Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While there's a general lack of plot and meandering quality to the actual events that happen (it took embarrassingly long for me to catch onto the chronological structure), the intensity and emotional tension of the writing kept me hooked all the way through. It's similar to Player of Games in that there's a central core idea that is expounded on at each layer of the novel (in this one -- the protagonist's own use of weapons to achieve goals, and then his allowing the Culture to use him himself as a weapon), as well as a twist at the end that completely turns the perspective of this idea on its head, forcing the reader to reassess everything that came before. However, (in addition to, I think, much better writing overall) this book has a vastness in a way that Player of Games fell short of for me -- it makes me feel the same push/pull sense of both smallness and hugeness (intimacy and distance) as looking up at the vast void of the starry sky does (I'm reminded of the chapter of the protagonist and another character looking out from a spaceship, discussing what they believe in -- nothing & emptiness respectively, the difference between those). Each chapter (especially in the flashback sections) feels like it could be its own novel, its own lifetime, which all adds to the unending, cyclical, sweeping scale of the narrative (and human conflict) as a whole.
I really liked this summary in someone else's review:
"Zakalwe’s tale contains many lessons, the most important being that no living thing is without sin. Life’s original sin is not the result of some moral failing or departure from divinity. It is the simple fact of existence––the jealous perpetuation of an organized collection of matter, fueled by the constant consumption of other, conquered collections of matter, for no purpose other than the maintenance of an already-arbitrary, always-indefensible maw of self-regard. Humans have embellished this charade with delusions of identity and rational justification. It is a sorry state of affairs.
"In defiance of the myths we tell about our accomplishments, our ephemeral victories against suffering and discontent, an honest consciousness will always return to the question of its own right to survival, or rather, to the incontestable absence of that right. Try as he might to escape the truth, Zakalwe remains a villain––just like everyone else." (http://www.words-and-dirt.com/words/review-iain-m-bankss-use-of-weapons/)
This central dilemma leaves me melancholic, detached, and is not one I agree with, but well worth exploring all the same, which Banks does to great effect.
The one thing holding this book back is that the final twist at the end does seem a bit too much for shock value than makes sense with what we know about the protagonist up until that point -- would more flashbacks to childhood and the siblings' relationships have helped? or perhaps instead of the narrative weight being on the scene of Zakalwe finding the chair, it should instead have been on a scene of the Chairmaker's decision to make it in the first place?
All in all, I am quite satisfied that I stuck through the long journey and that there was a proper amount of emotional payoff for the tension building throughout, even if there's a gap in it all clicking together perfectly.
I really liked this summary in someone else's review:
"Zakalwe’s tale contains many lessons, the most important being that no living thing is without sin. Life’s original sin is not the result of some moral failing or departure from divinity. It is the simple fact of existence––the jealous perpetuation of an organized collection of matter, fueled by the constant consumption of other, conquered collections of matter, for no purpose other than the maintenance of an already-arbitrary, always-indefensible maw of self-regard. Humans have embellished this charade with delusions of identity and rational justification. It is a sorry state of affairs.
"In defiance of the myths we tell about our accomplishments, our ephemeral victories against suffering and discontent, an honest consciousness will always return to the question of its own right to survival, or rather, to the incontestable absence of that right. Try as he might to escape the truth, Zakalwe remains a villain––just like everyone else." (http://www.words-and-dirt.com/words/review-iain-m-bankss-use-of-weapons/)
This central dilemma leaves me melancholic, detached, and is not one I agree with, but well worth exploring all the same, which Banks does to great effect.
The one thing holding this book back is that the final twist at the end does seem a bit too much for shock value than makes sense with what we know about the protagonist up until that point -- would more flashbacks to childhood and the siblings' relationships have helped? or perhaps instead of the narrative weight being on the scene of Zakalwe finding the chair, it should instead have been on a scene of the Chairmaker's decision to make it in the first place?
All in all, I am quite satisfied that I stuck through the long journey and that there was a proper amount of emotional payoff for the tension building throughout, even if there's a gap in it all clicking together perfectly.
Not my favorite book in the world -- maybe because I didn't read the first two. The ending was pretty good.
This was an interesting book, and very well written. At times it was slightly confusing to me because of how it was written (alternating chapters with arabic or roman numerals, the arabic numbered chapters move forward in time and the roman numeral chapters move backwards chronologically.) But after a while I got into it.
The book has a twist ending that is truly shocking and disturbing, however I didn't really feel it followed from anything we'd been told in the book up till that point. It's possible I missed clues, of course, but I really didn't see any. Normally when I read a book with some sort of twist ending, even if I didn't anticipate it, I can go "oh okay, I see how this and this indicate that [whatever.:]" But not in this book. In fact, certain details which I won't go into because I'd rather keep this review spoiler-free don't even make any sense in light of the twist at the end.
Overall though, this is a good book, although it is not for everyone.
The book has a twist ending that is truly shocking and disturbing, however I didn't really feel it followed from anything we'd been told in the book up till that point. It's possible I missed clues, of course, but I really didn't see any. Normally when I read a book with some sort of twist ending, even if I didn't anticipate it, I can go "oh okay, I see how this and this indicate that [whatever.:]" But not in this book. In fact, certain details which I won't go into because I'd rather keep this review spoiler-free don't even make any sense in light of the twist at the end.
Overall though, this is a good book, although it is not for everyone.
Found this one a bit dense, although I enjoyed how the story came together in the end after not making sense for quite a while.
I understand why this book is so confusing, but it was still frustrating.
I listened to the audiobook.
I listened to the audiobook.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors and this year I’m re-reading all his science fiction novels for the first time in about 30 years. This was my sixth read, the third in the Culture series.
This has long been one of my all-time favourite novels, thanks to it’s unusual structure (the story starts in the middle, with one set of chapters moving forward in time and the alternating set moving backwards), and shocking ending. But would it still hold up? Even knowing what was coming, the ending was still powerful, though as it turned out I had forgotten part of it.
That said, the structure also works against the novel somewhat, with each chapter of the backwards-unfolding story necessarily having to be a stand-alone vignette. And the forward-moving story, while entertaining, didn’t really seem to go anywhere. This really is a book that’s all about what happens in its last few pages, though that’s still enough to put it above the other Banks novels I’ve read so far.
Compared to the previous culture novel I read (Player of Games) this was certainly a lot harder to read when going to bed, as it required much more focus to be appreciate it fully! Banks writes characters that are always fun to read and in this outing he still fails to disappoint. The ending was... unexpected. But still incredibly engaging.