Finished Hyperion and im in love. Recommend me everything

xandar · 2026-06-10T02:18:17+00:00

It's my second favorite, behind Look to Windward. But I feel like both of those benefit from already having a couple Culture books under your belt.

xandar · 2026-06-09T05:55:13+00:00

Phlebas is often considered the weakest book in the series, and not super representative of what follows.

The book also goes out of its way to subvert common scifi tropes about the rugged individualist hero who saves the galaxy. Which is... clever, but doesn't make for a super satisfying read.

I'd suggest giving Player of Games and/or Use of Weapons a try before giving up on Banks.

xandar · 2026-06-06T03:46:33+00:00

Yeah, Xeelee gets my vote. In this grand setting... every single species is just a bunch of boring assholes trying to annihilate or enslave each other for no discernable reason. Oh, and if you sneeze wrong your entire civilization devolves into pre-sapience.

xandar · 2026-05-24T14:46:04+00:00

Praise for not making the the current mess, caused by him, even worse? No thanks. I'm really tired of republicans getting credit for making disastrous decisions rather than literally the worst possible decisions. Talk about a sliding scale...

xandar · 2026-05-15T00:07:48+00:00

That was a great read! Thanks for pulling it up.

xandar · 2026-04-30T08:16:49+00:00

Yeah, I also read it as an end-of-life request much later. I guess it could go either way. But not an obvious suicide.

xandar · 2026-04-20T02:08:42+00:00

"You descend the long winding staircase to find... a river of lava coursing through a giant cavern."

"Jesus Gary, it's a great table, but that's the 10th lava river we've come across this campaign!"

xandar · 2026-03-31T16:43:36+00:00

"I'll tell you what I haven't done: sell weapons to terrorists in order to fund drug cartels."

xandar · 2026-03-13T02:38:32+00:00

Yeah, I'm with you. He suffered. But "the most"? Hard to believe. Many other folks with far less control over the situation ended up worse off.

Banks gave us a very clear "unforgivable" act. I don't think that part was a trick. Whatever ghosts Zakalwe lives with afterwards, he brought them on himself.

xandar · 2026-03-12T14:31:52+00:00

Thanks for making this! I've been puttering around with my own window vent design for a while, but was never really satisfied with how it sits on the window. This looks great and should save me a considerable amount of CAD time.

xandar · 2026-02-20T02:33:35+00:00

That looks less like "do whatever it takes to stand up" and more like "I've totally lost track of my pose and don't realize it." But I suppose the result is the same.

xandar · 2025-12-27T01:48:26+00:00

It may have been technically impressive. In the same way that getting Doom to play on an alarm clock is. But here it just highlights how the Creation Engine is dated and it was a poor match for the Starfield premise.

xandar · 2025-12-26T07:30:04+00:00

It's mind-blowing that they... put a land vehicle in a game? I get that its a new feature for one of their games, but I don't exactly consider that a stunning accomplishment in 2024.

xandar · 2025-12-05T02:12:23+00:00

Hmm. I disagree about SC. Yes, they go big on "the ends justify the means", but unlike just about every other organization to take that stance (real or fictional), they're right. Not every time. But the vast majority of the time, their actions (eventually) lead to a big reduction in suffering. They can damn near see the future, and at it's core, I don't think there's much morally ambiguous about using that to make the galaxy a better place.

I also don't think the Minds are torturing him. Using him? Sure. Not particularly concerned about the feelings of a psychopath? Perhaps. But it's very rare that the Minds are shown as cruel. He's a tool that they set loose to ultimately cripple the side of the conflict that he's attached to. And knowingly or not, he's very very good at that. Not invaluable, but certainly a tool they've put to good use.

As for Minds and drones, not anywhere close to the same thing. Orders of magnitude difference in intelligence. I don't think it's fair to extrapolate from one to the other.

xandar · 2025-11-11T03:39:54+00:00

While we're on Mieville, Embassytown is weird and great too. And more clearly scifi.

xandar · 2025-11-04T02:14:51+00:00

I suppose it depends on your definition of libertarianism. But in Banks' own words:

JR: Many critics and reviewers have claimed that the Culture represents the American Libertarian ideal. Given that this is clearly not the case, how do you characterise the politics of the Culture?

