Iain M. Banks Livres

Horza, l'un des derniers métamorphes, peut modifier sa forme à sa guise, ce qui en fait une redoutable machine de guerre.Il s'est engagé, aux côtés des Idirans, dans une croisade personnelle contre la Culture, cette immense société galactique anarchiste, tolérante, éthique et cynique.Mais son combat n'est qu'une escarmouche insignifiante dans la grande guerre qui embrase la Galaxie, entre la Culture et les Idirans fanatiques.Une guerre anachronique : une guerre de religion.Après L'Homme des jeux et L'Usage des armes, voici le troisième volume de la série de la Culture, la plus grande épopée galactique depuis Fondation, Dune et Hypérion.

Cette histoire macabre, fort bien racontée à la première personne, vaut surtout par l'atmosphère à la fois fascinante et répugnante qui s'en dégage. Une lecture envoûtante jusqu'à la fin surprenante.

Stonemouth : petite ville portuaire maussade au nord d’Aberdeen, en Écosse, réputée pour sa brume, ses gangsters, sa drogue à bas prix et son pont suspendu irrésistible pour les candidats au suicide. Après un exil de cinq ans, Stewart Gilmour est convoqué pour les obsèques de Joe, le patriarche du clan Murston. La dernière fois qu’il a vu les Murston, une des deux familles régnant sur le crime organisé de la ville, ils voulaient sa peau. Mais Stonemouth est aussi la ville de la jeune femme qui hante encore ses rêves. Si son retour sème la discorde, il représente une seconde chance, l’occasion pour lui d’affronter le passé et ce huis clos où tout le monde se connaît. Des souvenirs comiques ou tragiques à l’instant présent, le héros passe de l’adolescence à la maturité, des anciennes amitiés toujours flamboyantes aux ennemis qui n’ont rien oublié. La semaine de deuil s’écoule entre douceur diffuse et violence extrême, jusqu’à sa conclusion explosive, que Stewart lui-même n’aurait pas pu prévoir. De sa plume acerbe, intelligente et toujours amusante, l’auteur installe ses personnages dans une ambiance cotonneuse et nostalgique, théâtre d’une histoire complexe et tendre à la fois.

The war raged across the galaxy, resulting in billions of deaths and the destruction of moons, planets, and stars. The Idirans fought for their Faith, while the Culture defended its moral right to exist. Amid this cosmic conflict, an individual crusade unfolds. Deep within a labyrinth on a barren world lies a fugitive Mind sought by both the Culture and the Idirans. Horza, the Changer, and his unpredictable crew of mercenaries, human and machine, embark on a quest to find it, leading to their own potential destruction. Cheradenine Zakalwe, a top agent for Special Circumstances, alters planetary destinies through intrigue and military action. Diziet Sma, who elevated him from obscurity, realizes she doesn’t know him as well as she believed. Skaffen-Amtiskaw, a drone that once saved Sma's life, views Zakalwe as a burnt-out case, yet it cannot fathom the horrors of his past. In a symbiotic society of humans and machines, Gurgeh, known as the Player of Games, excels in every strategy and board game. Bored with his success, he travels to the Empire of Azad to engage in a game so complex that the winner becomes emperor. Faced with mockery, blackmail, and near-death experiences, Gurgeh accepts the challenge of a lifetime, which may also lead to his demise.

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

Special Circumstances had always been the Contact section's moral espionage weapon, the very cutting edge of the Culture's interfering diplomatic policy, the élite of the élite in a society which abhorred élitism. The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of SC's foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action.The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought.The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a burnt-out case. But not even its machine intelligence could see the horrors in his past.In this brilliant, multilayered book, Iain Banks explores once again the universe of the Culture, which he has previously visited in Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games. Ferociously intelligent, both witty and horrific, Use of Weapons leaves no doubt that Banks is now the outstanding writer of science fiction in Britain.

Au plus profond de l'espace interstellaire, loin des volumes ordinairement fréquentés par la Culture, vient de surgir une Excession, objet extraordinaire qui semble défier toutes les lois connues de la physique, déborder la raison, et provenir d'un univers supérieur, transcendant. La Culture, cette société galactique, décentralisée, hédoniste, altruiste, cynique, anarchiste, prodigieusement riche et efficace - composée d'humains et autres intelligences biologiques, mais aussi et peut-être surtout d'Intelligences Artificielles - ne peut ignorer ce défi. D'autant qu'une espèce cruelle et belliqueuse, les Affronteurs, tente de profiter de la situation. Excession est le quatrième volet du cycle de la Culture dont les trois précédents, Une forme de guerre, L'Homme des jeux et L'Usage des armes ont été publiés dans la même collection.

