Fue uno de los incidentes menos gloriosos de una antigua guerra.Provoc? la destrucci?n de dos soles y de los miles de millones de vidas que sustentaban.Ahora, ochocientos a?os despu?s, la luz del primero de estos antiguos errores ha llegado al orbital de la Cultura Masaq. La luz del segundo podr?a no llegar a hacerlo.
The war is ending, but for the occupants of the castle, their troubles are just beginning. Armed gangs roam a lawless land, and the castle becomes the focus of a dangerous game of desire, deceit and death to one particular outlawed captain. From the author of WHIT, THE CROW ROAD and COMPLICITY.
She came from one of the more disreputable aristocratic families.Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilization based around the planet Golter. On an island with a glass shore – relic of some even more ancient conflict – she discovers she is to be hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes she is the last obstacle before their faith's apotheosis. She has to run, knowing her only hope of finally escaping the Huhsz is to find the last of the ancient, apocalyptically powerful but seemingly cursed Lazy Guns. But that is just the first as well as the final step on a search that takes her on an odyssey through the exotic Golterian system and results in both a trail of destruction and a journey into her own past, as well as that of her family and the system itself;a journey that changes everything.
Ken McNutt es un locutor de radio londinense que se fragua enemistades por doquier, debido a la insaciable s?tira social y pol?tica que despliega a trav?s de las ondas. En una de las muchas fiestas de la alta sociedad a las que asiste conoce a Celia, una mujer misteriosa y atractiva que le relata, entre otras cosas, un accidente que la convirti? para siempre en dos personas distintas. Poco despu?s, se entera de que ella es una mujer casada con un mafioso, y a partir de ese momento su vida entera en una vor?gine de aventuras y peligros.
Hisako Onoda, world famous cellist, refuses to fly. And so she travels through the Panama Canal as a passenger on a tanker bound for Europe. But Panama is a country whose politics are as volatile as the local freedom fighters. When Hisako's ship is captured, it is not long before the atmosphere is as flammable as an oxy-acetylene torch, and the tension as sharp as the spike on her cello…'Apocalyptic is the first word that springs to mind to describe this violent and powerful novel in which Banks once again demonstrates his extraordinary dark powers of imagination… impressive' 'Brilliantly crafted' 'Currents of dark wit swirl through Banks' writing, enriching its buoyancy… and, like Graham Greene, he can readily open the reader's senses to the «foreignness» of places' 'Extraordinary, brilliant, bloody'
In un mondo senza tempo e senza nome, devastato da una guerra che ha rivelato il fondo barbarico della natura umana, tra cumuli di macerie e colonne di profughi in fuga, si erge un antico castello di pietra. Tra le sue austere mura vive, assieme alla sorella-amante Morgan, Abel, l’ultimo discendente di una famiglia aristocratica. Per i due giovani, quel castello sarebbe un rifugio ideale, se un giorno, a turbare la loro idilliaca «intimit?», non sopraggiungesse una banda di soldati irregolari, guidati da un oscuro personaggio femminile. Stregati dal fascino magnetico e perverso di quella donna senza volto e senza anima, Abel e Morgan si trasformano ben presto nelle pedine di un sordido gioco a tre, mentre l’antica dimora diviene teatro di inaudite violenze, eccessi e distruzioni, che porteranno in un crescendo di tensione e di suspense alla catastrofe finale.
Cameron, reporter del Caledonian e maniaco di computer game, si mette sulle tracce di un nemico crudele, un uomo solo che si erge a giudice, giuria e boia di tutti coloro che hanno commesso un errore troppo grave per essere perdonato. Quale oscura complicit? lega Cameron all’inafferrabile serial-killer?
n. 1. the fact of being an accomplice, esp. in a criminal actA few spliffs, a spot of mild S&M, phone through the copy for tomorrow's front page, catch up with the latest from your mystery source — could be big, could be very big — in fact, just a regular day at the office for free-wheeling, substance-abusing Cameron Colley, a fully-paid-up Gonzo hack on an Edinburgh newspaper.The source is pretty thin, but Cameron senses a scoop and checks out a series of bizarre deaths from a few years ago — only to find that the police are ...
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction; coldblooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist.Principals were at stake. There could be no surrender.Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction. — a space opera of stunning power and awesome imagination from one of the most talented writers of his generation.
Iain Banks' daring new novel opens in a loft apartment in the East End, in a former factory due to be knocked down in a few days. Ken Nott is a devoutly contrarian vaguely left wing radio shock-jock living in LondonAfter a wedding breakfast people start dropping fruits from a balcony on to a deserted carpark ten storeys below, then they start dropping other things; an old TV that doesn't work, a blown loudspeaker, beanbags, other unwanted furniture…Then they get carried away and start dropping things that are still working, while wrecking the rest of the apartment. But ...
