Matter
by Iain M. Banks
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Book Reviews of Matter
Book Review: Matter
Summary: 4 Stars
A new Iain Banks novel is something to look forward to like that holiday you booked late last year, or that annual bonus you were promised with your next pay cheque. Alternately releasing mainstream novels as Iain Banks, and his hugely successful science-fiction novels as Iain M. Banks, there's always something to look foward to. His last book was set outside his usual universe, meaning that it's been about eight years since his last novel set within the galaxies-wide civilization known as "the Culture".
"Matter" is a faithful return to the universe that Banks has created, further developing not only the Culture, but the outlying words and civlizations that the Culture must interact (or interfere) with. There is a lot to enjoy within the 600-or so pages, including a selection of bizzare new races, the usual Special Circumstances agents who get all the interesting dirty work, and their deadly and quirky drone accomplices. Fans of the Culture novels might be disappointed that the Minds, supremely powerful AIs that control the Culture's quirkily-named spacecraft, take a bit of a back seat here. In fact, the Culture itself is primarily something draped across the background of the story, rather than playing a huge part in it.
The novels is set mostly on a rare type of planet called a "Shellworld", apparently-artificially-created worlds that are hollow and composed of several layers, each occupied by a different atmosphere and one or two accompanying species. The world itself is a centrepiece for a great drama that begins with the death of a king, and the resulting squabbles and battle. It's a sound plot with several twists, played out by some well-drawn characters and sprinkled liberally with gimmicky gadgets and awesome action set pieces. More linear that most Banks novels, it can afford to get into detail without confusing the readers or making them wait for a concrete details to figure out when and where they are. There are a lot of details, with Banks taking liberties with the knowledge that publishers and readers pretty much expect it now. Thankfully there aren't many irrelivancies, and of course the more specifics about the new species and the unfamiliar planet-type the better.
Banks seems fully aware that he will need to do a lot of satisfy fans with this one. He opens with a traditionally Culture-like scene involving action, drama, humour and sarcastic drones. He then throws us into the almost medieval style society of the Shellworld, describing its intricacies and introducing its close cast of relevant inhabitants. From there we are shown the Culture from the outside, which although providing us with a new view of the morally ambiguous civilization also serves to distance us from it. Bad move from Mr Banks, but it's not a total loss. There's enough of Special Circumstances and its interaction with neighbouring races to keep things familiar as we explore the Shellworld and the revelations that take place there on, in and around it.
His creations and their almost senseless banter are too fruity to be believed (although he did more than stretched believability to begin with). They all leave the reader with a mild suspicion that Banks is, to put it bluntly, taking the piss. Seeing how much he can get away with before somebody slaps him down and says, "Okay, too far." It does get silly at times, but then that's kind of what Banks' sci-fi is about: yanking imagination out into big long strings like warm Blu-Tack, and then rolling them up into a confused bundle and hope that something amazing takes shape. In this case, Banks is reasonably successful. It's not perhaps the best thing he's written, and nothing to match "Consider Phlebas" or "Excession", but it's a good read and its length counterbalanced by the fine prose and well-tuned dialogue. If you like the Culture novels, or even if you just like sci-fi, you're sure to enjoy it. And, as always, you needn't have read any of the others to understand it, which is common practice nowadays. Give it a go, enjoy the depth of the characters, the silliness of the aliens, and the breathtaking final scenes. It's awesome and its fun and it's proper literature as well. Bonus!
Book Review: The Heart of the Matter
Summary: 4 Stars
In this addition to Banks now famous Culture universe there is once again a grand operatic landscape serving as the backdrop to a series of very personal, character stories set in a familiar science fiction universe. The main thrust of the book follows three noble-born children from a primitive people. The princess Anaplian is recruited into the Special Circumstances section of the Culture and taken away from her world and family. Youngest sibling Oramen unexpectedly finds himself in possible line to inherit the throne of his land. Elder sibling Ferbin, with his servant Holse, finds himself on the run after witnessing a dreadful conspiracy against the kingdom. Now years after her adoption into the powerful space-faring Culture, a death in the family draws Anaplian back to her ancient artificial world. There, Anaplian must walk again amongst the primitives and uncover a mystery that could affect the fate of not only her own people, but also numerous alien races bound to the artificial Shellworld of Sursamen.
Matter, at some 586 pages, is one of Banks larger books in the Culture catalogue. This novel definitely indulges in details and includes dozens of characters and locations (though there is thankfully several glossaries for quick reference). Banks maintains the elegant complexity for which he is known and lays out his story in Matter with an engaging interweaving structure. Character development is strong in Matter and despite the fantastic nature of the fiction, the reader can easily relate to nearly all the characters, protagonist and antagonist alike. The events of Matter are grand, including wars and mysteries, personal tribulations and mind-blowing discoveries. The book is dense, but not incomprehensible, mostly thanks to Banks grounded prose and clever contemporary dialog. Banks is comfortably within his element and yet always makes certain the reader feels the same by using vivid descriptions and helpful explanations of both the technology and the worlds he creates.
