Iain M Banks keeps or loses the ‘M’ in his name depending on what type of book he is authoring. If you see the M, then you know it’s a science fiction novel and most likely in his Culture series. The Culture series depicts a universe with a dominant civilization known as the Culture (more information about the Culture is available in an IO9 article). The Player of Games is the second Culture novel (after Consider Phlebas). I had read the first book years ago, so I decided to move onto the second one. So, how is it?

Jernau Gurgeh is the title character, a player of games. He is the master of any and every type of game. And the Culture needs his skills. Using Gurgeh’s ego against him, the Culture forces him to do a mission. The mission is to Empire of Azad where a game (also named Azad) is used to rule the world…literally. The winner of the tournament will become the emperor. The Culture wants Gurgeh to play and win, so that they can bring the world into their Empire. The game itself is never truly defined (the rules, play, etc), but the implication is given that the game is complex and a player’s philosophy and political beliefs are brought into the game and affect the strategy.

As Gurgeh plays he keeps winning and playing better players (who have become more and more important political figures due to their game skill). And eventually the game comes down to the Culture political philosophy vs the Azad political philosophy. And as the stakes becomes higher, the danger becomes higher as well.

Iain M Banks is a hell of a writer. He writes a story about a game without telling the reader how the game is played and makes it an exciting page turner. The characterization is decent, with Gurgeh being the best drawn. But the plot and the writing make an exciting book that hints at deeper conspiracies than we are shown and makes us enjoy a game we know nothing about. Reading this book has convinced me that I need to finish the whole Culture series. Highly recommended.