currently reading?

[matt]

Originally Posted by Sardo

Im tossing that up with Iain M Banks after being told tha it is the king of current Sci-Fi - better than Hamilton and Simmons. I havent heard much from you guys about him or his alter-ego Iain Banks (I think when he drops the 'M' he writed Non-Fiction but am not sure this is true..). I know some of you guys have read him. What are your thoughts please? Where is a good starting point and should I go him with or without his 'M'?
Croz

Iain Banks is worth checking out both with & without the 'M'. Basically, he uses the M when he's writing science fiction and drops it when he's writing 'normal' fiction. Think he's only written one non fiction book but could be wrong. His Culture novels are phenomenal and I recommend you check out Excession and The Player of Games. I'd say he's on a par with Dan Simmons for sci-fi excellence and that both are absolutely streets ahead of Peter Hamilton who, IMO, writes overblown space opera that is in dire need of a good editor.

His fiction work is worth checking out too and my faves include The Wasp Factory, Whit, Complicity and The Bridge (the latter could almost have been written using the M)