Customer Reviews

Matter (Culture)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For the purposes of this review, I will assume the reader is already familiar with the Culture series of novels. If you have not read this series before: "Player of Games" and "Consider Phlebas" are both better introductions (and better reads).
This book has a very complex plot and a huge cast of characters. The Glossary and Cast of Characters alone are nearly 20 pages. To simplify greatly, the story follows three characters: the two sons and single daughter of King Hausk, lord of Sarl, a technologically backwards (approximately 19th century) land inside a "ShellWorld"...an ancient, artifical world of nested levels like Russian dolls, complete with nuclear suns and a variety of unique landscapes. The daughter (Djan) has long been away, adopted into the Culture and recruited into Special Circumstances. When their father is killed, one brother (Ferbin) flees their home looking for help from another SC agent who once helped their family, or failing that, his sister. The other brother (Oramen), unaware of his brother's fate or the great personal danger he is in, stays behind as prince Regent. Meanwhile Djan is travelling home upon hearing of her father's death.
Ferbin travels outward: literally out of the interior of the Shellworld, out into space; and figuratively outward from a cultural backwater into the enormous domain of the Culture. Meanwhile, Djan is following the opposite course, inwards from the expanses of the Culture to her old home. While Banks does an excellent job of developing the unique personalities and backgrounds of the 3 characters, they are primarily used to reflect on the universe he has created. Ferbin is the simple provincial, exposed to and struggling to understand the size and technological wonders of the Culture, while Djan is the sophisticated citizen of the galaxy through whose eyes we can see the Culture as it sees itself. The story of Oramen meanwhile allows Banks to describe their peculiar Shellworld home and contrast petty local politics with the grand scale of the greater universe. The book ends up almost reading as related travelogues. Having three characters in very different settings allows free rein to Banks's imagination as he conjures up world after world, alien race after alien race, technogical marvels, magnificient landscapes and colorful peoples.
The title of the book comes from one character's pessimistic philosophy: we must be living in a totally materialistic universe, because no created universe with a purpose could be so miserable and random. The central plot is around politics in Sarl, but the events, so grandly important and historic to the kings and princes of that land, are unnoticeably trivial on the galactic scale. Banks reinforces this by having the Sarl be patrons of a space-faring race called the Oct, but they in turn are backwards clients of the Nariscene who are further clients of the Morthanveld who are peer to the Culture. Even the God of the Sarl is merely a representative of one of the ancient galatic cultures, and not a particularly formidable one. For a science fiction book, Matter contains a lot of thinking about the meaning and purpose of life.
Unfortunately, after nearly 500 pages of exploring the Shellworld, the galaxy, a series of ancient mysteries and the psyches of its major characters, the book rushes to a unsatisfactory conclusion. I do not mean that there is no happy ending...this is Banks after all and the only thing predictable about the ending is that it is unpredictable. That is the great merit of the plot. Rather, the ending is highly anticlimactic. The book ends with a literal bang, but the buildup has gone on so long that tying it all up in 80 pages is far too brief and disappointing. After spending whole chapters on conversations in pubs and descriptions of making travel arrangements, Banks starts skipping over major events like battles and the deaths of major characters...dismissing them with asides and after-the-facts. This compression continues to the very end, where major events transpire in pages and finally paragraphs. This may be the final expression of the book's philosophy: the reduction of major characters and plot-lines to throw away sentences, but it feels more like Banks ran out of space or time. That a character in the last few pages is literally a God in a Machine may be clever, but does not excuse the Deus ex Machina feeling of the end.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the Culture, the Shellworld, etc. But it took too long, and the ending is unsatisfactory on many levels. "Matter" is well written...on a page by page basis ranking with Banks's best, but I can't ever imagine wanting to re-read it or recommend it to someone who isn't a Culture devotee...thus my 3 star rating.

As a great fan of Ian Banks and the Culture series, I could read 600 or 6000 pages without finding it too long and many of the ideas (such as Shellworlds and the mystery of their purpose) are quite interesting and fun. But Matter has such a rushed and sketchy ending that it's ultimately unsatisfying. If the brief ending is intended to tell us how fragile life is and how war really occurs, then this is done in a way that is pretty sophomoric and not very compelling. Also, many of the characters seem underdeveloped and none, other than a few AIs, are very sympathetic. And without spoiling the ending any further, to have a god-like (apparent) bad guy AI tricked in a simple fashion by the (apparent and frankly not very compelling) hero seems almost silly. Altogether, it feels like the publisher got antsy about the deadline and said "turn in your work now!" when it wasn't really finished. Too bad, because this is one of the most creative and stimulating Sci Fi series out there and Matter v2.0 could have been quite good.

I've finally finished "Matter", the latest "Culture" novel by Iain M. Banks. It's been three years since his last book, "The Algebraist", about which I had very mixed feelings. Like many of Banks' readers, I was hoping for a return to a more confident kind of story-telling, without the inconsistencies that had marred "The Algebraist".

Overall, I enjoyed it a great deal. Structurally, it has a familiar pattern: three journeys, party in space but mostly of self-discovery, that lead up to a singular point of crisis. Sounds a bit like "Lord of the Rings", doesn't it? Unlike "LotR", the protagonists are three siblings, but as in Tolkien's work the journeys are the main point of the tale. The revelation of the true nature of the crisis, and the climactic confrontation, are compressed into the last few pages. The dénouement is crudely perfunctory; a brief epilogue that follows an appendix, and almost seems to parody the close of Tolkien's "Return of the King".

Although the narrative is populated with familiar elements from earlier "Culture" novels, "Matter" keeps scratching some of the itches that affected Banks in "The Algebraist". There is a cynical undercurrent about the illusion of "progress", together with a determined attempt to destroy any comfortable identification that we might make between ourselves and any particular part of his menagerie. Perhaps you remember the wonderful quote by Sir Martin Rees, the British astronomer:
"It will not be humans who witness the demise of the Sun six billion years hence; it will be entities as different from us as we are from bacteria."

Banks confronts us with a universe whose population spans a vast spectrum of capabilities, of intentions, of possibilities. And with that variety there is inevitably going to be confusion, frustration and mutual incomprehension. As in "The Algebraist", there are dead ends and unexplained elements. This is an important aspect of Banks' world that needs to be conveyed, but some of the protagonists' confusion winds up spilling over to the reader.

"Matter" feels more explicitly violent than earlier books by Banks; it's as if he's been reading Scalzi and other mil-sci-fi writers. This is not a criticism, just an observation. There is a deliberate "compare and contrast" between traditional warfare - think 17th century Europe with a dash of steam-punk - and conflict in a future of robotic weaponry and smart, morphing armour:

"In the unlikely event we do get involved in a serious firefight and the suits think you're under real threat," Djan Seriy had told the two Sarl men, "they'll take over. High-end exchanges happen too fast for human reactions so the suits will do the aiming, firing and dodging for you." She'd seen the expressions of dismay on their faces, and shrugged. "It's like all war; months of utter boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. It's just the moments are sometimes measured in milliseconds and the engagement's often over before you're aware it has even begun."
("Matter", p.474)

So if "The Algebraist" was a three-and-a-half star book, "Matter" is a solid four-star effort, and as I think about it over the next few days I may add another half star. Definitely recommended; I hope we don't have to wait another three years for the next one.

I have been a fan of Iain M. Banks' "Culture" series for a while. A hyper-advanced interstellar society run by a bunch of playful AIs that spend their free time interfering in the fates of less developed races? Yes please! Banks normally brings a big dose of imagination with a literary bent to science fiction. And his Culture series is Space Opera at it's finest.

I wish I could tell you that "Matter" is a book that epitomizes everything Banks does best, but in fact it's the opposite: slow-moving, un-focused and just plain sloppy. It really feels like Banks phoned this one in.

The plot revolves around a 'shell-world', an artificially constructed world that is in onion-like layers, each 'level' inhabited by a different race. Way down on the 8th and 9th levels are the Sarl, a pre-industrial, war-like civilization. The book primarily follows the adventures of two princes and one princess of the Sarl. The girl has grown up in the Culture and become an agent of Special Circumstances. She is returning home after hearing their father has died. Meanwhile one of her brothers is on the run after being the sole witness to his father's assassination by his closest friend. The other brother is now the presumptive heir to the throne and must deal the requisite web of politics and intrigue.

First nitpick - if you're a fan of the Culture, you're going to be bored to tears by the Sarl, and they take up at least half the book. Banks has made every alien race that surrounds them fascinating and mysterious, but instead of hearing more about the aliens we get Sarl Sarl Sarl.

Second, the plotting is just sloppy. There is a major subplot about the growing tension between two leaders, one who is virtuous and one who is villainous. This is setup throughout the book as one of or perhaps even THE major conflict. Then, a few chapters before the end of the book, it is completely jettisoned and we learn the unsatisfying payoff after the fact from different characters.

Third, this book needed to be shorter. A LOT shorter. Who is this guys' editor? I love Banks' universe as much as the next reader, but the fact is that the Morthanveld and Nariscene have very little relevance to the plot and we don't need to spend pages and pages learning about their ships and their home-worlds. Come to think of it, most of this book feels like a digression, although from what the reader is never sure since it's not clear where the book is going. Banks moves his characters around a series of elaborate set-pieces, and endless parade of establishing shots without any close-ups.

The ending is perfunctory and unsatisfying, leaving most of those plot threads completely untouched. We don't ultimately learn anything about any of the ancient galactic mysteries Banks has been building up (Why are the Oct ships making secret, holographic copies of themselves? Who built the ancient city and put the mysterious cubes in it in the first place? Does the Xinthian WorldGod ever actually DO anything?).

It's obvious that Banks is making a larger philosophical point with the abrupt ending, but it's not one that the reader is likely to grant him after several hundred pages of rambling nonsense.

Now, don't get me wrong. Banks on a bad day is still better than most sci-fi authors at their best. Nonetheless, enjoyment of this particular book may rest entirely on how big of a sci-fi geek you are. If breathtaking descriptions of alien species and exotic home-worlds are what get you up in the morning, there may be something for you here. But I shudder to think what the SF newcomer will make of the endless parade of insectile aliens, exotic spaceships and people jetting around on rocket packs.

For those looking for some GOOD Banks, I would recommend either The Player of Games or Look to Windward, among others.

This is the first Iain M. Banks that I have read and, for the most part, I'm sadly disappointed.

Banks is a skillful writer, in that any given page is well constructed and interesting. But plotting and character development are dismal. This 600 page book contains the kernel of a great 300 page novel. Hundreds of pages seem like filler. Perhaps Mr. Banks feels his "Culture" universe is so fascinating in general that he can just drone on about it's denizens and the reader will be content.

There are only a handful of main characters and most of them are weakly developed and poorly motivated. Major plot themes are developed and then aborted. And, when I was finished reading (and skimming in parts), I was amazed at how little actually happened.

Mr. Banks has talent. But he sure could use a hearty dose of self-discipline as well as the talents of a tough editor.

There are essentially two kinds of science fiction writers: those who use a story to expound their Big Ideas, and those whose Story just happens to contain a big idea or two.

I've always been a fan of the latter group, and long thought Mr. Banks to be its shining example, but I'm forced to conclude that in his latest offering, the man has too many Ideas and not enough Story.

With twenty four other reviews already on this site, it falls to me to reinforce and amplify some of the comments made by earlier reviewers. Much of the novel is taken up with characters moving from place to place without doing very much of anything except ruminating on the nature of the universe. Go-nowhere subplots overload the front end, while the ending feels rushed and compressed almost to the point of unintelligibility. The end result feels hurried and uneven, with little payoff for your efforts to wade through the earlier chapters.

That's the bad news. The good news is that this is indeed some of the most inventive fiction out there, and the scope of Mr. Banks' universe-building remains awesome. Every setting is entirely fresh, fascinating in concept and thoughtful in delivery, populated with truly *alien* aliens, and powered by technology of almost giddy inventiveness.

Still, it is hard to recommend Matter to anyone new to Mr. Banks' works. Consider Philebas also explores our insignificance in the universe, but does so with far more wit and dash and far less navel-gazing, while Use of Weapons is both more inventively structured and more entertainingly written. Both are highly recommended.

I have been a Banks fan for some time. This is perhaps the first book of his that I was not completely spellbound by. It's OK, but just doesn't have the zing that I have come to expect. I could forgive the long and fuzzy plot if the characterizations were OK. For example, compared to previous aliens (The Idirians, The Dwellers, the Affront, etc.) the denizens of this book just don't cut it. Even the "oct", whose tortured grammar should lend themselves to the Banksian writing style, are sort of flat and you never really care about them one way or the other.

As other reviewers have pointed out, there are endless pages of boring stuff on a primitive people called the "Sarl" but a lot of potentially interesting things that get glossed over. A sense of mystery is great - like when you are left wondering exactly what the galaxy would be like after a billion years in "Look to Windward", or who the "greater reviled" were - but this is ridiculous. What was it with the "WorldGod", or the lost city, or the Iln, etc. There is a fine line between a novel with a few carefully chosen mysteries and a poorly-plotted novel with nothing but loose ends, and I think that this once Mr. Banks has stepped over it.

Not a bad read for the beach, but that's about it.

This is far from Banks's best work. For fans it gives only a faint echo of what we've liked about the Culture. For newcomers it may put them off entirely, which would be a shame.

Two siblings, each accompanied by a sidekick, go on a long trip through the universe, both eventually arriving back at their home for an epic confrontation. They pass through many fantastic situations, showing Banks's considerable imagination of alternate worlds.

But we're left wondering why it really matters, for neither the heroes nor their enemies inspire much sympathy or have really plausible reasons for their actions. In a better book this might make them open-ended, ambiguous or mysterious but here it's just dull.

The characters are often being hauled around like interstellar luggage rather than moving themselves and this is metaphorically true too: they proceed through the book as if on a conveyor belt, past the colorful characters and situations, with little sense that they matter to either the protagonists or to us. (Even the word "protagonist" is a bit kind.)

As others have noted, The Algebraist has similar problems but in my opinion is more interesting. Canal Dreams shares exploration of people's darker motivations, and is much more interesting.

Banks has written that he keeps a notebook of interesting ideas that may someday fit into books. It seems like he's dumped that notebook into Matter with only the barest of plots or characterization, and it's not enough. It's not so much that the book is long, as that it doesn't have the backbone to support itself.

I agree with many of the other reviewers who have noted that Banks could do with some editing. Although I have been reading his novels (both mainstream and sci-fi) since the early 90's, Matter is probably the weakest of his sci-fi works. The much referred to "complexity" of the plot stems from its overpopulation with unnecessary characters, and the endless pages describing the journeys of these unsympathetic individuals bored me senseless. Why should I care? Banks obviously doesn't.

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.