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Banks, Iain The Player of Games ISBN 13: 9780312026301

The Player of Games - Hardcover

 
9780312026301: The Player of Games
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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.

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Review:
In The Player of Games, Iain M. Banks presents a distant future that could almost be called the end of history. Humanity has filled the galaxy, and thanks to ultra-high technology everyone has everything they want, no one gets sick, and no one dies. It's a playground society of sports, stellar cruises, parties, and festivals. Jernau Gurgeh, a famed master game player, is looking for something more and finds it when he's invited to a game tournament at a small alien empire. Abruptly Banks veers into different territory. The Empire of Azad is exotic, sensual and vibrant. It has space battle cruisers, a glowing court-- all the stuff of good old science fiction--which appears old-fashioned in contrast to Gurgeh's home. At first it's a relief, but further exploration reveals the empire to be depraved and terrifically unjust. Its defects are gross exaggerations of our own, yet they indict us all the same. Clearly Banks is interested in the idea of a future where everyone can be mature and happy. Yet it's interesting to note that in order to give us this compelling adventure story, he has to return to a more traditional setting. Thoughtful science fiction readers will appreciate the cultural comparisons, and fans of big ideas and action will also be rewarded. -- Brooks Peck
Review:
Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth (THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION)

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

Banks is an incredibly talented writer. All his books are lively and entertaining. They are laced with a wry humour, fascinating characters and inspired plots. THE PLAYER OF GAMES, I am pleased to say is no exception... Go on, treat yourself, you won't be disappointed. (STARBURST)

In The Player of Games, Iain M. Banks presents a distant future that could almost be called the end of history. Humanity has filled the galaxy, and thanks to ultra-high technology everyone has everything they want, no one gets sick, and no one dies. It's (Brooks Peck, AMAZON.CO.UK)

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  • PublisherSt Martins Pr
  • Publication date1989
  • ISBN 10 0312026307
  • ISBN 13 9780312026301
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780316005401: The Player of Games: 2 (Culture)

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ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780316005401
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  • 9780061053566: The Player of Games

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. Light wear to dust jacket. First edition in priced dust jacket. Full number line. Gurgeh is one of the greatest game-players the Culture's ever produced; respected and rarely beaten, he is successful at almost everything. the Empire of Azad, a civilization of immense and appalling cruelty. where there exists a game so complex and so closely modeled on the rules of existence that the winner becomes Emperor. Seller Inventory # 014989

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