Book 25: "Use of Weapons" by Iain M. Banks
Friday, April 24th, 2009 12:45![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittiwake'Oh, Cheradenine,' Sma said. 'Don't pretend it hasn't been fun, too.'
'Sma, believe me; it has not all been "fun".' He leant against a cabinet full of ancient projectile weapons. 'And, worse than all that,' he insisted, 'is when you turn the goddamn maps upside-down.'
'What?' Sma said, puzzled.
'Turning the maps upside down,' he repeated. 'Have you got any idea how annoying and inconvenient it is when you get to a place and find that they map the place the other way up compared to th maps you've got? Because of something stupid like some people think a magnetic needle is pointing up to heaven, when other people think it's just heavier and pointing down? Or because it's done according to the galactic place or something? I mean, this may sound trivial, but it's very upsetting.'
Cheradenine Zalkadwe used to be a Special Circumstances agent, but stopped working for the Culture a long time ago. Now Diziet Sma, who originally recruited him, has to find him wherever he is hiding and persuade him to come back.
The chapters numbered One, Two, Three, etc are describing current events, while the alternating chapters numbered XIII, XII, XI, etc. describe Zakalwe's past working backwards towards the traumatic events that shaped his life. Until I realised (about a third of the way through the book) I was finding it very confusing.
This book has a truly unexpected ending that makes you see everything that happened in a new light. Fantastic!
But read "Consider Phlebas" or "Player of Games" before tackling "Use of Weapons", as they explain how the Culture works in more detail.
'Sma, believe me; it has not all been "fun".' He leant against a cabinet full of ancient projectile weapons. 'And, worse than all that,' he insisted, 'is when you turn the goddamn maps upside-down.'
'What?' Sma said, puzzled.
'Turning the maps upside down,' he repeated. 'Have you got any idea how annoying and inconvenient it is when you get to a place and find that they map the place the other way up compared to th maps you've got? Because of something stupid like some people think a magnetic needle is pointing up to heaven, when other people think it's just heavier and pointing down? Or because it's done according to the galactic place or something? I mean, this may sound trivial, but it's very upsetting.'
Cheradenine Zalkadwe used to be a Special Circumstances agent, but stopped working for the Culture a long time ago. Now Diziet Sma, who originally recruited him, has to find him wherever he is hiding and persuade him to come back.
The chapters numbered One, Two, Three, etc are describing current events, while the alternating chapters numbered XIII, XII, XI, etc. describe Zakalwe's past working backwards towards the traumatic events that shaped his life. Until I realised (about a third of the way through the book) I was finding it very confusing.
This book has a truly unexpected ending that makes you see everything that happened in a new light. Fantastic!
But read "Consider Phlebas" or "Player of Games" before tackling "Use of Weapons", as they explain how the Culture works in more detail.