Segundo Libro de la “Serie de la Cultura”. Gurgeh era uno de los mejores jugadores que hab?a habido nunca en la Cultura, maestro reconocido de todos los tableros, ordenadores y estrategias. Aburrido de su ?xito y forzado por las circunstancias, Gurgeh se encontrar? a s? mismo, en el Imperio de Azad, enfrentado al juego supremo, un juego tan complejo y modelado con tanta exactitud, de acuerdo con las reglas de la existencia, que el ganador es proclamado Emperador. V?ctima de una chantaje y sin verdaderas alternativas, Gurgeh se ve obligado a participar en ?l, enfrent?ndose al mayor de los desaf?os y poniendo en juego su propia vida.
"El hombre que se despierta en el mundo extraordinario del puente sufre amnesia, y su m?dico parece no querer curarlo. Pero?eso importa?Explorar el puente ocupa la mayor parte de sus d?as. Pero por la noche est?n sus sue?os. Sue?os en los que los hombres desesperados conducen carruajes sellados a trav?s de monta?as yermas rumbo a un extra?o encuentro; un b?rbaro analfabeto asalta una torre encantada mediante una tormenta verbal; y hombres destrozados caminan eternamente sobre puentes sin fin, atormentados por visiones de una sexualidad que los lleva a la perdici?n.Yacer en cama inconsciente despu?s de sufrir un accidente no parece muy divertido a simple vista.?Y si lo es? Depende de qui?n seas y de lo que hayas dejado atr?s."
Cheradenine Zakalwe es un agente de Circunstancias Especiales, la secci?n de ?lite para la que ning?n medio resulta reprobable: la guerra, el espionaje y el asesinato son l?citos cuando lo que est? en juego son los intereses de la Cultura.Zakalwe ha sido empujado a tomar parte en innumerables conflictos, habi?ndole tocado pertenecer al bando perdedor en demasiadas ocasiones. Por ello, ha decidido retirarse. Pero Ciscunstancias Especiales necesita sus servicios en un planeta donde Zakalwe hab?a servido anteriormente y donde est? a punto de desencadenarse una guerra a gran escala, y la agencia sabe a qu? puede recurrir para presionarle…Una nueva novela ambientada en el deslumbrante universo de “Pensad en Flebas” y “El jugador”.
Two and a half millennia ago, the artifact appeared in a remote corner of space, beside a trillion-year old dying sun from a different univese. It was a perfect black-body sphere, and it did nothing. Then it disappeared. Now it is back.Silent, motionless, and resisting all efforts to make contact, the artifact waits. The Culture ships, however, cannot. For the artifact is something they need to understand first, before it falls into less understanding hands — and triggers a political and military crisis which will threaten everything the Culture has achieved.One person who saw the artifact when it first appeared may have information concerning its purpose, but she is living out her death in the immense Eccentric ship, the . The Culture ships formulate a plan to retrieve her. The has other things on its mind.A novel of extraordinary imagination, richness and energy, is Iain M. Banks at his magnificent best.
Znudzony nieustannymi sukcesami, zniech?cony brakiem powa?nych wyzwa? i stymuluj?cych prze?y?, niezwyci??ony Gurgel — najlepszy gracz galaktyki — przybywa do Imperium Azadu, by wzi?? udzia? w najbardziej skomplikowanej i najtrudniejszej grze, jak? wymy?lono we wszech?wiecie. Stawk? w tej grze jest nie tylko ?ycie, lecz r?wnie? samo Imperium. A tak?e co? jeszcze…Mi?o?nicy literackiego talentu Iaina M. Banksa wiedz? ju?, czego spodziewa? si? po tym autorze: nieskr?powanej, zrywaj?cej ze wszelkimi schematami wyobra?ni, pasjonuj?cej akcji, niezwyk?ych bohater?w i przewrotnego poczucia humoru. Tym razem r?wnie? si? nie zawiod?.
En el palacio de invierno, la nueva doctora del Rey tiene m?s enemigos de los que cree. Pero, por otra parte, tambi?n dispone de remedios ins?litos que ellos desconocen.En otro palacio tras las monta?as, el guardaespaldas jefe del Protector General se enfrenta a sus propios adversarios, aunque no lo tiene tan f?cil: son m?s r?pidos y eficaces y ?l solo dispone de m?todos tradicionales para hacerles frente…
Some years ago, rocks and fire fell from the sky and the old Empire fell with them. In the lands released from that crushing hegemony, a new world order is about to emerge. Two people in particular can see all this in a wider context.In the winter palace, the King's new physician has more enemies than she at first realises. But then she also has more remedies to hand than those who wish her ill can know about.In another palace across the mountains, in the service of the regicidal Protector General, the chief bodyguard too ...
