The Player of Games

The Player of Games is an astounding work of avant-garde science fiction written by Iain M. Banks. It tells the story of a man named Jernau Gurgeh who is an astute gameplayer from an advance humanoid society called The Culture. He is invited to compete in a game from a imperialist humanoid society on the other side of the galaxy called Azad. This game is considered the most sacred and important of the imperialist society, and the winner becomes Emperor of Azad. In the process of learning and competing in the Azad tournament, Gurgeh is nearly killed, mutilated, and dismembered. In the end his success is nearly his own undoing.

How & Why
First read this book in August of 2008 on the suggestion of Adam Holland. I initially tried to read it at the Boston Public Library, but was shocked to discover that it was in-library use only. So I bought a copy at the Downtown Crossing Borders one late evening, even though the copy was damaged (good for a 10% discount). I tore through the book, particularly because of taking it with me to Philadelphia and getting stuck in airports for over 12 hours. A fabulous book.

Characters

 * Jerneau Gurgeh - Also called the Morat or gameplayer, Jernau is the most talented game player of his society. He is very introspective and enjoys games more than sex (as he frequently claims).


 * Flere-Ishao - A sentient robotic droid who assists Gurgeh on his mission to Azad. He is obstinate and considers his task with Gurgegh to be less than he deserves. He is later revealed to be Mawhrin-Skel, a rogue robot who first pressures (via Blackmail) Gurgegh into taking the mission to Azad.

Implications
The Player of Games is very interesting when considered as ludological text. Gurgeh the protagonist, is fascinated by the idea that games can represent cultural structures, taboos, and societies. In The Culture, games are considered an extremely important component of human life, and are pursued academically, through rigorous study and critical evaluation.