Feersum Endjinn - Iain M. Banks

Advantages: Iain Banks' usual quality, good story
Disadvantages: about a quarter of the book is written phonetically - gets a bit annoying

...The 'real world' in Feersum Endjinn is centred on the Serehfa Fastness - a giant proportioned castle (rooms are several kilometres wide) that was once the Earth-site of a space elevator. The real technology behind it has been lost before the staging of this book, so consequently the Serehfa has become fairly mysterious. This works well for the reader, as we also see only the strangeness of this relic, without understanding what has gone before. It ...
...leads to rather convenient unexplained technology just left lying around for use. Still, the setting is unusual and well described. Once again, Banks has employed the style of writing each chapter from a different character's viewpoint. Unlike Walking On Glass, the different strands are set in the same world, and the links become obvious much earlier on. Still, at the beginning they read as fairly disparate tales, weaved together quite skilfully ... Read review

Advantages: A superb experiment and a great read.
Disadvantages: Can be hard going in places.

OK, you'll have to bear with me on the title for a paragraph or four... Now, I'm rating this book highly, because I loved it. I am, I must admit, an Iain M Banks fan (Although I can't stand his non-Sci/Fi work) and I may not have persisted in my efforts with this title had I not already added Mr Banks to my "Sci/Fi COT." It is ODD! This is a basically very simple story of a period in the life of a planet which once had an advanced and technological ...
...monarchy, and a distinct lack of technology beyond a few badly understood remnants of the past. A mystery develops... The "Encroachment" is upon them, and without the old technology, the planet will clearly be destroyed... But strange things are stirring, for a start, the standing stones aren't standing still any more! Journeys take place, then at the end of the book, the mystery is over... Simple and very readable... In fact it sounds just a bit ... Read review

Advantages: Good read
Disadvantages: Phonetics can be hard to read

A much mis-understood book; a lot of people do not have the time for it, and the patience to go through it all. It is written from a number of viewpoints incuding a king, an engineer, and a young boy. Each chapter is separated into 4 sections, one by each (although for reasons certain viewpoints change). One such section is always written by Bascule, the little boy, who writes everything phonetically. While it looks tricky, it is easy to pick up ...
...I spent 20 minutes trying to dechipher. The story is average, the regular quest for a sci-fi enhanced truth about the past or such-like, however the writing is EXCELLENTLY done, and the phonetic approach is both brave and original. If you've read Iain M. Banks' other books, you'll enjoy this, and if you haven't, why not take a leap and try it out. ... Read review

Advantages: A Banks' novel
Disadvantages: Banks' worst novel

...name Iain Banks. Feersum Endjinn is partially written in first person phonetics. Because of this (example: we twisted & dropt like thi thing cuden cary me) it is extremely difficult to read. Persistence with the novel reveals a good story concerning evolving network intelligence but the disadvantages far outweight the advantages so much so that I cannot recommend this book to anyone except ardent Banks' fans. The novel is also far shorter than ... Read review