The State of the Art
Culture Series, Book 4
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo first 3 months
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $13.80
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Peter Kenny
-
By:
-
Iain M. Banks
About this listen
The works of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. With breathtaking imagination and extraordinary storytelling, they have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.
The State of the Art is the only collection of Iain M. Banks"s short fiction and includes the acclaimed Culture novella of the same name.
From science fiction to horror, dark fantasy to twisted comedy, all eight stories bear the indefinable stamp of Banks"s staggering talent.
The novels of Iain M. Banks:
The Culture series
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
The State of the Art
Other books by Iain M. Banks
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Against a Dark Background
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilisation based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith"s apotheosis, and her only hope of escape is to find the last of the apocalyptically powerful Lazy Guns before the Huhsz find her.
-
-
The "A-Team" set between planets and stars
- By Jacobus on 08-12-12
By: Iain M. Banks
-
The Mercy of Gods
- Captive"s War, Book 1
- By: James S.A. Corey
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Carryx—part empire, part hive—has waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy in its conflict with an ancient and deathless enemy. When they descend on the isolated world of Anjiin, the human population is abased, slaughtered, and put in chains. The best and brightest are abducted, taken to the Carryx world-palace to join prisoners from a thousand other species. Dafyd Alkhor, assistant to a prestigious scientist, is captured along with his team.
-
-
Incredible
- By Davey Francis on 08-15-24
By: James S.A. Corey
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy"s critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity"s battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
-
Drive
- An Expanse Short Story
- By: James S. A. Corey
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A short story set in the universe of James S. A. Corey"s NYT best-selling Expanse series. Now a Prime Original series. This story will be available in the complete Expanse story collection, Memory’s Legion.
-
-
Fun little short story
- By Carson on 12-28-21
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu, Ken Liu
- Narrated by: Daniel York Loh
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1967: Ye Wenjie witnesses Red Guards beat her father to death during China"s Cultural Revolution. This singular event will shape not only the rest of her life but also the future of mankind. Four decades later, Beijing police ask nanotech engineer Wang Miao to infiltrate a secretive cabal of scientists after a spate of inexplicable suicides. Wang"s investigation will lead him to a mysterious online game and immerse him in a virtual world ruled by the intractable and unpredictable interaction of its three suns.
-
-
Boring bad and lazy writing
- By shellcheff on 09-11-23
By: Cixin Liu, and others
-
Ancillary Justice
- By: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
-
-
Has some redeeming value, but is deeply flawed
- By Matthew J. Mimnaugh on 08-07-19
By: Ann Leckie
-
Against a Dark Background
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilisation based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith"s apotheosis, and her only hope of escape is to find the last of the apocalyptically powerful Lazy Guns before the Huhsz find her.
-
-
The "A-Team" set between planets and stars
- By Jacobus on 08-12-12
By: Iain M. Banks
-
The Mercy of Gods
- Captive"s War, Book 1
- By: James S.A. Corey
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Carryx—part empire, part hive—has waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy in its conflict with an ancient and deathless enemy. When they descend on the isolated world of Anjiin, the human population is abased, slaughtered, and put in chains. The best and brightest are abducted, taken to the Carryx world-palace to join prisoners from a thousand other species. Dafyd Alkhor, assistant to a prestigious scientist, is captured along with his team.
-
-
Incredible
- By Davey Francis on 08-15-24
By: James S.A. Corey
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy"s critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity"s battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
-
Drive
- An Expanse Short Story
- By: James S. A. Corey
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A short story set in the universe of James S. A. Corey"s NYT best-selling Expanse series. Now a Prime Original series. This story will be available in the complete Expanse story collection, Memory’s Legion.
-
-
Fun little short story
- By Carson on 12-28-21
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu, Ken Liu
- Narrated by: Daniel York Loh
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1967: Ye Wenjie witnesses Red Guards beat her father to death during China"s Cultural Revolution. This singular event will shape not only the rest of her life but also the future of mankind. Four decades later, Beijing police ask nanotech engineer Wang Miao to infiltrate a secretive cabal of scientists after a spate of inexplicable suicides. Wang"s investigation will lead him to a mysterious online game and immerse him in a virtual world ruled by the intractable and unpredictable interaction of its three suns.
-
-
Boring bad and lazy writing
- By shellcheff on 09-11-23
By: Cixin Liu, and others
-
Ancillary Justice
- By: Ann Leckie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
-
-
Has some redeeming value, but is deeply flawed
- By Matthew J. Mimnaugh on 08-07-19
By: Ann Leckie
-
The Algebraist
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 19 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 4034 AD. Humanity has made it to the stars but Fassin Taak, a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers, will be fortunate if he makes it to the end of the year. The Nasqueron Dwellers inhabit a gas giant on the outskirts of the galaxy, in a system awaiting its wormhole connection to the rest of civilisation. In the meantime, they are dismissed as decadents living in a state of highly developed barbarism, hoarding data without order, hunting their own young and fighting pointless formal wars.
-
-
Great Fun
- By Nikolais L. on 08-26-24
By: Iain M. Banks
-
Demon Copperhead
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the tale of Demon Copperhead: our hero. A boy with no assets beyond his dead father"s good looks and copper-coloured hair, bucket-loads of charm and a talent or two the world is yet to discover. Born to a teenaged single mother in a single wide trailer, life is not set fair for Demon as he escorts us on this, his journey through the modern perils of foster care, athletic success and addiction, the dizzying highs of true love, and the crushing losses that can accompany it.
-
-
Best Kingsolver book by far
- By Wayne Phillips on 11-09-22
-
Feersum Endjinn
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Count Sessine is about to die for the very last time.... Chief Scientist Gadfium is about to receive the mysterious message she has been waiting for from the Plain of Sliding Stones.... And Bascule the Teller, in search of an ant, is about to enter the chaos of the crypt.... And everything is about to change.... For this is the time of the encroachment and, although the dimming sun still shines on the vast, towering walls of Serehfa Fastness, the end is close at hand.
-
-
One of my favorite Banks novel
- By Pavel Antokolsky on 01-05-25
By: Iain M. Banks
-
All Systems Red
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells" series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie"s Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks" Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.
-
-
I just wish all four stories were one book...
- By Garrett Stone on 11-05-18
By: Martha Wells
-
Wool
- Wool Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Hugh Howey
- Narrated by: Susannah Harker
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic story of survival at all odds and one of the most anticipated books of the year. In a ruined and hostile landscape, in a future few have been unlucky enough to survive, a community exists in a giant underground silo. Inside, men and women live an enclosed life full of rules and regulations, of secrets and lies. To live, you must follow the rules. But some don"t. These are the dangerous ones; these are the people who dare to hope and dream, and who infect others with their optimism.
-
-
excellence
- By Tracy on 02-23-13
By: Hugh Howey
-
Pattern Recognition
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cayce Pollard owes her living to her pathological sensitivity to logos. In London to consult for the world"s coolest ad agency, she finds herself catapulted, via her addiction to a mysterious body of fragmentary film footage, uploaded to the web by a shadowy auteur, into a global quest for this unknown "garage Kubrick". Cayce becomes involved with an eccentric hacker, a vengeful ad executive, a defrocked mathematician, a Tokyo Otaku-coven known as Eye of the Dragon and, eventually, the elusive "Kubrick" himself.
By: William Gibson
Critic reviews
"Banks is a phenomenon" William Gibson
Related to this topic
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn"t know that. He can"t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he"s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he"s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he"s sure he"ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn"t ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle"s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who"s running the place. Charlie"s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn"t all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Signal
- By: Eric Buchman, Gabriel Urbina, Sarah Shachat
- Narrated by: Paget Brewster, full cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two astronomers have detected a strange, pulsing signal from deep space. Within hours, the US government goes into lockdown, restricting airspace and scrubbing scientific data. Was the signal an intercepted communication revealing alarming plans for an enemy’s military strike? Or has humanity at long last found proof of extraterrestrial life?
-
-
it did a good job keep me listening but disappointed at the ending
- By Tristan M. on 12-21-24
By: Eric Buchman, and others
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you"re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you"ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn"t know that. He can"t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he"s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he"s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he"s sure he"ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn"t ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle"s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who"s running the place. Charlie"s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn"t all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
The Signal
- By: Eric Buchman, Gabriel Urbina, Sarah Shachat
- Narrated by: Paget Brewster, full cast
- Length: 2 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two astronomers have detected a strange, pulsing signal from deep space. Within hours, the US government goes into lockdown, restricting airspace and scrubbing scientific data. Was the signal an intercepted communication revealing alarming plans for an enemy’s military strike? Or has humanity at long last found proof of extraterrestrial life?
-
-
it did a good job keep me listening but disappointed at the ending
- By Tristan M. on 12-21-24
By: Eric Buchman, and others
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you"re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you"ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir
What listeners say about The State of the Art
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Peter
- 02-07-14
May require hospital grade painkillers...
Had been quite some time since I had read this collection of short stories, I"d forgotten about it"s existence. But I managed to get this downloaded shortly before being wheeled in for an emergency appendectomy. So please consider my review through the eyes of post-operation medical quality opiates.
First story, isn"t that nice.
Second story, what? Listen again. Oh yes that is good.
A few more stories which are rather good, but as I find with Peter Kenny"s reading, he is the unsung star of this generation of Banks" publishing. Even if one doesn"t necessarily *enjoy* the story, of which there was one in here that honestly after my hospital release I can"t recall which one, Kenny"s reading is a joy to listen to (and trust me, even more so under the influence of opiates). His attention to tone, character and timing is I think impeccable.
I must give a warning about the title short story. There is one scene, the dinner scene, where you may laugh so hard that you do yourself an injury. Sure, I had recently been sliced open and should have controlled myself. But, the extra morphone that was required due to the additional injury was not unwelcome.
This review is rambling? Sure, I"m out of hospital and still on painkillers.
The book? Oh yes, I"m reviewing the book and not the opiates. The book"s a must have for the Banks completist. And a great little introduction of the differing styles for which Banks was well known. Kenny again delivers. My only niggle would be that it sounded like it was recorded in a small room and not a acoustically dead (ie, no reverb) room. However I"m fairly certain this was only noticeable at 4am on the ward with headphones when the only noises to be heard was the nurses footsteps checking on the patients. This isn"t to say it"s bad, but more to say why the "overall" score I"ve given it doesn"t match the performance and story scores.
OK, I"m out. Not editing this review. I need some more codeine based stuff...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Greg
- 07-22-23
You should probably skip this.
These srories were pretty boring and pointless. The only take away from this is that the culture are not from earth, are taller than humans and have less than 5 toes.
The title story and most of the others were just plain dull. The last one was a garbled mess and actively painful to listen to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- kiril okun
- 10-24-16
Wtf
Really liked the first two books in the series. The third one was not available on audible so skipped to this one and the onlly reaction is WTF is this. A couple of short stories are OK, the rest is best ignored. Hope the next book is more like the first 2.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful