The titular novella within this collection serves as a flawless condensation of the rhetoric and dialectic that lies beneath the Culture series. It encapsulates its themes and the very essence of its existence.

It showcases the entertaining staples of the Culture such as wry Ships, fastidious droids, and agents with diverse motivations. It delves into the discussion of policies of non-interference balanced with those of behind-the-scenes intervention; the contrast between "going native" and the so-called "objective" distance; the concept that a natural life and a genuine engagement with living must involve the acceptance that evil will always persist, and as a counterpoint, the idea that systemic evil, encompassing all the -isms, greed, and self-interest, can and should actually be eradicated.

This is heady and at times rather heavy-handed material, forcefully expressed and presented with the typical Banks' panache and wit. It is very well executed.

Most of the remaining stories, however, are lackluster and forgettable, or overly strident and not particularly enjoyable. In the case of "A Gift from the Culture", it begins strongly but concludes far too abruptly.

I did, nevertheless, have a fondness for the darkly amusing "Odd Attachment" where a preoccupied alien shepherd - who resembles a moving tree - encounters an explorer from the stars, much to the explorer's extreme misfortune. And there was a touching kindness at the heart of "Descendant" which depicts the relationship between a stranded and increasingly delirious Culture citizen and his sentient suit.

There are certain authors whose short fiction I have a greater penchant for than their novels. However, Iain Banks is not among them. While a couple of his short stories are indeed great, I firmly believe that for the most part, he truly shines when he has the maximum literary space to thoroughly explore a story and develop his characters. 'A Gift from the Culture' and 'The State of the Art' are undoubtedly the high points in this collection.

Let's take a closer look at the individual stories.

'Road of Skulls': I rate this one a 2/5. There is nothing particularly special about it.

'A Gift From the Culture': This one gets a 4/5 from me. I really dug it. It had a noir quality to it, told from the perspective of someone who chose to leave the culture for a pre-scarcity society. It's my favorite in the book.

'Odd Attachment': Also a 4/5. It's a pretty humorous encounter with a plant life form.

'Descendant': Another culture story, but I didn't like this one all that much. I give it a 2/5.

'Cleaning Up': A 3/5 for this story about trash disposal gone wrong. As the saying goes, one man's trash...

'The State of the Art': This novella, which is book 4 of The Culture series, takes up about half of the collection. It falls slightly short of being brilliant as it focuses too much on Earth things and not enough on Contact things. Still, it's a solid entry in the series, and it was great to see Sma and Skaffen-Amtiskaw again.

'Scratch': I can only give this a 1/5. Was this some sort of experiment in creating unintelligible poetry from newspaper clippings or something? I think it might be a joke written solely to amuse the author, which is worth a star in and of itself.

My husband overheard me muttering to myself about this book being out of print in the US.

He's such a sweetheart that he secretly ordered it for me from the UK. When it arrived, I, in my absentmindedness, somehow assumed I'd ordered it for myself and forgotten about it.

So, I just casually tossed it on the to-read stack without a second thought or any comment. He had to drop some hints and prod a bit before finally admitting that he'd bought it for me as a gift.

He's sweet; I'm a dork. Anyway, moving on.

Every Culture book I've read so far has been better than the last. This one, although actually a short-story collection, includes the fourth installment of the Culture series, a novella called "The State of the Art".

It is both funnier and more heartbreaking than the previous three novels (which are all, to varying degrees, quite funny and heartbreaking). Here, we meet up again with Diziet Sma, the heroine from Use of Weapons.

Her Contact Unit spaceship encounters Earth for the first time and must investigate the planet and decide whether to formally Contact its inhabitants.

I expected this novella to be a lesser installment among the Culture lore. The fact that it's out of print in the US (while the first three novels recently got shiny new reprints) didn't seem like a great sign.

Also, the premise of a mashup between the über-futuristic Culture and 1970's-era Earth sounded rather gimmicky. I hadn't expected Earth to appear at all in this series, other than perhaps in a hazy prehistoric "Earth-that-was" sort of backstory.

Instead, it seemed we would fulfill another tired science fiction trope: the dopey, pugnacious, backward species disdained by the superior aliens. But, as is often the case with Iain M. Banks, there are deeper levels here than I was expecting.

And also, oh, ow, my heartstrings. The other stories in here are hit-or-miss, but that's the nature of short story collections.

