Death and Utopia: Reflections on the Culture

As I've promised in some recent posts, here are my reflections on the Culture series of Iain M. Banks.  It's appropriate to post it today, the second anniversary of Banks's death. You can read his final interview here.

One of those Big Ideas: An orbital

The Culture series has become one of my favorite series over the last few years, securing a place in my personal pantheon of science fiction series along with Asimov's Foundation series, Clarke's Space Odyssey series, Herbert's Dune universe, Le Guin's Hainish Cycle, and Butler's Earthseed series.  I wish I had started reading the Culture books sooner!

Aside from the quality of writing and (literally) awesome Big SF Ideas to be found, what I love most is the idea of the Culture itself.  There's far more to be said about the Culture than I could say in one reasonably sized blog post, so let me concentrate on two major issues: utopia and death.  Sadly I won't say much about the subtle humor of the series, although I hope to take up the value of humor in life and fiction in a future post.

Culture Round Up: Reviewing the Culture series by Iain M. Banks

I recently finished the last book in the Culture series of Iain M. Banks, and I've been working up to a post on my overall thoughts on the series.  But before I do that, I want to say a little bit about each of the ten books.  I'll even rank them at the end (although I should reiterate that I love all of them).

I decided to read the books in publication order.  Doing so is not in any way necessary, since none of them are conventional sequels to the others.  In particular, getting into the first book, Consider Phlebas, can be hard, so you might want to start with The Player of Games or with one of the newer books (Matter even has a handy glossary!).

Still, I enjoyed seeing how Banks developed his ideas about the Culture over time.  If these books sound like your type of thing and you're ready to commit, I say publication order is the way to go.

Book Review of Matter by Iain M. Banks

For my first book review on this blog, I thought I’d start with a book in a series that has become one of my latest obsessions: the Culture series of Iain M. Banks.  This review is an edited and expanded version of my original Goodreads review.

Matter is the eighth Culture book Banks wrote, although the plots of the books aren’t directly related, so they could be read in any order (more on that later).  If you’re not in the know on the Culture (a galactic human-alien-AI post-scarcity anarchic utopia), you might want to check out this Wikipedia entry and an essay by Banks, "A Few Notes on the Culture."

And now to the actual review…

Knowledge, Death, and the Sublime: Review of The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks

I’ve been both anticipating and dreading reading The Hydrogen Sonata, the last of the Culture books: anticipating because the Culture books have come to be among my all time favorites since I started reading them in publication order a couple years ago and dreading because, since Banks himself Sublimed out of our dimensions in June 2013, I now have no new Culture books to read. 

(If you're not familiar with the Culture, I provided background information in my review of Matter). 

As I suggested in my review of Surface Detail, one of the lessons to learn from Banks is that the end is not always a bad thing.  On the other hand, there’s a rumor that Banks asked his friend, fellow Scottish science fiction author Ken Macleod, to carry the Culture on after his death, so maybe it’s not the end after all.

Solipsists, Useless Kings, and Lazy Guns: Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks

 

Longtime readers of this blog (or anyone who talks to me about science fiction for five minutes) may remember that I'm a huge fan of Iain M. Banks's Culture series (find out why in "Death and Utopia: Reflections on the Culture").

Against a Dark Background is not a Culture novel. It's neither quite as fun nor as deep as the Culture books, but it has its moments. Even a sub-par Iain M. Banks novel is above average science fiction.

But like Feersum Endjinn and The Algebraist, Against a Dark Background not set in the Culture universe (or at least not within the galactic territory traversed by the Culture). The Algebraist is probably my favorite of Banks's non-Culture SF, but Against a Dark Background has its share of Banksian brilliance.

Favorite Utopias New and Old: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers and The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

 

I was recently in the mood for some unabashed utopian science fiction. I had been saving the second volume of Becky Chambers's Monk and Robot series for the right moment. And I've been meaning to reread all of Iain M. Banks's Culture series ever since I frequently gushed about it so much on this very blog back in the mid-2010's.

I need some time to mull it over, but I think Chambers's Monk and Robot series may be one of my all-time favorites. I’d say I want to give it a million stars if that sort of hyperbole didn’t feel contrary to its entire ethos.

I loved it so much that I couldn't think of how to review it properly. So instead I wrote this weird... review? Or whatever this is...