When sex slave Lededje Y'breq is murdered by a politician on the planet Sichult, the artificial intelligence running one of the Culture's immense starships resurrects her so she can seek revenge. Meanwhile, the Culture is uneasily watching the conflict over whether to preserve virtual Hells for the souls of "sinners" or give them the release of death

Sur l'orbitale Masaq' s'est réfugié Ziller, un compositeur chelgrien dont le peuple a été récemment vaincu par la Culture, cette société galactique tolérante, anarchiste, cynique et par-dessus tout hédoniste. Ziller, le plus fameux musicien de son temps, a fui les mondes chelgriens pour des raisons politiques. Il compose un opéra en souvenir d'une guerre ancienne entre la Culture et les Idirans, durant laquelle ces derniers ont fait exploser des étoiles, huit cents ans auparavant. L'œuvre de Ziller doit être jouée au moment précis où la lumière fulgurante de ces novae atteindra Masaq'. Un émissaire chelgrien, Quilan, est envoyé sur l'orbitale pour tenter de convaincre Ziller de revenir dans sa patrie. C'est la partie officielle de sa mission. L'autre est plus ténébreuse. Un nouveau volet du cycle de la Culture, qui a renouvelé la science-fiction.

The Scavenger species are circling. It is, truly, the End Days for the Gzilt civilization. An ancient people, organized on military principles and yet almost perversely peaceful, the Gzilt helped set up the Culture ten thousand years earlier and were very nearly one of its founding societies, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Now they've made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions of other civilizations; they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence. Amid preparations though, the Regimental High Command is destroyed. Lieutenant Commander (reserve) Vyr Cossont appears to have been involved, and she is now wanted - dead, not alive. Aided only by an ancient, reconditioned android and a suspicious Culture avatar, Cossont must complete her last mission given to her by the High Command. She must find the oldest person in the Culture, a man over nine thousand years old, who might have some idea what really happened all that time ago. It seems that the final days of the Gzilt civilization are likely to prove its most perilous.

Matter is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head. --

A collection of short stories by young British writers, this provides an introduction to the work of Iain Banks, Peter Benson, H.S. Bhabra, James Buchan, Patricia Ferguson, Ronald Frame, Patrick Gale, Carlo Gebler, James Lasdun, Deborah Levy, Adam Lively, Aidan Mathews, Candia McWilliam, Geoff Nicholson, Tim Parks, Philip Ridley, Joan Smith, Rupert Thomson, Daisy Waugh and Mathew Yorke. Many of these have already received critical acclaim. The collection is introduced by Graham Swift, author of "Waterland" and "Out of this World".

The sixth Culture book from the awesome imagination of Iain M. Banks, a modern master of science fiction.

Alternate cover edition can be found here and here. Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilization based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith's apotheosis.

Classic Glamour Photography takes readers behind the scenes to reveal the secrets of the world's top professional glamour photographers. Through a series of major features, each devoted to the work of a single photographer, it uncovers the keys to individual approaches, styles and techniques. Its combination of authoritative in-depth analysis and vivid illustration makes it an essential purchase for all photographers, whether aspiring amateurs or seasoned professionals.

(An omnibus volume contains all the Viriconium stories, originally published in four The Pastel City, A Storm of Wings, In Viriconium, and Viriconium Nights, this landmark collection gathers four groundbreaking fantasy classics from the acclaimed author of Light)

An explosive new SF novel from the UK's bestselling writer in the genre.

Prentice McHoan has returned to the bosom of his complex but enduring Scottish family. Full of questions about the McHoan past, present and future, he is also deeply preoccupied - mainly with death, sex, drink, God and illegal substances. By the author of "The Wasp Factory".

A few spliffs, a spot of mild S&M, phone through the copy of tomorrow's front page, catch up with the latest from your mystery source - just a regular day at the office for free-wheeling, substance-abusing Cameron Colley, a fully paid-up Gonzo hack on an Edinburgh newspaper. He senses a scoop and checks out a series of bizarre deaths from a few years ago, only to find that the police are checking out a series of bizarre deaths from right now - and he might know more about it than he'd care to admit.

After dying seven times, Count Alandre Sessine VII has only one life remaining, and he becomes a fugitive in search of others like himself while he tries to track down his killer. By the author of Use of Weapons. Reprint.

