false <![CDATA[The State Of The Art]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171981758m/129131.jpg 129131 9 The State of the Art is the first collection from the author of The Algebraist and Use of Weapons. It features two stories set in his "Culture" universe plus six other stories and an essay. Contents: Road of Skulls A Gift From the Culture Odd Attachment Descendant Cleaning Up Piece The State of the Art Scratch A Few Notes on the Culture 1280581 1989 The State Of The Art total:597|5:105|4:247|3:206|2:34|1:5| 597 2204 837 31 4 0 false false Mon Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 13:30:46 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 23 13:30:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Mar 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 07:33:08 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 16:16:16 -0700 2009
The third one is quite funny. I can't count the number of times I've seen a hapless spaceman get rent limb from limb by a bug-eyed monster. But what's the monster's motivation? Banks comes up with a lovely answer.

#4 is also a ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 12:01:39 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 12:59:51 -0700 2009 BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play - The State of the Art

Paul Cornell's dramatisation of the science-fiction novel by Iain M Banks. A spaceship from The Culture arrives on Earth in 1977 and finds a planet obsessed with alien concepts like 'property' and 'money' and on the edge of self dest...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jul 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 16:08:56 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 19:48:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false true Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 12 17:16:53 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 12 17:16:53 -0700 2007
Road of Skulls: An interesting opening to the book. But by no means a story to base the book on. Not bad for a 7pager.

State of the Art: The 'Meat' of the book. Not the best but its length made it better than most. Great seein...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 06:05:19 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 11:13:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 16 07:47:30 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 07:48:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 08:55:55 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 08:58:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 12:53:21 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 12:58:33 -0700 2009
Anyway, for a gu...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 30 19:17:53 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 20:17:20 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 19:17:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 17 04:54:13 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 08:52:55 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Tue May 26 17:16:28 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 18:16:19 -0700 2009
Some of the stories have creative premises, but they often feel forced and overdone (particularly "Scratch").

"Odd Attachment" was pretty clever, though.]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 14:41:42 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 17:45:04 -0800 2008 The State of the Art is long on 70s philosophy and short on plot. If you're a true 'Culture' fan, you may enjoy this...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Mon Feb 25 05:40:18 -0800 2008 Wed Jun 03 15:49:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Oct 06 08:43:00 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 16 08:08:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 30 03:09:02 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 02:59:12 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri May 09 13:04:05 -0700 2008 Fri May 09 13:07:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 17:59:23 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 27 16:20:22 -0700 2008
I still occasionally find myself thinking about the story, "Road of Skulls."

A great read!]]> 2 0 false false Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 04 12:18:21 -0800 2009 Thu May 14 07:46:16 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Mar 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 27 12:13:56 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 11 22:51:29 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=129131