The State of the Art

The first ever collection of Iain Banks's short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella, The State of the Art. This is a striking addition to the growing body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The other 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.

'Unfailing inventiveness and wit' – Guardian

'Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth' – The New York Review of Science Fiction

Contents:

• Road of Skulls
• A Gift from the Culture (a Culture story)
• Odd Attachment
• Descendant (a Culture story)
• Cleaning Up
• Piece
• The State of the Art (a Culture story)
• Scratch