Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Five top books about intricate games

A Korean-American sf/f writer who received a B.A. in math from Cornell University and an M.A. in math education from Stanford University, Yoon Ha Lee finds it a source of continual delight that math can be mined for story ideas.

His new novel is Revenant Gun.

One of five books about intricate games Lee tagged at Tor.com:
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks

This was the first of two Banks novels that I’ve read. (The other is Surface Detail.) Its protagonist is a master game-player who is recruited, through trickery, to compete in a society where there is not only rampant game-playing but casual torture. Not only is the depiction of game-playing fascinating, there’s also a lot of political intrigue and skulduggery. If I ever write something a tenth as good I might be able to die happy.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue