Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks > Reviews

Advantages: A good read, convincing, shocking and unpredictable.
Disadvantages: Few - Banks sometimes rambles a bit.

I usually like to read books straight through. This one I deliberately made last a week - it was so obvious that Banks was holding back something that was going to deliver that I wanted to stay in the world of "Use of Weapons" for as long as possible before it inevitably fell apart. Cheradinine Zakalwe, the latest in a long line of Banks' unpronounceable anti-heroes, is brought out of hiding for one last mission for the Culture, an interplanetary ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent dark storyline - don't need to be a sci-fi buff to enjoy this
Disadvantages: None I can tthink of - but definately not an up-beat story :)

The one thing that sets Mr Banks, work apart from most novels in the sci-fi genre is that it doesn't feel particularly sci-fi in any way other than it's enviroment. There is a good deal of focus on the history and interaction of the main characters and that for me is a key attraction. Yes there are spaceships and robots, but even these often have an integral character part to play as they are sentient beings in their own right. The background into ... Read review

Advantages: Ian M Banks being one of the best Sci-Fi writers of this decade
Disadvantages: None at all !

I started with "A Player of Games", moved on to "Consider Phleabas" and then out of sheer Obssession moved on to "Use of Weapons". I can't stop. And by the looks of it, neither can Ian Banks, but his ideas don't either. Each time I read one of his books, I cannot stop. It just keeps on getting better and better. We enter into the life, past and present, of Charadenine Zakalwe. More and more of his life is revealed as you continue through the book. ... Read review