Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Orbit (2008), Paperback, 544 pages
Description
In a distant-future, highly advanced society of seemingly unlimited technological capability, a crime is committed within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one--maybe two--people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever. Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilizations throughout the greater galaxy. Concealing her new identity--and her particular set of abilities--might be a dangerous strategy. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.… (more)
Media reviews
[...] it rapidly becomes heart-sinkingly clear that here, the particular society in which the Culture might or might not intervene is one of faux-medieval fantasy fiction. The uniquely hopeless odour of leather, horse-like animals, stale sweat and tortured syntax wafts from the pages, and there is
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a tedious drizzle of invented proper names. [...] The story's highly intriguing last act could perhaps have been fruitfully expanded into a greater space, and the long setup could have been compressed. Having front-loaded the novel with so much talky scene-setting, Banks might have ended up relying slightly too much on his (and our) favourite gadgets. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Lasair
When I unexpectedly got an ARC of Matter on Christmas Eve, a big black paperback with "THE CULTURE IS BACK. FEBRUARY 2008. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS" emblazoned on the front, I squealed and pressed it to me and gasped out fervent thanks. I hadn't even known he was writing another Culture novel!
(Look to
Matter didn't disappoint.
With the exception, I would hazard, of Excession, all of the Culture books deal with conflict between the Culture and other civilisations. Main characters are usually non-Culture or belong to the Culture's "Contact" section, sometimes in "Special Circumstances", Contact's no-holds-barred fuck-the-rules commando squad. Ordinary Culture citizens wouldn't make for riveting characters. In an anarchist utopia where everything's available, and where machines are more capable than humans of doing any meaningful task, the citizens resemble students on an eternal gap year.
Banks' vision of a galaxy where hundreds of civilisations in different stages of development co-exist is reified in the notion of Shellworlds. Each Level has its own atmosphere and climate, and different civilisations have been placed on the Levels. Towers hold the Shellworlds together, and the more advanced races control the Towers and operate shuttles between the Levels and the Surface. The Sarl are a humanlike race, living on the Eighth Level of the Shellworld Sursamen, with a feudal civilisation just hitting the Industrial Age. But they're aware of the Oct, who operate shuttles, and the Nariscene, who run the Surface and are superior to the Oct, and the Morthanveld, who mentor the Nariscene and resemble the Culture in that they can pretty much carry out anything that comes to mind. (Sex-change? Sure. Artificial habitat the size of a solar-system? Just a moment.)
A careful policy of non-interference exists to keep the civilisations layered atop each other, with no one civilisation retarding or speeding up another's progress. Thus the Sarl are fully aware of space travel but are proud of having recently invented the gun. They have their hands full with their own issues - the King has been murdered by his chief adviser, and only Ferbin, his eldest surviving son and now a fugitive, witnessed the crime. His younger brother, now Prince Regent, must discover the danger he's in, while the elder seeks the help of the Oct, Nariscene and finally Morthanveld to reach the stars and find his sister, a Sarl indentured to the Culture as a teenager and now barely recognisable.
Events heat up on the Sarl's Level with war and intrigue as Ferbin and his sister race, using technology he barely comprehends and she is now at home with, to Sursamen. But consequences cannot always be confined to the Levels of their actions, and soon the internecine conflict of the Sarl is brutally revealed to take place against the background of a vast and dangerous galaxy.
I was again pleasantly shocked at Banks' capacity to dream up human-scale habitats in space that work. The details of Shellworlds are breathtaking. The interlinked plots of the royal Sarl siblings are page-turningly compelling, both individually and for their contribution to the greater whole. Timeouts giving us the POV of various minor characters from various species help to sate us with the sheer scale of Banks' universe, and with the the ever-intriguing delicacies of inter-species communication. And the story is as well-planned as a Shellworld. It's often I've enjoyed a long, meaty book this much. It's rare I finish a book with such a sense that this was the right ending, that not a paragraph more should have added, not even to prolong my enjoyment or satisfy more of my curiosity. "Surgical artistry" is a phrase that comes to mind.
THE CULTURE IS BACK. FEBRUARY 2008. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
(Look to
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Windward, his last Culture novel was published in 2000. I was given that by my then-boyfriend for my 17th birthday on a day which, for unrelated reasons, was one of the scariest, happiest and most important days of my life. The book's had a special resonance ever since. But anyway.)Matter didn't disappoint.
With the exception, I would hazard, of Excession, all of the Culture books deal with conflict between the Culture and other civilisations. Main characters are usually non-Culture or belong to the Culture's "Contact" section, sometimes in "Special Circumstances", Contact's no-holds-barred fuck-the-rules commando squad. Ordinary Culture citizens wouldn't make for riveting characters. In an anarchist utopia where everything's available, and where machines are more capable than humans of doing any meaningful task, the citizens resemble students on an eternal gap year.
Banks' vision of a galaxy where hundreds of civilisations in different stages of development co-exist is reified in the notion of Shellworlds. Each Level has its own atmosphere and climate, and different civilisations have been placed on the Levels. Towers hold the Shellworlds together, and the more advanced races control the Towers and operate shuttles between the Levels and the Surface. The Sarl are a humanlike race, living on the Eighth Level of the Shellworld Sursamen, with a feudal civilisation just hitting the Industrial Age. But they're aware of the Oct, who operate shuttles, and the Nariscene, who run the Surface and are superior to the Oct, and the Morthanveld, who mentor the Nariscene and resemble the Culture in that they can pretty much carry out anything that comes to mind. (Sex-change? Sure. Artificial habitat the size of a solar-system? Just a moment.)
A careful policy of non-interference exists to keep the civilisations layered atop each other, with no one civilisation retarding or speeding up another's progress. Thus the Sarl are fully aware of space travel but are proud of having recently invented the gun. They have their hands full with their own issues - the King has been murdered by his chief adviser, and only Ferbin, his eldest surviving son and now a fugitive, witnessed the crime. His younger brother, now Prince Regent, must discover the danger he's in, while the elder seeks the help of the Oct, Nariscene and finally Morthanveld to reach the stars and find his sister, a Sarl indentured to the Culture as a teenager and now barely recognisable.
Events heat up on the Sarl's Level with war and intrigue as Ferbin and his sister race, using technology he barely comprehends and she is now at home with, to Sursamen. But consequences cannot always be confined to the Levels of their actions, and soon the internecine conflict of the Sarl is brutally revealed to take place against the background of a vast and dangerous galaxy.
I was again pleasantly shocked at Banks' capacity to dream up human-scale habitats in space that work. The details of Shellworlds are breathtaking. The interlinked plots of the royal Sarl siblings are page-turningly compelling, both individually and for their contribution to the greater whole. Timeouts giving us the POV of various minor characters from various species help to sate us with the sheer scale of Banks' universe, and with the the ever-intriguing delicacies of inter-species communication. And the story is as well-planned as a Shellworld. It's often I've enjoyed a long, meaty book this much. It's rare I finish a book with such a sense that this was the right ending, that not a paragraph more should have added, not even to prolong my enjoyment or satisfy more of my curiosity. "Surgical artistry" is a phrase that comes to mind.
THE CULTURE IS BACK. FEBRUARY 2008. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
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LibraryThing member BillHall
Matter, by Iain M. Banks is definitely not one of his best books.
However, like several others it is set in the framework of the "Culture" a constantly evolving conglomeration of space fareing species and artificial intelligences including multi-kilometer long starships and orbital habitats. As in
The initial setting for this particular story is the artificial shell-world, Sursamen - consisting of 16 concentric levels - 14 of which are potentially or actually habitable. The plot involves Prince Ferbin otz Aelsh-Hausk'r, Princess Djan Seriy Anaplian, and their younger brother, Prince Oramen lin Blisk-Hausk'r. Ferbin is Heir Apparent of the Sarl who occupy Sursamen Level 8 and are warring with the conspecific Deldeyn. Djan, was given away as a girl to the Culture, where she ended up being trained as a member of Special Circumstances and given greatly enhanced powers.
By way of background, control of the shell-world Sursamen is contested between the crab-like Oct and the Aultridia, ex parasites of the Xinthia, who may have descended from builders of the shell worlds.
The story begins with the assassination of the Sarl's Warrior King Hausk Nerieth by his principal advisor, tyl Loesp, at the end of a major battle with the Deldeyn. Ferbin was initially believed to have been killed in the battle, but survived and accidentally witnessed the killing of his father. Loesp soon discovers that Ferbin survived and sends his henchmen to find him and kill him. Ferbin meets up with his servant, Choubris Holse, and pursued by Loesp's henchmen they work their way through the shells to the surface and off into Culture space to find Djan. Meanwhile, Djan heard of her father's death and is working her way towards Sursamen, and meets Hippense Pone, an avatoid of the ship, Liveware Problem (believed but never admitted to being a member of Special Circumstances). Ferbin, Choubris, Djan and Hippense meet up and proceed back into Sursamen's levels, becoming involved with deeper activities of the contest between the Oct and Aultridia and the accidental discovery and awakening of an Iln, dedicated to wrecking shell worlds.
As someone who enjoyes the interactions and extrapolations of science, technology and people, to me this book is almost pure fantasy. Unlike Banks's other Culture books, where the interplay of highly advanced (i.e., almost magical technology) and his characters is well developed. In this book the Culture is at best a loose scaffold for a tedious sword and sorcery tale. The technological drivers/Culture aspects are poorly developed and the logical development of the plot is very weak, with many apparently important aspects left unexplained. The writing is further marred by the extremely florid language that Banks puts in the mouths of his characters. It contributes nothing to the story or characterizations, and only makes the reading particularly tedious.
On the whole I would not recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Banks's previous books in the Culture space. I will definitely not be reading the book a second time, whereas I have read some of Banks's other books two or three times.
However, like several others it is set in the framework of the "Culture" a constantly evolving conglomeration of space fareing species and artificial intelligences including multi-kilometer long starships and orbital habitats. As in
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most of the other Culture books, the plot involves activities of "Special Circumstances", a semigovernmental intelligence organization whose operatives often take active roles in moderating the more agressive and anti-Cultural aspects of particular species within or aspiring to the Culture.The initial setting for this particular story is the artificial shell-world, Sursamen - consisting of 16 concentric levels - 14 of which are potentially or actually habitable. The plot involves Prince Ferbin otz Aelsh-Hausk'r, Princess Djan Seriy Anaplian, and their younger brother, Prince Oramen lin Blisk-Hausk'r. Ferbin is Heir Apparent of the Sarl who occupy Sursamen Level 8 and are warring with the conspecific Deldeyn. Djan, was given away as a girl to the Culture, where she ended up being trained as a member of Special Circumstances and given greatly enhanced powers.
By way of background, control of the shell-world Sursamen is contested between the crab-like Oct and the Aultridia, ex parasites of the Xinthia, who may have descended from builders of the shell worlds.
The story begins with the assassination of the Sarl's Warrior King Hausk Nerieth by his principal advisor, tyl Loesp, at the end of a major battle with the Deldeyn. Ferbin was initially believed to have been killed in the battle, but survived and accidentally witnessed the killing of his father. Loesp soon discovers that Ferbin survived and sends his henchmen to find him and kill him. Ferbin meets up with his servant, Choubris Holse, and pursued by Loesp's henchmen they work their way through the shells to the surface and off into Culture space to find Djan. Meanwhile, Djan heard of her father's death and is working her way towards Sursamen, and meets Hippense Pone, an avatoid of the ship, Liveware Problem (believed but never admitted to being a member of Special Circumstances). Ferbin, Choubris, Djan and Hippense meet up and proceed back into Sursamen's levels, becoming involved with deeper activities of the contest between the Oct and Aultridia and the accidental discovery and awakening of an Iln, dedicated to wrecking shell worlds.
As someone who enjoyes the interactions and extrapolations of science, technology and people, to me this book is almost pure fantasy. Unlike Banks's other Culture books, where the interplay of highly advanced (i.e., almost magical technology) and his characters is well developed. In this book the Culture is at best a loose scaffold for a tedious sword and sorcery tale. The technological drivers/Culture aspects are poorly developed and the logical development of the plot is very weak, with many apparently important aspects left unexplained. The writing is further marred by the extremely florid language that Banks puts in the mouths of his characters. It contributes nothing to the story or characterizations, and only makes the reading particularly tedious.
On the whole I would not recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Banks's previous books in the Culture space. I will definitely not be reading the book a second time, whereas I have read some of Banks's other books two or three times.
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LibraryThing member baswood
Iain M Banks - Matter
Matter is the eighth book in Iain Banks science Fiction Culture series and this is the fifth book I have read in the series. There are no more on my book shelves and so this will probably be the last one I read. The formula is similar to the other books in the series. The
Iain M Banks who also wrote mainstream fiction as Iain Banks said in an interview he preferred writing science fiction, because the novel depended on the strength of the ideas by this he meant original story lines. He said:
"You can write a perfectly good mainstream novel with no original ideas at all, you just have to tell an interesting story with interesting characters who have something to say" he also said that "you get fewer ideas as you get older, but you do get better at developing them"..........
He is as good as his word because each of his culture novels is centred on an original storyline and in Matter this is as good as others I have read in the series. The human agent this time is Djan Seriy Anaplian female and sister to Ferbin Hausk who is a humanoid of the Sarl race. He lives on a Shellworld which is an engineered planet containing a number of levels stacked on top of each other in which various animal life forms live, although some levels are complete vacuums. The Sarls live on the seventh level and they are at war with the Deldeyns who live on the level below. A lift system which controls the movement between levels is controlled by another race who have an uneasy truce with a race of parasites. Ferbin is next in line to his father who rules the Sarls, but in the fighting with the Deldeyns his father is murdered by the general of his army. Ferbin flees and seeks out his sister who he knows to be an agent of the Culture. Meanwhile the Sarls have defeated the Deldeyns and have discovered an ancient city which is being gradually exposed by a huge waterfall tearing away the land mass. The big idea here is the Shellworld itself as there are many similar worlds in the galaxy, but they are under threat from another alien species.
If all this sounds confusing it really isn't because Banks is a good enough writer to juggle several plot lines at once and keep the reader on board while holding back some information that will create suspense in the unfolding of the story. I have been fascinated with the idea of the Utopian Culture in previous books, but in this novel Banks chooses not to develop this idea concentrating instead on his story, which builds to a climax with Djan Seriy Anaplian and her brother battling for their lives in the depths of the shellworld. Banks science fiction is not held down by hard science, he lets his imagination run free, but creates enough background (world building) to convince his readers that the scenarios are possible. He is a bit like a modern day Edgar Rice Burroughs in this respect without the overt racism and sexism.
Banks has called this novel Matter which is of course a play on the phrase Mind over Matter - the minds of the Culture versus the Matter of the Universe I suppose. Anyway this is a good example of Bank's science fiction work and so 3.5 stars.
Matter is the eighth book in Iain Banks science Fiction Culture series and this is the fifth book I have read in the series. There are no more on my book shelves and so this will probably be the last one I read. The formula is similar to the other books in the series. The
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advanced utopian machine based Culture have become guardians of the universe. Robotics has become so advanced that machines build themselves creating their own minds. Humanoids and other alien races who choose to live in the society created by the Culture have enhanced life styles and immortality, but occasionally there are challenges to the system and when these occur human agents are employed by the Culture to deal with the problem. Each of the novels are therefore a story within the Culture series featuring a human agent sent on a mission and as such are stand alone books.Iain M Banks who also wrote mainstream fiction as Iain Banks said in an interview he preferred writing science fiction, because the novel depended on the strength of the ideas by this he meant original story lines. He said:
"You can write a perfectly good mainstream novel with no original ideas at all, you just have to tell an interesting story with interesting characters who have something to say" he also said that "you get fewer ideas as you get older, but you do get better at developing them"..........
He is as good as his word because each of his culture novels is centred on an original storyline and in Matter this is as good as others I have read in the series. The human agent this time is Djan Seriy Anaplian female and sister to Ferbin Hausk who is a humanoid of the Sarl race. He lives on a Shellworld which is an engineered planet containing a number of levels stacked on top of each other in which various animal life forms live, although some levels are complete vacuums. The Sarls live on the seventh level and they are at war with the Deldeyns who live on the level below. A lift system which controls the movement between levels is controlled by another race who have an uneasy truce with a race of parasites. Ferbin is next in line to his father who rules the Sarls, but in the fighting with the Deldeyns his father is murdered by the general of his army. Ferbin flees and seeks out his sister who he knows to be an agent of the Culture. Meanwhile the Sarls have defeated the Deldeyns and have discovered an ancient city which is being gradually exposed by a huge waterfall tearing away the land mass. The big idea here is the Shellworld itself as there are many similar worlds in the galaxy, but they are under threat from another alien species.
If all this sounds confusing it really isn't because Banks is a good enough writer to juggle several plot lines at once and keep the reader on board while holding back some information that will create suspense in the unfolding of the story. I have been fascinated with the idea of the Utopian Culture in previous books, but in this novel Banks chooses not to develop this idea concentrating instead on his story, which builds to a climax with Djan Seriy Anaplian and her brother battling for their lives in the depths of the shellworld. Banks science fiction is not held down by hard science, he lets his imagination run free, but creates enough background (world building) to convince his readers that the scenarios are possible. He is a bit like a modern day Edgar Rice Burroughs in this respect without the overt racism and sexism.
Banks has called this novel Matter which is of course a play on the phrase Mind over Matter - the minds of the Culture versus the Matter of the Universe I suppose. Anyway this is a good example of Bank's science fiction work and so 3.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member raymond_and_sarah
This book will please fans of Banks' Culture series (including this reviewer). The book tells the story of Djan Seriy, born a princess of the barbarian Sarl and now a member of Special Circumstances as she returns back to her home-world to avenge her father only to find a greater threat to her
The focus of this novel is less on the Culture per se and more on the relations between the other races we meet, and most especially the relations between species at higher and lower levels of technology.
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people and nation. Through her journey new species are introduced to may new species and vast, expansive vistas of planet sized artifacts, space ships, etc. The focus of this novel is less on the Culture per se and more on the relations between the other races we meet, and most especially the relations between species at higher and lower levels of technology.
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LibraryThing member penwing
Interesting fusion of typical fantasy fare mixed with Banks' dazzling SciFi. Artificial environments populated with people being knowingly observed by several layers of civilisation above them but being kept at their own mediaeval level of understanding.
The Shellworld is an odd addition to Banks'
Banks here allows us to explore a shellworld and it's inhabitants and it feels more their story than The Culture's. The Culture is of course present, but seen here as the top level of a bureaucratic nightmare and as much tied by that bureaucracy as any other "lesser" species rather than the the all powerful entity I've seen previously.
The power that Special Circumstances can access is shown to be immense. The technology seems a little implausible (suits that can automatically fly you with seeming disregard for the laws of physics) and perhaps a bit Deus Ex Machina for my tastes on occasion.
But this is still a very good book.
The Shellworld is an odd addition to Banks'
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universe. Created by forces ancient and sublimed. Purpose not understood. Focus of a major destruction attempt by another sublimed race. Tended by species way down in the galactic pecking order but who are still as gods to their charges. They raise questions which can only be answered by races no longer present so become source of speculation and what could be viewed as experimentation. Banks here allows us to explore a shellworld and it's inhabitants and it feels more their story than The Culture's. The Culture is of course present, but seen here as the top level of a bureaucratic nightmare and as much tied by that bureaucracy as any other "lesser" species rather than the the all powerful entity I've seen previously.
The power that Special Circumstances can access is shown to be immense. The technology seems a little implausible (suits that can automatically fly you with seeming disregard for the laws of physics) and perhaps a bit Deus Ex Machina for my tastes on occasion.
But this is still a very good book.
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LibraryThing member kd9
Having a feckless protagonist can be an advantage in a science fiction novel. While they are gaping at all the wonders that surround them, the narrator can explain exactly what they are seeing and experiencing. But hopefully your feckless protagonist is somehow also appealing. It is very difficult
His protagonist is Ferbin, the rakehell and cowardly second son of a warmongering king. His elder brother, who would have followed perfectly in his father's footsteps, was dead. Unfortunately his father is killed in the heat of battle by his thought to be loyal second-in-command, who tried and failed to kill Ferbin. Ferbin flees offworld to find his sister, once princess and now an Special Circumstances agent for The Culture.
Yes, there are many appealing moments in this novel; wonderfully alien aliens, oddly named AI starships and weapons, and fantastic vistas. But when you build a novel around a feckless prince, an ice princess, and their naive younger brother, there is not much there to root for. After the wonders of The Algebraist, this is rather a thin soup.
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to pull off a novel with an unpleasant feckless protagonist. Iain M. Banks has not achieved this mighty feat in Matter.His protagonist is Ferbin, the rakehell and cowardly second son of a warmongering king. His elder brother, who would have followed perfectly in his father's footsteps, was dead. Unfortunately his father is killed in the heat of battle by his thought to be loyal second-in-command, who tried and failed to kill Ferbin. Ferbin flees offworld to find his sister, once princess and now an Special Circumstances agent for The Culture.
Yes, there are many appealing moments in this novel; wonderfully alien aliens, oddly named AI starships and weapons, and fantastic vistas. But when you build a novel around a feckless prince, an ice princess, and their naive younger brother, there is not much there to root for. After the wonders of The Algebraist, this is rather a thin soup.
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LibraryThing member morven
I enjoyed this one immensely, but it's not the best of Iain Banks by any means. The settings are, by and large, delicious, and if you like Banks especially for the environments in which the stories take place, you'll have a good time here. The major characters are reasonably good, too.
At first, I
No, rather, the problem is that the first part, when things are slow, is just too boring. There were places where I was sorely tempted just to skip forward or skim-read. Worse, by the end it was obvious that it wasn't a deceptive story-thread where the normality hid important plot points later on; most of the boring bits were utterly irrelevant to the overall plot, and just served as filler. Banks has done filler before much, much better. I do think part of the problem was the low-tech setting of most of the worst parts; Banks didn't give himself the scope for any interesting flights-of-fancy to make for interesting filler, and there wasn't even enough blackly-humorous sadism to fill the time.
Oh, and it's a downer ending in a manner all too familiar to Banks readers. If you like his books, that probably won't put you off, but it's a good warning to those who aren't so keen on it.
Don't mistake me; I had a great time with this book; Banks at his best, though, can do much, much better.
At first, I
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wanted to say that the pacing is off, but it really isn't, because Banks set out to have the pacing precisely this way; the slow creep as things set in motion, almost invisibly, the momentum building in the background until suddenly we, and the characters, realize what's going on and how far along it is, and the headlong rush, faster and faster and faster until the SMACK into the brick wall of fate at the end.No, rather, the problem is that the first part, when things are slow, is just too boring. There were places where I was sorely tempted just to skip forward or skim-read. Worse, by the end it was obvious that it wasn't a deceptive story-thread where the normality hid important plot points later on; most of the boring bits were utterly irrelevant to the overall plot, and just served as filler. Banks has done filler before much, much better. I do think part of the problem was the low-tech setting of most of the worst parts; Banks didn't give himself the scope for any interesting flights-of-fancy to make for interesting filler, and there wasn't even enough blackly-humorous sadism to fill the time.
Oh, and it's a downer ending in a manner all too familiar to Banks readers. If you like his books, that probably won't put you off, but it's a good warning to those who aren't so keen on it.
Don't mistake me; I had a great time with this book; Banks at his best, though, can do much, much better.
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LibraryThing member RobertDay
Another entry in Banks' annals of the Culture, and once again, it's something different and new. The point of view is from a dynastic ruling family occupying a realm which is on one level of a sort of nested Dyson sphere (except there's sixteen levels, all told). A power struggle erupts when the
As ever, the world-building and characterisation is good. The Shellworld is well-realised, and the reactions of the inhabitants to their position is interesting; they know how their world is structured, they know that the greater world is run and guarded by other races whose ways and motives they don't fully grasp, and they know that there are other civilisations out there who are more advanced than they are. How that affects their actions and attitudes is one of the interesting things about this book.
The plotting is fairly linear, even though the viewpoint character keeps changing. The ending, however, is rather abrupt - all die (O the embarrassment) (except for those who are from the Culture, as they are backed up fairly regularly). It would be interesting to know what the political fallout was from the events of this novel, as various races are shown to be interfering in ways that they really shouldn't have been. The one thing that turned out as I rather suspected was Choubris Holse, faithful retainer of one of the princes, who manages to get out alive and suddenly finds himself to be a bit of a player, as a) he found the worlds of the Culture to be rather stimulating when he finally came across them, and b) suddenly there's no royal family left to run things, so Special Circumstances take a steadying hand in local affairs. Whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen. I warmed to Holse quite a bit, and would like to see him return at some point in the future so we can see how things turned out for him and his corner of his world.
Don't miss the final chapter in the book, which can be found after a set of appendices detailing worlds, ship names, characters and some other useful information for anyone dabbling in the Culture - something Banks hasn't really done so far, but which I suspect others have and put pressure on him to do the job for them this time round!
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monarch is assassinated by an ambitious courtier, and the displaced princes - one of which witnessed the assassination and has to run - try to cope with the new situation. But to complicate matters, their sister has left the world and has become a Special Circumstances operative for the Culture. And as events unfold, it becomes clear that there is more going on than just some swordplay and steampunkish fantasy.As ever, the world-building and characterisation is good. The Shellworld is well-realised, and the reactions of the inhabitants to their position is interesting; they know how their world is structured, they know that the greater world is run and guarded by other races whose ways and motives they don't fully grasp, and they know that there are other civilisations out there who are more advanced than they are. How that affects their actions and attitudes is one of the interesting things about this book.
The plotting is fairly linear, even though the viewpoint character keeps changing. The ending, however, is rather abrupt - all die (O the embarrassment) (except for those who are from the Culture, as they are backed up fairly regularly). It would be interesting to know what the political fallout was from the events of this novel, as various races are shown to be interfering in ways that they really shouldn't have been. The one thing that turned out as I rather suspected was Choubris Holse, faithful retainer of one of the princes, who manages to get out alive and suddenly finds himself to be a bit of a player, as a) he found the worlds of the Culture to be rather stimulating when he finally came across them, and b) suddenly there's no royal family left to run things, so Special Circumstances take a steadying hand in local affairs. Whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen. I warmed to Holse quite a bit, and would like to see him return at some point in the future so we can see how things turned out for him and his corner of his world.
Don't miss the final chapter in the book, which can be found after a set of appendices detailing worlds, ship names, characters and some other useful information for anyone dabbling in the Culture - something Banks hasn't really done so far, but which I suspect others have and put pressure on him to do the job for them this time round!
