| Matter | 
 enlarge | Author: Iain M. Banks
Publisher: Orbit
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy Used: $11.99
You Save: $14.00 (54%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  51 reviews
Sales Rank: 18769
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 608
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.9
ISBN: 0316005363
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780316005364
ASIN: 0316005363
Publication Date: February 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In a world renowned even within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, even without knowing the full truth, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever.
Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.
Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.
MATTER is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 46 more reviews...
 My new favourite Culture novel November 29, 2008
"Matter" is a novel of energy, wit, and vision, all of which I found somewhat lacking in Mr. Banks' recent mainstream novel "The Steep Approach to Garbadale"; he's probably not going to change his publishing habits, but it seems clear he's having a lot more fun, and arguably is more fully engaging himself, with his sf work.
"Matter" deals with civilizations of different technological levels interacting with each other. In fact, it reads in part like a superior fantasy novel, with its low-tech action and daring escapades on what are more or less dragons. And there is intrigue, betrayal, loyal friends, self-discovery--all in all a meaty broth for the reader to sup upon.
But what pushed the novel up to five stars for me was something that sf is perhaps uniquely able to provide: a sense of genuine wonder. The book teems with strange aliens, gargantuan contructs, and delightful conveyances that are vividly and convincingly described. Some readers might object to the space given to such descriptions. There is a particular strain of sf and fantasy reader who frowns upon wide description and tangential diversion, proclaiming these to be 'filler,' or 'self-indulgent,' as if a novel must be a break-neck race toward the conlusion. I say, let the author indulge himself. One of the reasons I love this genre is to see first-class imaginations working in a high gear. That is what "Matter" offers.
 In places boring, unstructured and ultimately unsatisfying November 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm a huge fan of Iain M. Banks' Culture novels but this one just lost the plot. It feels like he really wanted to write a historical thriller but was forced into crowbarring the story into a Sci-Fi novel. The worst crime of which this book is guilty is that in places it's just plain boring. Pages of pointless exposition which don't really lend themselves to the story..which in itself is really a road to nowhere anyway...the ending feels tacked on (then a big monster comes...and we kill it...the end). At this point Neil Asher's 'Polity' books are better 'Culture' books than the real ones...and that's sad!
 Not quite up to the standard of his other books November 7, 2008
For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into this novel like I could the other Culture novels. Banks's sentence structures seemed winding and vague, so at first I thought this was the problem. I went back and checked against an older novel (Player of Games), and found that the grammar in that was very similar, though. Lots of semi-colons, em-dashes, and asides.
So why was this one so much harder to get into? I think the problem is that while Banks's writing style works okay for Sci-Fi, it doesn't work so great for the more "fantasy"-esque sections of this story which focus on the royal family of The Eighth level of Surmasen. Those were the parts that I consistently had a hard time getting into.
That said, I did eventually get into the swing of things around page 100 or so, and am currently enjoying it. This one just took a while to pick up, unlike other Culture novels, where I've been hooked from the get-go.
Disappointing... October 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm a huge Iain (M. or no M.) banks fan, and with an upcoming 16-hour flight I was so excited about Matter...
Flight was OK, but "Matter" is disappointing.
The plot progresses in leaps and crawls, in familiar (and beloved) Banks fashion, but the ending - usually a Banks stronghold- is harried and contrived.
It seems that Matter serves as some sort of index for the other Culture books- many gizmo's and scenes are mentioned again, but the lack of development or any real sense of urgency left me dissatisfied.
Still, I will buy whatever Iain Banks produces in the future :)
Cheers to all
A few responses to particularly dumb criticisms of Matter October 10, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Critic: Its a long book. Isn't that a bad thing.
Me: Boring is bad. Long is not. This isn't boring.
Critic: It doesn't push the boundaries of sci-fi, therefore its lame.
Me: Its interesting, creative, and intelligent. Thus by definition its pushing the boundaries of sci-fi.
Critic: But its meadering. It doesn't stay locked on the central plotline like a pitbull on bologna.
Me: Again, boring is bad, meandering isn't.
Critic: But...but...the ending! It doesn't end the way 95% of the books I've read end! That's bad!
Me: Did you take your medication this morning?
Critic: But, hold on there mister, I just didn't think it was the best book by Banks that I've ever read, therefore I was "disappointed".
Me: Are you high?
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