Use of Weapons (1990)

After over twenty years, this still holds up as a Sci-Fi masterpiece character study into the dark soul of its protagonist, a mercenary named Cheradenine Zakalwe. At first, the unusual story structure of two asynchronous story lines, alternating between the present and an episodic sequence of thirteen key moments in Zakalwe's past (revealed in reverse chronological order), can be confusing. However, it quickly clarifies, and is an absolutely ingenious way of examining the roots of the character's motives, phobias, and mannerisms in such a way that maximum surprise is extracted at each 'reveal'. Of course, as you've guessed from the profession of Mr. Zakalwe, there is no shortage of action throughout, and a good deal of James Bond 007 (I'm picturing Daniel Craig, not the other blokes). The biggest lost opportunity here was to explore, in the book's many settings and locales, some truly alien cultures, philosophies, and biologies, but sadly we see only a large collection of human civilizations in various stages of technological development. At least Gene Roddenberry slapped some prosthetic facial adornments on his humanoid aliens! Nevertheless, the story succeeds in elevating character over deus ex machina; no easy feat considering the persistent omnipotence of the Culture standing behind the mercenary, but here kept at a welcome arm's length, maintaining a high-stakes identification between the reader and the protagonist. ( )

First Banks I ever read. Dark humour, horror, gripping story. ( )

I don't know what to say right now.

I remember liking The Player of Games well enough, but not going 'omg, must read more of this guy's work'. But this... I shuffled it up my reading list when I heard the recent sad news about Banks: I'm glad I did. This is what has really got me invested in his work: the clever narrative structure, the awfulness at the heart of this story that we see exposed only layer by layer, the ending which both made perfect sense and seemed the only natural way to finish the story and still felt immediate, sudden and horrifying.

I shall get myself round to reading more of Banks' work all the quicker, now. This is really good speculative fiction, which doesn't just speculate about technology, aliens, culture, but also feels real, touches on something relevant and ghastly that comments on the way we are now as well as the way things could be. ( )

Banks connects authoritarianism, warlords, and chairs in a captivating story that rewards close reading. The Culture sees itself as a benign utopia. The story shows it's really an authoritarian war-monger, just like the warlords it seeks to manipulate. ( )

Iain M. Banks is one of the most creative contemporary novelists and he happens to write well and possess a most amazing imagination. This is an excellent read! ( )