Product Description

In a world renowned even within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime 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, even without knowing the full truth, it means returning to a place she d thought abandoned forever.

Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture s Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.

Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #392 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-31
• Binding: Hardcover
• 544 pages

Synopsis
In a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime 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 civilisations 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.

Customer Reviews

Another great read from a sci-fi master
This book seems to have received a fairly mixed response but I think it stands up with Banks' best sci-fi adventures. I honestly did not want it to end, savouring each page. The imagination and scale of the ships, shellworld and story itself are simply breathtaking. Highly recommended.

Time to Sublime?
I've been a huge Banks fan since The Wasp Factory and Consider Phlebas, but on reading Matter it appears that the joyousness has gone from the Culture. Where is the humour that marked other novels?
Maybe the Culture started growing up around the time of Look To Windward and this just continues the process into middle age.

The Banks magic is there but........
Aaarrrggghhh! You wait all that time for another Banks/Culture masterpiece, you finally get it in your sweaty little paws and what happens? Well, not much actually.
Sure the elements are all there (though in somewhat strange - and often diminutive - proportions) but somehow he doesn't seem to have knitted them all together to deliver the highly satisfying experience that was "Excession" or "Look to Windward".
Having found his last three novels all excellent (Dead Air/Algebraist/Garbedale) I suppose my expecations may have been impossibly high and destined for an anti-climax, but then I suppose I had developed a strange belief that Mr Banks had reached a point in his art where he could defy such earthbound phenomena as human fallibility.
Nevertheless, it was still a decent read, it just lacked some of the expected potency - where was the usual visionary display of technology in combat? The space-opera set pieces that tax your ability to visualise? The trademark unguessable twists that force you to pause your fevered reading to absorb what he has just revealed?
Perhaps the inclusion of a glossary gives a clue to one piece of the problem. Part of the Banks magic (in my opinion) was that he induced you to involve yourself in the story by introducing some elements without explanation, though with enough context that you could extrapolate and fill the gaps with a good guess. You then later had the reward of Mr Banks nonchalantly confirming you were largely correct in your extrapolation just in time for him to take matters off in a delightfully breathtaking direction.
This time round though, it seems he has opted for visible complexity. Sure there are a lot of elements species/locations/characters etc on display but they seem to add substance but little depth. Everything is a little too clearly defined and part of the journey is travelled for you. However, despite this slight disappointment, my faith in Mr Banks' skill remains undiminished - it may have not been the helter-skelter I was expecting but I'll still be waiting eagerly to buy my hardback-ticket for his next ride.