«Hace a?os que no mato a nadie, y no pienso volver a hacerlo nunca m?s. Fue solo una mala racha que estaba pasando.»Esta es la voz de Frank, un adolescente que vive solo con su padre en la costa escocesa. Ha crecido inmerso en un mundo de creaci?n propia como la f?brica de avispas, un artefacto oracular en el cual lee el futuro mediante el sufrimiento y muerte de estos insectos. Tambi?n ha creado sus propias reglas morales, reglas con las que el asesinato se vuelve l?cito, y para el que emplea m?todos de lo m?s sorprendentes: una cometa; una serpiente; un martillo; la ingenuidad de un hermano… Frank sabe que vive en un universo personal que el resto de la humanidad no comparte.Y a ?l le gusta as?.
Frank Cauldhame, il diciassettenne protagonista della , ? uno dei personaggi pi? cattivi della letteratura, non solo contemporanea. Frank uccide: a sangue freddo, minuscoli insetti e innocenti bambini. Frank odia: il padre, ex hippy con manie da scienziato pazzo; la madre, che lo ha abbandonato subito dopo averlo messo al mondo; tutte le donne, quasi tutti gli uomini e la maggior parte degli animali. Ha un fratello, maniaco incendiario appena uscito dal manicomio (le cui vittime preferite sono i cani). E ha un amico, Jamie il nano, con cui beve birra al pub. Frank non piace a nessuno e nessuno piace a lui, in realt? non piace nemmeno a se stesso, e sull’isolotto scozzese sul quale vive da recluso vive una vita scandita da complessi rituali, plasmati sulla base di una personalissima religione…Una favola inquietante di «educazione alla violenza», un romanzo micidiale che mescola l’universo giovanile a un immaginario allucinato al limite dell’incubo.
Gurgeh est l’un des plus c?l?bres joueurs de jeux que la Culture ait jamais connu. Il joue, gagne, enseigne, th?orise. La Culture est une immense soci?t? galactique, pacifiste, multiforme, anarchiste, tol?rante, ?thique et cynique. Elle est compos?e d’humains, d’Intelligences Artificielles et d’esp?ces ?trang?res qui ont accept? ses valeurs. Elle cultive les loisirs et les jeux qui ont le statut d’un art majeur.Le Contact, service de la Culture sp?cialis? dans l’?valuation et l’infiltration de civilisations ?trang?res nouvellement d?couvertes, consid?re ...
It was one of the less glorious incidents of the Idiran wars that led to the destruction of two suns and the billions of lives they supported. Now, 800 years later, the light from the first of those deaths has reached the Culture’s Masaq’ Orbital. A Chelgrian emissary is dispatched to the Culture.
Cheradenine Zakalwe — ou du moins l’homme qui se fait appeler ainsi — est l’un des agents les plus efficaces de la Culture. Et Diziet Sma ?minente figure de la Culture, l’utilise ? des fins myst?rieuses, quelquefois paradoxales.Dans le cadre de , une branche de .Qu’est-ce que la Culture ? Une immense soci?t? galactique, pacifiste en son principe mais redoutable si on l’attaque, multiforme, anarchiste, tol?rante, ?thique et cynique. Elle est compos?e d’humains, d’Intelligences artificielles et d’esp?ces ?trang?res qui ont accept? ses valeurs.La a la ...
The Culture is a far-future society of seemingly limitless resources and infinite technological possibilities. Yet the Culture is far from perfect, and it is still subject to brutal wars, political upheaval and intrusions from beyond the edges of known space. With extraordinary imaginative scope and storytelling prowess, Iain M. Banks’ new Culture novel will be one of the most highly anticipated SF novels of the year.
Most nie ma ko?ca, na jego wielu poziomach ?yj? ludzie, a jednym z nich jest wy?owiony z rzeki John Orr. Bohater cierpi na amnezj? i opowiada lekarzowi swoje dziwne sny. Jednak autor przenosi nas nagle i stajemy si? ?wiadkami ?ycia pewnego do?? przeci?tnego Szkota. C?? jest dalej? Wszystko zaczyna si? miesza? i nie jeste?my pewni o czyim ?mie w?a?nie czytamy i co tak naprawd? jest snem a co rzeczywisto?ci?. Powie?? Banks’a jest hybryd? ??cz?c? w sobie obyczajow? histori?, fantastyk? oraz jednocze?nie jej parodi?. To literacki eksperyment zabawa stylem, j?zykiem i wyobra?ni?.
Dop?ki Cheradenine Zakalwe by? tajnym agentem Kultury, jego ?ycie toczy?o si? w miar? spokojnym rytmem: ot, zwyk?e intrygi, podst?pne plany, od czasu do czasu wojskowa operacja na jakiej? odleg?ej planecie. Wszystko to uleg?o radykalnej zmianie w chwili, kiedy Diziet Sma wzi??a jego los w swoje r?ce… Kolejny tom cyklu o Kulturze potwierdza, ?e Iain M. Banks s?usznie cieszy si? opini? jednego z najoryginalniejszych i najbardziej nieobliczalnych wsp??czesnych tw?rc?w science fiction.
