This was truly incredible and, at the same time, slightly perplexing.

I'll definitely want to re-read it at some point.

As a reader, you're immediately plunged into a world populated by a set of odd characters and filled with some familiar sci-fi and fantasy elements. However, this world is also entirely unfamiliar and bizarre. You'll need patience to come to terms with your confusion and your thirst for answers as Banks deftly and ever so gingerly lifts the veils on the plot. The plot, which is one of political intrigue against the backdrop of an impending planetary disaster, isn't all that complex. But the wider world most certainly is. At the heart of this complexity is the blurring of boundaries between the real and the virtual. The vast virtual "Crypt" turns out to be a wild west of countless independent entities, including humans and human constructs. Many of these have either broken down or are in the process of melding in unforeseen and astonishing ways.

Banks has achieved something beautiful and unexpected here. He has taken some familiar sci-fi, cyberpunk, and fantasy themes and combined them into something new and wonderful, all while adding ample doses of humor. By the end, I think I was able to pretty much make sense of it all, and the payoff was well worth the effort. Never did I feel that he was intentionally trying to confound or frustrate me. Nevertheless, it certainly takes some effort to keep up with the story.

The rumors are true.

I have indeed finally finished a book. It has been a long and arduous journey, filled with countless hours of writing, rewriting, and editing. But through it all, I persevered, driven by my passion for storytelling and the desire to share my ideas with the world.

Now that the book is complete, I feel a sense of accomplishment and relief. It is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. But at the same time, I also feel a bit of nervousness and excitement. What will people think of my work? Will it be well-received?

Only time will tell, but for now, I am just happy to have finally achieved this goal. I can't wait to see where this book takes me and what the future holds.

First of all, I'm a huge fan of Iain Banks. Keep that in mind when I tell you that this book is truly unreadable.

The number one issue is that one of the main characters has a certain disability and can only write phonetically. As a result, you have to struggle through page after page of this kind of garbage:

But am Bascule thi Rascule, thass whot they call me! Am yung & am onli on my furst life I tells her, laffin; Bascule thi Teller nuffink, that's me; no I or II or VII or any ov that nonsins 4 yoors truly; am good az immortil 4 all intense & purpusses & if u cant act a bit daff when u never dyed not even 1nce yet, when can u?

JESUS CHRIST IAIN WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!?!?

I managed to get through about 20% of this book and the story was somewhat interesting. However, in the end, I simply could not handle that nonsense. It became such a burden to read those phonetic passages that it completely overshadowed any potential enjoyment I might have had from the story. I really wanted to like this book, but this one aspect made it nearly impossible for me to continue.

It grabbed me from the start.

Part of this was the simple spectacle of it all. The brobdingnagian "castle" where most of the story is set is truly awe-inspiring, with its kilometers-long and kilometers-tall chambers. The destructive civil war between royalists and those aligned with the clan of Engineers adds a layer of excitement and drama. The grotesque "chimeric" animals of sentience are both fascinating and terrifying. And the multiple layers of reality implemented in the vast dataspace of the cryptosphere, where the data chaos lurks, create a sense of mystery and danger.

Then there is the overwhelming concern of the Encroachment endangering the planet.

The other side of it is Banks's meticulous management of information. The reader has to piece together what the Encroachment really is (it is not detailed until well into the book), who Count Sessine's enemies are, why the war is happening, and most importantly how everyone is going to fix this mess. This book respects its readers and in turn expects much of them. None of the background information is handed over in a dump of exposition. Even the presence of Bascule, whose viewpoint is a fourth of the text, means that the reader must downshift his/her reading into low gear to deal with his phonetic spelling and how he repeats the accents or speech patterns of those he encounters. Understanding what the "castle" really is takes time for the pieces to come together.

It's rewarding. But you have to work for it.

I found myself continually comparing the story to Clarke's The City and the Stars, possibly with a dram or two of Gormenghast and/or The Night Land. Both consider the fate of a redoubt on an unimaginably future Earth, where a decadent, remnant society resides after the ambitious bulk of humanity ascends to the stars. An unexpected human is incarnated automatically for the purposes of the data system itself.

This comparison only adds to the richness and depth of the story, making it a truly engaging and thought-provoking read.

Writing a review as though I were Bascule seems to me the obvious course. One might even say the played course; the used up and clichéd course. But a browse of the reviews posted on Goodreads indicates otherwise. I would have thought by now someone would have written a review in the style of Bascule but it appears not to be the case.

There are many protagonists in Feersum Endjin but Bascule is really the driving character. He is the regular guy we can identify with. He is the unlikely hero thrust into circumstances beyond his understanding or control and given the opportunity to make brave decisions with the fate of humanity in the balance. His bravery leads him to perform acts of great consequence, even if he can't see those consequences from his limited perspective. Bascule plays an essential role in helping the good guys win the day and he doesn't even know it (until the end, anyway). He is just doing what seems right to him.

Anyway, as you have now guessed, Bascule writes in an unconventional fashion. About a quarter of the book, maybe a little more, is written in the first person by Bascule, who has a learning disability. He can talk normally but can only write phonetically. And the author, Iain Banks, pulls this off brilliantly.

As I sit here attempting to write like Bascule I can tell you it isn't as easy as it might sound. It takes some amount of concentration. And it takes some concentration to read Bascule's account of events. It's not for the lazy reader. Banks' ability to write awkwardly and unfamiliarly yet make it sound like a substantive, caring, and relatable person is pretty damn amazing. But like many of Banks' novels there's more beneath the surface. Underlying Bascule's phonetic writing is a point of much more substance, a commentary on the struggle we humans endure to communicate with one another and with the world. It'll take me several steps to get there, so try to hang with me.

The world of Feersum Endjin contains too many details to paint them all, and the big picture itself is difficult to paint because you can't stand back far enough to take it all in. Take, for example, the absurdly oversize castle called Serehfa in which much of the Earth's population lives. We're talking a castle built to scale for people who stand hundreds of meters tall. A castle with walls standing several kilometers high, the tops obscured by haze and the sheer cliff-faces running to the horizon on your right and left. A central tower that tickles the underbelly of outer space. A structure set atop a three-kilometer tall mesa in one room that, seen from afar, looks like a chandelier lowered from the ceiling for spring cleaning. Seen up close, the chandelier is a city of elaborate, soaring, glass-paneled skyscrapers. A structure is set kilometers high in the corner of one room that, seen from afar, looks like a baroque decorative gargoyle. Seen up close the gargoyle is a residential complex where people enjoy the view from balconies in the eyes. The larger rooms have their own weather systems. One room contains a volcano. Others contain lakes and rivers and hills and valleys. The rooms in the higher levels—each level standing a couple kilometers tall—are perpetually cold, and one of them holds a year-round ski-resort. In what would be a castle's dungeon, the somber port city of Oubliette (you heard that right) sits beside a black ocean that hasn't seen sunlight in millennia. Now, stay with me here.

You can visualize parts of the castle Serehfa. Your imagination has painted pictures—perhaps even detailed pictures—of the corner of one room and the centerpiece in another, of one small piece of the horizon-spanning castle walls. Your mind is busily filling in random details plucked from your memory to create a room with a volcano, and a room with lakes and rivers, hills and valleys. You know what a ski resort looks like so your mind simply places it inside a vast interior space. But visualizing the whole castle? No. Definitely not. Just a few scattered pieces that contain sufficiently familiar elements for your mind to grab on to, like a good handhold on a cliff face. But pull back and urge your imagination to paint the entire monstrosity... and you're hand will miss a handhold, your foot slip from a niche, and you go tumbling right on down. Still with me? Even through the mixed metaphors? Good. Let's take the next step.

What if the castle Serehfa was not just a physical setting for our young hero Bascule's adventures? It's a hell of a setting, to be sure, another example of Banks' penchant for conceiving breathtaking, larger-than-life locales for his characters to roam. But what if Serehfa was, let's say, a lens to focus the reader's thoughts and a pattern for those thoughts to follow... an archetype, perhaps. Once you know how to picture Serehfa (by which I mean you've realized that you can't picture Serehfa, you can only picture pieces of it), you can begin to picture how you exist in, and relate to, our contemporary human society. You're thinking that sounds ambitious, yes? A tenuous connection, maybe? Well, let's see if I can make this idea stick.

The society in Feersum Endjin is too massive, complex, and even contradictory to pull together in a big picture that makes much sense. That society encompasses the living and the dead, the first-lifers and the reincarnated, the physical and the virtual, the human-basic and the chimeric. Those diverse brush strokes are weaved together in a multifaceted symphony of color that defies our ability to imagine. What Banks paints for us through the stories of Bascule and other individuals are the detailed sections--like the rooms in Serehfa--that our minds can conceive of. But focusing on the detailed sections prevents us from seeing the whole picture. So we try to step back. Unfortunately, stepping back causes us to lose sight of the comprehendable details, leaving a wash of generalities, and, worse, the stepping back is in vain because we never can step back far enough to take in the whole construction. Sounds like our archetype, doesn't it? Yes, you answer with a bored sigh. It's so faaaascinating, you say sarcastically as you snicker to one another. I know, I know, you’re attention span is getting shorter as this review gets longer. Don't worry, there's just one more step, I promise.

I maintain that our contemporary human society is not so different from the Serehfa archetype, nor from the fictional future society to which we've already applied the archetype. We may not have chimerics walking the sidewalks, or sentient AI's floating around our internets, or reincarnated people in our living rooms, but our world is no less strange or diverse in its own way; no less intricate or impossibly complex. We each can see and understand the detailed sections painted by our own stories and those around us, but when we step back, when we lose the context of the individual, we are prone to make sweeping generalities.

Fine, you say between yawns, so what? What has this all got to do with Bascule and his learning disability? Okay, so there's one more step. I'm sorry about that, but here's where I try to bring it all together: The way Bascule writes is the way we relate to this world, to our \\"Serehfa.\\" Our world is full of rules, oh so many rules, for fitting in. And like the rules of the English written language, some make sense and some don't. Some are consistent while others are contradictory. Some rules have a logical basis while others are wholly arbitrary. So how do we survive in this vast, complex monstrosity of a world where we'll never understand the whole picture but we can see little sections in detail and which imposes upon us multifarious rules that make no sense? We speak to it phonetically, willing people to understand us and praying people will forgive us for our lapses, trying like mad to concentrate on the phonetic mutterings emanating from our friends and loved ones so we can understand them. And all the while we're hoping like hell that the insignificant section we paint leaves some meaning behind when we're gone.

This review has taken you on a journey through the world of Feersum Endjin, exploring the character of Bascule, the setting of Serehfa, and the broader themes of society and communication. I hope I've been able to convince you that there's more to this book than meets the eye, and that it offers a unique perspective on our own world and our place in it.

Anoche, después de haber estado leyendo literalmente durante años, finalmente lo terminé. Quería darle una oportunidad, pero lamentablemente, no hubo caso. No me gustó nada de él.

Puede que sea la traducción la que esté afectando mi percepción, pero creo que incluso en inglés, la historia no me conectaría.

No sé qué más decir. Es una decepción total. Me había esperado algo mejor, pero desafortunadamente, no se cumplió mi expectativa. Tal vez sea debido a que el estilo de escritura no es el mío, o quizás la historia simplemente no es interesante. De cualquier manera, no puedo recomendarlo a nadie.

Thrilling, unusual, dream-like and satisfyingly odd. These are the words that come to mind when thinking about this work.

After re-reading it following the completion of MATTER earlier this year, it becomes evident that Mr Banks has a truly grand sci-fi vision. His ability to create a complex and immersive world is remarkable. However, there is a tendency that can be a bit frustrating.

He builds up this grand narrative with such detail and excitement, but then suddenly just stops. All that anticipation and build-up lead to a rather hasty 3-page wrap-up.

It's like a delicious meal that leaves you just a little bit hungry. The story is delicious in its concepts and ideas, but it doesn't quite reach the 100% satisfaction level that one might hope for.

Despite this flaw, it still has the power to engage and fascinate, leaving the reader with a sense of wonder and a desire to explore more of Mr Banks' imaginative universe.

