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Surface Detail
Surface Detail is among Iain M. Banks' Culture novels, a breathtaking achievement from a writer whose body of work is without parallel in the modern history of science fiction.
It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.
It begins with a murder.
And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself.
Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture.
Benevolent, enlightened and almost infinitely resourceful though it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one of its most powerful -- and arguably deranged -- warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A war -- brutal, far-reaching -- is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it's about to erupt into reality.
It started in the realm of the Real and that is where it will end. It will touch countless lives and affect entire civilizations, but at the center of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether.
The Culture Series
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
The State of the Art
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
More Books from Iain M. Banks
Reviews
Any Banks novel is a good choice! The CULTURE novels are witty, irreverent, and satisfying in all regards. I’ve re-read his tales to even greater enjoyment each time.
By Chaplain00
Banks is profoundly great wordsmith. This book inspires the imagination. Interesting characters. Great plotting. Aftermaths affirmed.
By JimDex
Ian Banks' Culture Series is quite simply extraordinary. His imagination and detail make me read these books over and over again. The Culture-a quasi anarchic utopia-is a civilization that I would join in a heartbeat! It's a loss to the world that Ian banks isn't alive and taking us on his journey.
By Brucifer-in-Texas
I mean, who can't paint hell better than Banks? Read "The Wasp Factory" sometime, the only book that I loved but didn't want to leave for the next reader since it was so depressing. This book brings the old galactic saviors in a little late but ends exceptionally well. And at the risk of a spoiler, if we can someday transfer our selves to a computer substrate what is to prevent someone from emulating hell along the way?
By Cncjerry
I doubt my review will do any sort of justice to Mr Banks' work. All I can say is that once again he completely enthralled me. Read this or any other of his works (including those of his alter ego "Iain Banks") - you won't be disappointed!
By *** Diabl0 ***