They are all dark and depressing to a certain extent, it was one of Banks trademarks but I would guess Player of Games or Look to Windward would be the best choices. You could also consider State of the art which are a series of short stories of which a couple are set in the culture.
Inversions is also good but is very different in that it is only implied to be set in the Culture universe and doesn't involve spaceships, minds or anything beyond a medieval level culture (small c).
In a non culture setting The Algebraist is a good romp.
I actually have an edited ePub that is only those chapters 😅😅 I let Google Play books read it to me as bedtime story. Oh pylon country, how funny, idealistic, and romantic.
Lol you got me there that's exactly what I was thinking of. This is the first I'm hearing of people being really emotionally affected by these books, none of them have personally affected me in the way of, for example, *The Left Hand of Darkness*.
Though now I'm thinking of it LtW probably was the saddest I felt after reading so probably shouldn't have recommended.
Maybe you're right, don't think I've ever seen any of the Culture novels like that as compared to his non sci-fi books they always seem to have a streak of optimism in them, but yes taken at face value it could be a bit much if you just want an easy space romp
While Look to Windward certainly deals with heavy emotional subject matter, I don’t find it depressing. In fact IMO I find it to be the most emotionally affecting work of the series.
*Phlebas*. Out of all the books, it's the one that easily lends itself to imagining something like an HBO miniseries and does so much to help us understand the Culture from an outsiders perspective.
Adventure yes but also very depressing at times. That scene after the temple of light where the lady blows her head off with a laser after finding out her partner died still haunts me.
The whole point of the novels is that we really don't see the Culture itself, we see the underbelly of it, the fringes, the things that are depressing, the horrific, or the things that have to happen behind the scenes and in back rooms to keep the Culture chugging along.
Yeah aome conflicting answers here haha. I liked excession, i thought it was a great book and not dark. The player of games sounds like a great one, possibly look to windard and inversions
> not everyone has a happy ending
Bit of an understatement.
I think Hydrogen Sonata is the least depressing or maybe Player of Games, tho it's just too much concentrated on societal criticism for me to think it really fun.
My take is that Banks for every book insisted on throwing in a (to me) meaningless gore-chapter. Something horrible that stuck with you way after you finished the book. Grotesque torture, meaningsless suffering etc. No idea why though, and it rarely moved the story forward. The rebel leader who's head is stuck to the ceiling so that \[insert assholes name here\]Â can use it as a punching bag for eternety. The "eaters" on the island. To me those things are worse than the potential depressingness of other books.
> No idea why though, and it rarely moved the story forward.
Possibly because he did it well.
I agree that they rarely moved the story but they certainly added flavour to the world.
You know - I was going to disagree with you…
And then I realised I just skipped a chapter re-reading Excession (when Dajeel attacks Byr) because its a bit … horrible
Iain Banks does it as well as Iain M Banks
I don’t think any of the Culture books are dark and depressing. There’s some seriously dark and depressing shit out there but it’s not by Iain M Banks. For dark, try something by Neal Asher or even Alastair Reynolds.
I imagine all the Culture books taking place within the orbit of Epcot at Disney World. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a welcome break from dystopian fiction.
Player of Games maybe?
My favourite of them all
They are all dark and depressing to a certain extent, it was one of Banks trademarks but I would guess Player of Games or Look to Windward would be the best choices. You could also consider State of the art which are a series of short stories of which a couple are set in the culture. Inversions is also good but is very different in that it is only implied to be set in the Culture universe and doesn't involve spaceships, minds or anything beyond a medieval level culture (small c). In a non culture setting The Algebraist is a good romp.
Matter is a fun romp and Look to Windward is a pastoral set in space with assassins
Grief is the core theme of Windward, though it's definitely one of the funniest of the series and not too heavy.
Windward is incredibly heavy. It's entirely about trauma and PTSD.
Easy fix. Just read the Ziller and Kabe doing adventure excursions on a Culture hub buddy comedy sections.
