Surface Detail
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- Create Date：2021-04-15 14:54:05
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Iain M. Banks
- ISBN：1841498955
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Summary
Surface Detail Book Description It begins in the realm of the Real， where matter still matters。 Lededje Y’breq is one of the Intagliated， her marked body bearing witness to a family shame， her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit。 Prepared to risk everything for her freedom， her release， when it comes， is at a price， and to put things right she will need the help of the Culture。 It begins in the realm of the Real。 It begins with a murder。 And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself。
Reviews
J。T。 McAndrew
，
Another absolute astounding sci-fi from Mr Iain Banks。 I don't think I have to talk about the context of the book except that as usual， the writing is astounding， his worlds are wonderous， his alien creatures fantastical， and I am now morbidly gutted that I only have one more in the series left to read。 I hope you're enjoying yourself up there with the culture Iain， maybe send your siblings another manuscript from the galaxies you are now enjoying。 if you enjoy sci-fi， Iain is the grandmaster an Another absolute astounding sci-fi from Mr Iain Banks。 I don't think I have to talk about the context of the book except that as usual， the writing is astounding， his worlds are wonderous， his alien creatures fantastical， and I am now morbidly gutted that I only have one more in the series left to read。 I hope you're enjoying yourself up there with the culture Iain， maybe send your siblings another manuscript from the galaxies you are now enjoying。 if you enjoy sci-fi， Iain is the grandmaster and should not be overlooked。 。。。more
Jupiter
，
*Spoilers*While the themes and ideas discussed in the book are profound， the presentation of the story was at times disappointing。 Important characters were one note and didn't get the fleshing out they deserved。 And for some reason it felt like all the plot threads were going to come together at the end and be resolved in a satisfying twist， but the resolution never came。 It feels like Banks is sometimes hinting at mystery that isn't actually there。 In particular the arc of Yime seemed incomple *Spoilers*While the themes and ideas discussed in the book are profound， the presentation of the story was at times disappointing。 Important characters were one note and didn't get the fleshing out they deserved。 And for some reason it felt like all the plot threads were going to come together at the end and be resolved in a satisfying twist， but the resolution never came。 It feels like Banks is sometimes hinting at mystery that isn't actually there。 In particular the arc of Yime seemed incomplete。 It's explained she's an SC plant but what exactly was her role？ It doesn't seem like she played an important part at all。 Regardless of whether she was there or not， things would have turned out the same。 The author might be suggesting that all the events were set up by SC decades ago， from the moment the neural lace was implanted in Lededje， but if that's the case it wasn't expressed very well。 On the other hand the themes here were profound。 I was enraptured by the subplot of Pavulean hell in general， and Chay and Prin in particular。 The idea of cultures setting up their own virtual hells is one of the most interesting things I've read in an SF book。 The nature of uploading one's consciousness is also discussed， and one character's insight （a Restoria agent） on the futility of such an exercise caught my attention。 They point out that even a reuploaded personality would only be a perfect behavioural copy; the original being's consciousness remains forever lost。 Most people don't seem to consider this when discussing digital reincarnation。 Overall the book was enjoyable despite the weak characters。 Carried by its setting and themes alone。 Though the Culture universe has always been one of my favorites so YMMV。 I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed previous Culture books。 If this is your first foray into the series then I would recommend starting elsewhere。 The Player of Games for example。 。。。more
Chris
，
This was good， although maybe a little bloated。 Banks follows a lot of characters that relate to the main plot in different ways， but I didn't find some of them to be that compelling or necessary。 I also thought the structure was kind of mushy， especially in that I couldn't follow any logic to why the jumps within chapters were happening。I did really like certain storylines， especially Lededje and her interactions with the various Culture people and ships。 I also though Veppers was an effective This was good， although maybe a little bloated。 Banks follows a lot of characters that relate to the main plot in different ways， but I didn't find some of them to be that compelling or necessary。 I also thought the structure was kind of mushy， especially in that I couldn't follow any logic to why the jumps within chapters were happening。I did really like certain storylines， especially Lededje and her interactions with the various Culture people and ships。 I also though Veppers was an effective foil -- the big fish in a small pond dynamic was strong with him。 There was a lot of promise in the Yime character， but I was not that compelled by her storyline。 。。。more
Tipper
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4。5
Andrew Bush
，
A brilliant dark deep terrifying story of revenge。。。 and hell
Nicholas
，
9/10 - I love the culture series。 The most well thought through sci-fi series alive read， and the references to the Minds makes these books worth reading alone The great things about this book are the views for what a virtual hell could look like （with some wonderfully dark bits）; the playing around with what consciousness really is （imagine your consciousness being copied for use later - is that still you？）; and the moment when the “Falling Outside of the Normal Moral Constraints” （a state of t 9/10 - I love the culture series。 The most well thought through sci-fi series alive read， and the references to the Minds makes these books worth reading alone The great things about this book are the views for what a virtual hell could look like （with some wonderfully dark bits）; the playing around with what consciousness really is （imagine your consciousness being copied for use later - is that still you？）; and the moment when the “Falling Outside of the Normal Moral Constraints” （a state of the art military ship） is attacked and defends itself （including showing a replay of the millisecond battle to a foam covered protected human） - one of the highlights of the entire series The downside is unfortunately a bit of a Banks style thing - the initially-appearing-to-be-separate plot lines at the beginning make the book a little hard work， especially as the virtual worlds make it difficulty to know what is really going onAcross the series I would rate them:Player of Games 10/10Look to windward 10/10Excession 9/10Surface Detail 9/0Consider Phlebas 5/10Use of Weapons 4/10 。。。more
Jacob
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Great fucking bookOnly one culture novel left to read :（
Ben Brackett
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After tearing through the rest of the series， this one finally felt like a slog with none of the characters being that interesting to me and a lot of the action feeling like rehashed earlier novels。 Going to give it a while before I read the next one to see if some distance from the others helps。
Rhas Zylon
，
The struggle for the independence of a young woman transcends the bounds of physical， psychological and even spirtual boundaries。 Frighteningly inventful。
Stan
，
Not the best Culture series novel but still great。
Nick Ray
，
good
Masse Manet
，
a lot of torture in this one。 still， both the intro and the ending is top-notch。
William
，
Surface Detail is the 9th volume in Iain Banks Culture series， and while Matter remains my favorite in the series， Surface Detail was a great reading experience。 It is a discussion of the role of hell in society and the legitimacy of the rule of force。 In the far-future where mind recording and "revention，" essentially technical reincarnation， are ubiquitous， many societies still believe that threatening the citizenry with eternal torture is the only way to "keep order。" Initially， the concept o Surface Detail is the 9th volume in Iain Banks Culture series， and while Matter remains my favorite in the series， Surface Detail was a great reading experience。 It is a discussion of the role of hell in society and the legitimacy of the rule of force。 In the far-future where mind recording and "revention，" essentially technical reincarnation， are ubiquitous， many societies still believe that threatening the citizenry with eternal torture is the only way to "keep order。" Initially， the concept of revention nullified the traditional beliefs of an afterlife through omission。 With revention， the "soul" becomes the digital mind recording， and physical death is only temporary。 To remedy this "problem，" pro-hell societies created digital hells， where the mind recordings of bad actors are eternally tortured。 This situation eventually leads to a virtual war between pro and anti-hell factions， deciding the virtual hells' fate。I did feel that Banks didn't go far enough in establishing the "pro hell" side of the argument。 He took the high road and framed support for the rule of force as an intellectual and political discussion。 While he did a great job handling such a deep and complex topic intelligently， I felt the story would have benefitted from showing us why the rule of force exists。 As good as the story was， I felt like it would have been more potent if Banks had depicted victims' shattered lives and let us make up our minds for ourselves whether bad actors deserve hell。 What we are essentially talking about here， though， is the value of punishment in society。 No author could even begin to explore all the complexities of this discussion in one book， let alone provide non-divisive answers。 Banks has never shied away from tough subjects， though， and I feel he accomplished what he set out to do for story purposes。Surface Detail is angrier and edgier in tone than previous volumes except for Use of Weapons。 This appeals to me， and I can get by without "comfort characters，" but some may not agree。Character development and dialog were both done very well， although perhaps not as well as in Look to Windward and Matter。 Characters are unique， engaging， interesting， and intelligent。 Surface Detail is a darker， more serious book than the previous two， but there were still some choice comedic moments。Craftsmanship is at the same high level as previous volumes。 Banks' writing is as poetic and thought-provoking as ever。 I will never tire of his use of misdirection and "smoke and mirrors。" The ending was a great example of his incredible talent for leading readers to a significant and satisfying revelation with only the necessary breadcrumbs。 I'm sure some people may have figured this one out， but I'm happy that I didn't because it made the big reveal all that much better。Surface Detail was a great reading experience， and I can't recommend it highly enough to fans of the series。 It's an absolute must to read at least The Player of Games， Use of Weapons， Excession， Look to Windward， and Matter first。This review is also posted on my blog， Hidden Gems。 。。。more
