Excession
by Iain M. Banks
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Book Reviews of Excession
Book Review: Confusing, vague, and just plain wierd
Summary: 2 Stars
Ok take an enthusiastic diplomat, a wacked-out interstellar government, a fleet of smart-alek ships, a spoiled girl and... GO!!!!There were times in this book where I got the feeling that something was amiss. I found myself asking "is he serious or just trying to make a joke?" or "umm, what are they talking about?" and even "hey, are you making fun of me?" Yes, I was just that confused in some parts.
It starts off promisingly enough. The ambassador Genar-Hoefen is visitng the Affront, a race like psychotic Klingons. Then he is called away to investigate a mystery in the fabric of space-time, the Excession. What is this Excession? Well the book is pretty vague about that (the nonsensical epilogue only serves to muddle things more) and I was left wondering just what happened.
Some of the book was just plain silly. The idea that you could change sex by just thinking about it was odd. I won't even go into the idea that a pregnant woman's zygote is stored in his/her testicle when transformation is complete. Apparently ships have artificial minds that make them sarcasitc and wise guys and they have their own rights (or something). Oh yeah, and there was a talking birds too. However, along with the silliness come surprising creativity and even some cool ideas (the best of which are not well developed). I just wanted a little more explanation.
If you like wierd stuff and don't confuse easily, try this one out. However you have been warned.
Book Review: Supposedly brilliant form, no content
Summary: 3 Stars
What drives me to read science fiction is to make contact with well-built, convincing fictional universes where interesting plots take place. The literary talent of the author simply does not matter as long as he or she has the ultimate talent of telling an interesting story. Indeed, arcane luminaries of the Science Fiction genre, such as Isaac Asimov and Arthur Clarke, almost invariably have a plain, objective narrative style.Well, this is my first book by Iain M. Banks, but so far I can say that he goes in the opposite way: the style of his book is baroquely sculpted and each character is exhaustively (yet subtly) worked upon. Even though, the plot and setting told/described with such a literary richness is simply crappy.
Iain M. Banks' Culture universe resembles some idiotic science fiction cartoon or movie (such as "The Jetsons" or "The Fifth Element") turned into a book. In some ways, it also resembles "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy", but the problem is that it is not exactly intended to be comical. As for the plot, there is basically no strong central narrative line, nothing that makes the reader (or at least me) cares about what will happen in the next page or how the book will end. As a matter of fact, it is a remarkably boring, tiring reading, and I took perhaps two or three more times to finish this book than the average for a compendium of the same size.
Putting it shortly, Iain M. Banks seems to be an author for someone who loves form but does not demand content.
Book Review: Excessively long
Summary: 4 Stars
I finally finished reading Excession. I liked the book overall, but it took me 300 pages before it was interesting enough for me to read it for long periods of time. I've had been struggling reading through it a few pages at a time before that, which probably only exacerbated my disinterest.
The ideas in the book were interesting and there was a lot of new information about the Minds and the way the Culture works in general. Events weren't as rosy (from a Culture society perspective) in the book as there were in previous books. The most notable philosophical conflict was with the Affront, a new race introduced in the book.
I've thought about why it wasn't as good to me over the past couple of days and I think the main reason I was disappointed is because the characters fell kind of flat. I didn't really like anyone in the book. Genar-Hofoen came the closest, but he still wasn't well-developed to me. Dajeil Gelian was completely unlikeable, caught in a 40 year sulk and Ulver Seich was hardly better.
The ships were mildly entertaining, but compared to Mawhrin-Skel from Player of Games, they were dull. I think there were just too many characters spread out over the book and in the end, it didn't come together for me. I'd have to put this about even with State of the Art on my list of Banks books, but I think overall it was a good book, for the history of the Culture, more than for the story (as I felt with State of the Art). Ah well.
Book Review: Hooked
Summary: 5 Stars
On vacation, at an idyllic Thailand beach resort with an unexpected library, I got hooked on Iain Banks. It was this book that did it. As the other reviewers say, it's a tad long (i.e. perfect for long holidays and vacations.) And sure, the story does become tangled at times. But it's unbelievably creative and screamingly funny in a sarcastic and cynical way. Think "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe" on growth hormones. (If one is looking for "hard" science fiction, however, this is likely not your book.)
I would buy the book if only to have the complete listing of all the names Banks employs for his glib and sentient starships. These are a catalog of odd-ball word pairings and acidic aphorisms. My favorites - "Ethics Gradient" and "Fate Amenable to Change."
Throughout Excessions, Banks's writing is persistantly imaginitive, heading off in unexpected directions, creating a novel sweeping universe; and frankly is everything I hope for in science fiction. My only complaint is that after reading this book I bought 9 or 10 more books by Banks, and I found none provided the enjoyment that this one did. While the other books are all excellent, they did not bowl me over. Is that because everything else was not as good, or that a reader tends to favor the first thing he reads of a wonderful writer? Judging from the range of responses from other reviewers as to "the best" Bank's book - I am leaning towards the latter.
Book Review: not very good
Summary: 2 Stars
There were enjoyable sections in this book, but there were also lengthy portions that were either dull, confusing or both. I was bewildered by all the sentient ship names and I lost track of some of the characters. Although, I must admit, some of the ship names were clever and amusing. Also, the Affronters were somewhat interesting.
I found the relationship between Genar-Hofoen and Dajeil a bore and , unfortunately, this was one of the main plot lines. The ship "Sleeper Service" was making a great effort to bring them back together to repair its previous failed attempt at matchmaking. This struck me as absurd. The conspiracy to trick the Affronters into attacking the Culture was an interesting idea, but not enough to salvage the whole book.
There were also some rather atrocious run on sentences that I had to reread to fully understand. Some may call that sort of writing "challenging" , but to me, it just shows insufficient attention to style. The author should work hard so that the reader doesn't have to.
The "climax" was a let down. We get one page at the end explaining that the excession was a vistor from other universes , a sort of sentient bridge, that decided our universe wasn't yet ready to join the others. OK, the "we are not ready to join them" idea has been done before and I hoped for something more original after wading through the preceeding 500 pages.