Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Inversions by Iain M. Banks

2 reviews

badmc's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

How does one go around interacting with undeveloped cultures if one is from Culture gets explored here through characters of Vosill and DeWar. One is a physician in a monarchy, the other a bodyguard to a (seeming) usurper that offers an alternative. Both DeWar and Vosill are in a precarious position. 

I enjoyed the book, mainly because it was told from POVs of people from the world undergoing big changes, but still somewhere roughly medieval. Sexism, classism, and other -isms are rampant and unapologeticaly shown from page one. How would one go about torture, sickness, or famine in another culture, without imposing one's views and norms? 

I enjoyed the slow burn and menace of the stories, and found metaphors and subversion quite to my liking. The middle dragged a bit, and the end twist felt a bit convenient, but I am quite content to continue my Culture journey. 
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spikespiegel's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It's a book fundamentally about medicine, a woman who deeply understands medicine tries to impart her knowledge (or at a minimum practice medicine safely) in a society that does not believe what she says. I think more broadly Inversions explores the way in which progress and social change is mistrusted by the powerful. It speaks to the danger of driving necessary change.
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