The State of the Art

Last updated
The State of the Art
IainMBanksTheStateoftheArt.jpg
First edition
Author Iain M. Banks
Audio read by Peter Kenny
LanguageEnglish
Series The Culture (some stories)
Genre Science fiction, Slipstream
Publisher Mark V. Ziesing [1]
Publication date
1989
Publication placeScotland
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages188
ISBN 0-929480-06-6
OCLC 59159368
Preceded by Use of Weapons  
Followed by Excession  

The State of the Art is a short story collection by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1989. [1] The collection includes some stories originally published under his other byline "Iain Banks", as well as the title novella and others set in Banks's Culture fictional universe.

Contents

The non-SF stories in the collection are the only non-SF stories published under his Iain M. Banks name.

Editions

The collection was published in the US in 2004 by Night Shade Books, in hardback ( ISBN   1-892389-38-X) and limited editions ( ISBN   1-892389-99-1). The limited edition contains work by Banks not found in the UK version. A Trade Paperback edition was printed in Canada in 2007 by Night Shade Books, ( ISBN   978-1-59780-074-7) It contains the additional text 'A Few Notes on the Culture'.

Contents

Adaptations

"Piece" was adapted by Craig Warner for BBC Radio 5 and broadcast on 6 June 1991. [3] It was directed by John York. The cast included:

"The State of the Art" was adapted by Paul Cornell for the Afternoon Play slot on BBC Radio 4 and broadcast on 5 March 2009. [4] [5] The adaptation was directed by Nadia Molinari and the main cast was:

In late 2009 it was announced that the story "A Gift From the Culture" was in the early stages of being adapted for the cinema by Dominic Murphy, the director of White Lightnin' . [6]

Reception

In 1990 Mike Christie reviewed the collection for Foundation . Christie called the collection a "rare success" in the genre of utopian fiction, successfully merging the styles of political utopia and "high-tech sf". He praises Banks for showing a cast of believable, imperfect characters, who in turn make his utopia - the world of The Culture - more realistic. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Title: The State of the Art". Isfdb.org. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  2. Banks 1991, p. 149.
  3. "The Unwritten Banks" (PDF), The Banksonian (1): 10, February 2004
  4. "Paulcornell2 - Picocon, and Hey, I'm doing Banks for Radio 4!". Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
  5. "BBC Radio 4 - Afternoon Drama, Iain M Banks - The State of the Art". Bbc.co.uk. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  6. Owen Williams (8 October 2015). "Exclusive: Iain M Banks Talks Culture | News | Movies - Empire". Empireonline.com. gb. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. Christie, Mike (1990). ""The State of the Art" by Iain M. Banks (Book Review)". Foundation: 80–83. ProQuest   1312035909.

Bibliography

Banks, Iain M. (1991), The State of the Art, London: Orbit, ISBN   0-356-19669-0 (paperback ISBN   1-85723-030-2).