Review of Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks

Surface Detail isn't an entry level Culture novel.  While newcomers might enjoy this one, you probably need a few Culture books under your belt to get the most out of it (especially if one of the books under your belt is Use of Weapons).  As I've mentioned in my review of Matter, I recommend reading the books in publication order, but doing so isn't necessary (the previous link also contains some background on the Culture if you're not familiar with this whole business).

Surface Detail is the longest of the Culture novels and probably one of the most difficult to summarize (it's less convoluted than Excession, though).  While this, like most Banks novels, evades attempts to encapsulate the whole plot, I can give a sampler: a "reincarnated" murder victim seeks revenge on her murderer, we are introduced to several new sub-divisions of Special Circumstances, we have plenty of intrigue and galactic politics (this time mostly revolving around virtual reality), there's a heartbreaking story of a separated couple, and the vividly gnarly descriptions of hell realms would make Christians like Dante and Buddhists like Vasubandhu jealous.  Surprisingly for a novel this long, I never found it lagging even if I didn't always completely understand what was happening.  Have faith, though: Banks wraps everything up.

Weerd Syinss: Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks

I'm a huge fan of Banks's Culture novels (see my roundup of reviews of each book and a post on my reflections on the series).  I also enjoyed his non-Culture science fiction novel, The Algebraist, and his "mainstream" novel, The Wasp Factory.  I really wanted to love Feersum Endjinn as much as these works, but despite heavy doses of Banksian brilliance, I can't say it quite measures up.

It's not that I didn't like it.  The writing is often beautiful.  The semi-phonetic chapters (whar u 1/2 2 reed fings spelt lik dis) are brilliant as much as they are initially frustrating (you do get used to it after awhile).  The story - such as I was able to make out - is wild, original, and delightfully complex.

The novel unfolds in groups of four chapters, with each chapter following a particular character: a mysterious woman known as the Asura (a Sanskrit word for a kind of divine being or demon), a Count on his last lifetime (oh yeah, some people get seven lifetimes), a scientist trying to decipher mysterious messages (and also caught up in a conspiracy), and everybody's favorite, Bascule the Teller, who is on a quest to find his friend who is an ant (we read his semi-phonetic journal, which come to think to it, may just be how everyone writes in the far future).  The book is actually even a bit weirder than I'm making it sound, but I like weird.

Science Fictional Meditations on the Value of Diversity

I’m still reeling from the tragic mass shooting at the Pulse gay bar in Orlando last weekend.  Although I wrote a short post about it addressed to my LBGTQIA+ friends, I still don’t quite know what to say.  Remember the victims and who they were.  Please listen to LGBTQIA+ voices, whether your own, in your social circles, or online such as those here and here.  I in no way mean to co-opt these voices.

Science fiction is sometimes thought of as an escapist genre.  I admit to finding some of that kind of solace in the last few days, especially in reading Heretics of Dune (book five of Frank Herbert's Dune Chronicles) and finally almost finishing Babylon 5.  

But whatever escapist tendencies it might have, science fiction is also a philosophical laboratory in which ideas are put to the test in extended thought experiments.  This is why I created a philosophy and science fiction blog.

While I certainly don’t mean to imply that science fiction can solve the social, political, and personal ills that led to the Orlando tragedy, I think science fiction is an excellent way to address some of the issues that arise in a diverse society.  

How should we think about and live with people different from ourselves?  How should the marginalized react to the powerful and vice versa?  Should diversity be tolerated?  Valued? Celebrated?  What kinds of diversity are we talking about, anyway?

Here are some works of science fiction that constitute meditations on these questions.  Please feel free to add more in the comments.

Jupiter Ascending: A Defense

The Wachowskis' latest effort, Jupiter Ascending, has gotten mostly bad reviews (23% on Rotten Tomatoes).  Still, I've been excited about this movie ever since spring 2014 when it was supposed to be released in summer 2014.  A full-fledged space opera with a big budget for special effects that's not based on a comic book or existing franchise with the Wachowskis at the helm?  Sign me up!

Then I read somewhere that Warner Brothers was pushing back the release date, maybe to avoid summer embarrassment.  And then the reviews started coming in.  All of this lowered my expectations, but my hope was undimmed.

