The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
293 pages, Paperback
First published August 1988, Harper Prism
I really love the diversity of books we read in my book group. This was chosen by our lone male at the moment. Science Fiction is not a genre I usually read. There have been some I have read and enjoyed on recommendation by the hubby but I don't usually read them on my own. Glad to have read this one, too.
It's an interesting premise. A master game player, Jernau Gurgeh, is recruited to travel to the Empire of Azad to play the ultimate in games- the game of Azad. The winner becomes Emperor. What is the point of Gurgeh going and participating? Is it for his entertainment, a mission by The Culture to infiltrate Azad? It is hard to know when everyone is playing a game.
This book had me so enthralled. I listened to it in the car and read my copy when I was home. So much going on behind the scenes of such a quiet book. I never knew who to trust, or who was who. I will be reading more of Banks' Culture series.
December/January Book Choice: Dead Mountain by Donnie Eicher
Happy Reading!
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"This is the story of a man who went far away for a long time, just to play a game. The man is a game- player called 'Gurgeh'. The story starts with a battle that is not a battle, and ends with a game that is not a game." page 1, The Player of Games by Iain Banks.
Happy Reading!
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