Player of Games has a main character who’s considered weird because they have zero interest in genderfluidity, because being fluid is just the absolute norm
‘I feel you want to… take me,’ Yay said, ‘like a piece, like an area. To be had; to be… possessed.’ Suddenly she looked very puzzled. ‘There’s something very… I don’t know; primitive, perhaps, about you, Gurgeh. You’ve never changed sex, have you?’ He shook his head. ‘Or slept with a man?’ Another shake. ‘I thought so,’ Yay said. ‘You’re strange, Gurgeh.’ She drained her glass.
Bingo, it’s like star trek but without biological hubris. You want to turn yourself into a weird sentient tree thing? Go for it. You want to fuck off and live by yourself just thinking about stuff? Go nuts. You want to murder murder murder? Well you’ll have to talk to some minds first but the space CIA can probably find some space fascists for you to let out all that murder on.
Within The Culture there are thousands of species. The label “human” just describes something with roughly the body plan of us humans, which in the setting is an extremely common body plan. Also at least a few of the books are explicitly about interacting with other species.
they’re TRIPODS too, i’ve never fully understood how the idirans properly look and frankly i don’t want to (i imagine something kind of like brutes from halo? but obv three legged, bigger, etc) shit rules.
and the Affront! fucking metroid-ass floaty squid things
i’ve never fully understood how the idirans properly look and frankly i don’t want to
Larry Niven had a gift for weird and imaginative aliens. I thought Idirans would look like pumped-up Puppeteers from the Ringworld series. I can totally see a Brute Puppeteers
Most of the Culture books focus on characters who either aren’t part of the Culture or at least didn’t originally come from it. Of the nine novels, only two (Player of Games and Excession) primarily focus on people born in the Culture.
There’s a little fuzz to it because multiple intertwining storylines are common in Culture books. Like in Use of Weapons, I’m counting the main character as Zakalwe, but there’s a whole Diziet Sma plotline going on in there too. Anaplian in Matter acts mostly as a Culture SC agent even though she’s a princess from an industrial age society. Look to Windward is about Quilan, but it’s also about Masaq’ Hub.
Wdym? The Culture is always interacting with other species, it’s kinda their thing. Not just Contact either, they love having other species guests around. Plus, the standard Culture ‘human’ is any of like six different species from six different forgotten homeworlds.
The writing is excellent. The worldbuilding is excellent beyond just the communist utopia. The plots are fascinating and intricate, the kind of thing you want to read through again after you’re done. The characters are compelling. The philosophy is interesting.
I’d recommend starting with either Player of Games or Surface Detail. Each book is a standalone story, they can be read in any order.
The Culture, even more fully automated luxury gay space communism than Star Trek
This is the one
and no stigma attached to biomodding yourself, full rights for AI or creative use of internally produced brain drugs
any member of the Culture would be seen as a eugenics-war style abomination by the Federation
Player of Games has a main character who’s considered weird because they have zero interest in genderfluidity, because being fluid is just the absolute norm
Bingo, it’s like star trek but without biological hubris. You want to turn yourself into a weird sentient tree thing? Go for it. You want to fuck off and live by yourself just thinking about stuff? Go nuts. You want to murder murder murder? Well you’ll have to talk to some minds first but the space CIA can probably find some space fascists for you to let out all that murder on.
My only disappointment there being the remarkable lack of interactions with other species.
Within The Culture there are thousands of species. The label “human” just describes something with roughly the body plan of us humans, which in the setting is an extremely common body plan. Also at least a few of the books are explicitly about interacting with other species.
The very first book Consider Phlebas is all about an alien that is an enemy of Culture.
they’re TRIPODS too, i’ve never fully understood how the idirans properly look and frankly i don’t want to (i imagine something kind of like brutes from halo? but obv three legged, bigger, etc) shit rules.
and the Affront! fucking metroid-ass floaty squid things
Larry Niven had a gift for weird and imaginative aliens. I thought Idirans would look like pumped-up Puppeteers from the Ringworld series. I can totally see a Brute Puppeteers
Most of the Culture books focus on characters who either aren’t part of the Culture or at least didn’t originally come from it. Of the nine novels, only two (Player of Games and Excession) primarily focus on people born in the Culture.
I always forget there are more outside than inside Culture books. I always seem to think they were balanced somehow.
There’s a little fuzz to it because multiple intertwining storylines are common in Culture books. Like in Use of Weapons, I’m counting the main character as Zakalwe, but there’s a whole Diziet Sma plotline going on in there too. Anaplian in Matter acts mostly as a Culture SC agent even though she’s a princess from an industrial age society. Look to Windward is about Quilan, but it’s also about Masaq’ Hub.
Wdym? The Culture is always interacting with other species, it’s kinda their thing. Not just Contact either, they love having other species guests around. Plus, the standard Culture ‘human’ is any of like six different species from six different forgotten homeworlds.
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The writing is excellent. The worldbuilding is excellent beyond just the communist utopia. The plots are fascinating and intricate, the kind of thing you want to read through again after you’re done. The characters are compelling. The philosophy is interesting.
I’d recommend starting with either Player of Games or Surface Detail. Each book is a standalone story, they can be read in any order.
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