Audience participation

[lightreads]

Okay, you guys were so great last time, let’s try this again. Any opinions on where one ought to start with these guys? Cautionary tales?

• Iain M. Banks’s Culture series: I understand they’re mostly standalones and that the first book by pub order is not great, so where do I start?
• Charles de Lint: *gestures helplessly* that is a pile of books.
• Andre Norton: ditto
• Gene Wolfe

Also, if anyone can rec a relatively sane biography of Anne Boleyn, I’d be most grateful. For values of “relatively sane” meaning with at least a pretense at considering evidence before speculating.

Comments

[kate_nepveu]

Culture: Conventional wisdom is probably _The Player of Games_; dark horse for _Look to Windward_. Reviews: http://www.steelypips.org/weblog/books/sf_and_fantasy/culture/ (I haven't read the last two yet.)

de Lint: I haven't read any of his stuff for ages and ages, but I suspect one of the early Newford collections, _Dreams Underfoot_, would be pretty representative of the urban fantasy strain of his work, which I believe is most of it.