by Iain Banks
First published 2020
This collection presents Banks's personal artwork and annotations that shaped his Culture universe. The book gathers previously unpublished drawings, many created before he wrote the novels, alongside his handwritten notes about the post-scarcity civilization he imagined. Ken MacLeod, Banks's longtime friend and fellow science fiction author, provides commentary and context for these materials. The Estate of Iain M. Banks worked with MacLeod to curate sketches that reveal how Banks visualized the Culture's advanced technology, orbital habitats, and artificial intelligences. The book includes excerpts from the published Culture novels, additional notes about the society's language and philosophy, and insights into the values that drive this utopian civilization. Readers gain access to Banks's creative process as he developed one of science fiction's most influential fictional societies.
Genres: biography, science-fiction, art, cultural
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
320 pages · Hardcover · Orbit