As the eighth story (seventh book) in the Culture universe, Matter is surprisingly accessible without writing down to the audience. Matter is also near-flawlessly intriguing and each new chapter leaves the reader ever curious for more. In Matter, Banks also affirms, in violent detail, his tough and ruthless devotion to story. The characters of Matter are vulnerable to any fate at any time and Banks fearlessly ensures they are written to serve the story at whatever cost. The reputation Banks earned with his earlier Culture stories is maintained in Matter and he proves yet again that he is ever the risk taker now as he was when Consider Phlebas was published some 22 years ago. Matter is just as gritty as any Culture novel and remains as challenging in its dire imagery and tense danger as any of his non-sci-fi fiction novels.
Where fault is found in Matter it is in the somewhat excessive exploration of socio-political themes. While the book is rarely dull, the story does indulge its characters in ponderous and sometimes pedantic pontification. Ruminations upon politics, religion and existentialism grow organically from character development in Matter, but often the book dwells on such thoughts for far too long at the expense of pace. It is easy to find oneself tiring of such ruminations and wishing for some more cerebral chapters to balance the rather lengthy book. It's also not uncommon for characters to be taken out of the narrative for significant periods of time. Combined with the wide breadth of the plot, this can sometimes make the reader feel as though not enough is happening or that the characters are not taking enough action. However, it is hard to fault Matter as it slowly simmers toward such a delicious crescendo and delivers a powerful close that makes the reader frantic to turn those final pages.
As daring as Consider Phlebas and as scientifically enthralling as Excession, Matter is as much an affirmation of a talent as it is vibrant growth of the author's craft.
Book Review: a waste of space opera
Summary: 2 Stars
I have been a fan of Iain M. Banks' "Culture" series for a while. A hyper-advanced interstellar society run by a bunch of playful AIs that spend their free time interfering in the fates of less developed races? Yes please! Banks normally brings a big dose of imagination with a literary bent to science fiction. And his Culture series is Space Opera at it's finest.
I wish I could tell you that "Matter" is a book that epitomizes everything Banks does best, but in fact it's the opposite: slow-moving, un-focused and just plain sloppy. It really feels like Banks phoned this one in.
The plot revolves around a 'shell-world', an artificially constructed world that is in onion-like layers, each 'level' inhabited by a different race. Way down on the 8th and 9th levels are the Sarl, a pre-industrial, war-like civilization. The book primarily follows the adventures of two princes and one princess of the Sarl. The girl has grown up in the Culture and become an agent of Special Circumstances. She is returning home after hearing their father has died. Meanwhile one of her brothers is on the run after being the sole witness to his father's assassination by his closest friend. The other brother is now the presumptive heir to the throne and must deal the requisite web of politics and intrigue.
First nitpick - if you're a fan of the Culture, you're going to be bored to tears by the Sarl, and they take up at least half the book. Banks has made every alien race that surrounds them fascinating and mysterious, but instead of hearing more about the aliens we get Sarl Sarl Sarl.
Second, the plotting is just sloppy. There is a major subplot about the growing tension between two leaders, one who is virtuous and one who is villainous. This is setup throughout the book as one of or perhaps even THE major conflict. Then, a few chapters before the end of the book, it is completely jettisoned and we learn the unsatisfying payoff after the fact from different characters.
Third, this book needed to be shorter. A LOT shorter. Who is this guys' editor? I love Banks' universe as much as the next reader, but the fact is that the Morthanveld and Nariscene have very little relevance to the plot and we don't need to spend pages and pages learning about their ships and their home-worlds. Come to think of it, most of this book feels like a digression, although from what the reader is never sure since it's not clear where the book is going. Banks moves his characters around a series of elaborate set-pieces, and endless parade of establishing shots without any close-ups.
The ending is perfunctory and unsatisfying, leaving most of those plot threads completely untouched. We don't ultimately learn anything about any of the ancient galactic mysteries Banks has been building up (Why are the Oct ships making secret, holographic copies of themselves? Who built the ancient city and put the mysterious cubes in it in the first place? Does the Xinthian WorldGod ever actually DO anything?).
It's obvious that Banks is making a larger philosophical point with the abrupt ending, but it's not one that the reader is likely to grant him after several hundred pages of rambling nonsense.
Now, don't get me wrong. Banks on a bad day is still better than most sci-fi authors at their best. Nonetheless, enjoyment of this particular book may rest entirely on how big of a sci-fi geek you are. If breathtaking descriptions of alien species and exotic home-worlds are what get you up in the morning, there may be something for you here. But I shudder to think what the SF newcomer will make of the endless parade of insectile aliens, exotic spaceships and people jetting around on rocket packs.
For those looking for some GOOD Banks, I would recommend either The Player of Games or Look to Windward, among others.