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LibraryThing member DanTarlin
As I work my way through the Culture series, I am started to get frustrated by some of Banks' writing. This book was great in the areas in which the rest of the series is great- good adventure plot, cool futuristic ideas, some interesting characters. But it is so loaded with stuff that it gets
-Why write a chapter in the middle of the book introducing a character at some length, only to kill him and his ship off at the end of the chapter to set up a plot advancement? Could have been done much shorter.
-Why the lengthy detours to tell us all about an alien space station that the travelers are just passing through anyway?
-Why a long discussion of a journey through the world that seems more devoted to telling us about an imaginative form of life, when it doesn't really tell us anything related to the plot?
-Why do all the character names have to be so unpronounceable and long?
Banks' imagination was breathtaking, but he would have been better served to keep the newness to a lower level in each book; this one drags for 600 pages.
The story is of a kingdom on a ShellWorld, a multi-level artificial living surface built millions of years ago by a mysterious and now-extinct race. Yet another mysterious and now-extinct race functioned mainly to destroy these ShellWorlds. Anyway, on Level 8 in this world a nation-building king in a humanoid society with technology approximating the 1800s is completing his wars of conquest to unite the level, when he is murdered by his trusted aid Tyl Loesp, all secretly witnessed by his ne'er do well son Ferbin, who then goes on the run. He is searching for his sister Anaplian, who has gone off-world and joined the Culture as a Special Circumstances agent. The story bounces between the prince, his younger brother Oramen who is back at court and in danger from the traitor and now regent, their sister the Culture agent, and Tyl Loesp.
Mixed up in all this there is a complicated political situation among the technologically advanced peoples who oversee the ShellWorld, in which two lesser civilizations split control of the ShellWorld and are in some conflict, while they in turn are overseen by a more advanced culture that is supposed to make sure they're all playing fair and not interfering too much in the primitive groups doing battle within the world.
Anyway, Banks seems to like imagining a primitive culture and how it might respond to the technology of the Culture. I'm fine with this, but I want the stories to move faster. Earlier in the series, Player of Games (the best of his books by far) felt much more focused and compact.
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bogged down. For example:-Why write a chapter in the middle of the book introducing a character at some length, only to kill him and his ship off at the end of the chapter to set up a plot advancement? Could have been done much shorter.
-Why the lengthy detours to tell us all about an alien space station that the travelers are just passing through anyway?
-Why a long discussion of a journey through the world that seems more devoted to telling us about an imaginative form of life, when it doesn't really tell us anything related to the plot?
-Why do all the character names have to be so unpronounceable and long?
Banks' imagination was breathtaking, but he would have been better served to keep the newness to a lower level in each book; this one drags for 600 pages.
The story is of a kingdom on a ShellWorld, a multi-level artificial living surface built millions of years ago by a mysterious and now-extinct race. Yet another mysterious and now-extinct race functioned mainly to destroy these ShellWorlds. Anyway, on Level 8 in this world a nation-building king in a humanoid society with technology approximating the 1800s is completing his wars of conquest to unite the level, when he is murdered by his trusted aid Tyl Loesp, all secretly witnessed by his ne'er do well son Ferbin, who then goes on the run. He is searching for his sister Anaplian, who has gone off-world and joined the Culture as a Special Circumstances agent. The story bounces between the prince, his younger brother Oramen who is back at court and in danger from the traitor and now regent, their sister the Culture agent, and Tyl Loesp.
Mixed up in all this there is a complicated political situation among the technologically advanced peoples who oversee the ShellWorld, in which two lesser civilizations split control of the ShellWorld and are in some conflict, while they in turn are overseen by a more advanced culture that is supposed to make sure they're all playing fair and not interfering too much in the primitive groups doing battle within the world.
Anyway, Banks seems to like imagining a primitive culture and how it might respond to the technology of the Culture. I'm fine with this, but I want the stories to move faster. Earlier in the series, Player of Games (the best of his books by far) felt much more focused and compact.
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LibraryThing member ennui2342
It's great to have another Culture novel from Banks after so long, however I didn't really feel this was up to his usual form. The book is quite weighty and certainly took a while to get going before hitting it's stride in the last fifth culminating in a rather abrupt, and what felt like curtailed,
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ending.My trudge through the first half was probably effected by me dipping in and out over a few weeks before getting some dedicated time for the second half - never a good way to read a Banks, which usually benefit from a straight through reading. I also feel somewhat cheated when I buy a SF novel which has a significant plotline set in a primative culture -I want space opera! Both of these probably colured my reactions to this novel.On the positive side it's great to see that Banks still has the creativity to push out genuinely new ideas like the shellworlds of this novel. It would be too easy to just repeat past Culture tropes, but Banks keeps on throwing innovative ideas into his novels which keeps that excitement at exploring more of the Culture universe alive. Overall a must read for a Banks fan, but if you're a newcomer, start with some if his earlier works. Show Less
LibraryThing member Black_samvara
Science fiction, part of the Culture series and totally accessible. The story follows four royal siblings of the Sarl (a not particularly advanced race) in their quest to not die from murdering intrigue (with dubious success) and explores the various mentor relationships that exist between the more
I love that even the Culture isn't sure if the Veil or the Iln were in the right. I love the way Djan interacts with her assigned combat done - especially when she has to leave it. I like the way being part of the Culture is a state of mind that allows people to choose meaning in their lives.
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'advanced' races.I love that even the Culture isn't sure if the Veil or the Iln were in the right. I love the way Djan interacts with her assigned combat done - especially when she has to leave it. I like the way being part of the Culture is a state of mind that allows people to choose meaning in their lives.
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LibraryThing member pgmcc
“Matter” is a tale of political intrigue, medieval war, betrayal, injustice, and honour. Oh, and galactic scale.
It tells the tale of three siblings who have taken different paths in life and how they end up, as a result of a family tragedy, struggling for the same thing; the honour of their
In telling this tale Banks has created a new concept in cosmic habitats; the Shellworld. The Shellworld is a planet (in this case, artificial) that has 16 internal levels of which 14 are habitable. I can see the more nerdy among us working out the scale of a Shellworld using the parameters provided sporadically throughout the text; each level 1,400km high, 2million towers on each of the 14 habitable levels to support the level above. (Ok! Yes! I did start thinking about sketching out a Shellworld cut-away diagram and estimating the size of the Shellworld. Problem was, I didn’t spot an estimate for the thickness of the ceilings/floors, and there was nothing relating to the density of the material to assist in the calculation of the gravitational strength on each level.)
The Shellworld is likely to generate as much interest as Niven’s Ring World and Shaw’s Orbitsville. Of course, Bank’s Shellworld is much more stable.
Enough of the “nerdy” techno-babble.
The Shellworld is simply one element of “Matter”, and is merely a backdrop to the story, albeit pretty crucial to the ultimate dénouement.
