
The Player of Games
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $25.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Peter Kenny
-
By:
-
Iain M. Banks
The Culture - a human/machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer, and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game... a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life - and very possibly his death.
©2008 Iain M. Banks (P)2011 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
Philosophical clash of paradigms and epistomology
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narration was fantastic, read at a fairly fast pace but not hard to follow. Kenny adjusts his voice in subtle ways to suggest different people, but does not treat it like an audio play. It felt like a book being expertly read to me. While I have recently grown to appreciate other narration styles, this is just the kind of experience I originally joined Audible for.
I'm disappointed to see that not all of the Culture books are available on Audible, but I'll listen to the ones I can, particularly if they are narrated by Peter Kenny.
Great intro to Iain Banks' Culture novels
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Culture is a vast, technically advanced civilization where great machine minds keep most of the human populace living in liberty and high luxury. With all their needs provided for, the people of the Culture spend a great deal of their time in research, art, and recreation. However, a small number join "Contact," the Culture organization responsible for engaging with other civilizations and trying to peacefully share the Culture's values with them. Occasionally, Contact encounters a civilization which is either dangerously hostile or so backwards that direct engagement with the Culture could be calamitous for their less advanced neighbors. These are "Special Circumstances," and the SC group handles them.
The Azadians are indeed a backward civilization by the Culture's standards; aggressive, repressive, brutal imperialists subjugating every world they encounter. But their Empire is ordered according to the intricately complicated game of Azad. Hence SC decides the best approach might be to send in one of their top gamers... Only in the Culture, no one can be forced to do anything, and their best candidate doesn't seem to be interested.
Peter Kenny does a fantastic job voicing the characters and smoothly moving the story along.
Great story, superbly narrated
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastic story read by wonderful actor
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Culture at its finest
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent story, highly recommended
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The writing, particularly in the final third, is technically excellent and manages to be at once pithy and flowery. The performance of the voice actor is outstanding, with only a slight gripe being the chosen accent for a major group of characters.
Overall, I would highly recommend The Player of Games to any sci-fi fan who enjoys political intrigue, social commentary, and imaginative scenery.
Sci-Fi at its Best
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Any additional comments?
I would strongly suggest reading the series from start to finish. This one, however, is one of the highlights on the journey. Masterfully crafted. Beautifully written. Wonderful characters. Cutting social commentary. Brutally honest.RIP Mr. Banks. This book has made you immortal.
A great book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A minor issue, being purely aesthetic, is that I did not agree with the voice acting at times.
Great story. Good narration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.