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  • Matter

  • Culture Series, Book 8
  • By: Iain M. Banks
  • Narrated by: Toby Longworth
  • Length: 17 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (1,457 ratings)
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Matter cover art

Matter

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Toby Longworth
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Summary

The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling, and have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.

The intricate structure of a Shellworld - an arti­ficial planet of spheres-within-spheres - is matched only by the machinations of its inhabitants.

On the eighth sphere of Sursamen, a man witnesses the murder of his father and flees, searching for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother, this means a life lived under constant threat of treachery, while for their sister, Djan Seriy Anaplian, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever.

Anaplian is not who she once was. She has become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.

Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy. In the world to which she returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.

The Culture series:
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

Other books by Iain M. Banks:
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist

©2008 Iain M. Banks (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

What listeners say about Matter

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Popular Culture

Such is the draw to a Culture novel that I was compelled to purchase as soon as the title became available.

As has been the way with recent Banks work, the story takes place on a number of levels. Matter, takes this one stage further and locates the narrative inside a shell world which itself is made up of a number of levels - cleaver.

Imagine a heraldic prince, not unlike Hamlet who stumbles upon his fathers murder and the action spirals out to threaten the whole world, drawing the attention of the Cultures elite soldiers, SC.

At it's heart, the story contemplates the very meaning of life, but don't expect Banks to answer that, if the best Minds of the Culture can't. If however, life really is all just a game, what does it really Matter!

If you are a fan then tell your loved ones you will be away for 21 hours and when you return you will be suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

Let's hope it isn't another 8 years until the next one, but however long it takes it will be on My Next Listen list.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting foray into Banks world

Excellent listen if you like Sci-Fi tinged with fantasy. The missing star is because of the ending of the book and not anything to do with the recording, which was exemplary.

The book seemed to screech to a halt a bit and there seems to be a chunk missing that would naturally flow from the end of the last chapter to the epilogue. I actually had to rewind and check that I had not missed something, and when this didn't reveal anything, I went into a bookshop and read the last couple of pages.

The ending does not detract from a thoroughly enjoyable listen, and don't let it put you off. I appreciate films/books where they leave the end open for interpretation, but this just seemed to have a little bit missing, nothing major.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

compulisve listening

I usually ration my listening to when I cycle to work or am sewing, but this was one book that I kept on far longer when I came through the door.
I was prepared for the abrupt ending, having read a previous review, but agree it was disappointing, particularly for someone like me who likes to have explanations. Even so, that didn't spoil my enjoyment of an engrossing book.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Difficult to put down.

One of my most enjoyable and addictive listens. Toby Longworth's narration is quite simply the best I have ever heard in an audio book and really helped to distinguish between the numerous characters. It was hard to think that Iain M. Banks could have imagined them sounding otherwise. I was sorry to finish the book and, unlike some other reviewers, rather liked the ending.

I'm a little bit disappointed that 'Surface Detail' has a different narrator but I'll give that a go too.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant and highly recommended

My first Culture Novel which I thought was brilliant. Mixes galaxy spanning adventure with a very personal, touching family story set against the epic backdrop of the Culture galaxy. Occasionally difficult to follow due to the frequent weird and wonderful alien names it is non the less engrossing and thoroughly recommended for any sci-fi fans

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Solid Culture Novel

This is a book of travel, archeology, hi-tech, low-tech and exploration. It is focused around the sons and daughters of an assasinated king of a shell world. The sons, after the kings death, have very different paths to take and the daughter, who is ex-SC, comes back to help them, initially at least. The book is essentially the charting of the 3 main characters journeys, 2 of which are in the shell world itslef (journeying between the levels) and one, the daughters perepective, from within the Culture. The stories are all of course linked and come together albeit in quite an abrupt fashion at the end of the book. Iain Banks describes the shell world, the Culture, the ships and all the smart AI in his usual style and penache. It is a very descriptive book in that a lot of the time you are treated to explanations of the worlds, the levels and environments the characters exists in. The story itself is solid, the human/AI/alien characters are great and you do get a great broad sci-fi novel, with its split between the world of the Culture and the shell-world with it's medievel tech. It is pretty solid, but, and my only gripe, is that it does climax very quickly at the end, you kind of blink and it's over. Matter does bring everything together at the end which is great, but it just does it a bit too quick in my opinion, would have liked a bit more meat in the end game. But niggle aside, I'd recommend this book as another good, solid Culture novel. Very enjoyable. The narration was great as well.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

I was gripped by this book from the very start. It was as much Toby Longworth's reading of it as the story. The story itself starts off very strongly but it looses momentum towards the end. It's like there's a few chapters missing. Still a really really good listen. I have now bought the next book in the series but decided to have another Toby Longworth book before I start it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The best narrator I've heard

This narrator was the best I've heard from an audio book. He mastered the dark comedy of these books and each character was totally different and full of colour. As for the story - this was also top notch. The sheer imagination at play here is staggering. The time scales, the different worlds, the Culture and the rules and politics within the Culture all add up to make something that stays with you a long time after you've finished reading.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent book and a fantastic reader

This is a fantastic book, and easily my favourite Culture novel to date. The characters are great, he setting fantastic, and the story romps along at a great old pace. I recommend it. The story does end a bit abruptly, but it is a fitting end and very much in keeping with the author's style.
I must say something about the Reader, as the quality of the reading can make a huge difference to your enjoyment of an audio book. I thought this was the best reading of any audio book I have ever heard. Exemplary.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Matter

Matter, what can i say about it, not much i m sorry to say i did not understand it. One reviewer,Tim said he hoped he did not have to wait 8 years for the next one, i do not care if the nest one is 28 years i will not be listening.

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2 people found this helpful