Surface Detail

Culture Series, Book 9

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

The "War in Heaven", a simulated war game, rages between civilisations. Its virtual battles have been fought for decades, and the victors will decide the fate of the digital Hells - torturous artificial afterlives with horrors beyond imagination.

In the Sichultian Enablement, Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit.

As the virtual war threatens to spill into the Real, Y'breq is willing to risk everything for her freedom - but she'll need the Culture, and its help comes at a price. The Culture is going to war with death itself.

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

©2010 Iain M. Banks (P)2010 Hachette Digital

Critic reviews

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

Mindcrime

Any additional comments?

Addressing several concepts from Professor Nick Bostroms thinking. Simulation, mindcrime... For me these books (maby sci-fi in general) are like porn in a way. The plot is just a way of presenting concepts. Tech, physics, moral, political or other. This one provides a framework for thinking about potential mindcrime. A fascinating topic of its own.

It would be petty to mention that lead floats on mercury but gold does not, and that gunpowder does not "detonate";, but hey, i did it anyway

Sorry for the lack of eloquence, i am not a native english speaker.

amazing narration

Like all of Iain M Banks' Culture novels that I have read, this one was vast, mind blowing and in parts hilariously funny. The best part about Banks in audio is that my mind can wander during detailed descriptions of space (or other) battles, and not have lost the thread when the interesting (to me) stuff starts up again.

The narrator gave a unique voice characterisation to every one of the many major and minor characters, making sections of the story that I think I may have skimmed in print utterly engaging in audio. I'm sure the book has its faults, I've seen other reviewers complain about Veppers being a cardboard cutout pantomime villain, and they're right. I just didn't mind though, so much did I enjoy the personalities of the rest of the characters, especially the ships' Minds.

Loved it.

A Ripping Good Yarn

I enjoyed revisiting the Culture once again with this almost thriller. Peter Kenny's narration once again makes this a gem.

Virtual afterlives and bitter revengeporn

Really nice addition to the culture universe, fleshes out the life in the rimward systems, and gives a bleak tour of selected afterworlds. Not quite as inventive in terms of world building, but a pretty nice selection of adventures!

Complex and worth it as usual

As usual there are so many viewpoints that it takes a bit to get going, but I enjoyed them sooner than I did in some of the previous books. The bit that feels like the exciting conclusion also takes up quite a large chunk of the book.

Complex and intricate plot with many thought provoking ideas.

Brilliant performance by Peter Kenny. It is such a sad thing that we will never have anymore Culture stories.

Probably Iain M. Banks best Culture novel

Playing with the concept of life after death in the advanced Culture we've met in 'Consider Phlebas' Banks brings a new twist to his Culture novels. While his other novels were almost all tragedies, this novel comes over more philosophical and succeeds in making the reader think about concepts like 'soul, consciousness, mind' and 'being.' While the story is most of the time straight forward, Bank's captivates with interesting characters that he bring together in an unexpected way. Peter Kenny's interpretative reading is topnotch. I never opted out and he kept the characters very alive and interesting. This audio book comes highly recommended.

Banks' imagination knows no boundaries

Once again I was completely immersed in the universe of Iain M. Banks: both in the Virtual and the Real, although the lines tend to blur frequently. He does not spare us in his depictions of the virtual hells - even Hieronymus Bosch would feel queasy at times - but his quirky inventiveness shines throughout.

The first-time visitor to the Culture would probably feel overwhelmed by the cornucopia of Minds and intelligent life forms, pan-human and otherwise. I would recommend an introduction through 'Look to Windward' or 'The Player of Games' before attempting this, his greatest work to date. I have read every book of his and this is the first audiobook of the series that I've listened to. I had thought it would be an impossible task for a single narrator to cover the incredible range of characters, but Peter Kenny has done a fantastic job fleshing them out. I did not want it to end. Can't wait for the next one!

Better read this book instead if listening

The narrator's performance is fantastic but it's not an easy to follow plot line for an audiobook. I kept wishing to flip back a few pages to untangle the layered story line.

More magic from the King of SCIFI

Great narration brings Banks’ characters to virtual life in another space epic from Banks who has lost none of his inventiveness. Brilliant and witty as ever...