A stunning, large-format hardback featuring original drawings by Iain M. Banks, giving a fascinating insight into the creation of his bestselling Culture universe - an essential collector's edition for all Iain M. Banks fans. číst celé

A little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing... Innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, the Elect of God of a small but committed Stirlingshire religious cult: Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. When her cousin Morag - Guest of Honour at the Luskentyrian's four-yearly Festival of Love - disappears after renouncing her faith, Isis is marked out to venture among the Unsaved and bring the apostate back into the fold. But the road to Babylondon (as Sister Angela puts it) is a treacherous one, particularly when Isis discovers that Morag appears to have embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon... Truth and falsehood; kinship and betrayal; 'herbal' cigarettes and compact discs - Whit is an exploration of the techno-ridden barrenness of modern Britain from a unique perspective.

Science fiction. Imagine a world that is one of infinite parallel worlds, that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse. Presiding over this world is the Concern, an all-powerful organisation whose operatives possess extraordinary powers. There is Temudjin Oh, an unkillable assassin who journeys between the high passes of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and a wintry Venice; Adrian Cubbish, restlessly greedy City trader; and the Philosopher, a state-sponsored torturer who moves between the time zones with sinister ease. Transition is a high-definition, hyper-real apocalyptic fable for terrible times.

The man who wakes up in the extraordinary world of a bridge has amnesia, and his doctor doesn't seem to want to cure him. Does it matter? Exploring the bridge occupies most of his days. But at night there are his dreams. Dreams in which desperate men drive sealed carriages across barren mountains to a bizarre rendezvous; an illiterate barbarian storms an enchanted tower under a stream of verbal abuse; and broken men walk forever over bridges without end, taunted by visions of a doomed sexuality. Lying in bed unconscious after an accident wouldn't be much fun, you'd think. Oh yes? It depends who and what you've left behind. Which is the stranger reality, day or night? Frequently hilarious and consistently disturbing, THE BRIDGE is a novel of outrageous contrasts, constructed chaos and elegant absurdities.

Daniel Weir used to be a famous - not to say infamous - rock star. Maybe still is. At thirty-one he has been both a brilliant failure and a dull success. He's made a lot of mistakes that have paid off and a lot of smart moves he'll regret forever (however long that turns out to be). Daniel Weir has gone from rags to riches and back, and managed to hold onto them both, though not much else. His friends all seem to be dead, fed up with him or just disgusted - and who can blame them? And now Daniel Weir is all alone. As he contemplates his life, Daniel realises he only has two problems: the past and the future. He knows how bad the past has been. But the future - well, the future is something else.

The only collection of Iain M. Banks's short fiction, including the Culture novella of the same name. From science fiction to horror, dark fantasy to twisted comedy, all eight stories bear the stamp of Banks's talent.

In one week from now, Mo's band will lay claim to the name Queen Mab, unless Elfish, Mo's ex, can put together a rival band, play live and recite all 43 lines of the Queen Mab's speech from Romeo and Juliet. Then victory will be hers, and the name of the band too.

'As good as anything Banks has ever written, if not better' Sunday Telegraph After years of exile, Alban Wopuld has been summoned back to his family's highland estate, Garbadale. The Wopuld clan are closing ranks. They have built their fortune on the boardgame Empire! - which has become a hugely successful computer game - and now the Americans want to buy them out. As the family gathers for their Extraordinary General Meeting, old grudges, forbidden passions and dark secrets emerge. What drove Alban's mother to take her own life? And is Alban over Sophie, his bewitching cousin and teenage love? Praise for Iain Banks: 'The most imaginative novelist of his generation' The Times 'His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthral new readers' Ken MacLeod, Guardian 'His work was mordant, surreal, and fiercely intelligent' Neil Gaiman 'An exceptional wordsmith' Scotsman

Graham Park's in love. Steven Grout is paranoid - he knows that they're out to get him. Quiss is forced to play interminable, impossible games. Park, Grout, Quiss - no trio could be further apart. But their separate courses are set for collision.

Raw In Search of the Perfect Dram [Paperback] Banks, Iain

Iain Banks' daring new novel opens in a loft apartment in the East End, in a former factory due to be knocked down in a few days. Ken Nott is a devoutly contrarian vaguely left wing radio shock-jock living in London. After a wedding breakfast people start dropping fruits from a balcony on to a deserted carpark ten storeys below, then they start dropping other things; an old TV that doesn't work, a blown loudspeaker, beanbags, other unwanted furniture...Then they get carried away and start dropping things that are still working, while wrecking the rest of the apartment. But mobile phones start ringing and they're told to turn on a TV, because a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Centre... At ease with the volatility of modernity, Iain Banks is also our most accomplished literary writer of narrative-driven adventure stories that never ignore the injustices and moral conundrums of the real world. His new novel, displays his trademark dark wit, buoyancy and momentum.

