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  • Feersum Endjinn

  • By: Iain M. Banks
  • Narrated by: Peter Kenny
  • Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (462 ratings)
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Feersum Endjinn cover art

Feersum Endjinn

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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Summary

The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. With breathtaking imagination and extraordinary storytelling, they have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.

Count Sessine is about to die for the very last time . . .

Chief Scientist Gad­fium is about to receive the mysterious message she has been awaiting from the Plain of Sliding Stones . . .

Bascule the Teller, in search of an ant, is about to enter the chaos of the crypt . . .

This is the time of the encroachment and everything is about to change. Although the dimming sun still shines on the vast, towering walls of Serehfa Fastness, the end is close at hand. The King knows it, his closest advisers know it, and the crypt knows it too; so an emissary has been sent - an emissary who holds the key to all their futures.

Books by Iain M. Banks:
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
The State of the Art
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist

©1994 Iain M. Banks (P)2012 Hachette Digital

Critic reviews

"Another truly impressive piece of work from the pen of a master storyteller" (Starburst)

"Dazzlingly original" (Daily Mail)

"Banks is a phenomenon: the widly successful, fearlessly creative author of brilliant and disturbing non-genre novels, he's equally at home writing pure science fiction of a peculiarly gnarly energy and elegance" (William Gibson)

What listeners say about Feersum Endjinn

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brought the novel to life for me

Honestly, Feersum Endjinn was never my favourite Banks book, but Peter Kenny's excellent narration brought it to life for me in a way reading it didn't, all those years ago. Kenny's intonation and characterisation are perfectly suited to Banks' intricate plots and diverse characters, and this was thoroughly enjoyable.



I'd recommend Feersum Endjinn to any Banks fan out there. It's not perhaps the easiest one to start with, if you're new to his science-fiction. Instead, head for 'Consider Phlebas', Banks' first science-fiction novel and, happily, also narrated by Peter Kenny.



Just the best-value SF audiobooks I've come across!

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

F'nominul

An ore inspirin inishiatry delv in2 uh tranzdymenshunul wundaland uv consprisee and intreeg. cuvring eryfin frum duh tabu ov mastabayshun 2 the heet def ov duh youneeverz.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, great narration

Very interesting and enjoyable story, a bit confusing at first but still fun to try to work out what's going on, though I would have preferred some things to have been explained earlier. Brilliant characters and fantastic ideas, with several characters' stories running alongside each other. The book has a well thought out and described world, giving it a sweeping sci-fi epic feel which I really liked. Very good book!

Narration is great. All the characters have distinct voices, and Bascule's section is particularly good. In the actual book, his sections are written phonetically, which can make them a struggle to follow:

"Woak up. Got dresd. Had brekfast. Spoke wif Ergates thi ant who sed itz juss been wurk wurk wurk 4 u lately master Bascule, Y dont u ½ a holiday?"

Listening to the audiobook avoids this problem, and I much preferred it, as it didn't break the flow of the story. However, if you want the true experience of reading his sections as they were written, then you'll need to get the book. Personally, I'd recommend the audio instead.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another masterpiece by the master

Any additional comments?

Don't be put off by the reviews about the phonetic speech, doesn't apply to an audible book!
Put me off for a while but no problem when listening.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Feersum Good

I first read Feersum Endjinn many years ago when it first came out. At the time I heard the book in my head in Scottish accents. Also - I found the book quite confusing with Bascule the Teller's dyslexia making it slightly heavy going.

So the audiobook was with an English accent - which threw me - but it was very well read and I thouroughly enjoyed the telling! Well done Kenny! So a decent book made great by good telling. Scottish accents could have been more fun though - but that would have been icing on the cake!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The only way to 'read' this one

The fonetik writing in (some chapters of) the original book is enough to drive one spare, but Peter Kenny handles it amazingly well, and I suggest this is by far the best way to enjoy this particular novel. Story is perhaps a bit lacking compared to the Culture series, but still well worth a listen.

This is the 'go to' narrator for IMB's works, in my opinion.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Painful listening, even for a Banks fan

I’ve read most of the Banks canon, sci-fi and fiction, and I’d avoided buying the print version because when ever I’d perused it in a bookshop I’d spotted the phonetic text in some chapters, and it put me off. Also I’d known that it wasn’t part of the Culture universe.

Nevertheless, intrigued enough to finally say I’d ‘read’ it, I decided this would be good to try on audible for my long commutes to work and back. How wrong I was.

The phonetic sections are actually the more penetrable sections of the audio recording, with the phonetics become a cockney accent or a charming minor speech impediment, depending which character was speaking.

I just found the rest of the book too slow paced, too disjointed. I had little clue of what was going on. And I found the ending underwhelming as well. Very little to recommend it, sorry to say.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

the best of the non-culture books, left it as saw some poor reviews. but this is a wonderfully deep abstract work. An absolute pleasure.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Didn't get it

Any additional comments?

I've loved every Iain M Banks book that I've listened to so far but just cannot get into this at all. I'm half way through, have no idea what the story is about or where it's going and I don't think I want to waste another 5 hours finding out. Peter Kenny superb as always though.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Typically Banksian.

Banks was one of the most original writers of hard SciFi, who's mind seemed to be brimming with twisted ideas. His writing was always a pleasure to read though he never let you into his stories easily, I always felt he was bringing me in partway through the story and I was always playing catch-up. And, as fun as that often is it can be hard work.

My one quibble with this and its not the first time I've felt this at the end of one of his books is that he fluffs it and leaves it unresolved or tries to wrap it all up without wrapping it all up. it can be very unsatisfying.

The reading though for this is brilliant. The Bascule sections are amazing.

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