A review by tombomp
The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks
5.0
I've read through the whole series of Culture novels over the past 6 months, starting the next one after I've finished the last. It's sad coming to the end of the series which I've enjoyed a lot (even when I've criticised it), especially knowing that it's the end because the brilliant author has died. But in many ways this book feels like a fitting end to the series because it's so focused on endings and death in general.
The basis of the plot is around a whole civilisation about to Sublime - go off into the higher dimensions with an experience totally incomprehensible from here in the Real and basically disappear from galactic life almost totally. One of the ships refers to it as, paraphrasing, disappearing up your own arse. To the people back at home, it must seem very similar to death, even though it's like an afterlife that everyone knows for sure exists. Everyone has the same concerns with memorialising themselves, somehow proving they existed in the Real. One of the major characters concerns himself with having a star named after him. One of the major planets is covered in a giant city where the main character comes from that was originally built by a previously sublimed civilisation and now stands as a living monument to them, even with new inhabitants. The action is started by a ship from what's left behind of a previously sublimed civilization, existing only to tie up the loose ends they left when they went away. We hear what the music piece the book is named after is thought of by its long dead composer -. What it means to be remembered, what you leave behind, if it really matters - it's something that comes up again and again throughout the book.
Along the way you meet what's presumably the oldest human in the Culture, who was there when it was first founded. He gives his opinion on living and the meaning of it:
In a way, the themes of this book are a reaction to the bleakness of the first book of the series, Consider Phlebas. (massive spoilers for both that book and this) Maybe I haven't made my case well, but there's a sense of stoicism about this book. People die, bad things happen, but things go on. There's always something more, even with the horrible bits.
Along the way there's a variety of stuff that's seen throughout the series that's fun - lots of inter-Mind and internal Mind conversations and rivalries and multiple amazing landscapes and cultures and aliens described in loving detail.
I'm bad at articulating this stuff, but the message of the book to me was a sort of "there is meaning in every moment of life and just existing, ultimately we go and really our legacy doesn't matter that much because it will be picked over and taken and interpreted in ways we don't agree with but it's important that we try to do the right thing anyway and do what we can to make the future better and hopefully we'll leave our mark". Which sounds kind of wishy washy maybe. I don't know. The thing that kept me reading the series I think is the Culture itself. A lot of thought gets put into philosophical and aesthetic debates which suggest that somehow utopia is "boring" or looks with horror at the possibility of a future free from want and major conflict. Which is shit. I like the Culture on a lot of levels, but primarily I like that it is in many ways utopian, and the focus of the books isn't on "well it's not utopian" but on the moral dimension of what you should do from there and also the sheer amazingness and joy of being a post-scarcity society with the power to keep trillions of people happy and living and thriving. It's a beautiful thing to read about. Everything I've read about Iain Banks is that he cared about caring for others and making life better for everyone. In this sense the Culture is a worthy testament to him as a person both because of the great writing and concepts and as a political work. Maybe that's reaching too far. But the series as a whole is brilliant and this is a fitting send off to a great setting and world by a great author.
The basis of the plot is around a whole civilisation about to Sublime - go off into the higher dimensions with an experience totally incomprehensible from here in the Real and basically disappear from galactic life almost totally. One of the ships refers to it as, paraphrasing, disappearing up your own arse. To the people back at home, it must seem very similar to death, even though it's like an afterlife that everyone knows for sure exists. Everyone has the same concerns with memorialising themselves, somehow proving they existed in the Real. One of the major characters concerns himself with having a star named after him. One of the major planets is covered in a giant city where the main character comes from that was originally built by a previously sublimed civilisation and now stands as a living monument to them, even with new inhabitants. The action is started by a ship from what's left behind of a previously sublimed civilization, existing only to tie up the loose ends they left when they went away. We hear what the music piece the book is named after is thought of by its long dead composer -
Spoiler
he thought it was awful and it was made as a joke, even though it's now revered and is his legacyAlong the way you meet what's presumably the oldest human in the Culture, who was there when it was first founded. He gives his opinion on living and the meaning of it:
Living either never has any point, or is always its own point; being a naturally cheery soul, I lean towards the latter. However, just having done more of it than another person doesn’t really make much difference... Meaning is everywhere. There is always meaning. Or at least all things show a disturbing tendency to have meaning ascribed to them when intelligent creatures are present. It’s just that there’s no final Meaning, with a capital M.
In a way, the themes of this book are a reaction to the bleakness of the first book of the series, Consider Phlebas. (massive spoilers for both that book and this)
Spoiler
Phlebas ends on a sort of depressing note, very "shoot the shaggy dog" to use TVTropes terms. This book is similar, although far less depressing - mostly what happened didn't matter at all, yet people died for this thing that didn't matter. Nobody who was bad gets justice. Yet it to me is far more optimistic - there was some value in trying to do the right thing but it was better to leave the Gzilt legacy intact than try and tell the truth about their religious book when it'd cause confusion and panic even though the book barely matters to them any more. One of the character's talks about seeing the "ghost" of someone he killed - in a way they'll carry over to the Sublime, even in a very indirect way.Along the way there's a variety of stuff that's seen throughout the series that's fun - lots of inter-Mind and internal Mind conversations and rivalries and multiple amazing landscapes and cultures and aliens described in loving detail.
I'm bad at articulating this stuff, but the message of the book to me was a sort of "there is meaning in every moment of life and just existing, ultimately we go and really our legacy doesn't matter that much because it will be picked over and taken and interpreted in ways we don't agree with but it's important that we try to do the right thing anyway and do what we can to make the future better and hopefully we'll leave our mark". Which sounds kind of wishy washy maybe. I don't know. The thing that kept me reading the series I think is the Culture itself. A lot of thought gets put into philosophical and aesthetic debates which suggest that somehow utopia is "boring" or looks with horror at the possibility of a future free from want and major conflict. Which is shit. I like the Culture on a lot of levels, but primarily I like that it is in many ways utopian, and the focus of the books isn't on "well it's not utopian" but on the moral dimension of what you should do from there and also the sheer amazingness and joy of being a post-scarcity society with the power to keep trillions of people happy and living and thriving. It's a beautiful thing to read about. Everything I've read about Iain Banks is that he cared about caring for others and making life better for everyone. In this sense the Culture is a worthy testament to him as a person both because of the great writing and concepts and as a political work. Maybe that's reaching too far. But the series as a whole is brilliant and this is a fitting send off to a great setting and world by a great author.