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A personal view to a galactic conflict
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The story told is basically a space opera, but unlike the usual sort of inter-galactic conflict this one is not limited to rousing space battles, adventures on alien planets and justified victors. While Banks includes all the typical aspects of entertaining science fiction in his first venture in the genre, the true essence of the story delves deep into the nature of humanity and the conflicts and confusions present in every person when they decide to take part in war. Horza, the protagonist, is human, but he has cast his lot with the tripedal Idirans who war against the Culture, an amalgamated civilization of humans and sentient machines. Horza's choice is purely biological, he rather support a living and organic species, even if it is openly racist and believes in its own divine pursuit, than have his life controlled by the Minds, ultra-intelligent machines that practically run all aspects of the Culture.
Over the course of the story, as Horza's adventures carry him across the galaxy and throw him in diverse, highly entertaining, and usually dangerous situations, Banks constantly reminds you of the greater war going on and how every little predicament is a representative feature of the Culture-Idiran conflict. As Horza faces the challenges and makes his choices, you begin to make up your own mind on whose side you would join, but I know I changed my mind several times. For me, that is the mark of a well-constructed plot, where the options available are not the typically predictable light vs. dark, but a wide spectrum of different shades of gray. While it is easy to lose yourself in Horza's view, it is when you detach yourself from the narrative, that his character flaws and the truth behind his motivation appears to be uncovered. However, what makes this a truly great book is that it is a self-contained story with real characters whose lives hang in the balace from page to page until the very end. Not to worry, all is accounted for, and Banks even gives the grand conflict an anti-climatic finality in an appendix loaded with philosophical viewpoints and staggering statistics. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable and intellectually stimulating read from start to finish. |
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