Transition [Hardcover]

Iain Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2009

A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers? On the Concern's books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there's the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Banks's latest novel opens with a warning from "Patient 8262" stating that he or she is an unreliable narrator, before the epic takes off, plunging the reader into a whirlwind of intricately constructed characters and detailed accounts of their experiences as they "flit" across multiple Earths. The cast of characters include Adrian, the greedy city trader, emblematic of the selfishness needed to become a "traveler"; the Philosopher, an assassin who despises killing; a catch-me-if-you-can rogue operative named Mrs. Mulverhill; and the imperious Madame d'Ortolan, possibly the leader of the Concern, a vast multi-world organization that claims to protect worlds from chaos, but may also hide a greater, darker purpose. Banks's prose is elegant and electric and his story dizzying, but inevitable contradictions are brilliantly tied together-the only way many characters maintain sanity is to question everything, and readers would be well-advised to do the same. Banks manages the neat feat of synthesizing 19th-century style with the cutting edge, the irreverent with the philosophical, and the intellectual with the adventurous. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

** 'Baroque, digressive, kinetic, teeming with big ideas and grand theories, it's a novel to get lost in ... gripping THE TIMES ** 'Stunning ... tackles the issues of the responsibility of power, the moral implications of intervention and even the philosophical conundrum of what constitutes life itself. If only more contemporary fiction were like it ... A book that makes you l INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY ** 'One of Iain Banks's most imaginative and compelling novels yet SCOTSMAN --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (September 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316731072
• ISBN-13: 978-0316731072
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,804,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, The Wasp Factory, in 1984. Consider Phlebas, his first science fiction novel, was published under the name Iain M. Banks in 1987. He is now acclaimed as one of the most powerful, innovative, and exciting writers of his generation. Iain Banks lives in Fife, Scotland. Find out more about him at www.iainbanks.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Banks at his most inventive & daring, September 24, 2009

By 

G. Ronald "George" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transition (Hardcover)

This book 'transitions' the split between Iain Banks' non-sci-fi output & Iain M. Banks' vast space operas, presenting a sci-fi tale with a contemporary setting.

It is based on the premise that a virtually infinite number of parallel dimensions do indeed exist. The inhabitants of one of them have discovered that by ingesting a drug called Septus, they can transport their consciousness into the bodies of unsuspecting people in other dimensions & thus meddle with the socio-political development of other Earths. They have therefore formed The Concern - an organisation designed to strictly control the use of 'transitioning' & ensure it is used to benefit other worlds. But since The Concern's High Council plays its cards suffocatingly close to its chest, can they actually be trusted? Or could some of its members have adgendas of their own? And who decides what constitutes the greater good anyway? These are questions one of The Concern's assassins has to find answers to when he becomes a piece in a deadly game between his employers & an enigmatic renegade.

I have found that many of Banks' novels (such as The Business) consist of a story which can be summed up in 100 pages, fleshed out with 300 or so pages of florid descriptions & background details. Transition, however, never meanders far from the main plot. It's an expertly-crafted, entertaining & thought-provoking read, which remains gripping throughout. In my view, it's one of his best.

In short, the transition from prologue to epilogue was a thoroughly enjoyable one.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes time to get into, but worth the effort, September 21, 2009

By 

John Mitchell (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Transition (Hardcover)

Although I gave this book 5 stars, it's not for everyone: if you like your sci-fi to have a clear and straightforward plot line, conventional narration, and the usual trappings of sci-fi, there's very few of those things on display here. Instead the narration flits disconcertingly between a variety of characters, who, we are informed, may not be reliable (or even identifiable: in some cases we aren't even given a name).

If you're prepared to journey with this cast of unreliable narrators and stick with the journey through the (at times quite slow-paced) initial machinations, it builds to a very satisfying and thought-provoking read - one of Mr. Bank's best, in my opinion.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely an "Iain M Banks", October 17, 2009

By 

Andrew Rakich (Tucson, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Transition (Hardcover)

Great book, I was a bit put off by some pundits commenting that the author was wrong to use "Ian M. Banks" for one of his works of contemporary fiction.

Don't be.

Good sci-fi executed with the flair I've come to expect from I. M. Banks.

Not a Culture book though, looking forward to more of them.

P.S. The reviewer immediately below me, Harriet K., is a fake, a stooge for a publishing house, see the comments associated with her review. Apparently she reviews about 8 books a day on average with 5 stars every time. Amazon you should do something about this sort of blatant marketing rubbish.