On a backwards world with six moons, an alert spy reports on the doings of one Dr. Vosill, who has mysteriously become the personal physician to... read full description
reviews
Dec 09, 2010
Brad
rated it: 
I must preface my review with my surprise. I just took a look at the responses to this book from my goodreads friends and the star ratings are only fair to middling. It makes me wonder if my love for this book is, perhaps, a little misguided. Either that or I am a more discerning reader than everyone else. Yeah ... that's probably it ;) So here's my review:
Iain M. Banks' books are packed with big, way-out-there moments. Grandmas explode, people wake up in rooms full of shit, ships run More...
Iain M. Banks' books are packed with big, way-out-there moments. Grandmas explode, people wake up in rooms full of shit, ships run More...
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Dec 02, 2010
Fuzzy
rated it:
Iain M. Banks' scifi novels are all* set far in the future when the dominant human society is the Culture, a post-scarcity near-utopia. As a utopia, the Culture is somewhat boring, because nothing dramatic really ever happens there. So most of his novels are set in the ranks of Contact (and its secretive sibling "Special Circumstances") the branch of the Culture that interfaces with other species and isolated planets where humans live under less enlightened governments.
Invers More...
Invers More...
Feb 12, 2012
Lisa
rated it: 
One of the things I enjoy about the Culture series is the variety of points-of-view that occur from book to book. Inversions is no exception. Here we see the story of the Culture's meddling from the other side, from the side of the bystander. The two interweaving stories are completely stand alone, and both are entertaining in their own right, with a moderate amount of political intrigue and a lack of direct exposition that force the reader to make their own assumptions about the setting and
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Oct 11, 2011
Cv
rated it:
Science Fiction that feels like Fantasy . . . or maybe Fantasy that feels like Science Fiction . . . or a Fantasy world inside a Science Fiction Galaxy?
Yeah, obviously I'm not sure.
Vosill and DeWar are the main characters in this medieval story of danger and intrigue. Did I really just write that drivel? Sounds like I'm writing jacket copy or a blurb for the website.
Here's the way it is. Vosill is a female doctor attending to the king in a superstitious, misogynis More...
Yeah, obviously I'm not sure.
Vosill and DeWar are the main characters in this medieval story of danger and intrigue. Did I really just write that drivel? Sounds like I'm writing jacket copy or a blurb for the website.
Here's the way it is. Vosill is a female doctor attending to the king in a superstitious, misogynis More...
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Mar 15, 2010
Phoenixfalls
rated it:
I have to say, first off, that every single review I saw of this book online (even ones as short as a single line) gives away something you are not supposed to know until the very end, if you figure it out at all. These details that they spoil are not exactly essential to the plot, but one was spoiled for me (and I think the novel lost some of its tautness as a result) and the one that was not spoiled I was very glad wasn't spoiled because it was a minor mystery I spent the first half of the nov
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Jul 30, 2011
Stuart
rated it:
The story features two states in a post-empire world. The interesting juxtaposition is of a warrior "Protector" and his bodyguard happily killing people versus a hypochondriac king and his doctor trying to cure people. As the story unfolds, we see that the doctor, who is doing her best to move the monarchy in a progressive direction, is hated by many of the conservative nobles, who set in train various assassination plots. Little do they know…..? In the other side of the world, the P
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Oct 29, 2011
Silvio
rated it:
Set in a planet-bound culture something like early modern Europe technologically and socially. The story has a spare feel to it, like some ancient tragic legend, something like Zakalwe's backstory in Use of Weapons. The setting is always present, but not particularly detailed or original. There are two parallel storylines (Banks seems to like multiple storylines, from what I've read of him). One is centered on a great king's doctor, a mysterious foreigner who has an incredible amount of strength
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Jan 11, 2012
Mars
rated it:
This reads like a third book in a quintilogy (and never mind the "Culture #6" tag, the culture books barely share the same universe, much less a storyline). It picks up the story in the middle, leaving the impression of something massive that has come before (which, to the best of my knowledge, is not the case, and this should be the only book in existence with this setting).
This is a medievalish story, told in two simultaneous parts, with constant perspective shifts. The s More...
This is a medievalish story, told in two simultaneous parts, with constant perspective shifts. The s More...
Mar 12, 2009
Stevelvis
rated it:
A good fantasy novel with great characters. There are 2 stories told throughout the book which finally merge at the end. The setting is a low-tech monarchical world similar to our 18th century. Main characters include a king's bodyguard and the king's harem favorite, and a neighboring king's doctor, an immigrant female who uses very modern healing methods and has an advanced knowledge of the human body putting her at odds with all other doctors of the realm. The stories are told through the
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Jan 18, 2011
Gemma
rated it: 
Not one of Banks' typical sci-fi offerings. Inversions has much in common with Matter - one of the later entries to the Culture series - in that it focuses almost entirely upon a medieval society housed upon an alien world. Unlike Matter, that is where this book's sci-fi aspect stops short.
While this book sits apart from Banks' world of Minds, drones and drug-glands, it's laced with hints that its protagonists do belong to that realm. We're teased with mysteries like how no Drezeni h More...
While this book sits apart from Banks' world of Minds, drones and drug-glands, it's laced with hints that its protagonists do belong to that realm. We're teased with mysteries like how no Drezeni h More...
Dec 25, 2011
Joey-Joey-Jo-Jo
rated it:
A nice, filling portion of Banks. Not his greatest book, but Inversions is still a solid Culture book which is a very good thing indeed. Although perhaps "solid" isn't the best way to describe a book about deceptions and reversals. The story is somewhat odd in that it never mentions the Culture explicitly, so if you haven't read several of these books you will miss out on a sort of invisible half of the plot that is entirely off screen. On the other hand, if you have read several C
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Dec 01, 2010
Ferox
rated it: 
Two vaguely-related stories of what happens when Culture agents gently interfere to varying degrees in the politics of a feudal-level society. Very non-SF (to the point where anyone who hasn't read the previous books won't have much clue there's any SF at all) and gentler in tone, with some genuinely sweet and moving depictions of love and affection between various characters. But without the fantasy trappings certain problems seem more obvious: long lists of thinly-drawn secondary characters I
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Aug 17, 2011
Aaron
rated it:
A really nice diversion from the other Culture books. It reads a lot like a medieval or at least early renaissance fiction story. The book switches in between two narratives, one about a female doctor, the only one of her 'kind' in the realm who serves at the beck and call of the King. The other about the personal body guard to the Protector, a regent who recently came to power in his region by killing and usurping the role of the last Emperor. Both characters share some similar characteristics
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Aug 09, 2011
David Tendo
rated it:
Banks is from my part of the world, which is one of the main reasons I chose to read this. I've seen his books in bookstores since forever, so I decided to find out what all the fuss is about. This is a story of love, betrayal and war, it's actually cleverer than it first seems and it does make you think. Banks' writing is a little oxymoronic, he writes with a sparing way that in reality gives his graphic scenes a lot more depth. I actually only gave it 4 stars upon finishing the book, but no
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May 26, 2011
Phil
rated it:
A very worthwhile read and a most satisfying conclusion. So why only three stars? I guess it goes to my enjoyment level. I didn't really enjoy the first 250 pages which reads more like a historical novel than science fiction. But it all gets tied together in a delicious conclusion which makes the slog worth the effort. In retrospect this volume of Banks' Culture series fills an important void as we ultimately see how Special Circumstances agents might tweak the events in worlds under observ
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Sep 10, 2011
Christine
rated it:
My book journey with Iain Banks continues with 'Inversions'. My first Banks read was the thriller 'Complicity' (which then compulsively made me buy and watch the movie). I decided to proceed with a sci-fi just for the sake of varying on the genre whilst staying with the same author. In 'Complicity' one of the primary characters alienates himself with a simcity-lookalike game called Despot. I found it amusing and uncanny when, reading 'Inversions', I found that two other characters played a board
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Feb 20, 2011
Ian
rated it:
Inversions is about perspective. And individuality. And oppression. And injustice. And interference. And romantic love. And familial love. And political systems. And political games. And jealousy. And betrayal. And revenge. And fear of the unknown. And faith in the unknown. And embracing the unknowable.
Inversions is about so many worthy ideas, so many ideas that deserve serious consideration, and the book tackles each idea in ways that are both insightful and enjoyabl More...
Inversions is about so many worthy ideas, so many ideas that deserve serious consideration, and the book tackles each idea in ways that are both insightful and enjoyabl More...
