Been reading ... Surface Detail

Been waiting for this one for quite a while and it definitely didn't disappoint.

Latest finished book is Surface Detail, the latest Culture novel from Iain M Banks. Despite the disappointment of Matter, I was hoping for great things from this one. And it lived up to that too.

I find the most enjoyable action scifi books tend to be those that go somewhat like a rollercoaster, where you have no idea whatsoever what's coming next. What's in this one ?

The central theme is Death and what comes next. The Culture universe is sufficiently high tech such that many sentients are walking around with "soulkeeper" type devices, designed to preserve their mind state. The purpose, to give them a bit of backup in case they die (when they're "recanted" into a new living body) or to guarantee them a trip to the Afterlife. With the Afterlives being simulated virtual realities.

Trouble is, in the Culture universe there's a lot of Afterlives ... including Hells.

Won't say much more about the plot cos of Spoilers (mental picture of a River Song waggling a finger) but will say that this is a Culture novel back to its best form. Lots of Science Fiction on show here and plenty of Culture. More than a few ships including a highly psychotic warship who enjoys his work far far too much.

And what really puts the magic in, a significant part of the story is told from the point of view of a non Culture person who in partnership with one of the Ships narrates the book. It keeps the Science Fiction tech readable and out of the Technobabble domain.

Most Highly Recommended, although I wouldn't choose this as the first Culture book you read. That honour falls to Consider Phlebas because it introduces the Culture universe. Excession is also a major Culture highlight.

So that's Surface Detail, which will be added to the "Likely Read Again" list.

Next book is by Charles Yu, titled "How To Survive In A Science Fictional Universe". I'm only 80 pages into this 233 page book and I'm having thoughts that it's channelling a bit of Wanted. That's a film that co-starred Angelina Jolie. It had its moments (most of them with Angelina's character) but was crippled by a streak of extreme self loathing. This book has a fair bit of that self loathing.

Struggling through it in the hope there's a good book in there trying to get out. I suspect it's suffering from the contrast with Surface Detail.

SD : fun and with technobabble translated by that narrator partnership
HTSIASFU : self loathing and with technobabble turned up to 11.

I shall finish it, if only to give a fair "I've actually read this" opinion to people I know are curious about it ...