- Hardcover: 488 pages
- Publisher: Orbit; 1st Edition edition (27 May 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857230310
- ISBN-13: 978-1857230314
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 506,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Against A Dark Background
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £26.85
Trade in Against a Dark Background for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £26.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Banks ain't kidding. He warned you up front that this is a dark novel' Norman Spinrad 'Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth' The New York Review of Science Fiction 'There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness' The Times
--This text refers to the
Perfect Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Sharrow was once a warrior-spy and leader of a combat team. Living in a state of semi-retirement, she suddenly found herself the target of the Huhsz, a religious cult, and realised that she had to find and reform her old team if she had any hope of survival. By the author of the "Culture" sequence.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Against A Dark Background' is the tale of a woman forced to find a mythical reality-warping weapon before she can be executed by a crazed religious cult. Iain (M) Banks 4th science fiction novel is his first not to be set in his 'Culture' series of novels, though there are a few surface similarities with 'Consider Phlebas' as this is another novel featuring a group of trigger-happy mercenaries on the trail of a powerful artefact. Essentially a quest novel, 'Against a Dark Background' is full of striking science fiction imagery (city-sized plant-life; a monastery where the inhabitants are chained to the walls; a backwards God-hating society), compelling characters (particularly the heroine and her poisonous relationship with her half-sister, and a rather lovable robot who joins the adventure looking for new experiences), a twisty plot, and a suprising amount of humour. Unfortunately however it doesn't quite add up to a satisfactory whole, with the climax complete with a rather cheesy melodramatic villain and an over-complex plot, but for fans of well-written action-packed science fiction there is plenty of enjoyment to be had along the way. Slightly less than the sum of it's parts, this is an enjoyable tale but not quite up to Banks best work.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
My copy of this book is well worn; I no longer let it leave the house, despite the fact that I have found few people as fanatical about it. Why does it grab me so? The title says it all -- it is a true, dark piece of science fiction. Heros die. Love goes unrequited. Revenge is spiteful and slow in building. This is dark pathos woven in and around what could have been a very protected and innocent life. It is the tale of corruption, of loss, of bitter-sweet victories set against the near comic backdrop of desire, tragedy and a good-ole treasure hunt.
The fact that this is not a Culture novel is at the core of Banks' creativity. He has kept the scale within a solar system, invented from scratch the history, politics, religion, militia and sociology of a corner of the universe. That, in it's intimate nature, makes the story all the more believable.
Read this book many times. --->> Aim Here <<---
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the first Banks book that I've ever read, and whilst it has it's down sides, it's a very good read.
Banks - in my opinion - has a tendancy to explain everything in enormous detail, and as such, can make the book harder to read and stick with.
But please folks, do stick with it. The plot-twists and (more importantly), character development is something not to be missed.
AaDB leaves you with a sense of completion and a warm heart when completed. This is the sign of a great book, one that nails the characters together, and glues them to you, driving everybody together. I found I had grown so fond of the main character (Lady Sharrow) that I had to read the final chapters again, just to get some proper "closure".
In closing, an excellent read - couldn't recommend it any more!
Banks - in my opinion - has a tendancy to explain everything in enormous detail, and as such, can make the book harder to read and stick with.
But please folks, do stick with it. The plot-twists and (more importantly), character development is something not to be missed.
AaDB leaves you with a sense of completion and a warm heart when completed. This is the sign of a great book, one that nails the characters together, and glues them to you, driving everybody together. I found I had grown so fond of the main character (Lady Sharrow) that I had to read the final chapters again, just to get some proper "closure".
In closing, an excellent read - couldn't recommend it any more!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great novel but horrendous e-book errors need sorting out
I very much enjoyed reading this terrific, thrilling novel. This was, however, despite rather than because of the Kindle edition. Read more
Published 3 months ago by N. Young
Not close to his normal standards
I've read most of his science fiction and they are generally excellent. However, after dredging through this for over the last month and waiting for 90% of the book for something... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. Philip Plant
Good But
This book is very imaginative and kept me interested whilst on holiday, no mean feat. Unfortunately whilst the tale is captivating in the middle the ending seems rather lost,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by John Richmond
Quest becomes tedious; for a true Banks fan
Iain Banks' fourth sci-fi novel, while not a Culture novel, follows a similar pattern as Consider Phlebas and The Algebraist, a fellow non-Culture novel. Read more
Published 7 months ago by M-I-K-E 2theD
A cracking read but....
... the layout of the ebook is absolutely terrible.
Hyphenated words appear mid line for no app-are-nt rea-son, scene changes seem to happen as if by magic without new... Read more
Hyphenated words appear mid line for no app-are-nt rea-son, scene changes seem to happen as if by magic without new... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Richard
Kindle edition - avoid for the moment
I'd like to issue a warning for anyone thinking of buying the Kindle edition of this book. There is no line spacing between passages, and it really makes for an awkward read. Read more
Published 9 months ago by TomB
Brilliant.... but left feeling a bit disappointed...
Don't get me wrong, I thought this was a great book. I've read a lot by Iain Banks (both with and without the 'M') and I love his inventiveness and characterisation. Read more
Published 9 months ago by peter 666
Too dark to see the point
I haven't read much of Iain M. Banks, but what I have read was good enough for me to want to read more of his work. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Kalense
Another unimpressed reader
Have to admit i'm surprised by how many positive reviews there are of this book. I have read all but a couple of the 'M' books and really enjoyed all of them so far. Read more
Published 17 months ago by jb
Not the greatest
I like I.M Banks. I like SF. However I found this title a little harder to get into than the normal fare. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Stewart Thomas
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
