Listen free for 30 days
-
Look to Windward
- Culture Series, Book 7
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Series: Culture, Book 7
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
People who bought this also bought...
-
Consider Phlebas
- Culture Series, Book 1
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction - cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender. Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade....
-
-
A Truly Great Sci-Fi Novel
- By scotty on 09-04-12
-
Against a Dark Background
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilisation based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith's apotheosis, and her only hope of escape is to find the last of the apocalyptically powerful Lazy Guns before the Huhsz find her.
-
-
It's probably just me but...
- By Paul on 25-10-12
-
Feersum Endjinn
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Count Sessine is about to die for the very last time.... Chief Scientist Gadfium is about to receive the mysterious message she has been waiting for from the Plain of Sliding Stones.... And Bascule the Teller, in search of an ant, is about to enter the chaos of the crypt.... And everything is about to change.... For this is the time of the encroachment and, although the dimming sun still shines on the vast, towering walls of Serehfa Fastness, the end is close at hand.
-
-
Brought the novel to life for me
- By Mark Brandon on 22-01-13
-
The Algebraist
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 4034 AD. Humanity has made it to the stars. Fassin Taak, a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers, will be fortunate if he makes it to the end of the year. The Nasqueron Dwellers inhabit a gas giant on the outskirts of the galaxy, in a system awaiting its wormhole connection to the rest of civilisation.
-
-
Jolly good
- By Paul on 17-05-06
-
Transition
- By: Iain Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
Audio book of the year
- By MikeyC on 10-11-09
-
The Bridge
- By: Iain Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A man lies in a coma after a near-fatal accident. His body broken, his memory vanished, he finds himself in the surreal world of the bridge - a world free of the usual constraints of time and space, a world where dream and fantasy, past and future, fuse. Who is this man? Where is he? Is he more dead than alive? Or has he never been so alive before?
-
-
Interesting but thin on plot
- By Stuart on 04-09-15
-
Consider Phlebas
- Culture Series, Book 1
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction - cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender. Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade....
-
-
A Truly Great Sci-Fi Novel
- By scotty on 09-04-12
-
Against a Dark Background
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilisation based around the planet Golter. Now she is hunted by the Huhsz, a religious cult which believes that she is the last obstacle before the faith's apotheosis, and her only hope of escape is to find the last of the apocalyptically powerful Lazy Guns before the Huhsz find her.
-
-
It's probably just me but...
- By Paul on 25-10-12
-
Feersum Endjinn
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Count Sessine is about to die for the very last time.... Chief Scientist Gadfium is about to receive the mysterious message she has been waiting for from the Plain of Sliding Stones.... And Bascule the Teller, in search of an ant, is about to enter the chaos of the crypt.... And everything is about to change.... For this is the time of the encroachment and, although the dimming sun still shines on the vast, towering walls of Serehfa Fastness, the end is close at hand.
-
-
Brought the novel to life for me
- By Mark Brandon on 22-01-13
-
The Algebraist
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 4034 AD. Humanity has made it to the stars. Fassin Taak, a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers, will be fortunate if he makes it to the end of the year. The Nasqueron Dwellers inhabit a gas giant on the outskirts of the galaxy, in a system awaiting its wormhole connection to the rest of civilisation.
-
-
Jolly good
- By Paul on 17-05-06
-
Transition
- By: Iain Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
Audio book of the year
- By MikeyC on 10-11-09
-
The Bridge
- By: Iain Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A man lies in a coma after a near-fatal accident. His body broken, his memory vanished, he finds himself in the surreal world of the bridge - a world free of the usual constraints of time and space, a world where dream and fantasy, past and future, fuse. Who is this man? Where is he? Is he more dead than alive? Or has he never been so alive before?
-
-
Interesting but thin on plot
- By Stuart on 04-09-15
-
Revelation Space
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself. With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason.
-
-
Good story - Fell out with the narrator.
- By Peter on 06-07-10
-
A Hole in the Sky
- Arkship Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixteen-year old Hazel lives in the Daedalus, a starship that is flying in search of a new world. The ship has been traveling for 500 years, searching for a world to settle in after having to abandon its last world. Everyone on board Daedalus lives a very simple existence in farming villages. The age of machines supplying their needs was lost during a mutiny 500 years ago.
-
-
Derivative story read without dramatic range
- By Nick GB on 19-03-21
-
Forbidden System: An Outworld Ranger Prequel
- Outworld Ranger, Book 0
- By: David Alastair Hayden
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before he was the super confident, snarky AI saving Siv Gendin and his friends’ bacon on a regular basis, Silky worked with his first human companion, Eyana Ora, an Empathic Services agent. This was the mission where it all began. Two centuries before the Fall of the Benevolence. A simple covert mission to spy on the Krixis, a telepathic alien race, turns into a desperate bid to save mankind when Silky and Eyana uncover a plot to use a secret super-weapon. But the weapon, a lost piece of ancient technology, holds secrets that neither side expected.
