Look to Windward (original 2000; edition 2002)

I don't know whether I like this as much or more than any of the other Culture novels I've read. It seems to be a different sort of beast, really. The others are things that are happening, even in Use of Weapons with the dual flow of the story; this one is the aftermath, things that have happened and dealing with them (or not). That's not to say that there isn't a plot, but the things that're happening are happening as a direct result of a known and understood past: in Consider Phlebas, the conflict is new; in Use of Weapons, Zakalwe gets involved in a lot of unrelated (except by his presence) situations; in The Player of Games, the Culture is actively meddling. But Look to Windward is the aftermath of Consider Phlebas and of the same kind of situation that is played out in Use of Weapons and Player of Games.

The depictions of grief and guilt, loss and longing, are incredibly well done. There's some gorgeous writing in the way Banks unveils his world, and some amazing background to his world.

Two complaints, really: one, I'm no longer sure if Banks is really managing to distinguish aliens from humans, in terms of character and outlook -- I could forget Kabe and Quilan's races if I let my mind wander; two, the last couple of sections/chapters wrap everything up so very neatly, and I've realised that happens in his other books too. Oh for a little bit of ambiguity to take away with me... ( )

*note to self. Copy from A.

After Look To Windward Banks took an eight year break from writing Culture novels. Given the low quality of this book it's tempting to say he simply ran out of interesting ideas for his space opera setting. This presumption is buttressed by the fact that Inversions, released two years prior to LTW, was a Culture novel without the Culture. Perhaps even then Banks was running out of ways to make the near omnipotent and omniscient Culture interesting?

Regardless of whether or not this was the case LTW felt completely flat. The characters were lifeless and even the Minds, who usually get all the best lines, were fairly bland. The story never gripped either. Given the god-like abilities of the Minds I never believed the plot would be 100% successful despite explanations by the Chelgrians as to why the plan should, in theory, work. Plus, the chapters devoted to the mega-fauna were superfluous and full of the purple prose that littered this novel and bogged it down repeatedly. There are some nice bits within the story - the Chelgrian's afterlife and talk of Sublimed races, for instance - but it doesn't add up to much.

There was simply a real lack of the zip and creativity that made novels like Player of Games and, to a slightly lesser extent, Use of Weapons such enjoyable books to read. I thought Excession was a let down too, so I hope Banks's return to the Culture in 2008, with Matter, refreshes the series and proves to be more successful (when I get around to reading it). ( )

Really wonderfully thoughtful, painted, as always, with those big brushstrokes that gradually come together during the novel.

With the Culture Banks has created something of an intellectual plaything; not in a way that it is 'simply' a game - because his novels are almost always profound, meditative - but in a sense that he has built a lot of flexibility into it. Yes, in his interviews he has upheld the Culture as something of a (skewed) ideal, even a wonderful place (the end to death, ill health, poverty!), but he always has a go at prodding it, examining its underbelly, the wider Politics (with a small and big 'P') that its inhabitants experience (even if they are not active participants).

As a whole I enjoyed this, and accordingly read it very quickly (putting aside other, more ponderous books). There are a few awkward elements to it, however; the scholar Uagen's story* is a little unclear in the wider plot of the novel, while some events are not adequately explained, but I was able to shrug these off and continue unaffected.

This didn't have the tightness of some of his other works, but it did show that even with big brushstrokes you can encompass small and meditative ideas.

* this is, however, a marvellous bit of Sci-fi imagination; the airspheres are truly odd, brilliantly imagined worlds.

This was my introduction to Iain M Banks' Culture series (and only my second of his books ever), and though it's taken me forever to read it, I've been thoroughly impressed by it. Ultimately, it's quite a profound meditation on death and loss and war, with some great universe-building, sympathetic characters, and flashes of mordant wit. The narrative may be quite slow and deliberately-paced, but that works well with this kind of subject matter. The interlacing of different times and perspectives was done very cleverly, allowing for some startling revelations and a satisfying denouement. I definitely want to try some of the other Culture novels now! ( )