false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256140367m/6436659.jpg 6436659 5 A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers? On the Concern's books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there's the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course. 6626240 book 23 9 2009 Transition total:83|5:7|4:27|3:16|2:8|1:3| 83 292 220 34 3 1 false false Tue Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 21:15:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 21:50:11 -0700 2009 The Steep Approach to Garbadale I haven't really had any issues, especially the Iain M Banks sci-fi as opposed to the Iain Banks thrillers (which tend to be weaker). (Ok, goodreads and the US indexing system doesn't highlig...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Oct 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 08:23:47 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 08:59:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 22:46:01 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 22:54:31 -0700 2009
First, it's still Iain Banks. The book is a fine, enjoyable read. It's a fantasy book set in the present day, so it lacks the typical trappings of Culture books (such as the Culture, though there ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Sep 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 05:54:59 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 05:55:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 19:04:48 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 07:50:53 -0700 2009
For now I do not really know how to rate the book - from brilliant to very good but not coherent, or as a review put it a bit of a mess.....more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Oct 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 13:41:55 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 22:17:35 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 21:18:41 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 11:02:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 02:30:31 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 01:52:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 17:43:01 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 08:55:46 -0700 2009
Transition falls squarely under the Iain "M" Banks label (i.e. ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 20:37:37 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 11 20:42:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 09:19:31 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 09:25:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 03:49:22 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 06:09:49 -0700 2009 This book is not in the Culture series, and represents a "transition" between the two genres he writes in: sci-fi, and a kind of literary horror.
I stopped reading it when an as...more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Oct 21 03:37:45 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 03:37:45 -0700 2009 Washington Post: Suffice it to say that surprises are in store, as well as much slightly kinky lovemaking, a deliberate disordering of the senses in several bravura stylistic passages and, finally, a classic white-knuckle climax on the Rialto Bridge in Venice. Be sure to read the epilogue.

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I'm already a bit pessimistic about current fiction set aro...more...]]> 4 0 true false Sat Oct 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 07:28:31 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 09:55:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Nov 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 11 03:41:17 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 07 02:59:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 04:30:25 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 04:33:15 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 17:15:48 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 17:16:58 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Nov 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 14:38:36 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 05:45:35 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6436659