sfletcher26's review against another edition
3.0
I love Banks, I think he can be of the best writers of SciFi there is, but, for me, his books can be hit and miss. This was a miss I'm afraid. As always, brilliantly inventive, superbly paced and wildy funny but with an ultimately unsatisfying and overly abrupt ending.
gullevek's review against another edition
4.0
A very good book, a very interesting book, but also a book that has some parts that are really really really hard to read because it is written in like "spoken slang" english. Like u hav 2 imagin tis is ritten like tis and @ ti moment u get so confused abut tis.
Yeah, hard to read, especially if you are not a native reader.
Anyway, would still recommend to read :D
Yeah, hard to read, especially if you are not a native reader.
Anyway, would still recommend to read :D
jefffrane's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not going to lie. This is the most difficult Iain Banks novel I've read and it would be a terrible place to start reading his sf. As others have noted, one of the main POV characters has a disability that causes him to write his narration in Banks' quirky version of phonetics, in which 1/2 means have, & means and, and it takes a lot of adjustment to follow along with Bascule--although it's worth it because Bascule is fearless, observant and very funny and possibly the most likable character in the book.
But this is minor, really, because meanwhile Banks introduces a number of POV characters, some of whom are more or less dead (mostly less) and some of which are definitely antagonists. And, typically, there are more ideas and preposterous constructs being fired at the reader on every page than most sf writers generate in a lifetime. One just has to grab on and experience the ride, because Iain M. Banks is not known for making anything easy.
Banks is also not known for explaining things with chunks of exposition and he's a real killer for cliffhangers. The only reason I reduced this to four stars is that finally, even Banks has to have a character explain pretty much everything because there is so much knotted and twisted into the story that I, at least, was left gasping a lot of "so does that mean that?" and "well, who the hell is this?"
Oh, and it should be noted that this is not in any way a Culture novel. So maybe read all those stories first and come back to this one when you're desperate for Iain M. Banks and there is nothing else to read.
But this is minor, really, because meanwhile Banks introduces a number of POV characters, some of whom are more or less dead (mostly less) and some of which are definitely antagonists. And, typically, there are more ideas and preposterous constructs being fired at the reader on every page than most sf writers generate in a lifetime. One just has to grab on and experience the ride, because Iain M. Banks is not known for making anything easy.
Banks is also not known for explaining things with chunks of exposition and he's a real killer for cliffhangers. The only reason I reduced this to four stars is that finally, even Banks has to have a character explain pretty much everything because there is so much knotted and twisted into the story that I, at least, was left gasping a lot of "so does that mean that?" and "well, who the hell is this?"
Oh, and it should be noted that this is not in any way a Culture novel. So maybe read all those stories first and come back to this one when you're desperate for Iain M. Banks and there is nothing else to read.
hallucigenia's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
jobby's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
iamedterry's review against another edition
5.0
Having been working through [a:William C Dietz|11214222|William C Dietz|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s Legion prequel trilogy recently, the depth and details of Banks’ standalone sci-fi Feersum Endjinn came as both a shock and an attention grabber. From the opening paragraphs I was captivated by the story, partly because it was completely ‘out there’ and partly because it was such an elegantly realised far-future civilisation. Part of the time I felt like it was just some kind of induced trip, but it all hung together and the interwoven stories of our four principal characters all came together nicely.
I did read that one of the interlaced stories – told in the first person – was a difficult read in the novel as it was written in phonetics and SMS-like text. Fortunately, the audiobook converted this into a brilliant east-end of London dialect which made it all the more entertaining. Peter Kenny is an excellent narrator.
There are so many layers – allegories if you will – that it’s spoilers to go into too much details. The summary only scratches the surface of the details and ingenuity that abound in this tightly written novel. Virtual reality, reincarnation, Hindu, fairy tales, myths, legends, virus programs, reality, nanotech, the four horsemen, necromancy, aeons and microseconds – it’s all there woven together. As Frank N Furter once said “A mental mind-fuck would be nice” and this felt very much like that on occasion … virtual worlds shifting, colliding, switching.
Unlike the Andromeda McKee trilogy where I sometimes lost interest when the pacing slowed down – and then went off and listened to music for a couple of weeks before getting back to the books – Feersum Endjinn held my attention and I had no compunction to drift off and listen to anything else. The more I think of it, the more I liken it to the four horsemen, an end-times tale and the four pillars wrapped into one (or are they the same anyway?) Irrespective of what you read into it, the story keeps a good pace, provides good entertainment as well as some taught drama, action and thrills along the way.
If there was only one thing I would say against this piece is that the conclusion all wrapped up quickly. It felt like the story was, and could, go one to new places but instead rested on the fact that the four had come together and so settled on wrapping up just so. You’ll have to read it (or listen) to see what I mean!
I’d recommend this book easily.
I did read that one of the interlaced stories – told in the first person – was a difficult read in the novel as it was written in phonetics and SMS-like text. Fortunately, the audiobook converted this into a brilliant east-end of London dialect which made it all the more entertaining. Peter Kenny is an excellent narrator.
There are so many layers – allegories if you will – that it’s spoilers to go into too much details. The summary only scratches the surface of the details and ingenuity that abound in this tightly written novel. Virtual reality, reincarnation, Hindu, fairy tales, myths, legends, virus programs, reality, nanotech, the four horsemen, necromancy, aeons and microseconds – it’s all there woven together. As Frank N Furter once said “A mental mind-fuck would be nice” and this felt very much like that on occasion … virtual worlds shifting, colliding, switching.
Unlike the Andromeda McKee trilogy where I sometimes lost interest when the pacing slowed down – and then went off and listened to music for a couple of weeks before getting back to the books – Feersum Endjinn held my attention and I had no compunction to drift off and listen to anything else. The more I think of it, the more I liken it to the four horsemen, an end-times tale and the four pillars wrapped into one (or are they the same anyway?) Irrespective of what you read into it, the story keeps a good pace, provides good entertainment as well as some taught drama, action and thrills along the way.
If there was only one thing I would say against this piece is that the conclusion all wrapped up quickly. It felt like the story was, and could, go one to new places but instead rested on the fact that the four had come together and so settled on wrapping up just so. You’ll have to read it (or listen) to see what I mean!
I’d recommend this book easily.
athryn's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I'm a big Fan of Banks, having read most of his genre books at this point. I gotta say, this was my least favorite of his. It spends a lot of time on setup, with not enough of that setup being worldbuilding, so it took me a while to actually grok what was going on. Once it gets to about the halfway point it definitely improves, and I enjoyed the latter half, but it just overall frustrated me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Death, Murder, and Torture
vbroes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
oceanwader's review against another edition
4.0
The story unfolds in ten parts, with the perspective of four principal characters portrayed in each.
The young Bascule character is a treat. You have to be patient in reading his phonetically-spelled journal entries, but doing so is worth it.
This tale takes place millennia beyond our time and is filled with philosophically wondrous and technically challenging ideas, which is typical of Iain M. Banks science fiction. The scope of the author's imagination never fails to enthral.
The young Bascule character is a treat. You have to be patient in reading his phonetically-spelled journal entries, but doing so is worth it.
This tale takes place millennia beyond our time and is filled with philosophically wondrous and technically challenging ideas, which is typical of Iain M. Banks science fiction. The scope of the author's imagination never fails to enthral.