“Matter” takes one of the siblings on a journey of self-discovery involving his being snatched unexpectedly from his privileged lifestyle to a life where he can trust no-one, he is powerless to shape his own destiny, and where he has become a figure of shame.
His brother is unwittingly entrapped and experiences his own growing moments that force him to mature in ways he had not expected.
The third sibling, Djan Seriy Anaplian, has travelled far away as part of, if you would excuse the pun, a cultural exchange. She has been away from her Shellworld home for fifteen years when word reaches her of the family tragedy that is central to the entire book.
As in every IMB novel, there are wonderful alien life forms. Iain has shown great imagination in developing their physiology, environment and technology. In a number of his other novels the aliens have portrayed strongly human personalities, but in “Matter” many of them are very alien. Having said that however, “Matter” is one of Iain’s most human Culture novels.
Other topics dealt with in the book are the morality of killing other people, the sense of matrimonial entrapment, and the whole concept of religion and its role as a useful tool in controlling the populace.
Iain’s ending to “Matter” was somewhat different from what I had expected, but interesting nonetheless, and, as so often is the case in Culture novels, on a grand scale.
On several occasions I have seen Iain say that he has tried, but not succeeded at writing a powerfully political novel. While “Matter” is not powerfully political, it does have many parallels with current world affairs and the role of technologically advanced civilisations involved in warfare with less advanced civilisations.
This was one of those books I was really sorry to finish. I relished the opportunities to sit down and surround myself with the universe Iain had created. It was a real joy.
It tells the tale of three siblings who have taken different paths in life and how they end up, as a result of a family tragedy, struggling for the same thing; the honour of their
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family name.In telling this tale Banks has created a new concept in cosmic habitats; the Shellworld. The Shellworld is a planet (in this case, artificial) that has 16 internal levels of which 14 are habitable. I can see the more nerdy among us working out the scale of a Shellworld using the parameters provided sporadically throughout the text; each level 1,400km high, 2million towers on each of the 14 habitable levels to support the level above. (Ok! Yes! I did start thinking about sketching out a Shellworld cut-away diagram and estimating the size of the Shellworld. Problem was, I didn’t spot an estimate for the thickness of the ceilings/floors, and there was nothing relating to the density of the material to assist in the calculation of the gravitational strength on each level.)
The Shellworld is likely to generate as much interest as Niven’s Ring World and Shaw’s Orbitsville. Of course, Bank’s Shellworld is much more stable.
Enough of the “nerdy” techno-babble.
The Shellworld is simply one element of “Matter”, and is merely a backdrop to the story, albeit pretty crucial to the ultimate dénouement.
“Matter” takes one of the siblings on a journey of self-discovery involving his being snatched unexpectedly from his privileged lifestyle to a life where he can trust no-one, he is powerless to shape his own destiny, and where he has become a figure of shame.
His brother is unwittingly entrapped and experiences his own growing moments that force him to mature in ways he had not expected.
The third sibling, Djan Seriy Anaplian, has travelled far away as part of, if you would excuse the pun, a cultural exchange. She has been away from her Shellworld home for fifteen years when word reaches her of the family tragedy that is central to the entire book.
As in every IMB novel, there are wonderful alien life forms. Iain has shown great imagination in developing their physiology, environment and technology. In a number of his other novels the aliens have portrayed strongly human personalities, but in “Matter” many of them are very alien. Having said that however, “Matter” is one of Iain’s most human Culture novels.
Other topics dealt with in the book are the morality of killing other people, the sense of matrimonial entrapment, and the whole concept of religion and its role as a useful tool in controlling the populace.
Iain’s ending to “Matter” was somewhat different from what I had expected, but interesting nonetheless, and, as so often is the case in Culture novels, on a grand scale.
On several occasions I have seen Iain say that he has tried, but not succeeded at writing a powerfully political novel. While “Matter” is not powerfully political, it does have many parallels with current world affairs and the role of technologically advanced civilisations involved in warfare with less advanced civilisations.
This was one of those books I was really sorry to finish. I relished the opportunities to sit down and surround myself with the universe Iain had created. It was a real joy.
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LibraryThing member imyril
A complex tale best described as an intricate game of three-dimensional chess, narrated by two pawns and a rook, which is turned upside down when a non-player knocks the board over.
Mind-boggling world-building as expected from Banks and some moments of highly entertaining faux-Shakespearean farce,
Mind-boggling world-building as expected from Banks and some moments of highly entertaining faux-Shakespearean farce,
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but the novel suffers from poor pacing and little character development, although there are at least sympathetic characters in play. Better than I remembered from my first reading, but still far from a favourite Culture novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member elenchus
A story of Contact and Special Circumstances, this time from the perspective of a civilisation within Culture (the Sarl of Sursamen) but not belonging to one of the High-Level Involved species: most Sarl are unaware of (at best, vaguely aware of) the Culture and other civilizations, though they are
In Banks's space opera, species stand in for individual personalities, somewhat obscuring what elsewise might be a familiar plot or interaction. Banks complicates this with court intrigue playing out at the level of individuals within some of these species, serving as the sub-plots of a typical novel. The denoument, in retrospect, is a straightforward whodunit, though by no means did I see it coming.
//
The intriguing idea of Shellworlds, hollow, tiered planets manufactured by an absent civilisation (and how they are adapted, fought over, and revered by other species); and collectively which comprise a network of nodes throughout a galaxy, to uncertain purpose (defense? offensive weapon?). Sursamen is a Shellworld, with civilisations on tiers or layers within the world, not always aware of the others. The Sarl are on the 8th, counting from the surface, about midway to the core at which resides a being (Xinthian) regarded by the Sarl as the World God and by the Culture as a semi-sublimed species. Shellworlds complement Banks's conception of Orbitals featured in other Culture novels, and supplemented here with the concept of the Morthanveld Nestworld, a series of strands / tubes (the "twigs" of the metaphorical nest) braided together, each filled with water so as to serve as a habitat, and created on a scale far vaster than the Shellworld: "such a scale that engineering and physics started to become the same thing". [391]
Djan Seriy's reflections on her training and exposure to Culture and its role in galactic pan-civilization: "The implication [of her exposure to 'the terrible things people could do to each other'], though, was that such ghastliness was an affliction, and could be at least partially cured. The Culture represented the hospital, or perhaps the whole caring society, Contact was the physician and SC the anaesthetic and the medicine. Sometimes the scalpel." [168-69]
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watched carefully by them. This perspective subtly shifted through the character of Djan Seriy who left to join Contact, but remains in training even as she returns to Sursamen for a family emergency. In effect, someone familiar with both civilizations, and not wholly belonging to either.In Banks's space opera, species stand in for individual personalities, somewhat obscuring what elsewise might be a familiar plot or interaction. Banks complicates this with court intrigue playing out at the level of individuals within some of these species, serving as the sub-plots of a typical novel. The denoument, in retrospect, is a straightforward whodunit, though by no means did I see it coming.
