2010: Surface Detail (Banks, Iain M.)

More glitz of SC and Minds, less of The Culture in general (3/5)

From December 1, 2010

Having read the entire Banks sci-fi catalog and a smattering of his fiction, I haven't come across a novel of his which didn't have a deeply woven tapestry with subtle accents. His prior novel Inversions didn't impress me much as I found the feudal kingdom a bit tedious to tackle, and the posh lifestyle of the king somewhat dull, but I did find the darkness and humor to my liking yet still received 3/5 stars. Of a similar raring, Feersum Endjinn didn't have voluptuously complex characters or a grand epic-ness. Surface Detail (SD) takes negative aspects from both of these novels and shares the similar rating of 3/5 stars... which I thought I'd do for the release of SD.

Inside flap synopsis:
"Lededje Y'breq is one the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power it without limit. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is it a price, and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture.

"Benevolent, enlightened and almost infinitely resourceful thought it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one if its most powerful--and arguably deranged--warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure whichside the Culture is really one. A war--brutal, far-reaching--is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it's about to erupt into reality.

It started in the realm of the Real and that is where it will end. It will touch countless lives and affect entire civilizations, but at the center of it all is a young woman whose need for revenge masks another motive altogether."

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Typical of Banksian SF is the plethora of characters strewn across the galactic plane, who have a unique plot line and are fated to be joined together in extreme circumstances in the last 10% of the novel. That sounds about right, doesn't it? Most characters in SD are somewhat flat: generically evil like Veppers, fairly morbid yet motivated Quietus agent Yime, the sarcastic and blood-thirsty AI of Demeisen and the sulky yet revengeful Lededje. The real highlights of the spread of aliens, humans and pan-humans are the hellish plights of Prin and Chay (escaped from hell and stuck in hell for perspective lifetimes, respectively) and the trials and mindset of the cute and conniving Culture-fan of the GFCN species, Bettlescroy. Two separate books could have been written about these characters alone!

Veppers annoyed me the most, undoubtedly. I've read enough of easily unlikable characters that I now know it's pretty simple to create such a beast (aggressive sexual acts ala The Algebraist or maniacal single-mindedness ala Dark Background). Veppers takes on both these traits as well as being filthy rich like King Quience of Inversions but also has an added distasteful trait of acting just like and amoral, spoiled king. This character has been made again and again by Banks and the current version of evil in the guise of Veppers is tried, tested and now getting quite dull.

As for the supposedly galaxy-spanning plot... well, not so much in SD. There's a brief scene on a Hub, horrific depictions of a virtual hell, uninspiring terrestrial life on a bland planet which Veppers resides and a vague description of a series of orbital factories abandoned by an extinct alien species which isn't explored to its fullest. Most of the novel is aboard a few Culture ships or alien vessels, where the plot is talked about and their intentions laid out in full. There were no large surprises behind the intentions of the major caste and the only excitement rally came about via the war-loving, sardonic AI named Demeisen. There are some frivolous and interesting scenes of exotic alien architecture (like the said Tsungarial Disk orbital factory and another derelict monstrosity).

Granted, there were a number of exotic ideas which held my interest and imagination even while at work or exercising, but most of the novel was just uninspiring and untried: the virtual hells should have been better explored to a greater degree but Banks limited it to a single hell, the NR level 8 species is of similar level as the Culture but was left wholly undetailed, and the broader greatness and sustaining quality of the Culture wasn't delved into.

If another Culture novel is written, I do hope Banks steers away from the "glitz and glamor" of Special Circumstances and sticks to grassroots Culture civilization, which is what is draws me back to his universe again and again. Thankfully, Banks has had his fingers diligently pecking away at the keys and has another Culture novel coming out on October 4, 2012: Hydrogen Sonata. I'll be first in line.