Inversions

Really good book and very clever...

I'm a huge Iain Banks fan. I love when he has the 'M' to signify the Sci Fi side of things. The Culture novels are an epic read and I have been slowly purchasing them over a couple of years, rationing myself as there is a finite supply of them since his sad passing.. For me, they are the standard by which other books are judged.Inversions is a Culture story in the very faintest way possible. It is more to do with a medieval type society than huge spaceships whizzing around but there are subtle hints at greater things happening. A slow story but enjoyable none the less.

This unlike other books written in the sci-fi universe of the Culture does not say 'a culture book' on the front cover. This is probably because if you get it looking for more descriptions of super high-tech weapons and equipment you'll come away sorely disappointed. There are none. None!The story is about two well placed individuals who it becomes clear are attempting to subtly trying to interfere with a worlds politics and history by respectively healing (the doctor) and protecting (the bodyguard) their respective patrons. Indeed, the chapters are named either 'the doctor' or 'the bodyguard' letting you know who we're focused on. There are a few moments where technology or its presence is hinted at and implied but there is not a single description of anything counting as high technology and you'll only recognise the hints if you've read the other Culture books.This is a fine story but its more fantasy than sci-fi and the ending leaves a little to be desired. An epilogue about the two agents set in the Culture proper would have been nice but does not appear. If you really love the books of the Culture you'll probably want to get this, too but its the black sheep of the Culture books and lots of what people read those books for is entirely missing from this book.I'll give it 4 stars because its good, on its own terms and certainly not boring, I came to care what happened to the king, the protector and those around them but its just not a regular culture book. If you've read; 'consider phlebas', 'the player of games', 'use of weapons', 'excession', 'look to windward' and 'matter' ('state of the art' too if you like short stories) and still want more, then go ahead and read it. Since the Culture is such a utopia its been said that stories within it would be dull and so the stories have been about people outside its boundaries or on the fringes of its society, an enemy of it in 'consider phlebas' and a mercenary in 'use of weapons'. This for me, was a bit too far from the comfort of an orbital and a sentient starship.

This is certainly not the typical Iain M Banks culture novel - but then having read all of the novels it's quite clear that one of the defining things about the culture novels is that they defy simple definition. Each is really quite different, and that's one thing which makes the entire series so brilliant. Some present a wide view of the whole culture universe, whereas others present a microscopic snapshot.A recurring theme in the novels is the tension the culture perceives over the decision whether to intervene in the affairs of less-advanced civilisations. This novel is at the extreme end of the 'microscopic' spectrum, and where as other novels discuss such an intervention from the culture's birds-eye perspective, this novel details a culture intervention from the viewpoint of the civilisation on the receiving end, who are mostly unaware it is even taking place - and it's a very subtle intervention at that.So this novel is the most restricted of all of them, containing only the barest of allusions to the culture universe itself. That said, it's wonderfully well written, and thoroughly entertaining read - but you'll still get more out of it if you read one or two of the other novels first. Otherwise you're likely to feel frustrated that you're missing some of the context which is hinted at throughout the novel. I'd recommend Look to Windward or The Player of Games as a starting point.

Was disappointed that that this had very little sci-fi or culture it in. More like reading a fantasy book without any magic in it.

Not one of the best Culture novels, indeed barely "Culture" at all, but an intriguing working out of a complex plot to an ultimately satisfying end