//
The intriguing idea of Shellworlds, hollow, tiered planets manufactured by an absent civilisation (and how they are adapted, fought over, and revered by other species); and collectively which comprise a network of nodes throughout a galaxy, to uncertain purpose (defense? offensive weapon?). Sursamen is a Shellworld, with civilisations on tiers or layers within the world, not always aware of the others. The Sarl are on the 8th, counting from the surface, about midway to the core at which resides a being (Xinthian) regarded by the Sarl as the World God and by the Culture as a semi-sublimed species. Shellworlds complement Banks's conception of Orbitals featured in other Culture novels, and supplemented here with the concept of the Morthanveld Nestworld, a series of strands / tubes (the "twigs" of the metaphorical nest) braided together, each filled with water so as to serve as a habitat, and created on a scale far vaster than the Shellworld: "such a scale that engineering and physics started to become the same thing". [391]
Djan Seriy's reflections on her training and exposure to Culture and its role in galactic pan-civilization: "The implication [of her exposure to 'the terrible things people could do to each other'], though, was that such ghastliness was an affliction, and could be at least partially cured. The Culture represented the hospital, or perhaps the whole caring society, Contact was the physician and SC the anaesthetic and the medicine. Sometimes the scalpel." [168-69]
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LibraryThing member nmele
In this latest Culture novel we get a wider look at galactic society while looking at a long-standing fascination of Banks--war and political power. Can't say too much but I will say that Banks is exploring a number of things in the course of this seeming space-opera. In "How To Write" Richard
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Rhodes distinguishes fiction from all other forms of writing because he says fiction is all free association whereas in most other forms of writing one is constrained by checkable facts, like history. "Matter" is a masterpiece of free association by Banks. Show Less
LibraryThing member cdogzilla
Just turned the last page and have to say that was an extraoridinarily good read. After "The Algebraist" I nearly didn't give this one a shot. Not that the other was bad, it just wasn't as good as the raves for Banks I'd been reading. "Matter" makes me think those who've said Banks is the one of
I'm having fun trying to imagine how "Matter" could be made as a movie. Even totally CGI, I'm having a hard time thinking how it could effectively be captured on a screen because you couldn't find a screen big enough to capture the vastness of setting and the retain the nuance of detail. Banks is imaginative on par with a Mieville, epic on par with Tolkien, and a philosophical goof on par with ... I dunno, maybe PKD?
The half star I didn't give is for Banks' Philosophy 101-ish ethics and morality chatter (also to be found in "The Algebraist") presented as intellectually unassailable, even by hyper-advanced cultures, that are fun but not exactly "advanced," so they mess with the suspension of disbelief a bit.
I get the sense Banks watched ST:TOS and was troubled by the use and misuse of the Prime Directive. The attitude of the Culture towards less advanced civilizations is a much more sophisticated take on Prime Directive ideology.
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the best SF writers going are spot on. I'm having fun trying to imagine how "Matter" could be made as a movie. Even totally CGI, I'm having a hard time thinking how it could effectively be captured on a screen because you couldn't find a screen big enough to capture the vastness of setting and the retain the nuance of detail. Banks is imaginative on par with a Mieville, epic on par with Tolkien, and a philosophical goof on par with ... I dunno, maybe PKD?
The half star I didn't give is for Banks' Philosophy 101-ish ethics and morality chatter (also to be found in "The Algebraist") presented as intellectually unassailable, even by hyper-advanced cultures, that are fun but not exactly "advanced," so they mess with the suspension of disbelief a bit.
I get the sense Banks watched ST:TOS and was troubled by the use and misuse of the Prime Directive. The attitude of the Culture towards less advanced civilizations is a much more sophisticated take on Prime Directive ideology.
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LibraryThing member furriebarry
A return to form. Banks manages to keep things alien without the alienation which he fell into during The Algebraist. Interesting exploration of how civilizations at different tech levels interact and how that affects the people caught in the middle.
LibraryThing member sdemler
Another excellent addition to the Culture universe. Iain M Banks spins a complex interleaved plot between the special circumstances section of the high tech culture (sic) and the more prosaic feudal society of the Sarl. It follows Prince Ferbin deprived of his right to the Sarl throne by his
I found that Banks reverted to type with this book, it was a lot more accessible than the Algebraist and serves as a good introduction to the Culture universe. One of the better ¨Culture¨ novels but not quite up to the level of ¨Excession¨ or the complexity of ¨The Algebraist¨.
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fathers chancellor and his quest to survive and eventually reclaim his birth right whilst uncovering a danger to the entire shell world. I found that Banks reverted to type with this book, it was a lot more accessible than the Algebraist and serves as a good introduction to the Culture universe. One of the better ¨Culture¨ novels but not quite up to the level of ¨Excession¨ or the complexity of ¨The Algebraist¨.
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LibraryThing member gimble
Not sure if I picked up a book in the middle of a series or if this is a standalone book, but whichever it is I lacked knowledge about what was going on in the first of the story. This lack of knowledge certainly made me want to go on to another book. Once I was orientated with the characters the
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book became interesting and hard to put down. Show Less
LibraryThing member sarah_rubyred
An interesting muse on how less-developed worlds live alongside highly developed races. How would we feel to know that there were alien(or just highly developed human) worlds and cultures out there that had more weapons, knowledge, inventions etc. Would we see them as a threat? Or would we want to
I can't imagine living happily on my planet with the Culture above my head exploring the universe and not wanting to be a part of it. But maybe that's because I am a sci-fi fan.
Instead of his normal excellent adventures of the Culture, exploring new social rifts, Banks has written an interesting book which touches on many different themes. I really enjoyed it, packed full of good quality sci-fi. I did find it a bit slow in the middle and then a bit too quick at the end. Great ending though, so maybe that was the way it had to be.
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leave our own (medieval in this case) world and join them? Or would we just accept it the way it was?I can't imagine living happily on my planet with the Culture above my head exploring the universe and not wanting to be a part of it. But maybe that's because I am a sci-fi fan.
Instead of his normal excellent adventures of the Culture, exploring new social rifts, Banks has written an interesting book which touches on many different themes. I really enjoyed it, packed full of good quality sci-fi. I did find it a bit slow in the middle and then a bit too quick at the end. Great ending though, so maybe that was the way it had to be.
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LibraryThing member psiloiordinary
Another excellent Culture novel from Banks. An interesting theme of perspective echoed at various levels through the plot and characters. His usual dollop of hugely massive imagination still impresses.
Ultimately he still manage to show good triumphing over evil, even if he keeps you guessing which
Great science fiction that makes you think.
Ultimately he still manage to show good triumphing over evil, even if he keeps you guessing which
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is which until the very end.Great science fiction that makes you think.