I finally saw it yesterday.  I didn't think it was as terrible as everyone was saying.  In fact, there's a lot to be said for it.  I liked the few positive reviews I've read ("Go See Jupiter Ascending Even If It's Stupid" and "Oh, No, I Really Liked Jupiter Ascending").  Still, I wanted to add my own defense.

Star Trek Reminds Us We Can Do Better: Thoughts on Star Trek's 60th Anniversary

 

My 60th anniversary popcorn bucket from AMC Theaters

The first time I realized I loved Star Trek was while watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, a memory I relived yesterday at my local theater for Star Trek's 60th anniversary. 

Captain Kirk and crew go back in time from the 23rd century to 1986 San Francisco to bring some whales back to the future in order to avert a cataclysm via mysterious whale-song aliens (most Star Trek fans refer to this as The One With The Whales!). When they arrive in 1986 and Starfleet-out-of-water shenanigans unfold, Kirk remembers, "they're still using money."

My ten-year-old mind reeled! They don't have money in the future? What? How could something that caused so much drama and heartache in the lives of all the adults in my life simply .... not exist?

42nd Post Spectacular!: Six things I've learned from the blog so far

Thanks to Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the number 42 is an auspicious number for science fiction fans that concerns the philosophical question of life, the universe, and everything.  In light of this being my 42nd post on a blog about philosophy and science fiction, I thought it would be appropriate to write a post engaging in every blogger’s two favorite pastimes: navel gazing and self promotion! 

Here are six things I've learned in the several months since I started this blog.

A profound Venn diagram

Why six?  Because 4 + 2 = 6 and 42 things would be too many.

1. Blogging is fun! In high school, college, and even for a bit in grad school, I wrote opinion columns in my respective student newspapers.  I always enjoyed the chance to collect and organize my thoughts on a variety of topics and to share those thoughts with others.  Blogging is a continuation of this activity by other means, although it's more geographically dispersed than a student newspaper (see #6 below).

Why I Love Dune

 

I recently re-read Frank Herbert's Dune to get ready for the new Denis Villeneuve film adaptation. I was thinking of a way to review a book I've read several times over 30 years, but I'm not sure that makes much sense. 

I did notice this time that, contrary to my previous review, Paul does question his own actions in the middle of the book, even if Jessica questions them more. But... what do you say about a classic that hasn't already been said?

So instead I thought I might say a bit about why I love Dune so much, why I've returned to this series over the years as one of my all-time favorites (and maybe as a bonus why I'm excited about the new Villeneuve film adaptation).

Sci-Fi Stoic Week 2015: Saturday-Sunday

This is the last in my series, Sci-Fi Stoic Week 2015.  You can find out more about Stoic Week and my sci-fi take on it in my first post in the series.  Also, feel free to check out parts two and three.

Saturday: Resilience and Preparation for Adversity

Be like the headland on which the waves break constantly, which still stands firm while the foaming waters are put to rest around it. ‘It is my bad luck that this has happened to me!’ On the contrary, say, ‘It is my good luck that, although this has happened to me, I can bear it without getting upset, neither crushed by the present nor afraid of the future.’ 

— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.49

The Doof Warrior and the Value of Subtle Humor

Let us begin by beholding the Doof Warrior in all his splendor.  

The Doof Warrior, AKA, the Guitar Guy

For more on the Doof Warrior, see my review of Mad Max: Fury Road.  If you haven't seen the movie, the Doof Warrior plays a guitar/bass rigged with a flame thrower while riding around the post-apocalyptic desert on a truck with amplifiers and drums, all in service of an evil warlord.  Yes, it's just as awesome as it sounds.  I'd make a pretty poor post-apocalyptic warlord, but I'd do one thing right: I'd hire a Doof Warrior on my first day.

As fun as the Doof Warrior is, I want to make a serious point about humor. In the face of the terrible things going on in the world that can easily drive us to depression and despair, humor is one of the few things that can keep us sane.  It might also reveal something profound about the human condition.

2015 Books: Favorites and Oddities

In addition to watching a lot of movies, I read a lot of good books in 2015.  I finished Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy and Iain M. Banks’s Culture series.  I read classics from some of my favorites, like Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven.  

Some of the new books I read (or started reading) in 2015

If you care to check out my Goodreads Year in Books, you might notice that I read mostly older books.  The main reason for this is that I tend to get books from libraries and used book stores.  I also read almost exclusively paper books rather than e-books (see "In Praise of Paper Books.")

