The Culture Series by Iain Banks
The Culture Series, authored by Iain M. Banks, is a collection of science fiction novels set in a utopian future where a highly advanced society known as the Culture exists. This civilization is characterized by its advanced technologies, prolonged lifespans, and a commitment to fulfilling the needs and desires of all sentient beings, promoting peaceful coexistence among diverse species. The narrative often revolves around the operatives of "Special Circumstances," a branch of the Culture tasked with influencing and shaping less advanced societies in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds.
Each novel in the series, while independent, interconnects through recurring characters and overarching themes, including the moral complexities of interventionism. The first book, "Consider Phlebas," introduces a galactic conflict between the Culture and the Idirians, highlighting the Culture's hedonistic lifestyle against the Idirians' authoritarian beliefs. Subsequent novels, such as "The Player of Games" and "Use of Weapons," further explore the Culture's interactions with emerging societies, showcasing various operatives navigating intricate social games and ethical dilemmas.
The series not only examines the philosophical implications of a utopian society's influence on others but also delves into personal stories filled with struggle, sacrifice, and moral ambiguity. Through its intricate plots and thought-provoking themes, The Culture Series offers a rich exploration of the dynamics between advanced civilizations and those they seek to uplift.
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Subject Terms
The Culture Series
First published:Consider Phlebas (1987), The Player of Games (1988), Use of Weapons (1990), and The State of the Art (1991; includes the novella “The State of the Art,” 1989; “A Gift from the Culture,” 1987; and six other, non-Culture stories)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Science fiction—galactic empire
Time of work: The fourteenth to twenty-first centuries and beyond
Locale: Various planets, including Earth, and the Lesser Magellanic Cloud
The Plot
The Culture series is composed of independent tales, though some of the same characters appear in two of the plots and there are several references to the Idirian war. The Contact Section of the Culture—a utopia of highly advanced technologies in which life is prolonged, all wants are fulfilled, and humanoids of all species live in peace—benevolently watches over emerging societies in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds. Through Special Circumstances operatives, the Culture shapes those societies to its standards. The plots of the individual novels concern the adventures of Special Circumstances operatives.
The first novel, Consider Phlebas, depicts a galactic war between the Culture and three-legged, reptilian Idirians, occurring in the fourteenth century of Earth’s Common Era. The Culture fights to justify itself, excusing its hedonistic lifestyle by the way it improves inferior societies by imposing its standards on them. The Idirians, who think the Culture lacks real principles, fight to subjugate other species, bringing other societies to their god in a religious and commercial empire. Bora Horza, a “changer” who can assume any humanoid shape, supports the Idirians and fights on their side; Perosteck Balveda, a Special Circumstances agent, is his opponent. The object of their struggle is a Mind (the sentient core of a starship) that has escaped the Idirians and is hiding on a forbidden planet controlled by a third society, the Dra’Azon. To find the Mind, Horza assumes the identity of the leader of a Free Company (of pirates) and takes the pirates (including Balveda, who knows his real identity) to the planet, arriving after Idirians have already landed. In a running battle with the Idirians, who will not believe that Horza is on their side, the Free Company is wiped out. They find the Mind, however, and Balveda, the sole survivor of the Free Company, restores it to the Culture.
The Player of Games sets the Culture in opposition to another emerging society, the Empire of Azad in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. The rogue drone Mawhrin-Skel (actually a Special Circumstances operative) blackmails the professional game-player Jernau Morat Gurgeh into cooperating with Contact. Contact needs him to enter the Game of Azad, an incredibly complex game that models the Azadian society and is so central to the empire that the winner becomes emperor. With his translator and adviser, the library drone Flere-Imsaho (who is revealed at the end to be Mawhrin-Skel, and who narrates the novel), Gurgeh goes to Azad and plays. Despite collusion against him, attempts on his life, and attempts to bribe him, Gurgeh plays well enough to earn the right to play in the final round against Nicosar, the sitting emperor. In the ultimate stage, played on the fire planet Echronedal, Gurgeh realizes that Contact has designed his participation to discredit the game and thereby Azadian society; the game has become a battle between the Culture and the empire. Foreseeing defeat, Nicosar attempts to immolate Gurgeh in the fire but is killed; Gurgeh, rescued by Contact, returns home.
The novella “The State of the Art,” next in order of original publication, depicts Contact’s initial exploration of Earth, as described by the agent Diziet Sma. Her colleague Dervley Linter decides to remain behind on Earth, finding its society and conditions more vital than the perfect, but stagnating, Culture. Sma is asked by her ship to persuade Linter to return. She tries but fails. Linter is then killed in a random mugging in New York City. Despite the arguments of some agents that Earth should be destroyed or overtly contacted, the ship departs, leaving behind monitoring devices.
The last novel, Use of Weapons, reintroduces Sma (and her drone, Skaffen-Amtiskaw) as the Special Circumstances supervisor of the agent Cheradenine Zakalwe. Zakalwe has been used by Contact as a “dirty tricks” agent because he lacks the moral compunctions of most Culture persons. He is sent to Voerenhutz, where he earlier established a forty-year peace in cooperation with the local patriarchal politician Tsoldrin Beychae. The peace is breaking down, and only Zakalwe can persuade Beychae to come out of seclusion and prevent widespread conflict. His successful effort costs him his life, and the terrible personal secret of sororicide that had driven him in his adventures is revealed at his death.