Excuse my ignorance, but

Admiral Griffith · Post by **Admiral Griffith** » 2002-09-11 04:37pm

who the hell are the Culture?

Vendetta · Post by **Vendetta** » 2002-09-11 05:02pm

Galactic civilisation appearing in a series of novels by Iain M Banks.

Start by reading The Player of Games. It'll teach you bugger all about the Culture, but it's a damn good book.

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2002-09-11 05:32pm

They are a galactic spanning (but not galaxy controling) civiliation of a technologic level very high up there (some would even say penis envy). But the technology is not what the books are about. I have heard some of the books have very good stories, and even some quite dark elements to them when it comes to revenge. They also have some really strange names (one ship is known as Meat Fucker)

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-09-11 05:51pm

Meat Fucker.

Meat...fucker.

Meat...-snicker...fucker.

LMAO!

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2002-09-11 05:59pm

Cyril wrote:Meat Fucker.

Meat...fucker.

Meat...-snicker...fucker.

LMAO!

Well, that was the ships nickname because it had a habbit of really screwing with enemies minds. The ships computer would hunt down criminals and turn the people insane just through an ESP like connection with the criminal.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-09-11 06:02pm

-wipes tear-

Ok, I guess it makes some sense.

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2002-09-11 06:12pm

More specifically, it uses it's Effectors to manipulate the minds of animals. It doesn't just do it to enemies, but anything it feels like doing it to. At the beginning of Excession, it is studying a planet where an extremely thorough genocide has taken place. After completing it's study, it induced one of the people who was involved in this genocide to experience several of the things which happened, such as being drowned in the hold of a boat with several hundred others. His heart gave out after 3 or so of them.

The Culture as a whole looks down on using Effectors in this manner, thus it's peers nicknamed it Meatfucker. It's real name is Grey Area.

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2002-09-11 07:01pm

Alyeska wrote:They also have some really strange names (one ship is known as Meat Fucker)

Doesn't compare to the I Blame My Mother and the I Blame Your Mother, in my opinion.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2002-09-11 07:08pm

Nothing will. Well, short of naming an Imperial Death Star Frank Exchange Of Views.

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2002-09-11 07:12pm

http://www.mattstan.pwp.blueyonder.co.u ... iplist.txt

Skelron · Post by **Skelron** » 2002-09-11 07:29pm

SirNitram wrote:Nothing will. Well, short of naming an Imperial Death Star Frank Exchange Of Views.

LOL, I'm using that one in my next game of Supremacy... (Rebellion or something in the US I think)

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2002-09-11 07:32pm

Skelron wrote:
SirNitram wrote:Nothing will. Well, short of naming an Imperial Death Star Frank Exchange Of Views.
LOL, I'm using that one in my next game of Supremacy... (Rebellion or something in the US I think)

It is. Let me see... I once name the DS Frank Exchange Of Views, and her two support SSD's Emperor's Mercy and Emperor's Wrath.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2002-09-13 07:15am

My SD fleet from Supremacy

SSD Exterminator III
ISD II Exterminator II
ISD I Exterminator
SSD Pheonix II
ISD I Pheonix
SSD World Killer
SSD Death bringer
SSD Devastator
DeSt Coruscant Deathstar
DeSt Imperial Wrath
DeSt Deathstar 20 (yup, one in each sector does wonders for garrisons

)

and many more, suggestions appriciated

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2002-09-13 07:56am

"GSV No More Mr Nice Guy"

LOL!

I gotta get me one of these culture books, whats the best one to begin with?

Post by **NecronLord** » 2002-09-13 07:59am

Humm, I started with excession.

XaLEv · Post by **XaLEv** » 2002-09-13 09:11am

I have only read Excession and The Player of Games, in that order. Excession is a bit more epic in scale, with a good demonstration of Culture military capabilities, with PoG focusing on just a few main characters. They are both excellent, but PoG is the better of the two, IMO. Also, a warning: Excession jumps around a lot, with one chapter taking place perhaps a month before the previous chapter. It can be confusing at times.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2002-09-13 01:31pm

XaLEv wrote:I have only read Excession and The Player of Games, in that order. Excession is a bit more epic in scale, with a good demonstration of Culture military capabilities, with PoG focusing on just a few main characters. They are both excellent, but PoG is the better of the two, IMO. Also, a warning: Excession jumps around a lot, with one chapter taking place perhaps a month before the previous chapter. It can be confusing at times.

okkky, thats a strange coicidence.

Ditto

now reading consider phlebas
next is Use of weapons

Post by **fgalkin** » 2002-09-13 05:27pm

Only read Excession. Couldn't get my hands on anything else, but I'm working on it.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2002-09-13 08:13pm

Be aware that in the US they don't publish as well as they should for such a series.

As the resident Culture Vulture on SB I would advise you to start with the first booj, Consider Phlebas if only because I did too and that it is a worthy scvi-fi epic.

gravity · Post by **gravity** » 2002-09-15 02:34am

Alyeska wrote: But the technology is not what the books are about.

True. In fact, apart from "Excession", and to a lesser extent "Consider Phlebas", most of the books barely mention the Culture's spacefaring military capability at all, that's just what us debater types tend to latch onto when discussing them. If Iain M. Banks set about to describe the Culture in this thread, I doubt he'd say much about their military capabilites.

They're indeed excellent books, however, and I reccomend them to anyone who likes SF. The best one (in my opinion) is Use of Weapons, but I would reccomend reading Consider Phlebas or The Player of Games first.