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Use of Weapons (The Culture)
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Review
There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness (THE TIMES )
In many ways his best yet... rich, vivid and great fun. (VECTOR )
To say that Banks is Britain's best writer of science fiction would be to understate the case. He's simply one of our best novelists, whatever the genre. Read him (BOOK PEOPLE )
At last SF as it should be written!... If you aren't as yet familiar with these works I urge you to become so at your earliest opportunity. (CRITICAL WAVE )
In many ways his best yet... rich, vivid and great fun. (VECTOR )
To say that Banks is Britain's best writer of science fiction would be to understate the case. He's simply one of our best novelists, whatever the genre. Read him (BOOK PEOPLE )
At last SF as it should be written!... If you aren't as yet familiar with these works I urge you to become so at your earliest opportunity. (CRITICAL WAVE )
Product Description
The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action. The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought. The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a burnt-out case. But not even its machine intelligence could see the horrors in his past.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Dark, complex, full of twists, featuring unlikeable characters in almost unremittingly bleak circumstances. Great.
Do you like heroes? Plots where good and evil are easily distinguished? Straightforward, linear narratives? That's not here.
The book is like Marmite - there are those that loved it and those that hated it. The reviews from those that hated it make the same complains - basically the reasons I list for it being a great book in the first sentence.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, buy the book, it is the best of its kind. If it's not your thing, don't buy it, it's the worst of its kind.
Personally I think it's Banks' best.
Do you like heroes? Plots where good and evil are easily distinguished? Straightforward, linear narratives? That's not here.
The book is like Marmite - there are those that loved it and those that hated it. The reviews from those that hated it make the same complains - basically the reasons I list for it being a great book in the first sentence.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, buy the book, it is the best of its kind. If it's not your thing, don't buy it, it's the worst of its kind.
Personally I think it's Banks' best.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cheradenine Zakalwe is a (non-Culture-born) agent in Special Circumstances, skilled in steering less-developed planets towards the path that the Culture thinks is best for them. Unlike most SC agents, Zakalwe's speciality is fighting and the use of weapons in both prosecuting wars, and averting conflicts. His handler is SC agent Diziet Sma who, along with her drone companion Skaffen-Amtiskaw, has to set out to locate Zakalwe when his abilities are needed again.
I've read enough of Iain Banks' other work to be able to say that Use of Weapons is almost certainly his masterpiece, which is really saying something compared to the high quality of his other novels. In this book everything just works. The characters are sublimely handled, with Banks immersing you in their lives to the point where you stop thinking of them as characters and instead accept them as people. The structure of the story is inventive without over-relishing its own cleverness. The chapters alternate between a forward-moving story about Diziet tracking down Zakalwe for a new mission, and how that mission unfolds, and a backwards-moving one as we follow Zakalwe's story back to his youth. Just to shake things up, both narratives also feature flashbacks to earlier events as well. The structure could have confusingly imploded in on itself (and earlier drafts stretching back fifteen years before it was published are apparently far more complex), but in the published book it works effortlessly. The storylines may be moving in different directions and feel dislocated from one another, but they collide with impressive force at the end of the novel in a stunning final chapter.
Banks' signature creation, the Culture, has never been so convincingly portrayed or as well-handled as in this book, and its total bafflement at Zakalwe's antics (personified by Skaffen-Amtiskaw's exasperation with events) is amusing to see. In fact, there's a lot of Banks' traditional black humour running through the book, lightening the gloom that threatens to descend during some of Zakalwe's more introspective moments.
Use of Weapons (*****) is a spectacularly good science fiction novel that addresses questions of memory, motivation, guilt and conscience in a consistently entertaining and sometimes very funny manner. A masterful novel from a writer at the very height of his powers, and highly recommended. The novel is available now from Orbit in the UK and USA.
I've read enough of Iain Banks' other work to be able to say that Use of Weapons is almost certainly his masterpiece, which is really saying something compared to the high quality of his other novels. In this book everything just works. The characters are sublimely handled, with Banks immersing you in their lives to the point where you stop thinking of them as characters and instead accept them as people. The structure of the story is inventive without over-relishing its own cleverness. The chapters alternate between a forward-moving story about Diziet tracking down Zakalwe for a new mission, and how that mission unfolds, and a backwards-moving one as we follow Zakalwe's story back to his youth. Just to shake things up, both narratives also feature flashbacks to earlier events as well. The structure could have confusingly imploded in on itself (and earlier drafts stretching back fifteen years before it was published are apparently far more complex), but in the published book it works effortlessly. The storylines may be moving in different directions and feel dislocated from one another, but they collide with impressive force at the end of the novel in a stunning final chapter.
Banks' signature creation, the Culture, has never been so convincingly portrayed or as well-handled as in this book, and its total bafflement at Zakalwe's antics (personified by Skaffen-Amtiskaw's exasperation with events) is amusing to see. In fact, there's a lot of Banks' traditional black humour running through the book, lightening the gloom that threatens to descend during some of Zakalwe's more introspective moments.
Use of Weapons (*****) is a spectacularly good science fiction novel that addresses questions of memory, motivation, guilt and conscience in a consistently entertaining and sometimes very funny manner. A masterful novel from a writer at the very height of his powers, and highly recommended. The novel is available now from Orbit in the UK and USA.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just thought I'd add another 5-star review to this masterpiece. The characterisation is awe-inspiring, the progression on Zakalwe's life is compelling: his relationships, his ambitions and motives, and finally his daemons. This is a rare work of literature in the science fiction world, and really stands out from the the glut of techno-babble filled action thrillers that we find in the sci-fi sector.
Read this book.
Read this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
utterly disappointing and very predictable
I think I've given up on this author. Having loved Excession, I found Consider Phlebas a bit dull. Feersum Indjun (spelling? Read more
Published 1 month ago by Stunt Goat
Superior Sci-fi!
This is a cracking read, like all the other Culture novels I've read so far. To the uninitiated they are 'space-opera' books of amazing scope and imagination, full of great ideas... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr Greenfingers
Simply the best!
I've read this book three times - the last time only a few years ago. I think it is Banks' richest Culture novel, but perversely, the least approachable at first, simply due to its... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Simon Whild
Ambitious but flawed
I'm not as keen on this particular Culture novel as many others seem to be - I much preferred Consider Phlebas and Player of Games. Read more
Published 5 months ago by David Clarke
Great.
The best of the Culture series, Banks is right on form with Use of Weapons. This story follows two distinct,interwoven time lines one of which runs forward and one backward. Read more
Published 5 months ago by timorosso
Overall a really enjoyable read.
The use of prose in this book gives a wonderful insight into the complexity of Iain M. Banks outlook on life. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Graham Harris
Quite possibly, the best of the best of the Culture novels
Shortly after reading Consider Phlebas (The Culture), the first in Iain M. Banks' Culture novels, I realised I was left with the fantastic task of discovering the rest of this... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kate
alright
This is the third Culture book I've read and probably the weakest, that said it was still better than alot of other sci fi books.
Published 7 months ago by Robin Rawlings
Unusual read
This is the first Iain M Banks books I've read, whilst it feels a bit slow in places, it's down to a very careful painting of the central character. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Gary Macdonald
Superb
After the shaky start that was Consider Phlebas came The Player Of Games, which was very good. This takes that one notch higher into five-star territory. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Barry Carroll
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