Nouvelle interview de Iain Banks ici à propos de son dernier livre : The Hydrogen Sonata.

Extrait :
This one is for people who’ve never read your novels before, how best would you describe The Culture?
Well, I didn’t come up with the phrase but it’s probably the most apt description, it’s a post-scarcity society or civilisation. Basically it’s all humans but it’s really run by the artificial intelligences, especially the ones called the Minds with a capital M that are mostly embodied in the ships, the spaceships. The Culture has been space faring for so long that when you say ship it always means spaceship and if I was to talk about something that floats on water I’d have to say seaship. That’s how prevalent the whole idea of space faring is, you wouldn’t automatically make the assumption. And they’re scattered throughout the galaxy. They’re not actually one of the biggest civilizations in the galaxy as there are lots and lots of other ones but they’re one of the most interfering, always trying to do the right thing and help other civilisations. Not always successfully it must be said.

Would you live in the Culture if you could?
Good grief yes! I am always kind of stunned at people who ask, “but would you really though?” And I’m like, duh! It’s paradise! It’s a secular heaven. I think you’d have to be slightly mad not to want to live in the Culture. You can do anything you damn well please as long as you don’t harm anyone else. You never have to worry about money or having to work. You live for at least 3-400 years and can travel to other planets. You’ve got drug glands embedded in your body and you can decide to be as stoned or whatever as you like with no side effects. And minute long orgasms! What’s not to like?