Matter
Culture Series, Book 8
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Narrated by:
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Toby Longworth
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By:
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Iain M. Banks
About this listen
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
Critic reviews
'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson
What listeners say about Matter
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Anonymous User
- 14-02-11
Loved it
First book I've read by this author but it wont be the last. I never thought science fiction was my thing really and I only had this in my library as it was a freebie from the Sunday Times. They know what they are doing though when they offer the freebies because now I am hooked and have already bought another of his to read. I have to agree with other reviewers that the narrator was excellent and I loved the ending.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-03-17
You
I'm nearing the end of the Culture series having listened, mostly in publication order & increasingly enjoying them.
However the ending is weak & abrupt to the point where I wondered if the recording skipped a chunk.
But the bulk of the book is a superb space opera and the narrator's interpretation of voices is excellent, certainly not monotonous as a few have claimed.
Also one of the easiest to follow despite the multiple plot lines.
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- Anonymous User
- 15-01-21
Bit of a rapid crescendo
I do love the culture series. This one is my least favourite so far. Still very enjoyable, and the reading is well done, but the story just seems a little meandering in places and hastily strung together at others. It crescendos too rapidly, with most of the key plot reveals occurring all towards the end of the book and very little of note happening in the first 3/4ths.
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- Anonymous User
- 28-06-23
World gods and ancient aliens
As a big Iain M Banks fan I read Matter many years ago and enjoyed it. This is my first audiobook of an Iain M Banks novel and I was not disappointed. Each character was given their own distinct voice by the narrator which greatly helps with following the story. Excited to revisit othe Iain M Banks novels via audiobook now.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-01-09
Simply superb
I had previously listened to the Algebraicist (wonderful!) but am not a "hardcore" sci fi fan. This was a wonderful and engrossing listen and I was really sorry when it ended!
More Iain M Banks Cultural novels on audio please!!!!
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- Anonymous User
- 19-07-08
Almost Perfect
As one of the first audiobooks I have ever listened to I was not disappointed. Rather than just listening before going to sleep, as I usually would do with a paper book-or rather read, I found myself listening as I ate, drove and even at the gym.
I simply could not stop listening. I have read the previous culture novels and loved every one but Toby Longworth adds a new dimention - different and distinct voices for every character with a tone I was happy to listen to for hours.
As with the previous reviewers I found the ending very abrupt but everything leading up to this was perfect and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it. There's also an audible podcast featuring an interview with Iain Banks which I found enjoyable before listening to this book.
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- Anonymous User
- 11-11-17
Didn’t miss Peter Kenny as much as I thought
I was shocked that Peter Kenny was not the narrator however Toby did a fine job! Just took a while to grow on me.
One thing I would say (preventing 5 star) was that whomever edited the audio was a bit lazy as there are some chapters that roll into the next physical chapter which is a tad annoying as occasionally you have to listen to just the first 15 mins to get the end of the previous one.
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- Anonymous User
- 22-09-19
absolutely CRACKING performance!
wow... as narrators go, this was knocked out of the park! great story as well, highly recommended
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- Anonymous User
- 04-07-18
a bit quick ending, but great story
I swallowed the book. it's quite nice, but ends very abruptly. I liked it :-)
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- Anonymous User
- 05-02-21
A bit different
Upon beginning I wasn't too sure about this book wasn't sure about the voice actor or the characters.
But, I got hooked.
Loved every second of it!
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