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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
This took me longer to finish than it should have. I guess the primary reason is that I really couldn't associate myself with the characters at all. Sure it was cool to have a morally ambiguous shape shifter as the protagonist of the story but I found it hard to warm up to him until I was in the last 10-20 pages of the book. There's some pretty decent action going on in the story every now and then but its not really something to fawn over. I believe the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more and in my personal opinion, more time should have been spent on the main story/quest regarding the Culture/Idiran war. The side stories don't add up to the main story at the end of the day.
DNF’d @ 52%
I. AM. A. MODERN. SFF. READER.
and just need to accept that already.
I. AM. A. MODERN. SFF. READER.
and just need to accept that already.
The books starts interesting but I soon lost interest. There are only hints at the Culture background, it hasn't been filled with substance and life though. What remains is an action packed adventure with an unusal hero and some interesting characters. I am not a huge fan of such stories and rather waited for some mind blowing SF ideas - they didn't come so the book left me unimpressed.
I recommend to skip this book and to read [b:The Player of Games|18630|The Player of Games|Iain M. Banks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166984450s/18630.jpg|1494157] or [b:Use of Weapons|12007|Use of Weapons|Iain M. Banks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166490846s/12007.jpg|1494156] instead.
I recommend to skip this book and to read [b:The Player of Games|18630|The Player of Games|Iain M. Banks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166984450s/18630.jpg|1494157] or [b:Use of Weapons|12007|Use of Weapons|Iain M. Banks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166490846s/12007.jpg|1494156] instead.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some really good worldbuilding and concepts (I particularly liked the chapter A Game of Danger and its glimpse into the weird and wonderful characters of the wider galaxy) but overall the book is far too bloated with over-long scenes and chapters you could cut without hindrance to the plot, which itself is glacial in pace. The final set-piece takes an eternity to reach its conclusion and the ending itself is an unsatisfying reward for slogging through the rest of the book. Skip ‘The Eaters’ chapter entirely - it serves no purpose to the plot, and is stomach-churning to an almost fetishistic degree.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Skews a bit episodic, but usually in the way that watching a season of a great sci fi series does
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes