false 535072 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg 886066 12 871329 7 2 2008 Matter total:763|5:151|4:325|3:223|2:53|1:11| 763 2841 1258 165 7628 3.83 12696 1185 16305071 940282 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 633 2008 2 4 false Wed Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 25 05:41:32 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 05:17:22 -0700 2008
The book are 500 pages of set-up, and forty pages of resolution, and not a very satisfying one.

...more...]]> 14075986 842519 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 5 4 true Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 30 12:40:37 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 30 13:23:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 50619016 2167401 535072 0316005363 9780316005364 18 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/535072.Matter 3.76 62 2008 4 2 false Fri Apr 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 27 10:34:45 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 18:21:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 31455843 214053 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 5 2 false Thu Aug 28 14:01:40 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 10:55:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 25931518 1286056 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 4 1 false Mon Jun 30 12:04:52 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 12:05:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 20203275 651336 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 4 1 false Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 03:11:20 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 03:20:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 19472548 1039439 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 4 1 false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Apr 04 15:22:05 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 04 15:40:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 50590116 727106 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 3 0 false Wed Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 00:50:53 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 27 01:07:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 47991943 718298 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 3 0 false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 07:53:05 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 08:17:08 -0800 2009 more...]]> 45068364 554401 886067 1841494178 9781841494173 9 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886067.Matter 3.68 25 2008 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 01 14:33:21 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 14:46:41 -0800 2009
I was reminded of ...more...]]> 43952827 1398661 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 3 0 false Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 11:55:35 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 11:55:35 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 43211665 1917795 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 4 0 false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jan 15 22:24:27 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 18:50:07 -0800 2009
I just completed Iain Banks' latest Culture novel 'Matter'. He is something less of a yarn spinner in this one and I was stalled at page 20 for a while, but by the time I got to page 120, I could tell it was going to be a great story.

Unlike 'Phlebas' which was the second Bank...more...]]> 79153022 1639329 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 3 0 false Fri Nov 27 17:12:10 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 17:17:03 -0800 2009
I really could just end my review there, but I am compelled to go on!

This book is set in this invented "grand space-opera" world largely following the exploits of this elite human organization called the Culture. From all I hear, his previous Cu...more...]]> 54539529 766382 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 3 0 false Thu Apr 30 19:00:31 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 30 19:08:19 -0700 2009
The book gets the 3/5 beca...more...]]> 68572843 307750 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 4 0 false Sun Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 12:25:21 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 21:06:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 55614904 1156396 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 3 0 true Mon May 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 10 17:54:17 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 05:02:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 70615191 1233416 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 4 0 false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 09 11:37:35 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 14:25:17 -0700 2009
I wasn't wrong about that, and honestly, over the first 100 pages I wasn't sur...more...]]> 45463199 1008236 535072 0316005363 9780316005364 18 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/535072.Matter 3.72 763 2008 0 0 false Thu Feb 05 09:55:56 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:55:56 -0800 2009 It has been eight years since the last Culture novel, and critics have clearly missed Banks's unique combination of galactic wonder and quirky humor. Their anticipation made for high standards, and for most critics, Matter exceeded them. Many fans of this universe enjoyed the way Banks mixes space o...

more...]]> 68472129 622520 3312929 0316005371 9780316005371 5 http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/33/929/3312929-m-1256140387.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/33/929/3312929-s-1256140387.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3312929.Matter 3.88 16
Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilizations throughout the greater galaxy.

Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.

MATTER is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head.]]> 2008 5 1 false Sat Sep 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 22 13:09:23 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 10:52:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 46426862 1433865 886066 1841494186 9781841494180 129 http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886066.Matter 3.72 763 2008 2 0 false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 11:49:49 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 21:46:02 -0800 2009 1 With Matter Banks returns to the Culture - and that is a...more...]]> 8 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=535072