el_pato_gigante's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, War, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gun violence, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Excrement, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, Abortion, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Medical content, Alcohol, Sexual content, Infertility, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
shanekate's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Excrement, Cannibalism, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: War, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Drug use and Abortion
Very graphic.nnia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is Space Opera. This is violent. This is a long rambling science fiction novel. This was very new territory when it was written. If you are impatient with an interrogative bent this is probably not the book to start with and maybe not the series for you.
Banks is giving Space Opera, Banks is giving atmosphere, Banks is giving adventure, Banks is giving nuance. In spades.
Also plowing new ground. This is a new genre/sub genre, AI. AI/humanoid symbiosis.
This is the first book written in the culture series and is written from an outsider’s perspective, that of Horza, a spy from a race of shapeshifters, don’t consider this a spoiler as it’s in the first chapter where you meet the main character, hired by the Iridians to move against the Culture.
I feel as though the author Ian M. Banks is sneaking up on the main subject matter of the series, that of a prodigiously long lived, very successful (certainly by 21st century humans POV) integrated AI/humanoid society/symbiosis of, the Culture. Horza is an interesting, resourceful, intelligent and sensitive person, as sensitive as he can be as a hired gun, aware of and encountering many instances of flaws in different societies
Spoiler
and yet still is prejudiced and bigoted towards the computer intelligences of the Culture. I feel that this attitude is one that is too much permitted, held and holding back our current society. There is a precedent within the structure of the books among the small core team of players that is begun here and repeated in other Culture books demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between the AI and biological lifeforms, humanoids particularly, and no, AI do not render humans obsolete. Read between the lines humans for some keen observations on what is cool and unique about talking, human, monkey creatures.As someone who works in the AI field I enjoy these books enormously.
As I said before this is the first book written and readers will learn more about the Culture in subsequent novels.
Graphic: Colonisation, Car accident, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Murder, War, Confinement, Gun violence, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content and Gore
ratherhazy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, and Gun violence