This is the first book by Iain Banks that I have read and indeed the first novel in quite some time. I have realised that when I write a review it is influenced by several factors that have nothing to do with the book itself. For starters my situation in life and where I am can affect the way I feel about a book when I am reading it, not to mention how long passes between each time I pick the book up. I read this one in about a month at work. I am also affected by how many books I have read recently as I can’t help but compare them to the current book I am reading. I guess we all compare things in life even though the thing that you’re comparing it to is unfairly affected by something they can’t controll i.e your situation.
I only make this point because reading this book reminded me how much I love reading fiction and this one in particular has been a real enjoyment but it did dawn on me that I may not have enjoyed it as much had I recently read several good books. It also helps that it is probably my favorite genre – science fiction.
The book is very well written which you would expect from a seasoned author such as Iain Banks. I did learn shortly after starting to read it that Iain Banks died last year (2013) of cancer. As ever with books like this, mainly because it takes me a while to read them, I find it difficult to follow multiple characters with seemingly no connection between them. Of course that is part of what makes such an intriguing story line but also what makes it hard for me to follow. I would say that this was about the limit of what I find enjoyable to follow. There are only really six main separate characters: The Transitionary Temudjin Oh, The Philosopher, Patient 8262, Adrian, Mrs Mulverhill and Madame d’Ortolan. I found it did get easier to follow once I got into the meat of the story. Although quite early on I did find myself almost giving up reading it because of this flitting from person to person seemingly unconnected. Which is actually what the story is about, with the characters having the ability to transition between an infinite number of parallel worlds. When they do so they take over the body of an individual in the world that they have transitioned to and this is all done with the aid of something called Septus. A secretive organisation known as The Concern controls the supply of Septus as well as deciding who gets to become “aware” and thus gain the ability to transition. You don’t really learn much more about the Concern than this as the book focuses much more on the character development. All the characters are somehow connected to the Concern with Madame d’Ortolan in charge. The narrative also does has that clever non-linear timeline thing going on which makes it much more interesting. Iain Banks does an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends but leaving just the right amount of unanswered questions. It has certainly made me keen to read more of his work and I would recommend any book lover to give this one a read especially if you are a sci-fi fan.
Favourite quote from the book:
“The longer you gamble everything, the more certain you are to lose it.” – Mrs Mulverhill, page 385.
Overall: 85%