The Player of Games (1988) by Iain M. Banks is a SF novel belonging to the Culture series. It features the most skilful and celebrate player in the Culture society, Jernau Morat Gurgeh, who travels from his world to a far-away galactic Empire and challenges their champions in a complex game called Azad. But Azad is not just entertainment: it’s the very fabric of that authoritarian society, and the determinant of people’s status in the system. An incredibly fascinating story, in what it’s also the clash of two civilisation models. A must-read for any SF lover, and gamers of all kinds.
Not a novel I’ve come across, though Banks is an author I’ve had in mind to read. From your description this sounds good — would you recommend this as a first-ever Banks read?
Banks is awesome – definitively. This novel? It’s not the first one in the Culture series, but it’s so intriguing that yes, I think it will hook you straight away. 🙂
Thanks for this, Stephen, clearly another author to get to know.