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@crumbleneedy@aus.social @ben_hr@old.mermaid.town They were amongst my most-loved books as a young adult (in the not-a-teenager sense, not the current book marketing one) but they're much more flawed that I recalled. I think my tastes are now more literary, but I've also read a lot of dumb shit over the years so I may also be less tolerant? 🤷🏽‍♂️

This should clearly be understood as a companion to Consider Phlebas. That book devotes so much time to world-building, it doesn’t fully explore the characters’ motivations. In contrast Look to Windward is all about the characters.

It’s a novel about regret, trauma, and revenge, and it does it well. I didn’t care for the revelations at the end of the book. It’s a crutch that Banks relies on in almost all Culture novels – the Minds knew all and manipulated everyone all along! That’s not quite what was going on here, but it is in part.

Banks’ concern for the impact of war on those who fight it is clear. This is a compassionate book. This coda was hidden and only revealed at the end, which, to me, is a sign of an author who doesn’t fully trust or respect their readers. We need “the prestige”, to borrow that magician’s phrase.

This project of re-reading the Culture novels has been interesting. It makes me realise that Banks was a good writer but not a great one. I wonder how long his works will endure and be read.