Inversions - Iain M. Banks

There is no doubt that Iain Banks has written some fantastic books. Unfortunately he seems to have this habit of punctuating modern classics with some distinctly so-so titles. ‘Inversions’ is not really one book, but two separate tales told together. The writing styles and storylines remain separate until the inevitable tie in at the end. The chapters, titled simply ‘The Doctor’ and ‘The Bodyguard’ are told in ...
...the same pace, so a development in one plotline will be closely followed by an equally paced development in the other. It is this ability to bend the rules of traditional storytelling that is undoubtedly one of Banks’ greatest assets. This simply reads differently to most other books you are likely to come across, and so becomes very accessible before the story even gets going. The mix of writing styles helps the reader to keep the stories ...

bphester99 03.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

This is the subtlest of Iain M. Banks's SF novels set in the universe of The Culture, the galaxy-spanning society in which most of his other SF novels are squarely set. At first sight, this appears to be two totally unrelated tales, set on the same world, whose low tech-level makes plain that it is not a Culture member world. One tale is of the King's doctor, a woman whose potions appear to imply possession of a degree of pharmaceutical knowledge ...
...to interfere with palace politics. The other tale is that of a man named DeWar, bodyguard to the General of a military power, who uses only traditional weapons, but who is more embroiled in the power plays. So clearly, in a sense, these characters and their situations are "Inversions" of one another. It also becomes apparent that the Doctor and Bodyguard may be the real people referred to in an allegorical tale which is told during the course of ...

pvincent 16.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

...computers are far smarter than people and are considered Culture citizens. Inversions is apparently a Culture novel, but this is never made clear. The two main characters are agents of 'Special Circumstances' but only clues to their identity are given. The story is compelling and very readable. ...

markos3 24.08.2000 · Read full review
Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

Being another one in the series of 'Culture' books, I was expecting a bit more Science and a bit less Fiction. The story revolves around 2 main characters who come from a technologically advanced race, and they're interactions and dealings on a world where feuding, torture, and basic medieval goings on take place. The female takes up a post as a Kings Doctor, whilst the other becomes a bodyguard in a Cromwellian society. The story itself has a ...
...a bit dissatisfied (and almost cheated) at the lack of gadgetry on the whole, with merely the faintest hint of it being used here and there! Character development on the whole though, is pretty good, and the book itself is an easy read, although not quite as addictive as some of Banks' other titles. ...

ferd 12.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

"Inversions" is an odd addition to Banks' science fiction - a Culture story which never actually admits to being one, an sf novel that insists on not displaying its science or technology. Indeed, a superficial glance might even cause one to wonder if it is even a single novel. Two stories are told in "Inversions". One concerns a female doctor in a society where such a combination is rare. She has succeeded in becoming doctor to the King for the ...
...what it should be. The second story concerns the bodyguard to a self-proclaimed Protector, struggling to identify the source of the latest threat. It's hinted, but never actually stated explicitly, that the two are former friends, living out the conflicting philosophies that caused them to fall out in the first place, and the reader spends most of this intriguing book waiting for the inevitable conclusion that will bring them together, like the ...

NeilHudson 12.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

Iain M Banks Inversions is another page-turner in the great Culture series. A general description of Culture is that an Utopian, post-scarcity (limitless resources) alien society, lead/controlled by powerful Als. The view of Culture is that less-advanced societies would benefit from their influence, thus the series describes the interaction between Culture and other civilizations. Inversions continues on that similar theme but in a complete different ...
...and packed full of complex, fallible characters. The two plotline follows Special Circumstances agents in their widely different missions. Unfortunately I can't make an unbiased opinion on whether this a good book to start on Iain M Banks' Culture series. I would recommend to start the series with The Player of Games or Consider Phlebas. Both would provide a good background to Culture in general and Special Circumstances in particular. ...

blueonred 01.07.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

A book that at first glance does not seem to be connected to the culture, but what is really going on is given away by a capital letter in the first dozen or so pages. A good book about the choices we face when meeting other societies and cultures. Although it is not amongst the best of his books, the style of running the two stories interleaved in the book works well in the compare / contrast style of the two characters approach to essentially the ...

Ceebs 27.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

He isn't really, Inversions is another gem - but it doesn't sparkle like the last few. In particular it's neither as mad as Feersum Endjinn nor as inventively violent as Excession. Inversions is too short. You shell out your £7 and after a couple of days of fevered reading and missed meals you are finished and put it down feeling a little cheated. A nice enough tale of a couple of Contact spooks doing their low key stuff, but there isn't enough ...
...history and how they came to be there and exactly why. But all you get are hints. And in the end what happens to them? More hints. If you think you'll enjoy building your own story from the core he provides, lucky you. If you want to be whisked away into the shiny world of the Culture and come back believing that it's probably real out there somewhere you are out of luck Of course, if you love Iain Banks you'll enjoy this, and buy it no matter what ...

Gervase 18.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

'Inversions' is the latest sci-fi book from Iain M. Banks and though it's not as epic in scale as his previous books, it still packs a punch. It concerns two characters, a Doctor and a Bodyguard, and over the course of the book their seemingly separate paths intertwine. Each chapter alternates between the couple and there are occasionally flashbacks relating to a couple of children, but to reveal more would spoil the story. The descriptions of ...

Dave350 11.07.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks

...mixed opinions so far but Inversions was in a different class. If this is your first read of Iain M Banks then I'm sure you won't be disappointed. The lead charactert is a female and Bamks builds an enigmatic and deep person for his lead. The story is written in the first person from the point of view of the servant of this female character in a world dominated by males, but the strength of the woman and her character dominates proceedings. As a ...

haconsulting 28.06.2002 (29.06.2002) · Read full review
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Review of Inversions - Iain M. Banks