lapsed_pacifist's review
adventurous
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
johnwillson's review
1.0
Too rambly. When I read [a:Iain M. Banks|5807106|Iain M. Banks|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1352410520p2/5807106.jpg]' [b:The Player of Games|18630|The Player of Games (Culture, #2)|Iain M. Banks|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386922873s/18630.jpg|1494157], and loved it, I thought I was going to be a huge Banks fan, and set out to read all his other books in the Culture series. But, this is the second Culture novel that I've abandoned part-way through.
There are long scenes - chapters - describing a character's subjective experience of a madness, or a coma, or childhood, but without identifying for us poor readers which character it is! Only "he," no names. Sure, as the book wears on, we'll eventually figure it out; but in the meantime, I don't like piling up all these experiences under one (assumed) character, only to have to try to mentally shift that to another character when I am finally allowed to know who it is. And besides the uncertainty, these extended flashbacks are just really boring. There's not enough story going on here.
I'm not sure that I'd recommend this book to anyone. Go read The Player Of Games, instead, it's brilliant.
There are long scenes - chapters - describing a character's subjective experience of a madness, or a coma, or childhood, but without identifying for us poor readers which character it is! Only "he," no names. Sure, as the book wears on, we'll eventually figure it out; but in the meantime, I don't like piling up all these experiences under one (assumed) character, only to have to try to mentally shift that to another character when I am finally allowed to know who it is. And besides the uncertainty, these extended flashbacks are just really boring. There's not enough story going on here.
I'm not sure that I'd recommend this book to anyone. Go read The Player Of Games, instead, it's brilliant.
fletchie's review
3.0
It seems many people regard Use of Weapons as one of the best Culture novels. Unfortunately, I disagree. The structure is clever and the ending is fantastic, but ultimately I didn't enjoy myself. I think the big issue here is pacing, or complete lack thereof for the majority of the novel.
There are select moments scattered throughout the novel that are memorable and quite remarkable, as well as fast paced and engaging. This includes the final few chapters that conclude with a fantastic (if somewhat foreshadowed) twist. Problematically, the sections that drew me in were brief and far between. Eighty percent of this novel just dragged for me and I never truly got hooked. There was very little true story progression and it very much felt as if almost nothing happened for the first three quarters of the book. Additionally I had more interest in the secondary characters than the protagonist, who was mysterious but utterly unrelatable and ultimately bland compared to the others.
I am generally quite generous with how I rate books. I try my best to be open minded and give them the benefit of the doubt, but I can't bring myself to give this more than three stars. While there were some real five star moments throughout, the majority of the book was two stars for me (according to this rating system: 'it was okay') but I've bumped it up a star for these genuinely likeable segments.
There are select moments scattered throughout the novel that are memorable and quite remarkable, as well as fast paced and engaging. This includes the final few chapters that conclude with a fantastic (if somewhat foreshadowed) twist. Problematically, the sections that drew me in were brief and far between. Eighty percent of this novel just dragged for me and I never truly got hooked. There was very little true story progression and it very much felt as if almost nothing happened for the first three quarters of the book. Additionally I had more interest in the secondary characters than the protagonist, who was mysterious but utterly unrelatable and ultimately bland compared to the others.
I am generally quite generous with how I rate books. I try my best to be open minded and give them the benefit of the doubt, but I can't bring myself to give this more than three stars. While there were some real five star moments throughout, the majority of the book was two stars for me (according to this rating system: 'it was okay') but I've bumped it up a star for these genuinely likeable segments.
dolaya's review
3.0
Categories: Science Fiction, Tough but Good
I liked this book. It's a little less highly rated than the other entries in the series, but that's mostly because the way that Banks wrote it made it much harder to read than the other two. Keeping the chronology straight in one's head and realizing what characters are in each chapter is key, but occasionally difficult, and that is reflected in the time it took me to read this.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with Banks' range and impressed at how he can so clearly change the way his novels read while still maintaining a good story. And it is a good story if you can get into it. I would recommend this book, though with a fair warning that it will take more effort to read than previous entries in the series.
I liked this book. It's a little less highly rated than the other entries in the series, but that's mostly because the way that Banks wrote it made it much harder to read than the other two. Keeping the chronology straight in one's head and realizing what characters are in each chapter is key, but occasionally difficult, and that is reflected in the time it took me to read this.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with Banks' range and impressed at how he can so clearly change the way his novels read while still maintaining a good story. And it is a good story if you can get into it. I would recommend this book, though with a fair warning that it will take more effort to read than previous entries in the series.
tpietila's review
4.0
The book has two different stories, or rather the same long story - one part of which is going forward and one part going backward - in more or less alternate chapters. Thrown in are some flashbacks to even earlier events. Cheradenine Zakalwe is a man who isn’t originally from the Culture (a vastly advanced post-scarcity interstellar commonwealth mostly run by super intelligent artificial intelligences). The Special Circumstances, Culture’s military/espionage organization, has recruited him and he has worked in many different kinds of missions, being very successful. Now the Culture needs him for another mission, but he has managed to disappear from his trackers. He eventually consents to the mission if he gets the location of a certain woman. The forward-going chapters describe how the Culture manages to find him and how he handles the new mission he is assigned to. Pretty imaginatively – and very efficiently, it turns out. In the end, even too well. The alternate chapters examine Zakelwe’s past missions for the Culture. He has always been very effective, but not always the most easily controllable operative. Especially when the objective of the mission isn’t what it seems at a first glance. The Culture plays a very long game, and the immediate effect of their actions sometimes seems to be counterproductive given their stated goal, that is, easing military tensions and wars everywhere. He has endured some pretty devastating missions, but has always survived and is found and rescued at the last possible moment by the Culture and his “handler,” Diziet Sma, and an AI drone, Skaffen-Amtiskaw. At the end, the past meets the present.
The format of the story was a bit confusing at first, and I am still unsure when the prologues happen compared to the rest of the story, but the book was excellent nevertheless. Zakalwe has an intriguing personality and a very sharp tactical mind, and he is able to use almost anything as a weapon. By the end of the book it turns out that he is also ready to do literally anything to win against and control his opponent. The writing was good, as everything by Iain M. Banks usually is, and the Culture itself was fascinating to read about.
The format of the story was a bit confusing at first, and I am still unsure when the prologues happen compared to the rest of the story, but the book was excellent nevertheless. Zakalwe has an intriguing personality and a very sharp tactical mind, and he is able to use almost anything as a weapon. By the end of the book it turns out that he is also ready to do literally anything to win against and control his opponent. The writing was good, as everything by Iain M. Banks usually is, and the Culture itself was fascinating to read about.
rom1504's review
3.0
Interesting book but the many many jumps in time make the story really hard to follow.
_pickle_'s review
3.0
A solid Culture novel. Wasn't wild about the structure, but the story was generally strong.
sarahxsimon's review
3.0
Clever structure, but for such an “action” filled book, I found myself pretty bored. The Roman numeral chapters Could have been replaced with pretty much anything and it wouldn’t haven’t affected the plot. I also thought the twist was not well-foreshadowed.
pinch's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Awesome, in the original sense. Difficult and gruesome to read at times, but oh so rewarding. Beautifully crafted and stitched together.
birdbug's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape