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Use of Weapons (The Culture)
 
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Use of Weapons (The Culture) (Paperback)

by Iain M. Banks (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 434 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit; New edition edition (26 Mar 1992)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 185723135X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857231359
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10,374 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

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

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Product Description

Review

'There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness' The Times


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

62 Reviews
5 star:
 (44)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (62 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The only book that's ever made my hair stand on end, 7 Mar 2003
By M. J. Farncombe "m_farncombe" (Guildford UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
Many other reviews of 'Use of Weapons' will hint at its parallel linear/reverse linear narrative, the nature and occupation of the complex and not-very-nice Mr Zakalwe, the beautifully painted Culture, and the terrific hat joke, but I think they miss the visceral nature of the book.

There's a page thumbed down in my much-read edition that describes the origin and nature of a certain chair - the central metaphor of the book. Even as I write about it, my hackles are starting to rise at the thought of what this character did. And yet I liked him, loved the Culture and are lost in awe at Mr Banks' grasp of his art.

There are very few science fiction books that stand up as good literature - this is certainly one of them. Even though I had nightmares for weeks, thank you Iain, for this and for Consider Phlebas (PS I >hated< 'Canal Dreams').

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Entering the whirlpool ..., 4 Jul 2006
By Beryllium Urchin (Tamanrasset) - See all my reviews
As the first strand of the narrative rushes forwards in the present, the second strand twists backwards, into the past and into the formative episodes of Zakalwe's life. When it reaches the core of his past, you see that the story you thought you'd read has another, and very different, cast to it, like a face-or-vase illusion.
A disturbing, haunting, and fascinating book that demands to be re-read from time to time. Banks has one hell of an imagination.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Even as I type, I can feel the goosebumps rising !, 23 Aug 2002
By Malcolm Jeffrey (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This book was the first I've read since I can't remember when that made me truly horrified : fair enough, Iain M does like to put the odd grisly bit in his works, but in Use Of Weapons he systematically prepares you psychologically for one paragraph, three quarters of the way through the book, where you find out exactly what all that business with the white chairs is all about. I was drawn in, fascinated, by the use of alternating chapters - chapters 1, 3, 5 etc tell an on-going real-time story in the hero's career, while chapters 2, 4, 6 etc go backwards in time in his life, revealing an increasing uneasiness with white chairs as the actual reason becomes closer in time in his memory. The uneasiness turns to paranoia and horror as you get closer to the event and the half-page when you find out the truth hit me like a steamhammer : I found myself muttering "oh no. ugh. no!" and I as I type this I can feel my hackles rising. A twist in the tale at the end which turns out to be factually correct through the whole book only made it better. In an attempt to cheer up the review, though, there are several top jokes in too. My favourite : the hero finds himself captured by savages on an undeveloped world and is beheaded for being a demon from the skies after his ship crashlands. Luckily, it IS the Culture so his head is effected back onto the big ship for re-growing in a tank. When he regains consciousness, just a head in a tank with full regrowth still a month away, various friends visit him in the sick bay : a Drone friend of his has brought him a present. It's a hat.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars SCI-FI
FOR ME IT DIDNT QUITE GRAB MY ATTENTION
IT STARTED SLOW
PERSONALY DRAGGED OUT A BIT
ALTOGETHER A GOOD STORY
Published 3 days ago by SLIM

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not Banks's best
I would reccomend this book to anyone who has read a few of Banks's Sci-fi novels but not to anyone new to Banks. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Tim Johnson

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably Bank's Best Science Fiction Novel
As "The Bridge" set the tone for all the mainstream fiction Banks was to write, so this set the bar for all his subsequent science fiction. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Steven Fouch

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
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... Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. Whitehead

3.0 out of 5 stars Pedestrian
Use of Weapons is a very workmanlike effort, but lacks the fine edge that comes with truly great writing. Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Childs

5.0 out of 5 stars Just look at the ratings...
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... Read more
Published 14 months ago by R. Mijic

2.0 out of 5 stars A muddled let-down
I'm going to have to go against the grain of the other reviews here. I am a huge fan of Iain Banks' Culture series, but "Use of Weapons" has been the most disappointing title I've... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Daniel Fearon

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the hard of thinking
Dark, complex, full of twists, featuring unlikeable characters in almost unremittingly bleak circumstances. Great.

Do you like heroes? Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2007 by D. MacQueen

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books
This is one of my favourite books. It is more than simply Science Fiction and is as much a thriller as any other genré. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2007 by Philo Balini

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not the best Culture book
While this is still a very good book, it pales in comparison to some of Banks' other sci-fi books such as Excession and Player of Games. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2006 by Martin Anderson

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