
Episode 2 in the Legion series expands the back story a little and drops our protagonist into a new mystery on the fringes of science. Shady characters, hitmen, corporate dealings, science and religion are all intertwined.
Dune Dune Saga, Book 12 / Dune, Book 1 Frank Herbert Science Fiction Macmillan Audio 31 Dec 2006 Audiobook 21 hrs and 2 mins Audible I enjoyed this book but it was hard going and laborious in places. Having seen the original film, it was clear to see how close the two were in many cases. My only problem with this audiobook was that it switched from being narrated by a single person to being...
Excession Culture, Book 5 Iain M Banks Science Fiction Hachette Audio UK 7 March 2013 Audiobook 15 hrs and 55 mins Audible Overall the book is excellent, though the human story often feels secondary to the issues of the OCP but is relevant to put everything into context. The reading of the book by Peter Kenny is, as usual, exemplary. Two and a half millennia ago, the artefact appeared in a remote...
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Washington Irving Ghost Story Audible Studios 9 September 2014 Audiobook 1 hr and 15 mins Audible Written in 1820, the language is far more prosaic than literature today. It is also a straight narrative with no dialogue. This audiobook, read by Tom Mison who plays Ichabod Crane in the TV show of the same name, was well read and captured the essence of the...
Some of these works feel like ideas from a writer’s notebook that would go on to form the basis of a fully fledged novel or part of a greater story. Each is of interest to anybody following the Culture series as they provide an excellent background to the Culture and the early work of Iain M Banks, though none are essential to the understanding and reading of the main Culture novels in my view.
Feersum Endjinn Standalone Work Iain M Banks Science Fiction Hachette Audio UK 3 January 2013 Audiobook 9 hrs and 56 mins Audible There are so many layers – allegories if you will – that it’s spoilers to go into too many details. The synopsis only scratches the surface of the details and ingenuity that abounds in this tightly written novel. Virtual reality, reincarnation...