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Against a Dark Background
 
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Against a Dark Background (Paperback)

by Iain M. Banks (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 496 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit; New edition edition (5 Jan 1995)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857231791
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857231793
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 6,631 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #8 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Banks, Iain M.
    #10 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Banks, Iain

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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

Product Description
Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilisation based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith's apotheosis, and her only hope of escape is to find the last of the apocalyptically powerful Lazy Guns before the Huhsz find her. Her journey through the exotic Golterian system is a destructive and savage odyssey into her past, and that of her family and of the system itself.

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Customer Reviews

34 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My all time favourite Banks...a true desert island book..., 13 Jun 2000
By Mr. Alistair Lloyd (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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 <<---

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable journey, but a mediocre destination...., 11 April 2007
By dogbarkssome (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)      
'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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing depth, 29 Aug 2006
By Jeremy Sanders (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is one of my favourite Banks novels. The storyline carried me away through the book, through an amazingly detailed violent, varied and gripping world. The depth of the background, the locations, and the characters is impressive. I just couldn't stop reading it! The ending is extremely impressive and dark. Very satisfying.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Ending? What ending?
Like many others reviewing this book I've read most of Mr. Banks work. I have found the majority to be excellent, and plan to re-read many again. Read more
Published 11 months ago by John Butterworth

5.0 out of 5 stars Not boring in the slightest
I read this book when i was 11 or 12 and it was my first Banks novel. I found it at the time to be incredibly gripping and was at no time discouraged by the detailed descriptions... Read more
Published on 12 May 2007 by A. Sharkey

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, very good read.
Against a dark Background indeed, certainly, this is not a novel in which the content is light and entirely pleasant. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2006 by H. Pearce

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read, well done Banks!
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. Read more
Published on 21 April 2006 by L. Davies

2.0 out of 5 stars Leaves much to be desired
I like Banks, I've read most of his books, but this book was so boring, I had to admit I gave up two thirds of the way through. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2006 by E. Wieder

3.0 out of 5 stars He got lazy
This book is not up to Mr Banks' usual standard of sharp and imaginative science fiction. There are moments where banks' obvious talent shows through, but on the whole it falls... Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2003 by czakalw3

2.0 out of 5 stars Reconsider Phlebas
As other reviewers have noted, Against a Dark Background has more in common with Consider Phlebas than his other early writings. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2003 by P. Dack

4.0 out of 5 stars Lazy Guns
A good read, not quite as good as Phlebas and UoW though.
Published on 15 Jul 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Banks in gung-ho mode
Iain Banks has a habit of writing under his non-“M” persona in a variety of disparate genres, while maintaining what has come to be known as a typically... Read more
Published on 14 May 2003 by Jonathan Waterlow

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark and engaging
The clue is in the title of the book - this a dark novel, but dont let that alarm you. Banks throws in plenty of humour to add contrast and relief. Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2002 by Tom Douglas

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