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  • The State of the Art

  • Culture Series, Book 4
  • By: Iain M. Banks
  • Narrated by: Peter Kenny
  • Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (746 ratings)
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The State of the Art cover art

The State of the Art

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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Summary

The works of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. With breathtaking imagination and extraordinary storytelling, they have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.

The State of the Art is the only collection of Iain M. Banks's short ­fiction and includes the acclaimed Culture novella of the same name.

From science ­fiction to horror, dark fantasy to twisted comedy, all eight stories bear the inde­finable stamp of Banks's staggering talent.

The novels of Iain M. Banks:

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

©1991 Iain M. Banks (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

What listeners say about The State of the Art

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Mixed bag, but brilliant narration

Peter Kenny is now officially my favourite narrator- this book shows he can adapt to many different characters' voices and he makes this book come alive. Liked reading it a lot before, but even more enjoyable to listen to!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A perfect introduction to Banks' Sci Fi world

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

A collection of (mostly) sci fi stories, several featuring Banks' "Culture" universe and the novella State of the Art where the Culture visits Earth. This makes for a great intro the Iain Banks' work and is full of his usual wit and invention. The tales are sometimes funny and sometimes tragic, always thoughtful and intelligent, and highly distinctive and original. Often when rereading (or in this case listening) to a short story collection some years after originally doing so, inevitably there are one or two tales that have slipped my memory. But not so here - each one stuck in my mind distinctly and clearly, and it was a pleasure to revisit them.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Difficult to get in to.

only wanted to see the back story of smar... Not really worth it though. last chapter is just gibberish non-sense and a waste of 25 mins.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Unforgettable...

...the hardest hitting and funniest, most engaging book in the Culture series so far. I am altered by hearing Iain M. Banks‘ words. Peter Kenny’s narration is skilled, stellar.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This is a fantastic listen.

Peter Kenny gives a bravura performance once again and Iain M. Banks' writing is superb.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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My 2nd Audible Experience!

I recently began work at an organization that let you listen to your mobile...so I downloaded my 2nd book...'State of the Art' by Iain M Banks. Just like the first book, I loved it. Iain M Banks sci-fi books are very detailed and can be difficult to read but having his stories read aloud (through my headphones obviously) makes them just as good, maybe better!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

mostly nonsense.

please be aware that this is a series of short stories they are completely unrelated from each other.

they don't give you enough information about the story at the start to catch you up. hence most of the time the stories are nonsense because you don't understand what's going on and are waiting for them to be joined up!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good but not his best.

A nice bit of backstory for Diziet Sma from Use of Weapons. Some OK short stuff, but Banks is better with novels.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not very interesting short stories

Nothing about this book stands out as particularly good or interesting. A 10 word summary of each short story would sound interesting to most scifi fans, but the delivery is really subpar. Voice acting was good though.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A close look

Really makes you think what it is to be living and what our personal and social responsibilities are.

Peter Kenny is absolutely brilliant.

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1 person found this helpful