Book Review: Banks returns to form with "Matter"
Summary: 4 Stars
I've finally finished "Matter", the latest "Culture" novel by Iain M. Banks. It's been three years since his last book, "The Algebraist", about which I had very mixed feelings. Like many of Banks' readers, I was hoping for a return to a more confident kind of story-telling, without the inconsistencies that had marred "The Algebraist".
Overall, I enjoyed it a great deal. Structurally, it has a familiar pattern: three journeys, party in space but mostly of self-discovery, that lead up to a singular point of crisis. Sounds a bit like "Lord of the Rings", doesn't it? Unlike "LotR", the protagonists are three siblings, but as in Tolkien's work the journeys are the main point of the tale. The revelation of the true nature of the crisis, and the climactic confrontation, are compressed into the last few pages. The dénouement is crudely perfunctory; a brief epilogue that follows an appendix, and almost seems to parody the close of Tolkien's "Return of the King".
Although the narrative is populated with familiar elements from earlier "Culture" novels, "Matter" keeps scratching some of the itches that affected Banks in "The Algebraist". There is a cynical undercurrent about the illusion of "progress", together with a determined attempt to destroy any comfortable identification that we might make between ourselves and any particular part of his menagerie. Perhaps you remember the wonderful quote by Sir Martin Rees, the British astronomer:
"It will not be humans who witness the demise of the Sun six billion years hence; it will be entities as different from us as we are from bacteria."
Banks confronts us with a universe whose population spans a vast spectrum of capabilities, of intentions, of possibilities. And with that variety there is inevitably going to be confusion, frustration and mutual incomprehension. As in "The Algebraist", there are dead ends and unexplained elements. This is an important aspect of Banks' world that needs to be conveyed, but some of the protagonists' confusion winds up spilling over to the reader.
"Matter" feels more explicitly violent than earlier books by Banks; it's as if he's been reading Scalzi and other mil-sci-fi writers. This is not a criticism, just an observation. There is a deliberate "compare and contrast" between traditional warfare - think 17th century Europe with a dash of steam-punk - and conflict in a future of robotic weaponry and smart, morphing armour:
"In the unlikely event we do get involved in a serious firefight and the suits think you're under real threat," Djan Seriy had told the two Sarl men, "they'll take over. High-end exchanges happen too fast for human reactions so the suits will do the aiming, firing and dodging for you." She'd seen the expressions of dismay on their faces, and shrugged. "It's like all war; months of utter boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. It's just the moments are sometimes measured in milliseconds and the engagement's often over before you're aware it has even begun."
("Matter", p.474)
So if "The Algebraist" was a three-and-a-half star book, "Matter" is a solid four-star effort, and as I think about it over the next few days I may add another half star. Definitely recommended; I hope we don't have to wait another three years for the next one.
Book Review: Read it slower guys, it's Banks' Culture at its best
Summary: 5 Stars
This is Special Circumstances, and the Culture at its best, and my comments here are to fans of Banks. (I am not going to review the plot, I'll leave that to Harriet K.) I found this book extraordinary, and I am still reeling from the end. Banks re-examines the Culture metaverse, this particular time around he's more clinical in his philosophy about interactions between advanced and less developed civilization - people - psyches. Sit back, enjoy, and contemplate! Three human siblings represent different stages of development - both in terms of self-understanding, and understanding of the not-Self (I and Thou?). As such the characters are like nested boxes that replay in miniature the broader universal relations - i.e., the most advanced civilizations, the developing and the just self-aware ones. The highest level sibling, sister Anaplian, has joined the Culture, and is in a position to teach and help her brothers. Ferbin, the next sibling, just ventures out into the greater universe but learns quickly. The youngest brother barely has a chance to even know that he's part of the universe but the potential for development is there. The sibling relationship, which is both delicate and sweet, mirrors the way that more advanced civilizations in Banks' universe respect the less advanced. As Banks moves forward and back through the levels of civilization he pushes intended parallels with our little world, where more `advanced' cultures are supposed to try and respect those that have less; in our world too, a person living in a Bronze Age culture can adapt to a more modern one. Of course, we screw up a lot in respect, and we sure don't know very much about anything.
Banks is beloved for his invention of wonderful machine beings. Here there are plenty of great machines to satisfy fans - including the wonderful Drone Turminder Xuss, and the complex personality of the Ship, the Livewire Problem. There are strange Special Circumstances agents gone rogue, and the absolutely wonderful characterizations of 2 human servants (another comparison between "levels" - the high and the low - who is really the rightful ruler) who both grow personally, the distinguished and excellent Mr Holse and a quickly rendered but beautifully comic and noble servant to the Prince Regent.
Reviewers here have complained about the ending - I think it's perfect. Life plods along mostly full of the details of the daily (though in the Culture universe there is plenty to be astonished at on each page). But at the end, at least during great upheavals, it ends quickly - both for normal folk caught up in things they don't understand, as well as for the Special Circumstances warriors - it's over in a flash, you just pray to end well. Wow. It's just a masterful book, with all Banks' philosphy repeated at many levels - in the end, a world of nested explanations, nested habitats, and at the very end - yeah, it all Matters.