Rating: 
Summary: If you've ever had a mad cult chase you across the galaxy...
Review: then you really must read this book and compare notes with the heroine,
Lady Sharrow! The mad cult in question, The Huhsz, insist
that an obscure artefact known as 'The Lazy Gun' rightfully
belongs to them, and they further insist that Lady Sharrow
procure said Gun post-haste! The writing is sharp and focused, the story interesting,
and the characters stand out. I found "Elson Roa" the most
interesting of the bunch, a wonderful solipsist who is
utterly convinced that he is one of God's "apparences",
leading a group of fourty-five other solipsists! Honestly,
who can resist a determined solipsist?
Rating: 
Summary: The one man Scottish invasion
Review: There are quite a few arguments that Iain Banks is among the top three greatest living authors of the latter part of the last century (and going into the next). He has absolutely no problem writing either straight (but weird) fiction or pure science-fiction but he treats both genres with respect and every work glistens with quality. Those who think that he just slums in the SF genre just to pay the bills in between books are highly mistaken and some of his best work can be found there. This one is I think the only non-Culture SF work (you can make a case for The Bridge but that one's more a Kafka nightmare than anything else) and definitely worth the time. The hallmarks that regular readers already know and love are here, involving plot, finely detailed characters, breakneck action, an offbeat and downbeat attitude and an interesting world that everyone lives in. The deal here is that a cult is looking for the last Lazy Gun (a weapon of mass destruction that has a power that has to be seen to be believed), and Sharrow has to find it before they do. Her family has the last one, but nobody knows where it is and so between dodging people trying to kill her, she has to piece together clues thousands of years old. Not that she's alone in the quest, she gathers a team of close friends to help her and off they go. I do absolutely no justice to the plot in this fashion, this is barely even a basic structure and when you read it you'll see how rich and detailed this book is. The twists are many and almost always surprising, the dialogue is witty and to the point and the situations are nothing short of fascinating. The only small problems is that the book is just a tad too long, some parts of it toward the middle drag just a tad but generally always pick up and the last couple hundred pages fly by all too quickly. Sometimes Banks highlights Sharrow's past as a way of showing us how those events made her into the person she is today but he does to do them without much transition so they can be confusing if you're not used to that. Other than that keep in mind that like most SF authors on the other side of the Atlantic, Banks can be brutal and realistic while dazzling us with his worlds and if Consider Pheblas taught anyone anything, it's that all bets are off as to who makes it to the end intact or at all. Another standout book by an author who doesn't seem to be able to write anything bad if he tried, Banks deserves more credit over here and perhaps one day he will.
Rating:
Summary: A true desert island book...pick your favourite character.
Review: This is a book I dare not lend out to my beloved friends for fear that I will not see it again. If you love a strong female lead then Banks has provided you well with the Lady Sharrow. Like weaving a carpet, Banks has taken taken webs and threads and combined them to a rich fabric that is terribly beautiful to behold...a mix of hard sci-fi meets tragic desperation meets comic-relief (in the form of a bunch of mercenaries who each believe they are God...). Highlights: Stopping the train, the dialogue during Sharrow's ship-crash, anything involving a lazy-gun. Buy two copies and lock one away.
Rating:
Summary: A Hidden Treasure- Iain M Banks, SF artist extrodinaire
Review: This is a book that gives me goose bumps every time I think about it. Just like Banks' 'Feersum Endjinn', this is what I would call a 'perfect' book- perfect because I could not wish it to be different in the smallest detail. SF is particulalrly difficult to write well, because one has to work just as hard on the setting and background as the story itself. Many SF authors often sacrifice one for the other, but Banks' has mastery over both.The worlds he creates are logically consistant and is also believably mysterious full of the gaps of knowledge that the narrative viewpoint of a single person would suffer from. It's those little touches that only experienced and gifted writers truly master. Banks is one such author. The dark atmosphere, the wonderful female lead character(one of the best ever in SF)and a truly haunting plot with 4-d chracters force me to turn the pages of this book over every now and again, either in my mind or between my fingers. If you enjoyed this novel, you should look into the works of the Australian Sci Fi author Greg Egan. The only thing that I regret about this novel is that like many of Banks' works it is far from well known. Why, I cannot imagine.
Rating: 
Summary: a confused tale
Review: This is a confusing, disappointing book. I wish I could say that it had potential and the author simply dropped the ball on the follow through, but I'd be lying to you. Every book has three parts: setting, story, and characters. None of the three are especially strong or noteworthy in this book. The main character, Sharrow, is never given much fleshing out. We are given some hints about why she and her half-sister hate each other so, but one incident alone does not explain that kind of hatred. Likewise, we are never really sure why she is so selfish and rebellious. We don't understand why she continues to keep in touch with her cousin.... We don't understand why she and Miz broke off their relationship. We don't understand why the "team" broke up and went their separate ways. We don't understand why the "team" formed in the first place. Why she was so quick to adopt Feril into the "team". The other characters are even less fully developed. The remainder of her team are little more than cardboard cut outs. Dloan the strong, silent type. Miz the playful and dashing criminal. The beautiful and seductive Zefla. We have no idea why they joined the "team" in the first place, why they allowed it to be split up, why Sharrow is their "leader", or why they are ready, at less than a moment's notice to risk their lives for Sharrow after years of not speaking to each other. The story is just as confused. On the surface it is a rather generic story about searching for some lost artifact that great grandfather knows the whereabouts of and has left clues pointing to. Really, it doesn't require very much work to find it and one wonders why the device has been missing for seven thousand years. The book feels filled out silly little plot devices the author has thrown in. For instance, the device which no one can find is not very well hidden in the Embargoed Areas. Well, duh, wouldn't that be just about the first place you'd look? There are numerous similar things: like why Sharrow continues to travel as Ysul Demri even after she tells herself that the Huhsz are probably aware she's traveling under that alias; why everyone suggests Feril go to "defend" the device even after they've come to understand that only Sharrow can get to it; why this trained combat team just generally seems to inept. It goes on and on. Finally comes the setting. The world is big and different and just doesn't make sense. And if the reader can't understand the setting then the reader can't understand what possibilities, what avenues of action are open to the characters in their quest. For instance, the entire impetus of the book: the Huhsz getting official permission to assassinate Sharrow makes no sense. The explanation given is that this is better for social stability than having unregulated. Except what happens if the assassination fails? Are the assassins supposed to just accept that? What kind of world does Banks live in that zealots give up just because the time limit on their assassination permit expired? It is never clear how this world came to be...a world that has existed for thousands of years yet is a million light years from the nearest star. How did the people get there? Why does the current patchwork of balkanized republics exist? What kinds of powers does the Court actually have? Maybe I'm just too shallow or too dense or something. But basically, I just didn't get it. I didn't get Geis' plot. I didn't get the Huhsz's plot I didn't get the characters. I didn't get Sharrow's motivations. I struggled with this book. It took me a long time to finally finish it. I kept reading it bit by bit, waiting for it to get good; it had come highly recommended. Then one day I realized I was on page 360 out of 480 and it wasn't going to "get good". This was as good as it got. Maybe Bank's other books are better. I hope so.
Rating:
Summary: Ranks up with the best sci-fi novels ever written
Review: This is a fascinating book. Rich in imagination and with a plot that keeps you turning the pages, I have to say it is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi books. I'd rank it up there with Hyperion (Simmons), Dune (Herbert) and Ender's Game (Card) --- certainly no slouches there. This is definitely a book that I will re-read periodically throughout my life.
Rating:
Summary: BETTER THAN SEX
Review: This is the finest science fiction novel I've ever read. Banks puts you in a totally unique, self-contained world, but never contradicts himself and never dwells on the details to the point that they detract from the story. The story is fast-paced, compelling, and alternately thrilling and tragic. The heroine is incredibly well portrayed. This book is simply amazing -- a must read for any serious science fiction afficionado.
Rating:
Summary: Does what is says on the cover
Review: This is truly a story set against a Dark Background - a world where corporations act like nations, where cults dependent upon on material wealth and private armies and where war and profits mix. Bank's does a typically great job of drawing you in with strong anti-heroic characters and wild bursts of invention - the Lazy Guns will have to go down in sci-fi legend as one of the strangest, powerful and disturbing inventive devices around. The only minor criticism you could make is that Sharrow is very similar in her motivations and world-outlook as some Bank's other chief protagonists such as Zakalwe and Horza in other Bank's books (Use of Weapons and Consider Phlebas respectively)/ If you got confused reading this....what can one really say apart from try a bit harder?
Rating: 
Summary: Befuddling
Review: Very confusing storylines that never go anywhere and characters that never come to life made this a very difficult read. Mr. Banks never sincerly attempts to clue us in to what drives his characters, the result being that everyone in the story appears to be nothing more than a childish thrillseeker with a deathwish.
Lame, shine it on.
Rating:
Summary: A dazzling concept from a writer with a very unique style.
Review: When I first picked up Against A Dark Background, I was hungry for something different -- different from Alan Dean Foster, different from Piers Anthony -- I wanted some hard sci fi entertainment with a twist. I was not disappointed. Banks writes with a distinctly British flair -- he's articulate with crisp dialogue and interesting description, and his action scenes are graphic, stylish and no-holds-barred -- James Bond styled for the jet set of intellectuals. The novel subtly sets up a bizarre future almost as an afterthought -- the real story here is not about this wondrous world Banks has created, but rather about a handful of people in it and the choices they make. And, boy, do they make some doozies. This is not a warm and fuzzy feel-good novel -- I loved Lady Sharrow and I still couldn't believe some of the things she did. Banks doesn't shy away from making his characters real -- they're smart, brave, loyal, illogical, cruel, unfeeling, selfish -- and the reader sympathizes with them anyway, whether she wants to or not. I give Banks snaps for this smart sci fi adventure with strong female and male leads, 'cause this puppy's got anything you want -- mystery, intrigue, betrayal, action, love, hate. Marvelously thought-provoking read. A must for sci fi fans in the mood for something different.
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