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LibraryThing member m.a.harding
For UK readers don't let the slightly sniffy review in the Guardian put you off. Like the Guardian reviewer(Stephen Poole) I too, am not enamored of warfare with swords and horses (Banks has much of the novel set in a world of, roughly, 17th century tech) - but it seems to me that this is no more
Usual great Culture stuff and more weird aliens than you can shake a stick at.
I didn't like the fighting with the evil alien at the end: too much like a western than sophisticated SF.
More importantly is an intriguing theme that was not mentioned in Poole's review and runs through the book about the place of humans like us compared to God or gods or Other. The theme is summed up by Oramen's father: 'small is the stage, but great is the audience'. And covers how you would deal with the inferiority complex of being compared to greater civilisations, why we do NOT live in a giant computer simulation, and has a very human climax where flawed, 'inferior' people are the ones who make the difference. The novel would be worth reading for the discussions on this theme alone: never mind the crazy aliens, vast set pieces and yet more on the Culture. Yes, the Culture is back.
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than a personal prejudice rather than something that should be banned from a book because it is labeled as 'SF'. And this complaint overlooks the charm and excitement of the 'innocent abroad' (but surprisingly resourceful) story of Crown Prince Oramen and his learning the ropes of court intrigue and worse.Usual great Culture stuff and more weird aliens than you can shake a stick at.
I didn't like the fighting with the evil alien at the end: too much like a western than sophisticated SF.
More importantly is an intriguing theme that was not mentioned in Poole's review and runs through the book about the place of humans like us compared to God or gods or Other. The theme is summed up by Oramen's father: 'small is the stage, but great is the audience'. And covers how you would deal with the inferiority complex of being compared to greater civilisations, why we do NOT live in a giant computer simulation, and has a very human climax where flawed, 'inferior' people are the ones who make the difference. The novel would be worth reading for the discussions on this theme alone: never mind the crazy aliens, vast set pieces and yet more on the Culture. Yes, the Culture is back.
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LibraryThing member isabelx
Ferbin looked around again. "How extraordinary," he breathed, then coughed.
"Extraordinarily boring, sir," Holse said, frowning at his piece of dried meat. "We've been sailing over this water for the past five long-days or so and while the prospect is most impressive at first and the air bracing,
This was the longest of the Culture books so far, and it really didn't need to be. Djan Seriy Anaplian's journey and that of Ferbin and Holse seemed to drag on forever, just as the flight across the Cumuloforms' level of Sursamen did for Holse. I thought that the three of them were never going to meet up and return to succour Oramen. When things finally came to a head, the story was over and done with way too quickly, and just came to a dead halt. and you could easily have missed the final chapter, lurking after the glossary.
The process of more primitive cultures being mentored by ever more highly developed Involved species, is interesting, however. The Sarl and Deldeyn are not yet Involved species, being confined to one planet, while the Oct and the Aultridia are at the lower level of Involved species. Above them come the Nariscene and above them, at roughly the same level as the Culture, come the Morthanveld. The Shellwords are fascinating structures too, with their fourteen levels populated by different species, lit by rollstars and fixstars which divide time into long-days and short-days as well as long-years and short-years, not that I could visualise how it all worked, unfortunately. Although the Oct saw themselves as being descended from the long-dead makers of the Shellwords, I suspected that things would go wrong when they started to take an interest in the goings-on at the Falls, and go wrong they did!
The Oct were also not slow in pointing out that they were, by their own claim at least, directly descended from the Involucra - the very people who had designed and constructed the deeply wonderful Shellworlds - and so part of a line of almost God-like creatures nearly a billion years old. By comparison, the Aultridia were ghastly parasitic newbie slime barely worthy of the term civilised.
"Extraordinarily boring, sir," Holse said, frowning at his piece of dried meat. "We've been sailing over this water for the past five long-days or so and while the prospect is most impressive at first and the air bracing,
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you'd be amazed how quickly the impressiveness and the bracingness become tedious when that's all there is to contemplate all day. Well, all there is to contemplate all day save for your good self, of course, sir, and frankly you were no circus of boundless fun in your sleeping state.This was the longest of the Culture books so far, and it really didn't need to be. Djan Seriy Anaplian's journey and that of Ferbin and Holse seemed to drag on forever, just as the flight across the Cumuloforms' level of Sursamen did for Holse. I thought that the three of them were never going to meet up and return to succour Oramen. When things finally came to a head, the story was over and done with way too quickly, and just came to a dead halt. and you could easily have missed the final chapter, lurking after the glossary.
The process of more primitive cultures being mentored by ever more highly developed Involved species, is interesting, however. The Sarl and Deldeyn are not yet Involved species, being confined to one planet, while the Oct and the Aultridia are at the lower level of Involved species. Above them come the Nariscene and above them, at roughly the same level as the Culture, come the Morthanveld. The Shellwords are fascinating structures too, with their fourteen levels populated by different species, lit by rollstars and fixstars which divide time into long-days and short-days as well as long-years and short-years, not that I could visualise how it all worked, unfortunately. Although the Oct saw themselves as being descended from the long-dead makers of the Shellwords, I suspected that things would go wrong when they started to take an interest in the goings-on at the Falls, and go wrong they did!
The Oct were also not slow in pointing out that they were, by their own claim at least, directly descended from the Involucra - the very people who had designed and constructed the deeply wonderful Shellworlds - and so part of a line of almost God-like creatures nearly a billion years old. By comparison, the Aultridia were ghastly parasitic newbie slime barely worthy of the term civilised.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is the latest Culture novel, and in general I really like Culture novels, but this one is a bit flat. Banks has dreamed up a new living space concept, the Shellworld. An entirely artificial world built by some Sublimed species that consists of a hollow world with multiple layers. For some
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reason, this world is inhabited by humans at a 16th century technology level + a bit of steam technology. These humans come into contact with Culture humans when a conspiracy involves the royal family. As usual, this book contains Bank's usual digression into the 'why there is no God' theme, this time in the many, many times disproved theory that there cannot be a God, because God would not allow cruelty and suffering. Its a minor and annoying digression, but in theory supplies the title of the book. The ending is odd and unsatisfying, and lately the Culture books have left me with the feeling that there's no good reason for the Culture to exist. Show Less
LibraryThing member pauliharman
banks does sensawunda like no-one else I know. A war between primitive (by galactic standards) civilisations on two different levels of an onion-like Shellworld reveals an ancient sentient artefact buried for millennia. The caretakers of the world believe it is their ancestor. The Culture
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representatives are somewhat skeptical. A very human story set against a backdrop of enormous scale. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Science Fiction Novel — 2009)
SF Site Reader's Choice (2008)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Science Fiction — 2009)
Prometheus Award (Nominee — Novel — 2009)
Locus Recommended Reading (2008)
Original publication date
2008-01-31
Physical description
544 p.; 9.13 inches
ISBN
1841494186 / 9781841494180