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Interesting but thin on plot
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PERFECT
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Excellent narration of Iain's last book
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Her eyes were black, wide as though with some sustained surprise, the skin from their outer corners to her small ears taut. Her lips were pale, and nearly too full for her small mouth, like something bled but bruised. He had never seen anyone or anything quite so beautiful in his life. Graham Park is in love. But Sara Fitch is an enigma to him, a creature of almost perverse mystery. Steven Grout is paranoid - and with justice. He knows that They are out to get him.
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Not his best and a little confusing
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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.
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It's probably just me but...
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Feersum Endjinn
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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.
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Brought the novel to life for me
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Canal Nightmares!
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Story
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Evocative and perfect. If you love 4 this is it.
- By Mike on 25-01-19
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Consider Phlebas
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- By: Iain M. Banks
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- Unabridged
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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....
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A Truly Great Sci-Fi Novel
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Shadow Captain
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Returning to the universe of Revenger, award-winning author Alastair Reynolds delivers another thrilling tale set among the stars. Two sisters ran away from home to join the crew of a spaceship. They took on pirates, faced down monsters and survived massacres...and now they're in charge. Captaining a fearsome ship of their own, adventures are theirs for the taking - and there's hoards to loot and treasures to find in the darkest reaches of space. But the rules are also more relaxed out on the fringes, as they're about to discover....
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Excellent!
- By Sokratesagogo on 15-02-19
Summary
A little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing....
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.
But the road to Babylondon (as Sister Angela puts it) is a treacherous one, particularly when Isis discovers that Morag appears to have embraced the ways of the Unsaved with spectacular abandon... Truth and falsehood; kinship and betrayal; 'herbal' cigarettes and compact discs - Whit is an exploration of the techno-ridden barrenness of modern Britain from a unique perspective.
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- Amazon Customer
- 28-04-18
Great power woman tale
Not often I'm as satisfied with an ending as I am with this one. We'll told, great leading lady. Thought provoking a wee colourful.
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- Kevin
- Hampshire, UK
- 28-09-17
Haggis pakora and a slow reveal...
I've read many Iain Banks novels, but this is the first audiobook of his work that I've listened to. The story, which I won't re-hash here, follows a familiar Banks theme of a first person narrator faced with a challenge or mystery and coming to a striking realisation that things are not as they had assumed. The reveal, in the last few chapters, is deeply satisfying. One of his best.
Helen McAlpine's narration is excellent. From Isis Whit's posh Scots to Glaswegian, Texan, Jamaican and estuary Essex accents she barely falters, although I did think that Great Aunt Zhobelia's mix of Indian sub-continent and Harris Scots sounded a little like she was from the Welsh valleys, but that's really nitpicking. The effect is that it's always clear who is speaking.
Overall, this was really excellent. I was sad when I had finished it. You'll need to listen to it yourself to learn about the Haggis pakora though.
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- Urd Yggradsil
- UK
- 11-10-16
I couldn't get into the main character
I found Helen McAlphine's narration of the story really worked and brought the main character to life.
Unfortunately this is one of a small number of Ian Bank's novels that left me cold and struggling to stick with it. I could not find any real engagement with the characters or the storyline and nearly gave up several times.
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- J Z A
- 06-09-16
Excellent
The story is full of twists and intrigues and very well performed, but it is the quality of the writing that gets the fifth star.
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- Verner
- 13-02-16
Typically quirky for Iain Banks
Would you try another book written by Iain Banks or narrated by Helen McAlpine?
Probably not. The setting was barely believable and the transformation of the main character unbelievable.
If you’ve listened to books by Iain Banks before, how does this one compare?
Did not have the end at the beginning so started out better, but if it had I would not have gone on.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
Female voices were great. The male voices far from it.
If this book were a film would you go see it?
Certainly not.
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- Samm
- 08-12-15
I really enjoyed this
Would you consider the audio edition of Whit to be better than the print version?
I have e not read the print version but really enjoyed the narration in the audio version.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed Whits journey and development, I thought she was an interesting character and was sad when the book came to an end.
What about Helen McAlpine’s performance did you like?
Helen has a very nice voice with a lovely tone and accent. Will definitely look for more books narrated by Helen.
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- Matthew
- United Kingdom
- 25-06-15
Gripping and thought provoking
A perfect combination of a fantastic story and insightful, non-judgemental exploration of religious society. Excellent even by Banks' high standards.