-
The Saints of Salvation
- The Salvation Sequence
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Humanity welcomed the Olyix and their utopian technology. But mankind was tricked. Now these visitors are extracting a terrible price. For two years, the Olyix have laid siege to Earth, harvesting its people for their god. One by one, cities are falling to their devastating weaponry. And while millions have fled to seek refuge in space, others continue to fight an apparently unwinnable war.
-
-
Same Old, But Less Engaging...
- By Mark H on 02-11-20
-
House of Suns
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the starfaring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones: the shatterlings. Sent out into the galaxy, these shatterlings have stood aloof as they document the rise and fall of countless human empires. They meet every 200,000 years to exchange news and memories of their travels with their siblings.
-
-
Confusing at first, but keep with it
- By Cenydd on 08-07-13
-
Complicity
- By: Iain Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A few spliffs, a spot of mild S&M, phone through the copy of tomorrow's front page, catch up with the latest from your mystery source - could be big, could be very big - in fact, just a regular day at the office for free-wheeling, substance-abusing Cameron Colley, a fully paid-up Gonzo hack on an Edinburgh newspaper. The source is pretty thin, but Cameron senses a scoop and checks out a series of bizarre deaths from a few years ago - only to find that the police are checking out a series of bizarre deaths that are happening right now. And Cameron just might know more about it than he'd care to admit.…
-
-
Why do I like this so much? ....
- By Alison on 07-06-13
-
The Dreaming Void
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: Toby Longworth
- Length: 21 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
AD 3580. The Intersolar Commonwealth has spread through the galaxy to over a thousand star systems. It is a culture of rich diversity with a place for everyone. Even death itself has been overcome. But at the centre of the Commonwealth is a massive black hole. This Void is not a natural artefact. Inside there is a strange universe where the laws of physics are very different to those we know. It is slowly consuming the other stars of the galactic core - one day it will devour the entire galaxy.
-
-
Listen to this
- By Walter on 22-01-09
-
Whit
- By: Iain Banks
- Narrated by: Helen McAlpine
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Innocent in the ways of the world, an ingenue when it comes to pop and fashion, the Elect of God of a small but committed Stirlingshire religious cult: Isis Whit is no ordinary teenager. When her cousin Morag - Guest of Honour at the Luskentyrian's four-yearly Festival of Love - disappears after renouncing her faith, Isis is marked out to venture among the Unsaved and bring the apostate back into the fold.
-
-
Absolutely brilliant
- By VM J on 09-01-20
-
Revenger
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.... Captain Rackamore and his crew do.
-
-
Terrible book made worse by woeful narration
- By Clare on 30-04-17
-
The Reality Dysfunction
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 41 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton is the first in Night's Dawn, a sweeping galactic trilogy from the master of space opera. In AD 2600 the human race is finally realizing its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets across the galaxy host a multitude of wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary space-born creatures.
-
-
Great story spoiled by poor audio editing..
- By P Hardwick on 18-11-16
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
Inspired Sci-fi
- By Peter on 02-12-09
-
Pandora's Star
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 37 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Britain's bestselling SF writer returns to outer space.In AD 2329, humanity has colonised over four hundred planets, all of them interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth now occupies a sphere of space approximately four hundred light years across. When an astronomer on the outermost world of Gralmond, observes a star 2000 light years distant - and then a neighbouring one - vanish, it is time for the Commonwealth to discover what happened to them.
-
-
Very solid and enjoyable space opera
- By Stephen on 21-09-13
Summary
It was one of the less glorious incidents of a long-ago war. It led to the destruction of two suns and the billions of lives they supported. Now, 800 years later, the light from the first of those ancient mistakes has reached the Culture Orbital, Masaq. The light from the second may not.
Critic reviews
"Confirms Banks as the standard by which the rest of SF is judged" ( Guardian)
"In terms of sheer storytelling prowess and verve, Look to Windward is a work of genius" ( SFX)
"A great book" ( New Scientist)
"A mordant wit, a certain savagery and a wild imagination " ( Mail On Sunday)
More from the same
What listeners say about Look to Windward
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marc
- 22-05-14
Fantastic book, expertly delivered by Peter Kenny.
What did you like most about Look to Windward?
Another fantastic culture book. Great characters and an interesting plot. Peter Kenny once again brings this book to life.
What about Peter Kenny’s performance did you like?
Peter delivers this book in his usual perfect way. His talent of bringing a book to life is simply amazing. If you have ever read this book, then I highly recommend listening to Peter read it. He brings a whole new dimension to the story. He is a very comfortable narrator to listen to, and his character voices make it a pleasure to follow. Easy listening. Perfect.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Once started, it is very hard to stop. I found that time literally flew by whilst listening, and very often found myself still up in the early hours listening to this great story.
Any additional comments?
Another fantastic Culture book. Having read all the Banks books, I am now listening to them all one by one. If your a fan of Banks, then there is no better way to enjoy them.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- I Asimov
- 14-11-15
Best Culture Book - amazing
I have listened to every culture book so far and they are all outstanding but this is the best one. Banks is a formidable writer. A very moving and poinant story that will stay with me for years. Peter Kenny gave excellent narration as always.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- B. Webb
- 01-11-16
Another brilliant book expertly performed
A fantastic story brilliantly read by Peter Kenny. Iain M Banks and Peter Kenny are a truly excellent combination. The story had me riveted throughout and when it was over I felt myself mourn for it. Glad I have more to download!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- scott
- 22-05-16
Love the culture! !!
great sci-fi read by an engaging narrator.
