403 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 2009 by Orbit.
A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?
On the Concern's books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there's the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to …
A world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse, such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organisation with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?
On the Concern's books are Temudjin Oh, an un-killable assassin who journeys between the peaks of Nepal, a version of Victorian London and the dark palaces of Venice; and a nameless, faceless torturer known only as the Philosopher. And then there's the renegade Mrs Mulverhill, who recruits rebels to her side; and Patient 8262, hiding out from a dirty past in a forgotten hospital ward. As these vivid, strange and sensuous worlds circle and collide, the implications of turning traitor to the Concern become horribly apparent, and an unstable universe is set on a dizzying course.
It starts off very good, stylistically, and some of the characters are relatively credible. The idea is interesting. But... there is too much of some stuff, like weird sex. And some other stuff seems to be missing. A bit disappointing, after the good beginning.
A bizarre novel with a many-worlds background. An organization claims to be sending its agents to temporarily take over bodies in different versions of our world, to fix things by simple means like delaying a good person on the way to catch a plane that will crash, to assassinating bad people.
But some agents become doubtful as to whether the organization itself is becoming corrupt.
Different from his Culture novels in most ways but still using an alternate reality (or many alternate realities) to explore some social and philosophical issues.
A fascinating glimpse into the mind of a master at work. A vision of society and the challenges it must encounter split across infinitesimal worlds tied together by a series of challenging characters. I wonder how many more Mrs Mulverhill’s we might have encountered if not for the unexpected taking of Banks from us by #fuckcancer
Generally great! First 350 pages were mind-bending, well written, with fascinating characters and ideas. Last 50 pages kind of fell into B-movie plotlines. I'd still give it four stars though.
Yes it's political. Stories written about torture, greed, and self-delusion will tend to be political, especially if they're readable. And this is an intense and densely refined story.
1) ''I live in a Switzerland. The indefinite article is germane.
The particular Switzerland I live in is not even called Switzerland, but it is a recognised type, a place whose function and demeanour will be familiar to all those we number amongst the Aware. ''Aware'' means being au fait with the realities of the realities. ''Aware'' is a term applied to those who understand that we live not in one world---singular, settled and linear---but within a multitude of worlds, forever exponentially and explosively multiplying through time. More to the point, it applies to those who know how easy it is to travel between these disparate, ever-branching and unfolding and developing realities.''
2) ''I became a little disillusioned, I suppose, though that had nothing to do with the nightmares. It was just that our job never seemed to end, never seemed to achieve very much. There were always more subjects, …
1) ''I live in a Switzerland. The indefinite article is germane.
The particular Switzerland I live in is not even called Switzerland, but it is a recognised type, a place whose function and demeanour will be familiar to all those we number amongst the Aware. ''Aware'' means being au fait with the realities of the realities. ''Aware'' is a term applied to those who understand that we live not in one world---singular, settled and linear---but within a multitude of worlds, forever exponentially and explosively multiplying through time. More to the point, it applies to those who know how easy it is to travel between these disparate, ever-branching and unfolding and developing realities.''
2) ''I became a little disillusioned, I suppose, though that had nothing to do with the nightmares. It was just that our job never seemed to end, never seemed to achieve very much. There were always more subjects, and gradually a greater overall number of subjects at any given time, from a greater spread of ages and from more and more backgrounds and professions. Society seemed to be collapsing around us. The Christian Terrorist threat seemed only to increase despite the best efforts of the government, the security services and ourselves, and the real terrorists or terrorist suspects appeared to be joined by those who had fallen foul of the increased security measures and laws which the initial increases in terrorist activity had made necessary in the first place.''
