Transition

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

There is 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 organization with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?

Among those operatives are Temudjin Oh, of mysterious Mongolian origins, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London, and the dark palaces of Venice under snow; Adrian Cubbish, a restlessly greedy City trader; and a nameless, faceless state-sponsored torturer known only as the Philosopher, who moves between time zones with sinister ease.

Then there are those who question the Concern: the bandit queen Mrs. Mulverhill, roaming the worlds recruiting rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, under sedation and feigning madness in a forgotten hospital ward, in hiding from a dirty past.

There is a world that needs help - but whether it needs the Concern is a different matter.

©2009 Iain M. Banks (P)2009 Hachette

Finally an Iain M. Banks book on audible...

I've been a long time fan of Iain M. Banks, especially his sci fi -- the Culture books in particular. I search his name in Audible every month. I wish there were audio versions of all these books -- Player of Games, Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, Excession, etc. ...

Banks' ideas and characters are inspired. His plots are improved with a second reading (listening), when you recognize details and have insights into the secrets of his fascinating characters.

Transition weaves the stories of six people through time and alternate dimensions. Among them a despotic bureaucrat and her moralistically superior outlaw rival, a narcissistic stock broker, a torturer, and the transitioner -- a sympathetic assassin who can "flit" his consciousness into another body in another dimension. Banks explores this cool concept in depth.

The narrator is fantastic. I'm going to look for other books read by him.

There are scenes in this book, like most of Banks' books, that are very harsh. The torturer's story, for example, is hard to listen to at times. This is definitely not a book for kids.

Highly recommended. If you enjoy books like Snow Crash, William Gibson, etc., then you'll probably like it a lot.

Good but not up to the Culture series

A fun sf espionage thriller that lacks some of the whimsical violence of the Culture series. Still, quite enjoyable. A good listen for a long trip.

Fantastic

Stunning book. It takes some concerntration, as do all Iain Bank's book, but it is well worth the effort. One of the the most innovative writers. More please!

Thoughtful and Compelling

Banks is a master of literary, idea-driven science fiction. Transition jumps around between characters, times, and alternate universes, and still winds up being a straightforward story. Beautiful. And Peter Kenny is probably the best narrator I've come across in an audiobook. Flawless voice work and a perfect fit with the intelligent writing.

Brilliant Banks stuff

Loved it
It is a typical Banks science fiction work. Complicated plot and multiple characters
Narrated very well too
Must read for any one who is a Banks can and also for a sci-fi can

Fun catch-me-if-you-can multiple worlds novel

Would you try another book from Iain M. Banks and/or Peter Kenny?

This is not a Culture novel. I mistakenly thought it was. I love Banks and I love Peter Kenny's narration.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I haven't read a multiple worlds novel that really satisfied me. It all seems a bit too easy. In this novel, you have a secretive high-control organization that acts as the gateway to the multiple earths. In the end, the motivation of the organization and it's tyrannical leader remain a bit unclear in an unsatisfying way.

Have you listened to any of Peter Kenny’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Peter Kenny's great.

Do you think Transition needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Alas, Iain Banks has passed away. Yes, this novel begs for a follow-up, but I don't see it happening.

Finished but unfinished

I enjoyed this, the reading was done well, much better than most.

The story was 98% setup then SHAZAM and it's all over. Bringing in a super powerful magic character to sort everything out is like using the get out of jail free card in Monopoly or having Scotty beam you up.

At the end the pressing questions were not answered. There was no ending.

Unfortunately Iain Banks died of cancer and took the answers with him. A very sad day for all of us. FWIW I love most of his books, but this one not quite so much.

Entertaining, original

Mr. Banks is a very good writer, perhaps one of the best writing SF today. I have no idea where he gets his ideas and concepts from. But it is not from the usual hackneyed sources seemingly used by most modern SF authors. Glad that there are still writers like Banks with an honest to goodness imagination. Unfortunately, there are very few left. The rest do variations on themes that have been done to death years ago, and add precious little of interest to them.
I am a lifelong SF fan who has been reading this genre for more than 60 years. I find the modern trend of making nearly every SF protagonist a woman, seemingly for the political correctness of it, unappealing. Although Bamks does tend to do "women as superheroes" like so many do, I see that he generally manages to do that by emphasizing and reworking their feminine traits and refraining from turning them into he men warrior types...with breasts. This author writes a good story.
Peter Kenny's narration is first rate.

Multi-universe genre is Hard

Banks is a very good author and the prose and characters here were good, but writing a multi-universe that is both compelling and makes sense is quite difficult. I don't think I have really liked any of the many multi-universe themed books I have read, and this is no exception. It was better written than most, but still left me cold.

The particularly challenging narration was excellent.

Not Banks’ Best

Story felt all over the place - like it was a short story that was then padded out to a full novel. There’s an entire character arc that goes nowhere! Overall disappointed in the end.