I really made an effort to read this book. I truly did. I have a great affection for most of Banks' work. The chapters that I managed to get through seemed to tell what I believe is the beginning of an interesting story.

However, the reading process was extremely slow because of the rather interesting writing form. It was so complex that it made my head ache. I eventually gave up approximately a third of the way into the book. There are so many other books waiting to be read, and yet there is so little time.

I wouldn't have any objection to a translation of this book into "normal" English. Even if the story might potentially lose "something" during the translation process, it would still be more accessible and easier to understand for me. At least then, I could fully appreciate the plot and the ideas that the author intended to convey without being hindered by the difficult writing style.

I can truly state that this was among the strangest book experiences I have ever embarked upon.

In 1996, I first came across Iain (M.) Banks and promptly made my way through Consider Phlebas (1987) and The Player of Games (1988), which are arguably two of my all-time favorite science fiction novels.

However, I had long shied away from 1994's Feersum Endjinn as there were strong rumors that it was practically unreadable, a rumor that I have now found difficult to refute.

Nonetheless, the struggle to the finish, the arduous journey through three ordinary narratives and one presented in a deliberately mysterious version of our own fragmented language, is just about worthwhile... if only to witness all the pieces of the puzzle converge in the conclusion.

As is always the case with Iain, it is a completely unforgettable (albeit at times intolerable) adventure. I suppose I would recommend it to enthusiasts of hard science fiction and those with a dementedly stubborn mindset.

I'm not entirely certain as to why I didn't give this a 5-star rating the first time around.

It was the very first Banks novel that I read, or so I believe. It holds the credit for drawing me into the world of this author, and also introduced me to the remarkable art of Michael Whalen, who created the stunning cover.

I am currently in the process of re-reading it. The reason being that I had lost momentum with the other novel I was reading and wanted something that I knew would be a "sure thing". And it has indeed pulled me back in, and I'm finding it extremely enjoyable on this second go.

(Although it probably helps that enough time has passed that I remember virtually nothing about the plot from the first reading.)

Edit: I have now finished it and was not at all disappointed. In my opinion, if you can manage to get past the one plot line that is written in its own unique English (definitely quite challenging to read), then this is one of Banks' better books.

This is one of Iain M Banks's standalone science fiction books.

It features four main characters - a Count, a scientist, a boy, and a girl - each with their own distinct sub-plots. The novel constantly switches between them, adding to the complexity.

Moreover, events occur not only in 'base reality' but also in the 'Crypt', the chaotic data corpus of all humanity where copies of people exist in mirror worlds.

This makes following the events almost impossible at times, which can be quite frustrating. The four sub-plots are kept separate for as long as possible, and one realizes that one has to simply go with the flow, enjoy the ride, and wait for it all to finally make sense - which it just about does in the final few pages.

Fortunately, enjoying the ride is easy in Banks's richly imagined world. There is a massive Castle with rooms kilometers long, chimeric animals, strange messages to decipher, and many weird and wonderful events in the Crypt.

One of the main characters, Bascule, is dyslexic, and his parts are written in the first person, spelled phonetically. It can be challenging to pick through these sections, but it all contributes to the originality of the book.

Overall, it is a good and memorable Sci Fi novel that takes readers on a thrilling and thought-provoking journey.

I deeply miss Iain M. Banks.

I'm constantly striving to read beyond the renowned Culture novels, yet they prove to be rather elusive in audio format.

Recently, I've managed to discover a couple of non-Culture Banks novels that have been released in new audiobook editions.

Feersum Endjinn, for instance, is a captivating novel that delves into the story of the remnants of humanity who chose to remain behind during the great human diaspora and how they grapple with an impending threat to life on earth.

The beginning of the novel can be quite perplexing as we are thrust into a world that predominantly exists within VR simulations that have evolved over millennia, teeming with various factions and rife with intrigue. However, there's no need to worry as things gradually become clearer.

Two of the main characters are rather naïve, and through their experiences, we slowly gain an understanding of this complex world. This is one of my favorite narrative tropes.

As a non-Culture Banks novel, this one comes closest to the essence of an actual Culture novel that I've had the pleasure of reading.