Iain Banks citations

Page 5

Against a Dark Background ISBN 1-85723-179-1 (UK) ISBN 0-553-29225-0 (US).
Non-Culture Novels, Against a Dark Background (1993)

The King handed me his own sword! “You have full permission to use it on anyone who looks remotely like a physician.”
Source: Culture series, Inversions (1998), Chapter 3 (p. 47)

Hamin waved the pipestem round the tables of people. “Rules and laws exist only because we take pleasure in doing what they forbid, but as long as most of the people obey such proscriptions most of the time, they have done their job; blind obedience would imply we are—ha!”—Hamin chuckled and pointed at the drone with the pipe—“no more than robots!”
Source: Culture series, The Player of Games (1988), Chapter 2 (p. 279).

“State of the Art” (p. 84)
Short fiction, The State of the Art (1991)

“So, because I don’t have what I think of as superstitions, because I believe we just happen to exist, and believe in... science, evolution, whatever; I’m not as... worthy as somebody who has faith in an ancient book and a cruel, desert God?”
Source: Short fiction, The State of the Art (1991) “Piece” (p. 73)

“Those are the closest words. There is an undeniable elation in causing mayhem, in bringing about such massive destruction. As for feeling pleased, I felt pleasure that some of those who died did so because they were stupid enough to believe in gods or afterlives that do not exist, even though I felt a terrible sorrow for them as they died in their ignorance and thanks to their folly.”
Source: Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 13 “Some Ways of Dying” (p. 315)

“Well, that is always a lie, or a sign you are fighting for an unworthy cause, or still have a very long way to develop civilisationally.”
Source: Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 13 “Some Ways of Dying” (p. 312)

“I’m always serious, never more so than when I’m being flippant.”
Source: Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 11 “Absence of Gravitas” (p. 231)

“Then you’re simply ignorant rather than malevolent. Congratulations.”
Source: Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 11 “Absence of Gravitas” (p. 231)

Source: Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 8c “The Memory of Running” (p. 198)

“Soon equates to good, later to worse, Uagen Zlepe, scholar. Therefore, immediacy.”
Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 8b “Dirigible” (p. 176)

Source: Culture series, Look to Windward (2000), Chapter 8a “The Retreat at Cadracet” (p. 154)

First sentence of the novel
Source: Non-Culture Novels, Transition (2009)

Source: Culture series, Matter (2008), Chapter 19 “Dispatches” (p. 357)

Source: Culture series, Matter (2008), Chapter 18 “The Current Emergency” (p. 333)

Source: Culture series, Matter (2008), Chapter 17 “Departures” (p. 305)
Contexte: On this purely practical issue he judged massacre wasteful and even contrary as a method of control.

Source: Culture series, Matter (2008), Chapter 10 “A Certain Lack” (p. 167)

Source: Culture series, Matter (2008), Chapter 27 “The Core” (p. 551)