Eighteen-year-old Kit is weird: big, strange, odd, socially disabled, on a spectrum that stretches from "highly gifted" at one end, to "nutter" at the other. At least Kit knows who his father is; he and Guy live together in a decaying country house on the unstable brink of a vast quarry. His mother's identity is another matter. Now, though, his father's dying, and old friends are gathering for one last time. "Uncle" Paul's a media lawyer now; Rob and Ali are upwardly mobile corporate bunnies; pretty, hopeful Pris is a single mother; Haze is still living up to his drug-inspired name twenty years on; and fierce, protective Hol is a gifted if acerbic critic. As young film students they lived at Willoughtree House with Guy, and they've all come back because they want something. Kit, too, has his own ulterior motives. Before his father dies he wants to know who his mother is, and what's on the mysterious tape they're all looking for. But most of all he wants to stop time and keep his father alive. Fast-paced, gripping and savagely funny, The Quarry is a virtuoso performance whose soaring riffs on the inexhaustible marvel of human perception and rage against the dying of the light will stand among Iain Banks' greatest work.

Contemporary - and how! - novel by 'the most imaginative British novelist of his generation' - The Times

Hisako Onoda, world famous cellist, refuses to fly. And so she travels to Europe as a passenger on a tanker bound through the Panama Canal. But Panama is a country whose politics are as volatile as the local freedom fighters. When Hisako's ship is captured, it is not long before the atmosphere is as flammable as an oxy-acetylene torch, and the tension as sharp as the spike on her cello... CANAL DREAMS is a novel of deceptive simplicity and dark, original power: stark psychological insights mesh with vividly realised scenarios in an ominous projection of global realpolitik. The result is yet another major landmark in the quite remarkable career of an outstanding modern novelist.

The war is ending, perhaps ended. For the castle and its occupants the troubles are just beginning. Armed gangs roam a lawless land where each farm and house supports a column of dark smoke. Taking to the roads with the other refugees, anonymous in their raggedness, seems safer than remaining in the ancient keep. However, the lieutenant of an outlaw band has other ideas and the castle becomes the focus for a dangerous game of desire, deceit and death. Iain Bank's masterly novel reveals his unique ability to combine gripping narrative with a relentlessly voyaging imagination. The narrative technique and sheer brio of A SONG OF STONE reveal a great novelist at the height of his powers.

Zwei Kultur-Romane in einem Band Iain Banks, der Bestsellerautor von „Bedenke Phlebas“ und „Blicke windwärts“, schreibt Space-Operas, wie man sie sich nur wünschen kann – vollgepackt mit Action und Exotik! Dieser Band versammelt erstmals zwei seiner bedeutendsten Romane: „Das Spiel Azad“ und Einsatz der Waffen.

Знаменитый роман выдающегося шотландца, самый скандальный дебют в английской прозе последних десятилетий. Познакомьтесь с шестнадцатилетним Фрэнком. Он убил троих. Он - совсем не тот, кем кажется. Он - совсем не тот, кем себя считает. Добро пожаловать на остров, который стерегут Жертвенные Столбы. В дом, где на чердаке ждет смертоносная Осиная Фабрика.

In "Inversionen" von Iain Banks spielt die Handlung in einer Fantasiewelt mit zwei Sonnen, in der zwei Wanderer in unterschiedliche Königreiche kommen. Doktor Vosill kämpft gegen Vorurteile als Frau und gegen Misstrauen in ihrer medizinischen Expertise, während DeWar seinen Schützling vor Gefahren schützt. Die Geschichten werden von unzuverlässigen Erzählern erzählt, was die Wahrhaftigkeit der Ereignisse in Frage stellt.

"Абсолютная достоверность самых фантастических построений, полное ощущение присутствия - неизменный фирменный знак Бэнкса" (Time Out)

Kate Telman wird von einem Konzern in den Himalaja geschickt, um den Kauf des Zwergstaates Thulan zu verhandeln. Doch anstatt sich auf die Geschäfte zu konzentrieren, träumt sie davon, Prinz Suvinder zu heiraten und die Idylle des Landes zu bewahren.

Der junge Prentice aus dem schottischen Clan der McHoans kommt hinter das mysteriöse Geheimnis seines Onkels Roy, der seit 10 Jahren verschollen ist.

Roman, übersetzt von Rosemarie Hundertmarck, umfasst 392 Seiten.