Nonetheless, I’m trying to read more new books, both to stay hip and because reviews of new books tend to generate more interest. It also gives me material for a Favorites of 2015 list limited to books that were published in 2015. But because I can't help it, I'll discuss a few older books and oddities after the Favorites list. Without further ado...

2018 Hugo Ballot, Part Three (Related Work, Dramatic Presentation, and More)

I've already submitted my votes for this year's Hugos for Best Novel, Best Novella, Best Novelette, and Best Short Story (see my ballots here and here).  But there are a lot more categories!  So ... many... categories.  You can see all the finalists in all the categories here.  There are more categories, honestly, than I can hope to vote for before the July 31 deadline.  I think I can manage a few more at least, so here's what I think about Best Related Work, Best Graphic Story, and Best Dramatic Presentation (Long and Short).  I'm not going to vote for Best Series because I haven't read any of them.  I'll probably also skip the editor categories because I don't feel as plugged into the professional side of science fiction as I feel like I ought to be to vote for those (although editing is a lot of work and deserves recognition, so I may change my mind there).  Hopefully I'll get to the other categories in Part Four!

(Re-)Gendering Utopia: Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer

Ada Palmer's Seven Surrenders is the sequel to her first book, Too Like the Lightning, which was my favorite novel of 2016.

The "new world smell" has worn off by the second volume and I could never really follow all the levels of intrigue, but there are still plenty of ideas about utopia, gender, sex, politics, philosophy, history, religion, etc. to keep you thinking in this second book.

Sci-Fi Stoic Week 2015: Thursday-Friday

This is the third post in my series, Sci-Fi Stoic Week 2015!  Stoic Week is an international event in which you can use a handbook to try to live like a Stoic for a week.  Sci-Fi Stoic Week is my take on it.  Find out more in my first post in the series.

Thursday: Virtue

The ancient Stoics thought that virtue is the highest good.  In fact, virtue is the only real good.  Other things, like wealth, health, fame, and so on, aren't really valuable in themselves.  The only thing that really matters to Stoics is being a good person.

Bill and Ted: Proponents of virtue as excellence

Like most ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, the Stoics are virtue theorists: what matters in ethics is character, which is different than many modern ethical theories, like utilitarianism and deontology, which tend to focus on the rightness or wrongness of actions.  Virtue ethics has made a come back in the discipline of philosophy in recent decades (see this article on Julia Annas, one contemporary philosopher who has been part of this come back).

The Thursday Lunchtime exercise in the 2015 Stoic Week Handbook introduces the idea of values clarification.  If virtue is so important, you should try to be clear about what counts as virtuous.  You should also try, as far as possible, to make sure that your values match up with the way you live your life.  The Handbook suggests that asking questions like the following is one way to do this.

Being Martian: Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

"Mars is free now.  We're on our own.  No one tells us what to do."
- Opening lines of Blue Mars

Blue Mars confirms it: Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy has ascended to my personal pantheon of science fiction series.  It's up there with Frank Herbert's Dune series, Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, Octavia Butler's Earthseed Duology, Ursula Le Guin's Hainish Cycle, and the Culture series of Iain M. Banks.  Like these other masterpieces, the Mars Trilogy is not just something you read, it's something you live, something that stays with you and changes you long after your eyes pass over the final sentences.

As I noted in my review of Green Mars, the genius of the trilogy is that Kim Stanley Robinson combines hard SF, literary writing, and philosophical rumination to produce something beautiful -- maybe even something as sublime as Mars itself!

Red Mars is about settling on Mars, while Green Mars is about becoming Martian (hence, the title of my review: "Becoming Martian").  Blue Mars is about being Martian.  Once humans have completed most of the terraforming of Mars, and once Mars has had time to areoform humanity, what next?

What to do once some of us have become Martian?  That's the question of Blue Mars.

This question has multiple dimensions: political, biological, ecological, cosmological, artistic, mathematical, sociological, philosophical.  The depth with which Kim Stanley Robinson (KSR) plumbs these dimensions is astounding.  I can't possibly do justice to this depth in one review.

Nor can I do justice to the literary beauty of KSR's prose.  Here are some of my favorite examples: