Use of Weapons (Culture, #3)

by

411 pages

English language

Published May 10, 1992

ISBN:
9781857231359
Goodreads:
12007

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5 stars (1 review)

Use of Weapons is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1990. It is the third novel in the Culture series.The narrative takes the form of a biography of a man called Cheradenine Zakalwe, who was born outside of the Culture but was recruited into it by Special Circumstances agent Diziet Sma to work as an operative intervening in less advanced civilizations. The novel recounts several of these interventions and Zakalwe's attempts to come to terms with his own past.

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reviewed Use of Weapons (Culture, #3) by Iain M. Banks

Review of 'Use of Weapons (Culture, #3)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Evil Ted told me to re-read this one. He may be right: it may be the best of the Culture novels. It's extremely well constructed. The main character's struggles highlight everything that the Culture seems to have given up: struggle, challenge, the savor of a battle narrowly won, the bitter taste of powerlessness. And their willingness to use him to their ends highlights their hypocrisy.

It's hard to not loathe the Culture by the end of the book. The perspective of a non-Culture citizen working as a Culture agent gives us more of an insight into their base morality than that of an adversary (Consider Phlebas), or an ordinary Culture citizen (Player of Games). If the Culture is "A tiny core of Special Circumstances, a shell of Contact, and a vast chaotic ecosphere of everything else", then the core is as thoroughly ruthless as its agents.