Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks

Iain M Banks' latest "Culture" novel is a satisfying read but at the same time, a deeply frustrating novel. Brief précis of the backdrop, for those not yet Culture-hip: At a remote but unspecified time in the future, one particular human-originated civilization, which did not necessarily start on Earth, has developed into a galaxy spanning organization of immense power, extraordinary technological prowess and an almost unlimited desire to 'Do Good'. The Culture, unlike many of our own contemporary nations, is in the business of breaking down hierarchies and building up democracies in those poor, benighted, semi-barbaric (even if they are ...  Read the complete review

If you are one of these people who likes science fiction that is heavy on the plot and light on the techno-babble, Iain M Banks is undoubtedly the man for you. Lets start with some background then. Iain M Banks, is the cunning pseudonym of literary author Iain Banks (solves the problem of bookshops trying to list entirely different books in the same place.) In both his guises, he is a witty, dark and suprising author with a truly weird mind. You almost certianly wouldn't want to meet this man's psyche in a dark alleyway! "Look to Windard" is one of his sci fi pieces. It's not the first in his culture series, but if you haven't read ...  Read the complete review

‘Look to Windward’ marks another visit to Iain M Banks far future utopia, The Culture. I always regard a new culture novel with an expectation of pleasure, and have yet to be seriously disappointed (even if they always seem to fall short of the tremendous ‘The Player of Games’). Part of the reason for this is Banks’ readability; his unflagging humour, his ear for dialogue, and his inventive plotting. But the other reason is that The Culture is a feat of the imagination worth devoting a series of books to (indeed, when writing about the Culture, it occurs to me that Banks could probably get away with an awful lot less of his inventive ...  Read the complete review

This Culture novel, the last for at least the conceivable future, both supports and refutes the most common claims about the Utopian society. As with most of the Culture stories, it concerns Contact and possibly even Special Circumstances, although at last these organisations are treated in the shadowy, secretive way we have always been told they act. It also concerns and individual and his interaction with the Culture, although this time from a more oppositional angle. As you would expect from Banks it also explores wider social issues, with commentary on religion, love, death and especially suicide. Unlike the other Banks writing I have reviewed, I have only read ...  Read the complete review

Like the pinnacles of Culture technology that are the giant Orbitals, Iain Banks' latest Culture novel has come full circle. What began with Consider Phlebas culminates with Look To Windward - both titles hailing from Banks' favourite poem 'The Waste Land', IV by T. S. Eliot. Gentile or Jew O you who turn the wheel and look to windward, Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you. Like Inversions (amongst others of the Culture series), much of this novel revolves around the Culture's interference with a developing civilisation. However, here we see both sides of the story, unlike in Inversions in which the ...  Read the complete review