Must I read the first book of this series before this book?

[Lei]

I only got this one book of the entire series. I just want to know must I read the first book first?

[Isabel (kittiwake)]

No. This is the first Culture book that I read, and it explains the whole set-up really well. Consider Phlebas is told from the point of view of someone from outside the Culture, and I would say that Player of Games is actually a better introduction to the series.

[Lei]

Isabel (kittiwake) wrote: "No. This is the first Culture book that I read, and it explains the whole set-up really well. Consider Phlebas is told from the point of view of someone from outside the Culture, and I would say th..."

Thank you very much. I asked this because I can't find the first book in my mother language. I'm still waiting the whole series to release.

[Anonymous__]

The series can be read in any order. The books do not really tie into each other very much, and the characters are different in each story. It is well worth reading them all.

[Wayne's]

Any order is fine, they really don' need to be read in order.

[Will]

They don't need to be read in order, but you do need to stick with them. About a chapter or two in, you'll probably find yourself wondering who is who and how they relate to each other. But have faith, stay on target, stay on target, and it will all make sense about halfway through.

[Lei]

Anonymous__ wrote: "The series can be read in any order. The books do not really tie into each other very much, and the characters are different in each story. It is well worth reading them all."

It's a pity only two books of this series were published in my language. Another one is Use of Weapons, and why these two is only very strange. But if I like this book, I may consider to read other books in English.

[Anonymous__]

Will wrote: "They don't need to be read in order, but you do need to stick with them. About a chapter or two in, you'll probably find yourself wondering who is who and how they relate to each other. But have fa..."
Use of Weapons is another excellent one. It is too bad that it can take so long to have books translated. What is your language?

[Lei]

Anonymous__ wrote: "Will wrote: "They don't need to be read in order, but you do need to stick with them. About a chapter or two in, you'll probably find yourself wondering who is who and how they relate to each other..."

Chinese.
It's very common we just got part series translated, especially for the large series, like Culture, Discworld, Vorkosigan Saga and so on.

[Jingizu]

No, you don't have to read the first book to understand The Player of Games. I read Player before I read Consider Phlebas.

[Danielle]

I've just finished binge reading the Culture series and have nearly finished The Alegbraist. I'm not quite ready to come back to earth just yet so can anyone recommend similar authors or books? I do intend to read Banks' others but not right now.

[Jingizu]

Danielle wrote: "I've just finished binge reading the Culture series and have nearly finished The Alegbraist. I'm not quite ready to come back to earth just yet so can anyone recommend similar authors or books? I d..."

Hmm, I would suggest the following authors:

Peter F Hamilton - The Commonwealth Saga

Neal Asher - The Complete Owner Trilogy

Richard K Morgan - Altered Carbon

Alastair Reynolds - Revelation Space

[Danielle]

Thanks I'll take a look at them. I've already read Altered Carbon.

[Anonymous__]

Danielle wrote: "I've just finished binge reading the Culture series and have nearly finished The Alegbraist. I'm not quite ready to come back to earth just yet so can anyone recommend similar authors or books? I d..."

It has been a while, but I enjoyed the Star Wars novels by Timothy Zahn.

[Danielle]

Anonymous__ wrote: "Danielle wrote: "I've just finished binge reading the Culture series and have nearly finished The Alegbraist. I'm not quite ready to come back to earth just yet so can anyone recommend similar auth..."

Thank you, I've read a few of them quite while back too, it might be time to work out which and finish the others

[Bruno]

The Player of Games is actually an excellent introduction to Banks' universe. The human - centric perspective is useful for easing oneself into the concepts, and I found Gurgeh quite an interesting character.

There's a touch of the Wasp Factory in the underlying society that is run by the game of Azad, and furthermore, iirc, Banks himself was a fan of the Civ series of computer games. One can definitely see the influence if that is so.