State of the Art - Hardcover
The first ever collection of Iain Banks' short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella, The State of the Art. This is a striking addition to the growing body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The other stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks' staggering talent.
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About the Author:
Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, THE WASP FACTORY, in 1984. He has since gained enormous popular and critical acclaim for both his mainstream and his science fiction novels.
From Publishers Weekly:
Accompanied by a lengthy essay, "A Few Notes on the Culture" (1997), these seven arresting short stories and the disturbing novella that provides the title for Banks's latest SF collection all date from 1984–1987, the period of his bizarre mainstream novel The Wasp Factory and the extravagant genre novel Consider Phlebas, both cult-inspiring works. In short pieces like "Road of Skulls" and "Piece," Banks turns convention upside down and inside out, with shocker-endings that linger like smoke rising from a crematorium. "Odd Attachment" traces a marooned spaceman and his AI suit on a tortuous survival trek across an uninhabited planet, illustrating Banks's preoccupation with the "self-generative belief system" that applies to both humans and AIs in the Culture, the setting for the title story and some of his SF novels. Viewing Earth and Homo sapiens through the eyes of the Culture, a galactic group-civilization spawned by a handful of humanoid species several thousand years in the past, allows Banks to speculate on his dearest philosophical topics: the preferability of anarchy in space, denunciation of market economies as "synthetic evil," never-ending education for both humans and machines, and genetic manipulation. For all their wrenching images and sadistic twists, Banks's unsettling tales bestow a grim gift, the ability to see ourselves as others might see us.
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- PublisherMark V Ziesing
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0929480066
- ISBN 13 9780929480060
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages1
- Rating
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The State of the Art
Published by
Mark V. Ziesing
(1989)
ISBN 10: 0929480066
ISBN 13: 9780929480060
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Dust jacket in very good condition. First edition. Minor shelf and handling wear, overall a clean solid copy with minimal signs of use. An excellent copy, gently worn; Pages free of markings; Jacket housed in protective mylar; Secure packaging for safe delivery. 0.78. Seller Inventory # 736089114
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The State of the Art- US 1st Edition 1st Print Hardback Book
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(1989)
ISBN 10: 0929480066
ISBN 13: 9780929480060
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A US 1st Edition, 1st Printing hardback book indicated on the copyright page with no further printings mentioned. This US edition preceded the UK edition of the same name. - The book is in near fine condition with just a very light bump to the top and bottom of the spine and light sunning and marking to the page block to detract. - The dust jacket is in very good condition and has not been price clipped. Sunning to the spine and left side of the front. Some light marking, but otherwise a very good copy. Seller Inventory # ABE-1552490918637
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State of the Art
Published by
Mark V Ziesing
(1989)
ISBN 10: 0929480066
ISBN 13: 9780929480060
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Book Description hardcover. Condition: Good. Stated First Edition Torn/worn dj. Good hardcover with some shelfwear; may have previous owner's name inside. Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # mon0000210218
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The State of the Art
Published by
Mark V. Ziesing
(1989)
ISBN 10: 0929480066
ISBN 13: 9780929480060
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. First Edition. Dust jacket in acceptable condition. First edition. SIGNED by the author. Shelf and handling wear to cover and binding, with general signs of previous use. Small stain to dust jacket, now wrapped in protective sleeve. Light spotting to fore-edge. Internally clean. Secure packaging for safe delivery. 0.78. signed by author. Seller Inventory # 1554758441
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The State of the Art (Signed/Limited)
Published by
Mark V. Ziesing, Shingletown
(1989)
ISBN 10: 0929480066
ISBN 13: 9780929480060
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Fine in fine dust jacket. Number 47 of 400 signed and numbered copies in a cloth slipcase . The story of a man in love with life itself. It is also a brave investigation into the nature of good and evil. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 014531
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