Excession and Video Games

Over at Tor.com, Peter Tieryas has a very nice post on the connection between Iain M. Banks’ Excession and a video game. Regular readers—or the merely observant—know that I’m a big fan of Banks’ Culture Novels and of Excession in particular.

What I didn’t know is that Excession was, in part, inspired by the video game Civilization. It turns out that Banks was addicted to the game to the point that once he started writing Excession he had to delete it from his hard drive. Tieryas’ take on and appreciation of Excession pretty much mirrors mine.

We both really liked the idea of metamathics or, as the Minds called it, the Irreal. Tieryas explores the connection between Excession and Civilization as he interpreted it. His interpretation may or may not be the same as Banks’ but it tracks well for me.

If you’re a fan of Banks’ Culture novels, especially if you’re a fan of Excession, you should definitely take a look at Tieryas’ post. It’s almost as enjoyable as Excession itself. If you’re not a Banks fan or haven’t read Excession, you should read them both.

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