigating the made-up names of all of the characters. He pronounces them confidently, which helped minimize my confusion early in the story.

Peter Kenny's performance is one of my my favorites in my library. He is the perfect choice for the story, and handles the critical revelation at the end very, very well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed on a couple of occasions. Banks interjects moments of humor into dialogue and into a couple of narrating segments that took me pleasantly by surprise. Though far from an outright comedy, the book is written with a tone that stops just short of taking itself too seriously.

Any additional comments?

A good introduction to a classic sci-fi universe. I can't wait to start my next Culture novel.

Good Second Book

I really didn't like the first book of the Culture series, but a buddy of mine told me that Consider Phlebas is not representative of the remainder, so I gave Player of Games a shot. It's really good. The narration is excellent and the story is excellent. I'll check out the third book in the series next.

Captivating story. Good gameplay writing.

Very captivating story. I was especially surprised by the skill of the author to write the fictional game scenes so well as to be among the most enjoyable parts of the book. Quite impressive for such an abstract type of description.

Excellent to follow Use of Weapons

Well put together story with excellent twists. Banks is a great storyteller and this is an excellent second or third novel to read in the Culture series.

Much better than expected

The synopsis doesn't do this book justice! I wasn't sure if I would like it, but once it started it just kept building to the point that I didn't want to shut it off. And it was never predictable. Although I'm always trying to figure out what will happen next, I was regularly surprised. I'm going to seek out more by Mr. Banks.

great story.

I bought the physical and audio books last Wenesday. i basically inhaled this book. great story.

Another winner for the Culture

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. It moves surprisingly quickly for a book that is basically about people sitting around playing a board game. Of course, that is just what is on the surface. If you allow your mind to wander, the board stretches out and you see yourself within the story, a player ofngames yourself, living within the mass of other pieces at play. A wonderful read. Highly recommended.