What’s a piece of SF that you just couldn’t get into, even though you feel like you should?
I tried to watch Babylon 5, for instance, and just couldn’t connect to it. I know it’s popular and people love it, but it never hooked me.
Another is The Three Body Problem. I tried reading it after a friend’s glowing recommendation, but I couldn’t get past the first chapter. I even tried reading it in another language in case it was the translation I couldn’t connect with, but the same thing happened.
Both are things I feel like I should like, but just don’t.
I think Use of Weapons is the best Culture novel so I’d recommend giving it a shot. Having said that, i just loved Consider Phlebas pretty much from page one. Banks always had trouble writing compelling plots. The main attraction to me is the imaginative scope of the worlds he created.