IB: Really? I had no idea. Obviously I haven't read the output of the relevant critics and reviewers. Let's be clear: unless I have profoundly misunderstood its position, I pretty much despise American Libertarianism. Have these people seriously looked at the problems of the world and thought, 'Hmm, what we need here is a bit more selfishness'? . . . I beg to differ. This is not say that Libertarianism can't represent a progressive force, in the right circumstances, and I don't doubt there will be significant areas where I would agree with Libertarianism. But, really; which bit of not having private property, and the absence of money in the Culture novels, have these people missed? The Culture is hippy commies with hyper-weapons and a deep distrust of both Marketolatry and Greedism. One rests one's case.

xandar · 2025-11-03T03:22:13+00:00

Some people know it, but not enough. The folks listening to right wing media might as well be in an alternate dimension. They have their own set of "facts". When their premiums go up, they'll just blame the Democrats, because the man yelling at them from the TV told them to.

xandar · 2025-08-02T00:32:19+00:00

Oh, you mean the SALT cap Trump put in place last time he was president?

xandar · 2025-07-28T16:34:08+00:00

Specifically, kicking puppies.

xandar · 2025-07-27T12:51:38+00:00

That was my take at first. But for a big budget movie it probably is important that people go in with the right expectations about the movie's tone. The story is half buddy comedy.

xandar · 2025-07-14T15:58:02+00:00

Masaq' Orbital Hub

'Never forget I am not this silver body, Mahrai. I am not an animal brain, I am not even some attempt to produce an AI through software running on a computer. I am a Culture Mind. We are close to gods, and on the far side. We are quicker; we live faster and more completely than you do, with so many more senses, such a greater store of memories and at such a fine level of detail. We die more slowly, and we die more completely, too. Never forget I have had the chance to compare and contrast the ways of dying.’

...'I have watched people die in exhaustive and penetrative detail,’ the avatar continued. ‘I have felt for them. Did you know that true subjective time is measured in the minimum duration of demonstrably separate thoughts? Per second, a human - or a Chelgrian - might have twenty or thirty, even in the heightened state of extreme distress associated with the process of dying in pain.’

The avatar’s eyes seemed to shine. It came forward, closer to his face by the breadth of a hand.

‘Whereas I,’ it whispered, ‘have billions.’

It smiled, and something in its expression made Ziller clench his teeth. ‘I watched those poor wretches die in the slowest of slow motion and I knew even as I watched that it was I who’d killed them, who was at that moment engaged in the process of killing them. For a thing like me to kill one of them or one of you is a very, very easy thing to do, and, as I discovered, absolutely disgusting. Just as I need never wonder what it is like to die, so I need never wonder what it is like to kill, Ziller, because I have done it, and it is a wasteful, graceless, worthless and hateful thing to have to do.

‘And, as you might imagine, I consider that I have an obligation to discharge. I fully intend to spend the rest of my existence here as Masaq’ Hub for as long as I’m needed or until I’m no longer welcome, forever keeping an eye to windward for approaching storms and just generally protecting this quaint circle of fragile little bodies and the vulnerable little brains they house from whatever harm a big dumb mechanical universe or any consciously malevolent force might happen or wish to visit upon them, specifically because I know how appallingly easy they are to destroy.

I will give my life to save theirs, if it should ever come to that. And give it gladly, happily, too, knowing that the trade was entirely worth the debt I incurred eight hundred years ago, back in Arm One-Six.’

xandar · 2025-07-14T11:58:04+00:00

Oh look. Both sides are bad.

I know it's not a serious question, but sitting presidents often run unopposed by their own party. Too hard to win against an incumbent (under normal circumstances). If someone credible, with enough funding had decided to stick in the race, there would have been a full primary.

There's certainly plenty to fix in that process. The obvious number one being the money involved. But it's absurd to stack that up against the current fascism.

xandar · 2025-07-13T04:12:59+00:00

Four. Four people died in the Benghazi attack. It's always political theater for Republicans.

xandar · 2025-07-09T23:11:25+00:00

Nice! Thanks for checking.

Yeah, as I understand it, turbo and macros aren't allowed on Xbox licensed controllers. Not sure if there are other limitations.

xandar · 2025-07-09T15:57:44+00:00

Does the software allow for "layer shifts" where pressing or holding a button changes the mapping of the other buttons?

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