by Iain M. Banks
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Product Description
In a world renowned even within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, even without knowing the full truth, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever.
Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.
Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.
MATTER is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head.
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Great story, 2008-09-13
The scope of this story is huge but very finely crafted. The details are very carefully created to add texture to the larger overarching plot. A great addition to the Culture series of books but also a good standalone story.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Getting Disillusioned, 2008-09-12
After being disappointed with The Algebraist and now with Matter, I'm not much looking forward to any future Banks novels.
My thoughts on this most recent entry into the Culture Universe can be summed up with two points: too long and unbalanced. The book is simply too long, apparently Banks has reach that point where he no longer has to listen to editors, which is a shame as this book could have been great with a lot of trimming and a few revisions. Then there is the issue of how utterly rushed the conclusion is compared to the sheer amount of time spent setting up for the climax. And the epilogue, placed after the appendix for whatever reason, didn't make up for the short and bittersweet ending.
There were simply too many ideas on this book that were of little-to-no consequence and too many long passages that could easily have been shortened, if not completely skipped. This novel is nearly 600 pages but hardly contains enough real content for a 300 page novel, in my opinion. Hopefully on his next outing Banks will use an editor who can reign him in when he gets too "ambitious" again.
0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 unique, 2008-09-06
Banks is unique - his use of language is extra-ordinary -
of course his plots are thin - usually just a peg to hang his ideas on -
and he is often guilty of overwordiness -
but reading his best books is an unique experience for the most
blasé science fictionnado
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Culture is back.., 2008-08-04
I'm a big fan of Ian Banks and the Culture series and this latest chapter
is a great read and addition to the series.
While not as stunning as earlier Culture books (Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, Player of Games), Matter continues Ian Banks mixed dark and hopeful themes, examining human nature, economics and technology.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
One of Bank's better, 2008-07-24
Bank's latest Culture novel, Matter, is one of the strongest in the series, together with Player of Games and Excession. The plot involves several perspectives on the Culture universe as Banks presents a whole hierarchy of civilisations, from a medieval society placed within an artificial world, to the different caretakers of the same world (and their conflicts with one another), to the supremes like Culture and the Morganwelt. We meet a lot of characters: a medieval prince fighting for his right to the throne, a SC agent on her way home, an ancient ship mind, a renegade from the culture and some really weird and dangerous aliens, to mention a few. Highly recommended.
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