I just finished Surface Detail, by Iain M. Banks: one of his Culture novels (2010). I’ve read and reviewed several of his novels in this series before, so I’ll be brief (note: although the Culture novels are a ‘series’, each novel is a stand-alone story).
I thought this was one of the better Culture novels, with an interesting idea of a virtual-reality hell, which is used by certain societies as a punishment system to purportedly maintain a moral civilization. The virtual hells are only a part of the novel’s story, but I found it difficult to slog through these sections (it is an interesting idea, but I could have done with fewer pages devoted to the depictions of hell).
As usual, Mr. Banks provides some interesting characters with differing motivations that move the plot along quite successfully.
My favourite quote (p. 540):
“They set off, whirling down the steps so fast it was almost falling.” (my emphasis on the last two words, which were the key to my enjoyment)
Recommended.
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db johnston
almost falling 