The one that will stick in my mind is "Descendant", a strange little story about a man in a sentient spacesuit trekking across a deserted planet. It's somber, gruesome, and eerie.

Inicio y final muy reguleros.

The beginning and the end are very regular.

La parte central del libro llegó a engancharme un poco pero nada que ver con los 3 anteriores, por eso la nota.

The central part of the book managed to engage me a little bit but it has nothing to do with the previous three, that's why the rating.

Overall, the book has its pros and cons. The regular beginning and end provide a certain structure, but they may also lack some excitement. The central part, although it caught my attention to some extent, failed to live up to the expectations set by the previous installments.

Perhaps the author could have explored more unique ideas or developed the plot in a more unexpected way.

Despite these shortcomings, the book still has some redeeming qualities. It may appeal to readers who enjoy a more traditional narrative style and are willing to overlook the lack of innovation.

However, for those who are looking for something truly outstanding and different, this book may not be the best choice.

The fourth "Culture" book is, in fact, a compilation of short stories. While they all have a science-fiction foundation, most of them aren't even explicitly about the Culture. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing, as almost everything in this collection is great.

"Road of Skulls" is more of a descriptive piece, focusing on a carriage traveling along a road made of skulls. It has a clever little twist at the end.

"A Gift from the Culture" tells the story of a person from the Culture attempting to live outside of it. It's a great little story that contains some interesting thoughts about fate.

"Odd Attachment" features an intelligent alien plant meeting a human being. It's a gruesome yet enjoyable story.

"Descendant" follows a man and his intelligent space suit as they try to trek across a desolate planet to safety. There's an element of "The Martian" to it, but really, the story is about the confusion between the personalities of the man and the suit.

"Cleaning Up" presents the idea of mysterious alien artefacts falling to Earth, only to discover that they are just pieces of rubbish. It's a lovely concept.

"Piece" is a strange entry that isn't strictly sci-fi or even fiction. Instead, it's a discussion on religion, which I thought was rather good.

"The State of the Art" is a novella that takes up a significant portion of the book. It tells the story of Sma from "Use of Weapons" as she narrates a Culture mission to Earth in the 1970s. It's an excellent story where the Culture characters analyze humanity and decide what to do with it. Their perspective feels real, and I admire the way Banks imagined how superior aliens might view us. It's a wonderful story all about humanity.

"Scratch" is a stream of consciousness about international issues with little punctuation. I didn't like this one, but fortunately, it's only a few pages long.

Overall, I thought this was a good collection, although there were a few stories that I would have been happy to omit if I were in charge of compiling it.

A small collection of short stories related to the Culture has been presented. The title story is centered around Diziet Sma's summary of her data collection mission to Earth. There are a couple of extremely strange stories within it that really made me wonder about how the author comes up with such stuff. It's quite astonishing. I didn't feel an immediate urgency to come back for more. As a result, I took far too long to drive through this rather quick read. I believe I'll engage with one more culture novel and then might need to take a break. This collection has its own charm and peculiarities, but perhaps I need a bit of a respite after this. Maybe the next novel will offer something even more captivating and unique.

Oh, how pages fly when you read sci-fi!

Each book I've read of Mr. Banks these last months has been truly rewarding. There is a constant and exciting stream of new and imaginative ideas. On one hand, there are profound social analyses on the grandest levels, and on the other hand, there are the tiniest and most fascinating high-tech objects in the daily lives of those in the Culture. There are also constant playful jokes, interesting metaphors, and engaging dialogue.

The State of the Art is a collection of short stories. Most short stories are like a Hobbesian idea; they are interesting, brutish, and short. In the last story of the book, which is significantly longer, the Culture, a very advanced society, observes Earth and ponders whether they should interfere. The pros are that they could help earthlings "develop" and prevent them from killing themselves. However, the cons are that they would be interfering with societal development by applying their own moral frame of reference, which conflicts with their own concept of freedom. This is a complex issue as the relation with this concept is already difficult within their own society where humans live together with sentient machines that are a million times smarter than them. As the members of the observation crew discuss among themselves and with their sentient spaceship what they should do, a love-story unfolds, which further sharpens these moral questions about freedom vs determinism, absolute/universal vs relative moral truths, and so on.

These books are definitely worth your time! They offer a rich and thought-provoking exploration of various themes and ideas that will keep you engaged from start to finish.

