Surface Detail (Culture)

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Did a quick search of the IB pages here and found no mention of it.

I have just seen the blurb on the next Culture book:

"It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.
It begins with a murder.
And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself.
Lededje 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. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture.
Benevolent, enlightened and almost infinitely resourceful though it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one of its most powerful - and arguably deranged - warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A war - brutal, far-reaching - is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it's about to erupt into reality.
It started in the realm of the Real and that is where it will end. It will touch countless lives and affect entire civilizations, but at the center of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether.
SURFACE DETAIL is Iain M. Banks' new Culture novel, a breathtaking achievement from a writer whose body of work is without parallel in the modern history of science fiction."

Only date given on that page was 2011.
 
Oops sorry just seen the "New Culture novel... " thread - not sure why my search for Surface Detail didn't pick it up unless I maybe mistyped it - should I copy this over or just forget about it?
 
Search isn't working properly at the moment, alas.

No need to repeat posts - I imagine a mod will be nice and merge the two threads.

The new book sounds quite good; I look forward to it.
 
Surface Detail

I am just over half way through the new culture novel - Surface Detail - and I'm loving every page of it.

The descriptions (early on) of Pavulean Hell are brilliant and the book follows Bank's best culture novels with several seperate strands being woven into one galaxy spanning tale.

As with most novels that you wait ages for and then devour when they come along, I'm beginning to get worried that when I finish it'll be ages before another new culture novel comes along. Maybe I should slow down and savour it. ;)

I'm not going to go into detail about what happens (yet) as I'm sure others are eager to read it also, I will say that it has some great ship names (I liked the Me, I'm counting) and some typically interesting culture humans.

The highlight for me, so far, has been the awesome desciptions of Pavulean Hell, impressively hellish. :)

Anyone else reading this?
 
Re: Surface Detail

Hi,

Yep, I'm about a third of the way through this at the moment, am also loving it, I haven't been disapointed by a Culture novel yet. One of the few writers where I actualy look forward to great lumps of info. dumping, because of the good old sense of wonder factor :).
 
Re: Surface Detail

Still on my list of books to buy, but i really want this.
 
Re: Surface Detail

Having finished Best Served Cold last night im picking this up off my TBR pile tonight!
 
Re: Surface Detail

I read a bit more last night and things are really hotting up (no hell pun intended)

I don't want to spoil any of the story for anyone else, but the ongoing tale in Pavulean Hell is really rather brilliant. So creative. Last night it almost inspired me to open a thread discussing literary realisations of hell.

I strongly recommend reading this. Although I am not finished yet, so I might post back in a few days and warn you all off it. But I doubt it! Iain M Banks is brilliant :)
 
Re: Surface Detail

I have no money to buy it and it is breaking my heart! I shall have to go without coffee for a couple of weeks so I can afford it.
 
Re: Surface Detail

Just finished the book. Easily in my top 3 Culture novels, and the twist in the very last word of the story blew my mind.
 
Re: Surface Detail

I have also finished it, but I'm not the first! dammit!

I liked the twist, but I wasn't sure. I think that it is - SPOILER - Led's father - SPOILER but I had to go back through the book to check the name and didn't manage to confirm it.

I loved the end of the book, the space battles were great and the ship OTUMC was highly amusing. Loved the tattoo as well. I was a little sad to finish it. I'm sure it will be ages before another culture novel is released. I may have to go back and re-read the others. Maybe I can finish the Algebraist.

A brilliant read. So good that I haven't even read last week's New Scientist because I have spent every free minute reading it.
 
Re: Surface Detail

So I guess you guys would recommend it then? :p

I'm in no real hurry as I have so much on my TBR pile already. I love all Banks books, so I'll just save it up for a time when I can really appreciate it!
 
Re: Surface Detail

Banks is one of my (if not the) favorite sci-fi writers working at the moment. I have read plenty of others, but I do love his culture novels.
In fact I'd like to find some other great modern sci-fi writers with a decent back catalogue to devour.
 
Re: Surface Detail

My current main one is Neal Asher. However, though some may disagree, I think Peter Hamilton is similar in style. It's just that he has less but bigger books and he tends to series rather that standalone.
 
Re: Surface Detail

Oh Goodie, new book from Banks? I'll just bump this up on my TBR list, as I'm still working my way up in Neal Asher's Universe...
 
Re: Surface Detail

I have also finished it, but I'm not the first! dammit!

I liked the twist, but I wasn't sure. I think that it is - SPOILER - Led's father - SPOILER but I had to go back through the book to check the name and didn't manage to confirm it.

It's not that at all, at least, that's not my reading of it.
 
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Re: Surface Detail

It's not that at all, at least, that's not my reading of it.

Oh! I'll have to go back and check it again. :)

I have read some hamilton, and it was pretty spectacular, but I don't think it's quite the same. I read the night's dawn trilogy. I enjoyed it but I don't rate him as highly as I rate Banks. I have been meaing to read some Asher, and I may well have to bite the bullet and buy some to see how good he is.
 
Re: Surface Detail

Banks is one of my (if not the) favorite sci-fi writers working at the moment. I have read plenty of others, but I do love his culture novels.
In fact I'd like to find some other great modern sci-fi writers with a decent back catalogue to devour.


I would recomend Alastair Reynolds or Richard Morgan. Reynolds has the bigger back catalogue.
 
Re: Surface Detail

I'd certainly second Morgan, his Kovacs trilogy is awesome.

Moonbat, I take it you've read Use of Weapons?!
 

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