false 886066 12 871329 7 2 2008 Matter total:709|5:138|4:308|3:204|2:48|1:11| 709 2641 1164 156 2 4 false 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...]]> 5 4 false 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...]]> 4 2 false 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...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Aug 28 14:01:40 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 10:55:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jun 30 12:04:52 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 12:05:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false 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...]]> 4 1 true 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...]]> 3 0 false 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...]]> 3 0 false 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...]]> 4 0 false 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...]]> 3 0 true 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...]]> 4 0 false 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...]]> 3 0 false 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...]]> 4 0 false 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...]]> 3 0 false 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...]]> 4 0 false 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...]]> 0 0 false 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...]]> 5 1 false 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...]]> 2 0 false 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...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jul 06 20:41:29 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 20:42:09 -0700 2009 more...]]>