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The Player of Games
- Culture Series, Book 2
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
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The Player of Games
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Summary
The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling, and have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.
The Culture - a utopian human-machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many expert Game Players, and one of the greatest is Jernau Morat Gurgeh. He is Master of every board, computer and strategy - he is The Player of Games.
Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the cruel and incredibly wealthy Empire of Azad to try their infamous game . . . a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh plays the game, and faces the challenge of his life - and very possibly his death.
The Culture series:
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
The State of the Art
Other books by Iain M. Banks:
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist
Critic reviews
'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson
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What listeners say about The Player of Games
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Grant
- 29-07-15
Excellent
Flipping excellent Audio book - narrated superbly by Peter Kenny - I would highly recommend this series to any SiFy fan
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Norma Miles
- 30-01-15
And the winner is ...
Would you listen to The Player of Games again? Why?
Most definitely. I am currently working my way through all of the Culture series and will be returning again when I have finished. My enjoyment is of the book in it's entirety, the characters, their environments, the humour, the storyline itself, of course, and Ian Bank's impeccable writing. Even though I will know who wins, who loses, this will not in any way detract from my pleasure in returning.
What did you like best about this story?
The immensity of the game to be played and the potential player's reaction to it. And the drones.
Which scene did you most enjoy?
I cannot possibly say - I loved it all especially once the Game was underway.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Laughter, yes, but no tears. It did make me consider aspects of our own lives which we take for granted, however.
Any additional comments?
To be perfectly honest I love the characters, both human and mechanical, sometimes funny and often quirky, boastful and complaining as well as introspective. The locations are often stunning and the storyline is the cherry on the cake in a book beautifully word crafted by Ian Banks and interpreted by Peter Kenny.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Paul
- 19-01-13
Better than reading the book
I remember reading this book several years ago, and certain scenes resonating strongly with me. After recently listening to 'Consider Phlebas' and enjoying the experience much more than when I'd initially read it, I thought I'd give this a go. It was like having the entire book acted out in front of me, and again Peter Kenny's marvellous reading takes most of the credit for making this so powerful.
Now, on to 'Use of Weapons'!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- josh
- 05-01-21
Extremely well written, spot on performance
Second culture series book I've listened too, as with the first it's extremely well written, with characters that you become engaged with easily. In a extremely well imagined, vast, universe.
The voice acting is absolutely spot on and all of the characters have distinct and unique voices that match perfectly with their character.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Russell Jackson
- 03-03-18
The Multi-Dimensional Culture
Having read all of the IMB Culture series in print form, many times, randomly, and a long time ago, I am now enjoying them again in Audio and in the right order (?) This particular story is a little drawn out and left me with a slight feeling of un-satisfaction; however, on reflection, it is a worthwhile addition to the build-up of the culture of The Culture; and thus is contributes to the delayed pleasure and gratification of the future novels in the series.
As always, the narrator Peter Kenny is the embodiment of The Culture and I am so very grateful for the extra delight I am getting from the audio versions of the IMB's novels. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Peter Kenny actually turned-out to be a Culture Contact (perhaps Special Circumstances) Drone.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Thirty Two
- 07-06-17
Excellent. A interesting original story.
excellent narrator, interesting and original story, reasonably thought provoking and very entertaining. worth a listen
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- LukeLauraWP
- 14-06-23
Cool concept
Loved the premise of the story and there’s some good ideas for things to fill this universe. I didn’t love the main character and struggled to root for him at times. Great performances. All round a decent read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 17-01-24
Brilliant
Well writing complex story, I do find the names a challenge to get to grips with.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 08-12-10
Civilisation and the Culture
This is a stunning book, that I had not read, since it first came out when I was a kid. But it was good enough to stick with me over the many intervening years. This reading is fantastic. Great interpretations of the characters. Hope the accents don't upset anybody. Highly,highly recommended. If we are lucky Mr.Kenny will be reading the rest of the series too.( He also did a great job with -Consider Phlebas) ps please hurry with the others, I can't wait until -Excession is given this treatment
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-12-10
A brilliant book brilliantly read
The Player of Games is the 2nd Culture novel and represents Iain M. Banks' using his wider narrative tools for the first time in his sci-fi works so rates 5 stars. Peter Kenny's reading is excellent - I love his characterision of the Ships and Drones
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3 people found this helpful