May 19, 2009
Kevin
rated it:
Though I'd read some of Banks' other books about the Culture, I found it frustrating that this was plainly a book about the Culture and yet in it we get only an oblique view of its workings. This seems like a petty complaint in retrospect, but I must maintain that the idea is more interesting than the execution, though Banks gives it his all. Certainly it doesn't seem like an ideal introduction to the Culture, as many plot developments will seem like the oddest deux ex machinas, as they do to th
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Nov 29, 2010
Oscar
rated it:
Resulta irónico que el libro con el que más he disfrutado (de los leídos por ahora) de La Cultura, no contenga elementos de ciencia ficción, salvo en cierta parte del libro del que no se puede hablar para no descubrir el misterio a futuros lectores. Ha sido refrescante encontrarse con el mejor Banks tras la pequeña decepción que supuso 'Excesión', el anterior libro de La Cultura. 'Inversiones' es una novela más literaria, alejada de toda la parafernalia y pirotecnia propia de la space-opera, de
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Aug 18, 2011
Dulac3
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 06, 2008
Nicolas
rated it:
Ce roman nous raconte de manière croisée les destins de deux personnes : Vosil et DeWar. Chacun d’entre eux joue, dans la cour d’états se situant à peu près avant le siècle des lumières (ou aux environs) un rôle secondaire, mais très visible et exposés aux petites avanies des luttes de couloir.
Bien sûr, ils ont de nombreux points communs, le moindre d’entre eux n’étant pas d’être des étrangers. Tout cela ne forme, en quelque sorte, pour Banks qu’une espèce de décor, dans lequel il ne plac More...
Bien sûr, ils ont de nombreux points communs, le moindre d’entre eux n’étant pas d’être des étrangers. Tout cela ne forme, en quelque sorte, pour Banks qu’une espèce de décor, dans lequel il ne plac More...
Dec 05, 2010
Jack
rated it:
Since the action takes place entirely in a culture with medieval technology, it would be relatively easy to treat the story as fantasy, despite the lack of magic or elves or any of the other typical sword-and-sorcery trappings. But knowing the tie-in with Banks' Culture novels gives the book a bit more depth. The challenges and choices faced by some of the protagonists is more poignant when you consider the distinction between the world they're in and the one they came from.
Dec 01, 2008
Leif
rated it:
This book was a rare one. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll speak very generally. I was never quite sure what category to put this book into. I would feel at one moment that I could predict how the book was going to end, and that I knew more than the characters did. Then I would read another chapter, and convince myself that all my previous impressions were wrong. In the end, some things were still ambiguous, but I think that left me liking the book even more.
Mar 13, 2011
Terrible!: As a fan of Mr. Banks and his "Culture" novels, I found this book terrible. I think Orbit should be ashamed to call this book science fiction. The only thing "science" about it is that it takes place on another planet.
I kept reading waiting for the space opera to start. I finished the book and thought what a piece of crap!
Totally disapointing. Absolutely NOT science fiction. Don't be fooled!
I kept reading waiting for the space opera to start. I finished the book and thought what a piece of crap!
Totally disapointing. Absolutely NOT science fiction. Don't be fooled!
Jul 29, 2011
Poor, this book would very loosely be described as science fiction, its more like an unimaginative fantasy novel. If I didn't know better i'd say this book wasn't banks at all, the story is bereft of any interesting ideas that are normally prevalent in all of banks novels. In essence its a long and boring book featuring two separate stories which are mostly unrelated, neither of which is very good.
Feb 19, 2010
Psychophant
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 13, 2011
Ian T
rated it:
Two differant threads appear in this late 1990's Banks novel. To be honest this Culture novel (that is not a Culture novel)is similar to the last book that I read which was set in 16th Century northern Europe. In fact I would not have guessed it was Banks unless it said on the cover. Having said all that the stories do drag you in and you do feel I sence of empathy for them.
Feb 12, 2011
AndrewP
rated it:
Kind of a strange story set in a medieval fantasy world. Although there are no direct references there are a lot of little clues that indicate that the heroine of this story is actually a Special Circumstances agent from The Culture.
Even though this one is a bit different, it's a Banks book so more than not you will either love it or hate it!
Even though this one is a bit different, it's a Banks book so more than not you will either love it or hate it!
Feb 02, 2010
Vineet
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 17, 2009
Rod
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book, more so than others I have read so far, by the author. The style is a story told in alternate chapters which focus on different areas and characters at the same point in their history. I liked the fact that there were not too many explanations. Reminded me of early Ursula K LeGuin.
