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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
The novel likes to juxtapose scenes of intricate beauty, composed of the most beautiful prose I've ever seen from Banks, with scenes of incredible, horrifying gore. It's a sic-fi novel, and also a war novel, in the vein of Heller or O'Brien. But it's not about any one war - the universe is full of wars. It's about one soldier.
The Culture, as as setting, works best from the perspective of an outsider. Even when the protagonist is a member of the Culture themselves, they tend to distance themselves from it over the course of a novel (see: The Player of Games). But here, the protagonist is something anathema to the Culture, although they have no qualms about making use of him. His encounter with the heart of the Culture, wandering one of the massive ships that house most of its population, is easily the most effective and thorough introduction to this civilization of all Banks' novels.
Why I loved this book, though, has to do with how it digs into the running themes of the Culture novels in such a satisfying, visceral way. And Banks is, as always, a ferociously intelligent writer, nimbly skirting all the plot-derailing and suspense-draining potholes posed by a post-scarcity setting.
Ultimately, I loved this book. Sad to think I have only a few Culture novels left to go.
The Culture, as as setting, works best from the perspective of an outsider. Even when the protagonist is a member of the Culture themselves, they tend to distance themselves from it over the course of a novel (see: The Player of Games). But here, the protagonist is something anathema to the Culture, although they have no qualms about making use of him. His encounter with the heart of the Culture, wandering one of the massive ships that house most of its population, is easily the most effective and thorough introduction to this civilization of all Banks' novels.
Why I loved this book, though, has to do with how it digs into the running themes of the Culture novels in such a satisfying, visceral way. And Banks is, as always, a ferociously intelligent writer, nimbly skirting all the plot-derailing and suspense-draining potholes posed by a post-scarcity setting.
Ultimately, I loved this book. Sad to think I have only a few Culture novels left to go.
As with many of Iain M. Banks' CULTURE books I wasn't always following what was happening but I was reasonably entertained all the way to the ending when Banks casually crushed me. I still frequently think about all the little moments in this book strung together and tied up in the neatest little bow. Brutal.
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How do you make a story about utopia interesting? By considering the epithelium that insulates that wonderful gay space commune from the harsh outside world. In what "special circumstances" do we use weapons, and is their use a punishment to the wielder?
Use of Weapons is a great book, I really enjoyed the Culture's meddling in other societies.
The timeline is confusing in the beginning, it really comes together by the end. And the end... is haunting...
The timeline is confusing in the beginning, it really comes together by the end. And the end... is haunting...
A dark tale with a particular nasty twist at the end.
It was ok in the sense that all books are ok, but it gave me a hell of a lot of trouble. In retrospect I can follow the story, however it was so confusing and unenjoyable to read most of it. In the final third it flowed a little easier. Banks's practice of beginning nearly every single chapter with pronouns so you didn't know which characters he was talking about was infuriating. The science fiction seems ridiculous and unimaginative by the standards of today's technology; the inconsistencies of having certain levels of technology that would presume other technological capabilities was stupid. The twist at the end was meaningless and uninspired. I really hated it and nearly gave it one star but there are things I hate more I suppose.
A thrilling, constantly inventive sci-fi space adventure taking in planets and societies across the galaxy as a freelance mercenary, Cheradenine Zakalwe, is sent to different worlds by the shadowy but seemingly benevolent Culture to prevent or sort out military conflicts. The main narrative sees him working for Diziet Sma, a woman working for the Culture as a Special Circumstances agent, to prevent civil war among planets in a star cluster but, in alternate chapters going backwards in time, it traces Zakalwe’s own history back to horrifying experiences for him and his family on his home planet nearly two centuries earlier.
As always, the explored ideas about the Culture society are very interesting. However, this was the first book in the series that was really hard to follow. The constant jumping between different timelines and disparate thoughts makes you think you're navigating the mind of a rambling philosopher with brain damage and 3 different kinds of alzheimer. Rewarding if you manage to follow through and piece the puzzle together, but painful to the point where you're wondering if you now got brain damage yourself.
As a massive Culture fan (series rating: easy 5 stars), I seem to be in the minority by having this as one of my least favourite of the series.
Zakalwe is a great protagonist. His relentless calculated brutality and will to win in the service of the Culture's utilitarian objectives is simultaneously horrifying and gripping. His character arc is also interesting to say the least.
However, the story structure is still hard to follow after a second read and I feel it's just a convoluted way of covering up a flaw in the storytelling.
Sma, the secondary protagonist is very frustrating. I liked her in The State of the Art, but in this book her hedonistic side is raised to the point of being plain unprofessional, with far less concern for the millions of lives at stake in the games she's part of than she should have. She's not quite callous, and of course she neither has her hide on the line, nor is she a key decision maker, but I can't help feeling that the Culture could have found a better agent among their trillions of people.
Other characters are poorly-sketched, in particular the two assassins trying to track Zakalwe in the canyon city, who are comically bad.
Banks' descriptive skills are always good, but his prose sometimes gets a little too florid, for example in the first couple of pages.
Zakalwe is a great protagonist. His relentless calculated brutality and will to win in the service of the Culture's utilitarian objectives is simultaneously horrifying and gripping. His character arc is also interesting to say the least.
However, the story structure is still hard to follow after a second read and I feel it's just a convoluted way of covering up a flaw in the storytelling.
Sma, the secondary protagonist is very frustrating. I liked her in The State of the Art, but in this book her hedonistic side is raised to the point of being plain unprofessional, with far less concern for the millions of lives at stake in the games she's part of than she should have. She's not quite callous, and of course she neither has her hide on the line, nor is she a key decision maker, but I can't help feeling that the Culture could have found a better agent among their trillions of people.
Other characters are poorly-sketched, in particular the two assassins trying to track Zakalwe in the canyon city, who are comically bad.
Spoiler
...The Culture in its supposedly functionally infinite wisdom also makes a ridiculous error at one point by dumping Zakalwe into a war and telling him to do his best, seemingly without considering that this is on the part of the side they want to lose and that Zakalwe's strategic genius will very likely be able to turn things around.Banks' descriptive skills are always good, but his prose sometimes gets a little too florid, for example in the first couple of pages.
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes