The Player of Games
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4.5 • 398 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
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.
The Culture Series
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
The State of the Art
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
Customer Reviews
The best of IB
Utterly Transporting, provocative with a deeply satisfying finish.
Best in the series
After moderately enjoying “Consider Phlebas,” I took a chance on this book based on a number of reviews saying this one was much better. Those reviews were 100% correct. I did not think a book about essentially a chess player good be so enjoyable.
Great Introduction to "The Culture" and Iain M. Banks
I confess that I've been reading sci-fi for more than 40 years now, and have had plenty of disappointments. Banks' work has yet to be. "Player of Games" is a great way to be introduced to his "Culture" universe.
The action is straightforward, the story is thoughtful and thought provoking. His characters and prose leave me wanting more. He's got a wicked sense of humor, and a wonderful imagination, wonderfully realized in this and his other books.
Take a trip to the far future, and enjoy the ride!