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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Culture novel, but well worth your time, December 17, 2002
t doesn't matter what Banks is about--from metaphysical to mystery, science fiction to horror--he's always good. Feersum Endjinn is no exception, starting off with multiple viewpoints and plotlines that weave about each other before reaching a grand conclusion, similar to his earlier The Bridge, but within the style of adventure SF rather than metaphysical fantasy. Just because it's SF adventure, doesn't mean that it's entirely fluff--one sixthe of the book is entirely in a "Riddley Walker-ish" language as seen in the title (a character "writes" phonetically), which is difficult at times to read but is surprisingly not grating. It's just another in Banks' voluminous bag of tricks, and he pulls it off like Harry Houdini. Stars are disappearing because the Encroachment--a cloud of space dust thick enough to block starlight--is slowly enveloping the solar system. Earth has lost some of its technical maturity due to complacency in the ruling bureaucracy and the departure of former generations. However, there is a computer hive-mind that exists that may have the answers to the coming crisis, if only someone knew how to access it and if the rulers would allow them to do so. As the stars flicker out, and the time to do something--anything--decreases, the characters engage in a political struggle to determine how the crisis will be met. I was initially disappointed that this wasn't a "Culture" novel, having grown to love the philosophical fun of those books, but quickly discovered that there was much to love here as well. Feersum Endjinn has that joy of discovery that is the realm of good science fiction, wherein everything is new and different, where nothing is quite as it seems, yet everything is also very familiar. And Banks, that fine purveyor of the trick ending, decides to go for obfusication rather than chicanery, and the result is quite pleasing. Iain Banks continues his winning streak, every recent book a grand slam home run.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Feersumly gd, September 20, 2000
At the time of the action of this intriguing novel (which occurs over a couple of days, or several decades, depending on how you measure it), the Earth of the very far future is inhabited by the descendants of those who stayed when most humans traveled to the stars in the "Diaspora". Earth is dominated by an aristocratic class, based in a huge castle, so large that the highest tower extends into space, and the King`s residence, a large "palace", is contained within a chandelier of the greater castle. Ordinary humans are allowed 8 normal lifespans (copies apparently made of their brains` contents at the time of death), after which they are allowed 8 additional "lives" in a sort of virtual reality maintained in the global computer net, after which their personality becomes a component of the AI complex which "is" the net (or "crypt" as Banks cleverly calls it.) At the time of the action, Earth is threatened both by the Encroachment, a dust cloud which will swallow the Sun in a few centuries, and by a virus which is infecting the Crypt. Possible solutions to these problems were left by the humans of the Diaspora, but the means of access to these solutions has been forgotten. The story is told in four threads, following four main characters: a mysterious, nameless woman, who is soon revealed as a messenger from the Crypt; the King`s Chief Scientist, Hortis Gadfium, who is part of a conspiracy which has been trying to discover the hidden solution to the problem of the Encroachment; an aristocrat and loyal general of the King`s, Alandre Sessine, who is on the point of discovering that the King and his advisors are obstructing progress towards solving the problem of the Encroachment, apparently because such progress is a threat to the status quo, and who is assassinated multiple times, both in real life and post-death virtual reality, for his pains; and finally, Bascule, a young, innocent "teller", that is, one who communicates with the Crypt as part of his job, who is also "recruited" by the Crypt to help find the solution to the encroachment problem. These four threads are soon seen to be quests which will converge on each other. Much time is spent exploring both the physical and virtual reality of this far future Earth. The resolution is logical and satisfying, and the last line of the book is marvelous. The strength of this book is the colorful presentation of a truly strange future world. I also found the "Virtual Reality" of the Crypt internally convincing, in a way I often don`t (i.e. I could never really believe in William Gibson`s visions of Cyberspace.) That isn`t to say that Banks has provided rock solid scientific rationales for the elements of this future world: far from it, but he makes us happily suspend disbelief in a lot of unlikely things, partly simply by setting the story so far in the future. In addition, Banks is an excellent and audacious writer. The Bascule sections of the novel are told in a compressed prose, abbreviating words phonetically (like feersum endjinn for fearsome engine), also using numbers and symbols. This is initially difficult to follow, but I picked up on it pretty quickly, and I thought it was vital to providing Bascule an individual voice (one quite reminiscent of Holden Caulfield`s voice, I thought). In summary, I loved this book. It is "over the top", but in a good way, and Banks makes it all work.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific SF for non-SF readers, July 23, 1998
I'm not a sci-fi person generally, but I thought this was a terrific, terrific book. Banks creates a spectacularly complete world in which his separate plot lines bend and weave with authority and certainty. I have rarely encountered an author so creative or a fictional world so comprehensive. He demonstrates his total literary mastery, however, in sekshuns writen fonetily, toled by a ok, nun to brite felo hoo seez mutch more than mosst peepul do. Whereas the same technique drove me bonkers in "Riddley Walker", in "Feersum Endjinn" I found myself looking forward to the phonetic sections and the point of view expressed in them. Amazing experience.
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