From  New York Times b estselling   and modern master of science fiction, Iain M. Banks,  The State of the Art  is the acclaimed collection of Banks's short fiction.  “Banks is a phenomenon...writing pure science fiction of a peculiarly gnarly energy and elegance.” –William Gibson This is a striking addition to the body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks's staggering talent. “Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth.” – New York Review of Science Fiction   “[Banks] can summon up sense-of-wonder Big Concepts you've never seen before and display them with narration as deft as a conjuror's fingers." –scifi.com The Culture series: Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons The State of the Art Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata “Banks is a phenomenon...writing pure science fiction of a peculiarly gnarly energy and elegance.”― William Gibson “Banks writes with a sophistication that will surprise anyone unfamiliar with modern science fiction.”― The New York Times “Banks never lets up in a dizzying array of characters, mind-bending ideas, and dazzling action.”― Booklist “Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth.”― New York Review of Science Fiction “[Banks] can summon up sense-of-wonder Big Concepts you've never seen before and display them with narration as deft as a conjuror's fingers." ― scifi.com "Nobody does it better."― Times (UK) "Banks writes space opera on the grand scale: he measures time in eons, space in lightyears, tragedies in gigadeaths."― Time Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, The Wasp Factory, in 1984. Consider Phlebas, his first science fiction novel, was published under the name Iain M. Banks in 1987 and began his celebrated ten-book Culture series. He is acclaimed as one of the most powerful, innovative and exciting writers of his generation.