Use of Weapons Audiobook By Iain M. Banks cover art

Use of Weapons

Culture Series, Book 3

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Use of Weapons

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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About this listen

 The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling, and have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

The man known as Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action.

Though the woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and aided his stratospheric rise, she did not know him as well as she thought.

The drone Ska­ffen-Amtiskaw thought it knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers, and it believed the man to be a burnt-out wreck - but not even its superlative machine-intelligence could see the horrors in his past.

Praise for the Culture series:

'Epic in scope, ambitious in its ideas and absorbing in its execution' Independent on Sunday

'Banks has created one of the most enduring and endearing visions of the future' Guardian

'Banks's sci-fi, at its best, is staggeringly inventive, beautifully written, dramatic and often very funny. His stories are packed with ideas, warships with minds very much of their own, alien races, charismatic drones and intergalactic politics' New Scientist

'Jam-packed with extraordinary invention' Scotsman

'Compulsive reading' Sunday Telegraph

The Culture series:
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
The State of the Art

Other books by Iain M. Banks:
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist

Also now available:
The Culture: The Drawings - an extraordinary collection of original illustrations faithfully reproduced from sketchbooks Banks kept in the 1970s and 80s, depicting the ships, habitats, geography, weapons and language of Banks' Culture series of novels in incredible detail.©1990 Iain M. Banks (P)2012 Hachette Digital Science Fiction Space Opera
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This is one of the more demanding Culture novels with a bit more of Ian Banks and a bit less of Ian M Banks despite setting. Non-linear story telling at its finest.

Thematically and structurally complex

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I know the structure of it is rather unusual, but to me it was just confusing and not a plus. Great fun at times but overall a disappointment. By far the weakest of the Culture Series; I've currently finished the first six books of the series.

A bit of a mess really

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another great listen. The first three culture booms have been all excellent, and their narration makes then shine

Another excellent culture novel

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Iaian M. Banks writes (what I would call) philosophical science fiction. He uses his stories to raise important ethical questions and to comment on the political establishment of the day. ???Use of Weapons??? is no exception. When listening to the story it might help asking yourself ???What is the weapon(s) used in the story and by whom????

When Special Circumstances a division of Contact, the (machine-humanoid symbiotic) Culture???s ???Intelligence Agency??? uses the man, Cheradenine Zakalwe, as an agent to do its dirty work, it eventually has to come to terms with his past. Banks hereby raises the question of superpowers using unknown front figureheads and groups to do their dirty bidding in ensuring that the world is shaped according to their will. What happens if this fa??ade cracks?

The story is complexly structured. There are two numbering systems in the book, a story going from chapter to chapter in chronological order and a numeral system which consists of back flashes seemingly arranged in a reverse chronological order. The numeral chapters give the listener hints an a little bit of insight into the person and being of Cheradenine Zakalwe. When the current time and the past collides the puzzle suddenly fits and the ???aha??? moment arrives. This makes the book in my opinion outstanding.

I found that while the story that moved from chapter to chapter was straightforward, the numeral chapters kept you guessing. I enjoyed the way the numeral chapters were written; each one could be a short story on its own.

Banks makes the listener a sleuth, encouraging you to puzzle out the story before he tells you the secret at the most crucial point in the story. He definitely caught me unaware. I think this is where the brilliance of this novel lies in, the surprise.

Peter Kenny, by now synonymous with the reading of Iaian M. Banks??? audio books does an excellent job.

Be warned, it is not an easy book to listen too at first, but is you persevere you will find the gold at the end of the rainbow. It took me a few times of rewinding and listening again to some chapters, but I am really glad I did it.

???Use of Weapons??? is the third Culture novel after ???Consider Phlebas??? and ???The Player of Games.??? I propose that you listen at least to ???Consider Phlebas??? first, just to get the feel for Bank???s science fiction universe. However it is not a must, you might probably enjoy this story just as much without listening/ reading his other books.

It comes highly recommended!

Persevere and find gold!

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A good and entertaining, sometimes thought-provoking story that felt marred by an ending that dragged on for far too long.

Drags on too long

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Starts slow but is worth sticking to it. The plot structure is a bit confusing, especially on audio book, but the individual chapters are immersive and interesting.
Not my favorite Culture book , but it was actually quite good and probably will re listen to it eventually.

Slow but fascinating !

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Despite the excellent narration the story itself was confusing. It's multiple interwoven timelines which aren't easy to keep track of in the audio version, might have been easier in a physical version of the book.

Great narration but confusing story

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I usually dislike fragmented storytelling, I quickly lose track of the different characters and timetable of events and can not really recommend this book on its own.

Fragmented

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should have known by the title. It was a wandering mess going from one war to another. lacking absolutely all of the high minded big ideas that make this series worth reading

Most disappointing book in the series

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The structure of this book does not work at all with the two intersecting story lines. But I could not keep clear in what story line I was on. And within the storylines it jumps a lot. It kind of pays off in the end but not really. Maybe read this one.

Nope! Does not work as an audible book.

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