Ian bank's books are a must read/listen if you want to escape into utopia
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike G.
- 12-05-16
an exploration of death, rebirth and civilization
I thoroughly enjoyed this! it has comedy, tragedy and philosophy in Banks' trademark style. excellent!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr Ward
- 18-04-16
One of finest and most currently apposite.
One of finest and most currently apposite in the post 9/11, fundamentalist enriched world. His death was a great loss.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul
- 21-09-15
great book
brilliant story and great delivery by Peter Kenny as usual. just love the culture. just purchased the next book
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris
- 17-09-15
Best sifi series ever written, narrated superbly
Banks was the best author in this genre, in my opinion, his books are of a depth that is hard to come by with fiction in general let alone SF. Kenny performs supremely as always.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J.E.Thomas
- 28-08-15
A subtle weave of stories
thoroughly enjoyed this story, one which I had forgotten after reading in paper back form many years and now brought, expertly and passionately back to me. well done Peter. well done Iain
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris
- 15-02-15
A great story well narrated
One of my favourite books by Banks, captures the empty feeling of loss in a way that is both beautiful and tragic. Narrated well and easy to listen to.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Brendan Woodward
- 19-12-18
Another fantastic Culture book
Amazing universe, excellent premesis, wonderful characters, dry wit - this installment is everything you want from Banks.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 21-03-18
...never ceases to surprise
The most entertaining culture novel so far. Nicely performed, wonderfully written, space-candy and alien drama.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- R.A.
- 15-07-19
A Good Story & Worthwhile Listen
The Short:
If you like Banks, you’ll like this novel. It is a more solid bet than many others in the series, and it’s pretty much certain you’ll enjoy it, if not love it.
If you have yet to read any Banks, it could be a good place to start (maybe better than the first novel in the series, which is much more space-opera than the others).
_. ._
The Long:
3 stars might seem harsh, especially when matched with “worthwhile listen,” so let me start by saying that, having listened to about 5 novels in the Culture series, so far, I haven’t been blown away as so many other listeners seem to have been.
I’m a big fan of Sci Fi, but have yet to connect with the elements that so many are quick to label as “genius” in Banks’ work. That’s not to say that I don’t think they might be there: I would certainly consider re-listening to a few of the books, for a second look. It’s very possible that the subtlety requires greater attention than what I give the story, when listening to it (i.e. it might be that, in my case, the stories would be more revealing if read, rather than listened to).
That being said, besides a few interesting ideas and a little forays into some disjointed world-building, I just didn’t find very much in this particular story. I *enjoyed* it, but find that Banks relies a lot on a quasi-vacuous form (here I mean vacuous in the technical sense, not in the colloquial sense): he leaves out a lot of the story for the reader to fill-in. This isn’t done artlessly - to some extent it contributes to the interest of the story, and maintains interest; however, it also feels very much like a Dalian curtain winding it’s way up & down, back & forth and at odd-angles to hide the deus (dei?) ex machina that breathes life into his novels.
Personally, I am neither for nor against the use of “deus ex machina” - it can be used to great effect (as it is in the BBC’s Sherlock series), and it can be just be cheap and lazy (see all truly mediocre Sci Fi !); however, in Banks’ case, it feels misplaced. The volume of information and details not explicitly provided makes it feel as though Banks himself was aware of this mis-fit of the narrative tool, and so tried to minimize it’s presence.
If all this crap about narrative techniques annoys you, let me say that I’m (normally) with you on that front - literary analysis has its limits. More than anything, the above is simply an attempt to understand why it feels as though there was perhaps 5-8h of story missing from this novel. In plain language, that is really what it felt like: some interesting ideas, some great characters, but a few parts that just don’t fit together, and it seems as though the author knew it, as well.
Overall:
Not a waste of time or money. Definitely entertaining. Not genre-defining Sci Fi, nothing to blow your mind. A safe bet for entertaining listening.
I hope this was helpful to you in deciding whether or not to purchase the book. Please take a moment to click on the button, if it was, so i can continue to provide helpful reviews. Happy listening!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- j hdbck
- 25-09-19
Slow and anticlimactic
I really liked Consider Phlebas and Player of Games which I’ve read previously but I never really got in to this. The plot moves really slow and is weighed down by too much conversation (even if it’s often quite funny).
Also I had such a hard time with identifying with—or even give physical form in my mind to—three-legged alien species! Especially hard in erotic scenes... How does a tiger-centaur slide up on her partner for sex when he is on his back? This might seem like a small problem, but it kept throwing me off the story.
The reading/“voice-acting” is excellent however!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- JCRW
- 03-03-18
A masterpiece from one of sci fi's greatest Minds
This story is tapestry of grand scope and scale masterfully woven together by a mind brilliant enough that He might as well be a GSV in disguise
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kevin B
- 03-05-15
Possibly his best culture story so far
Great story with all the culture twists you would expect leaving you in awe with the scale of dimension and time