Look to Windward
Ian M. Banks
357 pages
published in 2000.

This is Bank's latest Culture book, which harkens back to his first, Consider Phlebas. During the last stage of the Culture's war with the Idarian empire, two stars were blown up. Now, the light of those explosions will reach the Masaq orbital and the Masaq Mind has announced a day of remembrance, for which the Chelgrian componist called Ziller will write a symphony. At the same time a Chelgrian envoy has arrived to apparantely persuade Ziller to return, but who also has a more sinister mission.

The relationship between the Culture and Chelgria is a bit delicate, because in one of their well intended tampering missions the Culture accidently unleased the Chelgrian civil war, in which millions died. And now the Chelgrians are out for revenge...

Another fine example of space opera from Banks, though far from his best. This novel is certainly not as innovative as his earlier Culture novels, nor has it the same frisson as frex Use of Weapons. The Culture just isn't novel enough anymore to give me the sense of wonder that novel evoked in me.

However, this is certainly not a bad novel. It moves at a fast pace and is one of those books you cannot putdown once you started it, as can be attested from the fact that I read it in one morning whilst staying with friends in London.

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Iain M. Banks, Matter, science fiction, book review