Kgosi
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It's a good Culture Book。 Though I haven't read a bad culture book yet。 It's a good Culture Book。 Though I haven't read a bad culture book yet。 。。。more
C。 Hinsley
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This one is backwards from Banks' signature style -- usually he writes a meandering first half of a novel but ramps up the pacing and suspense in the latter portion。 I was really enjoying this novel until I got to the end -- Veppers' message getting intercepted was so gimmicky， and the way he died felt so gratuitous and silly that I thought "really？ that's it？" from that point until the end。 This book feels like it got rushed to meet a publishing deadline or something， but the setup was phenomen This one is backwards from Banks' signature style -- usually he writes a meandering first half of a novel but ramps up the pacing and suspense in the latter portion。 I was really enjoying this novel until I got to the end -- Veppers' message getting intercepted was so gimmicky， and the way he died felt so gratuitous and silly that I thought "really？ that's it？" from that point until the end。 This book feels like it got rushed to meet a publishing deadline or something， but the setup was phenomenal。 。。。more
kazerniel
，
Content warning for the book: As a main location of the story is a virtual Hell， it features copious amounts of torture and suffering， including sexual violence。
Ernst
，
Banks at his best。
T。S。 S。 Fulk
，
This one just didn't resonate well with me。 I had a hard time sympathizing with the characters （but I did find the psychopathic warship fun） and the entire premise of a war over virtual Hells seemed hooky。 Still I was an okay read， just not one of Bank's best。 This one just didn't resonate well with me。 I had a hard time sympathizing with the characters （but I did find the psychopathic warship fun） and the entire premise of a war over virtual Hells seemed hooky。 Still I was an okay read， just not one of Bank's best。 。。。more
Clare
，
Having read all of the Culture novels up to and including this one - Surface Detail - I was fairly au fait with ship Minds and the increased presence of their avatars in the series。 This is built upon in book 9 and reaches perfection with the avatar named Demiesen。 Frankly， who wouldn't want this ship （proper ship name Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints） as a companion？ I don't want to spoiler; but he is the best character by far in this novel and his dialogue had me literally laughing Having read all of the Culture novels up to and including this one - Surface Detail - I was fairly au fait with ship Minds and the increased presence of their avatars in the series。 This is built upon in book 9 and reaches perfection with the avatar named Demiesen。 Frankly， who wouldn't want this ship （proper ship name Falling Outside the Normal Moral Constraints） as a companion？ I don't want to spoiler; but he is the best character by far in this novel and his dialogue had me literally laughing out loud in the middle of the night whilst reading。 Aside from his heroic antics - bear with him beyond the first introduction of his character， who is deliberately written to appear repulsive and has you wondering if Banks has gone mad and lost sight of his apparent otherwise clear vision for the Culture and AI Minds as being the epitome of rationality， morality and plain good socialism in action - the other characters are fairly clearly defined as protagonist or antagonist， with the usual politics thrown in to muddy the waters and leave you guessing who， exactly， is who。 As usual， Banks makes it clear that you never can tell in politics who is playing who， and which side is 'your side'， until the end， although the stand-out character， Veppers， is clearly the pan-human we're supposed to loathe throughout。 His arc is fairly predictable， and fun to read to the end。 I appreciate that Banks uses more female characters than male to tell his stories in the Culture novels， especially in the later books。 It is still refreshing， even now。 However， his main female character in this seems to lack a little development， I felt， although she works well as a side-kick to the inimitable Demiesen。 She is a victim out for revenge and she finds a willing accomplice in a GOU Abominator class ship with a few tricks up its sleeve。 Ok， I just loved the goddam ship too much。 I rated the book 5 stars because I genuinely didn't want it to end and devoured every page whilst reading it， excited to pick it up and disappointed to have to put it down， which I cannot say always applied to previous novels in the series。 I liked the introduction of new pan-human species in Surface Detail， too， and the idea of virtual Hells （which may yet prove to be prophetic）。 Great stuff to feed the science-fiction-loving mind。 The best， in fact。 。。。more
Chad Brown
，
Awesome book exploring virtual reality， virtual afterlife， and the morality associated。My Rating Scale:★★★★★ A must read; couldn’t put down; highly recommended; I want you to read this book; I’ll buy you a copy★★★★☆ A good read; charming in its way; will recommend it if I think you are into the genre; would happily lend you my copy of the book★★★☆☆ Meh; I wouldn’t bring this book up in conversation and would not recommend it; would happily give you my copy if only to get rid of it★★☆☆☆ Unreadabl Awesome book exploring virtual reality， virtual afterlife， and the morality associated。My Rating Scale:★★★★★ A must read; couldn’t put down; highly recommended; I want you to read this book; I’ll buy you a copy★★★★☆ A good read; charming in its way; will recommend it if I think you are into the genre; would happily lend you my copy of the book★★★☆☆ Meh; I wouldn’t bring this book up in conversation and would not recommend it; would happily give you my copy if only to get rid of it★★☆☆☆ Unreadable; I finished reading only due to my A-type personality and cannot stand unfinished books on my shelf; do not read this book★☆☆☆☆ This book is preferably enjoyed next to a small fire， where it is used as kindling; I didn’t finish reading this book; that’s how bad it is 。。。more
Jacob
，
Surface Detail is the fifth book I've read in the culture series， and it is looking like it will be my last。 The story of Lededje's life， death， and subsequent quest for revenge was full of great characters and was another interesting window into The Culture that Banks has so brilliantly assembled as a setting。 It's not a particularly new trick in Banks's toolbox， but it is one he is quite good at。 The ships that she interacted with were also pretty cool， especially the gleefully aggressive Fall Surface Detail is the fifth book I've read in the culture series， and it is looking like it will be my last。 The story of Lededje's life， death， and subsequent quest for revenge was full of great characters and was another interesting window into The Culture that Banks has so brilliantly assembled as a setting。 It's not a particularly new trick in Banks's toolbox， but it is one he is quite good at。 The ships that she interacted with were also pretty cool， especially the gleefully aggressive Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints。Unfortunately， the other half of the book felt like it needed another round of editing。 Several other point of view characters passed through these pages and barely made left impact in their wake。 Yime was particularly out of place in the larger plot， but the alien characters and Vatueil also seemed to be a bit tacked on and could probably have been trimmed down or merged to make the story tighter。 Honestly， this might have just been the wrong year for me to read Surface Detail。 The novel touches on some large philosophical topics， but lacks the commitment and follow-through to really do anything with them。 Compared to books like Notes from Underground， Exhalation， and the Lilith's Brood series， as well as the mind bending shows like Gone and Dark that I've seen this year， the commentary in Surface Detail feels pretty tepid。I'll end with a ranking of the Culture books I've read so far:1。 Excession2。 The Use of Weapons3。 The Hydrogen Sonata4。 Surface Detail5。 The Player of Games 。。。more
SunbulZ
，
I've read better in the Culture series。 Maybe I was just expecting too much from this one。 Too convoluted and involved - but I felt strangely disconnected from the protagonists， which is not something that usually happens with Banks' characters。 I've read better in the Culture series。 Maybe I was just expecting too much from this one。 Too convoluted and involved - but I felt strangely disconnected from the protagonists， which is not something that usually happens with Banks' characters。 。。。more
Barnaby Haszard
，
As is usually the case with Banks， it's less about the destination than the things you see along the way。 And what things: shipbuilding fabricaria building hundreds of thousands of offensive units in space， hostiles emerging from the walls of a deep ocean trench， a virtual Hell inflicting constant and near-endless suffering。 I was wary of reading this one because of those Hells， having been unable to shake some of Banks's depraved images previously， but I psyched myself up and got stuck in。 With As is usually the case with Banks， it's less about the destination than the things you see along the way。 And what things: shipbuilding fabricaria building hundreds of thousands of offensive units in space， hostiles emerging from the walls of a deep ocean trench， a virtual Hell inflicting constant and near-endless suffering。 I was wary of reading this one because of those Hells， having been unable to shake some of Banks's depraved images previously， but I psyched myself up and got stuck in。 Within a few chapters， I was already amazed to learn that yes， he could still shock me with images and ideas I couldn't have imagined myself。 I then found myself perking up when another chapter set in Hell came along。 I wanted to see what appalling things he would come up with next， and how he would extract his characters from such hideous fate。 I also wanted to see who would end up there。But the central thought experiments underpinning all this action （which is propulsive and very readable in every strand） remain the focus: are virtual Hells ethical， and what do they say about the societies that create them？ What， indeed， does the notion of Hell in our religious texts say about the religions that gave birth to them， and about the faithful who see it as right and necessary？ Banks argues here that they are not ethical， and that the faithful ought to consider what an afterlife of torture actually looks like。 Or immortality in general， come to that。 What does society look like without death？ Does it need it to function？ The great recent sitcom 'The Good Place' is a worthwhile companion piece。 。。。more
Joe Leigh
，
gave up a third of the way through， there are great ideas， I just don't enjoy his story telling style at all gave up a third of the way through， there are great ideas， I just don't enjoy his story telling style at all 。。。more
Alex Bean
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A little bloated。 The stuff with Yime really never ended up going anywhere， and all that time would have been better spent with Led。
Lauren Smith
，
I love Iain M。 Banks but this one took me an eternity to finish。 It's bloated and overcomplicated， and around p。 450， when I hit a tech-heavy action scene that introduced yet another minor character to an already large cast， I lost my patience and just stopped reading for several months。 That said， it was easy follow the story when I eventually found the determination to finish， so I had to admire Banks's ability to craft a coherent and （relatively） memorable narrative with an extremely complica I love Iain M。 Banks but this one took me an eternity to finish。 It's bloated and overcomplicated， and around p。 450， when I hit a tech-heavy action scene that introduced yet another minor character to an already large cast， I lost my patience and just stopped reading for several months。 That said， it was easy follow the story when I eventually found the determination to finish， so I had to admire Banks's ability to craft a coherent and （relatively） memorable narrative with an extremely complicated plot and a multitude of alien， pan-human and AI characters。 Like all his Culture novels， it has cool ideas。 Surface Detail is about hell。 In Banks's universe， the idea of an immortal soul and an afterlife is a common concept: lots of species think very highly of themselves， the individuals in those species consider their personal survival to be important， and they want to believe there’s more to existence than their often short and brutish lives。 The belief in life after death soothes these existential anxieties， and eventually technology is able to put an end to them。 By uploading individual mindstates to virtual realities， religions have been able to create their own afterlives， because why bother with all that doubt if you don't have to？ There is， however， the question of hell。 Some faith-based sects believe that hell is a moral and social necessity for keeping people in line， and demand the right to host their own。 More humane societies disagree that eternal torture is somehow a good or useful thing， and the two sides have gone to war over the existence of hells。 The morality of hell is a rather one-sided debate （at least to Banks fans; I doubt there are many right-wing believers following The Culture series）， so the novel doesn't bother asking if the conservatives should get their way。 Rather， the story is about the way this all plays out in the real world and various virtual ones， among characters who all have different political， personal and business concerns at stake。 Along the way， Banks seems to have been packing in as many sci-fi-esque concepts as he possibly could， to the point where many feel decorative or underdeveloped。 The story arc of one the main characters， a gender-neutral Culture agent named Yime Nsokyi， seemed both concept-heavy and completely unnecessary。 The most entertaining part of the novel was the Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints， an Abominator-class Culture warship with absurdly impressive tech and a ‘very slightly psychotic’ personality。 I also loved the association between hell and capitalism that comes up towards the end。 But wow， this really could have been a much tighter， more focused book。 。。。more
Thomas Stacey
，
3。5 stars。 A strong 4 for the first half， but the story became stagnated for most of the second half， before ending strongly。 Peter Kenny did an absolutely fantastic job narrating， giving each of the characters their own distinct voice and personality。 Veppers in particular had such flair to him。 I would highly recommend listening to this book on audible - Kenny really enhances the experience。
Mark Edlund
，
Science fiction series - Banks writes BIG books with big themes， big futures and too many story arcs to count。 Video game Hell， back stabbing characters， a rich narcissist all blend into a great story。 Banks surprised by not killing off his main characters at the end as he has done in other books in this series。 No Canadian or pharmacy references。
Corentin Xa
，
Takes a little while to make sense， but quickly makes up for it by presenting a well-shaped series of events， characters and technology。 This book presents other civilizations from the galaxy of the culture series， and how the Culture deals with them， especially less advanced ones and how they are surprised by the tech level of the Culture。 It was really cool to see politics and ways the Culture behaves。 I must say some of the other civs were a bit clichés。 I enjoyed the mysterious fabricaria an Takes a little while to make sense， but quickly makes up for it by presenting a well-shaped series of events， characters and technology。 This book presents other civilizations from the galaxy of the culture series， and how the Culture deals with them， especially less advanced ones and how they are surprised by the tech level of the Culture。 It was really cool to see politics and ways the Culture behaves。 I must say some of the other civs were a bit clichés。 I enjoyed the mysterious fabricaria and the bulbitian。 I also enjoyed the moral questions of simulated hells， and the thoughts on consciousness of a soldier about to die even though she had a backup。 。。。more
Becca
，
3。5 really！ A very compelling book， well written as always from Banks， I loved the concept of the Hells。 Maybe a little cliched in some parts in terms of the writing but I liked all the characters and was thoroughly entertained the whole way。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Surface Detail
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Surface Detail&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Surface Detail&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0