Iain Banks

The dazzling new Culture novel froma modern master of science fiction - a tour de force of brilliant storytelling, world-building and imagination.

Matter

In a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one man 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, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever. Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has 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. 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.

Ben Silverman 

8/10

I enjoyed this! It was wonderfully long and beautifully detailed, with a strong story leading the book forward - I've come to appreciate this as a lot because my experience with some Culture novels has been a lot more "wandering". I loved the juxtaposition of the two main characters in both their worlds: one, a super advanced Culture citizen with the best of technology at her disposal, and the other, living in an almost medieval setting fighting against a conspiracy so relatively tiny it wouldn't even register as a blip of interest on any of the higher-level civilisations in the universe.

I loved the dive into more lore, too. There was discussion and interaction with other Culture-sized civilisations, an expansion into the history of "The Involveds" and the species that came before it, the introduction of the Shellworlds - massive, multi-layer planets constructed by an ancient civilisation to house and nuture other fledging civilisations - and so much more.

Matter is definitely a worthwhile read and a great addition to the Culture anthology.

Iain M. Banks

The eighth Culture book from the awesome imagination of Iain M. Banks, a modern master of science fiction. In a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one man 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, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever. Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has 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. 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. 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 'Jam-packed with extraordinary invention' Scotsman 'Compulsive reading' Sunday Telegraph The Culture series: Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons The State of the Art Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata Other books by Iain M. Banks: Against a Dark Background Feersum Endjinn The Algebraist

Carlo Zottmann

This was my first ever Culture novel; I've picked it up on a whim during my vacation, as I love science fiction. Judging by the text on the back of the book, I figured it'd be a novel set in an established universe.

I wasn't wrong about that, and honestly, over the first 100 pages I wasn't sure whether "Matter" was for me or not. The book is trying to ease you into the Culture universe, but due to the story told, and its places, I found it (at times) highly confusing.

But then, a few chapters in, the reader's given some explanations and background info regarding, well, everything — from that moment on, everything neatly unfolded for me, and I was hooked: I really like this universe so far. :)

The storytelling is superb, the story itself really intense, and the Shellworld-related genre mix (hard scifi vs. medieval times) a joy. What a ride! 

This was my first Iain M. Banks book, and quite certainly not my last.