Iain M. Banks, Use of Weapons

"The Use of Weapons" by Ian M. Banks is a book that is also labelled as being of the same genre, context, and background as "Consider Phlebas" and "Excession". However, that fact and a common author are about the only connections.

The former is a celebration of all that has gone before in space operas, setting the scene for hugely overblown set pieces and flamboyant action. The latter concentrates on the larger picture of the Culture and the true guiding forces behind the decadent, morally indulgent, Culture. UoW, however, focuses on one particular human within that framework.

Reading somewhere between a James Bond Novel, a science-fiction book in the conventional sense, a horror and, most importantly, a fairly impressive psycho-drama, this book defies definition. Truly.

Our "hero" is a washed out, arrogant, borderline psychopathic agent of the secret service style organisation "Special Circumstances" whose quirks, foibles and angst provide the meat on the bones of this novel. Somehow, you're forced to like the man, despite his morally defunct occupation and love of violence.

Semi-biographical in nature the book follows a truly non-linear pattern, often leaving the reader wondering just who this man is and why they can never quite pin him down. Nonetheless, the reader finds himself building up a backlog of sympathy for this person whose primary motivation is to make sense of his demons, exploring ways to make sense of both the world at large and himself. Then Banks turns that sympathy on it's head in the space of one paragraph, changing the perspective on those very demons and leaving the reader torn.

Explaning this further would only serve to spoil the surprise. Suffice to say that this is my favourite Culture novel to date (although I am yet to read "Player of Games").