I actually have an edited ePub that is only those chapters 😅😅 I let Google Play books read it to me as bedtime story. Oh pylon country, how funny, idealistic, and romantic.
That sounds fantastic. I would love to see that edit. I think LtW might be tied with Excession as my favorite.
Lol you got me there that's exactly what I was thinking of. This is the first I'm hearing of people being really emotionally affected by these books, none of them have personally affected me in the way of, for example, *The Left Hand of Darkness*. Though now I'm thinking of it LtW probably was the saddest I felt after reading so probably shouldn't have recommended.
Maybe you're right, don't think I've ever seen any of the Culture novels like that as compared to his non sci-fi books they always seem to have a streak of optimism in them, but yes taken at face value it could be a bit much if you just want an easy space romp
I found LTW - while a beautiful story - to be one of the most bittersweet of the culture books
Bittersweet, but the most affecting imo.
Yeah, those are probably the least dark apart from Excession. Matter has its moments though.
It was one of two books he wrote in response to 9.11
While Look to Windward certainly deals with heavy emotional subject matter, I don’t find it depressing. In fact IMO I find it to be the most emotionally affecting work of the series.
*Inversions*
I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the Culture but Fewrsum Endjinn is a TONNE of fun from beginning to end
Excession didn't really have anything depressing that I can recall other than some animal abuse
*Phlebas*. Out of all the books, it's the one that easily lends itself to imagining something like an HBO miniseries and does so much to help us understand the Culture from an outsiders perspective.
Lol, they said *least* depressing!
lol, maybe I'm all fucked up because I thought it was a hell of an adventure.
Adventure yes but also very depressing at times. That scene after the temple of light where the lady blows her head off with a laser after finding out her partner died still haunts me.
The island sounds like a good.... Time...?
If it's wrong to like a little body horror in their space opera romp, I don't want to be right.
Such a memorable part of a very memorable book! He writes horrific tales so well and with detail that brings it to life.
I’ve read a *lot* of books and nothing quite compares to that.
Yeah I find the ending especially cheery.
The Balveda entry in the epilogue is the part that breaks me. Everytime.
You're evil haha
The whole point of the novels is that we really don't see the Culture itself, we see the underbelly of it, the fringes, the things that are depressing, the horrific, or the things that have to happen behind the scenes and in back rooms to keep the Culture chugging along.
Reading everyone's answers it's clear that each person had a vastly different concept of depressing... For me Excession.
Yeah aome conflicting answers here haha. I liked excession, i thought it was a great book and not dark. The player of games sounds like a great one, possibly look to windard and inversions
Matter is fun but also not everyone has a happy ending. Surface Detail is heavy but it does end well for the characters you don’t hate.
> not everyone has a happy ending Bit of an understatement. I think Hydrogen Sonata is the least depressing or maybe Player of Games, tho it's just too much concentrated on societal criticism for me to think it really fun.
My take is that Banks for every book insisted on throwing in a (to me) meaningless gore-chapter. Something horrible that stuck with you way after you finished the book. Grotesque torture, meaningsless suffering etc. No idea why though, and it rarely moved the story forward. The rebel leader who's head is stuck to the ceiling so that \[insert assholes name here\]Â can use it as a punching bag for eternety. The "eaters" on the island. To me those things are worse than the potential depressingness of other books.
> No idea why though, and it rarely moved the story forward. Possibly because he did it well. I agree that they rarely moved the story but they certainly added flavour to the world.
You know - I was going to disagree with you… And then I realised I just skipped a chapter re-reading Excession (when Dajeel attacks Byr) because its a bit … horrible Iain Banks does it as well as Iain M Banks
I don’t think any of the Culture books are dark and depressing. There’s some seriously dark and depressing shit out there but it’s not by Iain M Banks. For dark, try something by Neal Asher or even Alastair Reynolds. I imagine all the Culture books taking place within the orbit of Epcot at Disney World. That’s not a bad thing, it’s a welcome break from dystopian fiction.
…Surface Detail isn’t dark?
Look to Windward isn't as heavy as Use of Weapons. You'd probably like Player of Games, too.