The book is, in fact, a collection that combines short stories and a novella.

The latter, along with one or perhaps two of the stories, is set within the universe of Culture, while the rest are not. It seems only fair that this should be clearly indicated to the reader prior to purchasing the book.

Having said that, certain stories and the eponymous novella are truly excellent. However, overall, I can't shake off the sense of the book being a bit of a "hodgepodge." There are some transcendental stories, others that seem experimental, and still others where it appears that Iain M. Banks isn't taking himself seriously... or perhaps us readers.

Please don't misunderstand me. Iain M. Banks's talent shines through in every sentence, and of course, I don't regret reading this work. Although, in truth, it can't really be considered - except maybe by the editors - as the fourth book in the Culture series.

Iain M. Banks is a renowned author who has crafted a remarkable collection of science fiction stories.

Some of these captivating tales are set within the fascinating Culture sequence.

The Culture is a fictional, post-scarcity, spacefaring society that Banks has masterfully created, filled with complex characters, advanced technology, and thought-provoking concepts.

His stories in this collection take readers on thrilling adventures through this unique universe, exploring themes such as morality, politics, and the nature of consciousness.

For a more in-depth and detailed review of these stories, I encourage you to visit my blog.

You can find it here: http://tesatorul.blogspot.ro/2008/08/....

There, you'll discover a wealth of insights and analysis that will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of Iain M. Banks' science fiction masterpieces.

An excellent collection indeed! The novella truly enriches the Culture series by delving into the background. It presents a fascinating scenario where Earth is under the intense scrutiny of Special Circumstances agents. This adds a whole new layer of depth and intrigue to the already complex and captivating Culture universe. The detailed exploration of Earth's situation under the watchful eyes of these agents allows readers to gain a better understanding of the dynamics and power structures within the series. It also provides an opportunity to explore the themes of surveillance, power, and the impact of external forces on a society. Overall, this novella is a valuable addition to the Culture series, offering readers a unique and engaging perspective on the series' background and lore.

Intelligent space costumes, strange extraterrestrials suffering from love, mini guns that only function when activated by a particular genetic signature, highways made of skulls, and long ruminations on the fascinating allure of the semi-primitive life on Earth in the '70s that some extremely technologically advanced visitors experience - all of these are the subjects of this short SF bouquet arranged by the author in such a way as to be part of his longer series, Cultura.

A very interesting personality, the author who passed away in 2013 at only 59 years old, had a literary career of almost four decades. During this time, he amassed many nominations for the Locus and Hugo Awards and authored 28 novels, some SF, others mainstream. Among the 8 stories included in this collection, 7 are extremely short, some on the verge of being an editorial in an old SF magazine; and the one that gives the title to the book acts as a prequel for the future space-opera series Cultura. The ideas presented are interesting, but there are flaws in each of them if we were to analyze them in a nitpicky way: the lack of motivations, the crying brevity for more, the quasi-experimental literary style of some, and far too many useless monologues in the only story with more than 3 characters. Nevertheless, his fans assure us that when it comes to the longer form of prose, like a novel, the Scottish author is very good and his writing quality should not be judged based on a simple collection of short and very short projects. Ok, in this case, it remains a recommendation only for "completists".

My favorite stories are (in order):

1) Odd Attachment - It was just so adorable! And funny in an OH MY GOD WHAA way. The unique relationship and the unexpected twists made it a truly enjoyable read.

2) Descendant - This story almost made me cry in public. The lines "Maybe I'm the artificial one, not the suit, which doesn't try to pretend. ... All I can do is feel what I can and tell myself it's all anyone can ask of me." and "I've seen some lovely sunsets recently. They must have been there all the time, but I didn't notice them." were so poignant and thought-provoking. They made me reflect on my own life and the things I often take for granted.

3) Cleaning Up - I just loved the politics at play and the waiting room. The story had a great deal of depth and complexity, and the way the author wove together the different elements was masterful.

Honourable mention goes to "Piece" with some nice lines about freedom of speech. The line "Reason shapes the future, but superstition infects the present." really stood out to me. It's a powerful reminder of the importance of critical thinking and rationality in our society.

I can't wait for the next one. I'm ordering it tonight, so it should be here somewhere at the start of the new year. I'm really looking forward to seeing what new stories and ideas the author has in store for us.