It is ironic that the book I have enjoyed the most (among those read so far) from The Culture does not contain elements of science fiction, except in a certain part of the book that cannot be talked about to avoid revealing the mystery to future readers. It has been refreshing to encounter the best of Banks after the slight disappointment that was 'Excession', the previous book of The Culture. 'Inversions' is a more literary novel, far from all the paraphernalia and pyrotechnics typical of space-opera, of those grandiose scenarios and ships. Therefore, it is an epic fantasy book, but not fantasy as usual (after all we are talking about Banks), but a story in which one has to pay very close attention to the details, since a parallel is made with our society (and not for the better; the "skirmishes" between Cromwell's England and Louis XIV's France come to my mind).

The story is actually two, which at one point seem not to be related, until at the end they do seem to have a point of union. On the one hand we have the part of The Doctor, in which the protagonist is the doctor of the king of Haspide, and her assistant Oelph, the narrator and at the same time spy on the actions of the doctor. She is a curious woman, a foreigner, who seems to have remedies for everything, and what is worse, her own ideas, something that does not go down too well within the court. Everything that happens is told from the point of view of Oelph, which causes a certain strangeness in some situations. It is delicious to witness his descriptions of places and characters that cross his path.

On the other hand, we have the second story, that of The Bodyguard, set in another city of the same world, and starring DeWar, the bodyguard of the Protector, King UrLeyn of Tassasen. This story is told by an omniscient narrator, although it is a text that will later let us know Oelph. DeWar, using the means at his disposal, dedicates himself to saving his king from the various assassination attempts he suffers, although it costs him a lot to convince UrLeyn of the convenience of his protection each time. An important character in this story is Perrund, one of the king's concubines, who was left with a disabled arm when trying to save him. Some of the best moments of this part are those lived by DeWar and Perrund during their conversations while walking or playing various board games.

The best thing about the novel are the characters, with whom you live and suffer equally. They have their own soul. You come to empathize so much with them that at the end of the last page, you know that you will remember them for a long time. Banks was one of the best writers inside and outside the genre, both for his descriptions and for the emotions that he is able to convey with his careful prose.

Inversions is the second new-to-me book in my Culture read-through, and it holds the distinction of being the lowest rated Culture novel on Goodreads. I can empathize with those who were let down by this book. After all, to find that the sixth installment in a series that spans the galaxy and features an incredibly powerful spacefaring utopia lacks any sign of spaceships, drones, or effector-fields is surely a letdown for some. However, I, for one, thought it was truly wonderful.

Even though we've been acquainted with The Culture's Contact and Special Circumstances sections for five books now, with numerous insights into their methods, it takes a great deal of confidence to not only fully immerse us in the lives of two Contact agents on a planet with medieval technology (they're just on the verge of the point where muskets cause more harm to the target than to the musketeer), but also to tell their stories from the perspective of the planet's natives. By doing so, Banks severs our connection to the familiar society we've been learning about throughout the series and shows us firsthand what the messy, heartbreaking, yet still inspiring process of being contacted looks like.

It's quite accurate to say that you can read the books in this series in any order, but I believe Inversions is the exception. While it's impossible to state this with absolute certainty, I'm fairly certain that I wouldn't have enjoyed this book nearly as much if it had been my first in the series. In the absence of a prescribed reading order, I always prefer the publication order because I believe the ongoing story is enhanced by following the author's evolving relationship with their work. This book is a perfect companion piece to Excession, a terminal-velocity freefall from the dizzying heights of a Mind's-eye view of the Culture as a whole to the muddy, bloody, dirty work of medicine in an age of humours and leeches, and bodyguarding a post-revolutionary leader with enemies lurking behind every curtain and a hyper-masculine image to project.

The frustrations of the two main characters practically jump off the page, even when presented through a third-party viewpoint. This book made me feel the anger and heartbreak that must accompany leaving a society free of material want to become a doctor in a brutally hierarchical system where the risk of death from diseases that you know how to cure can only be gradually reduced for fear of being accused of witchcraft or foreign meddling. Where the small victories include the possibility that a king's view on torture has been ever so slightly nudged towards leniency.

I must admit that while reading the previous books, I sometimes found myself thinking "why doesn't Contact just do [x]". This book, in conjunction with Excession, answers those questions with art and skill. An open envoy from the Culture to the Kingdom of Haspidus would be no different from the Excession that brought the galaxy to the brink of war.

But truly, despite the very clear way in which this book is a counterpart to Excession, it also adds depth and clarity to every other book in the series. We no longer have to fill in the blanks when it comes to the nitty-gritty, person-to-person interactions that are a significant part of Contact operations. Oh, and it made me cry multiple times, which is definitely worth an extra star all on its own.

Kinda a slow burn, but I really enjoyed it.

It's as if Star Trek had an episode set on a gangster planet, or something like that, but instead of following the away team, it focused on the locals.

How do those locals make sense of the actions of the mysterious outsiders with their strange customs and abilities?

The prime directive-like framing of the Culture-side debate here really amps up the Star Trek vibe.

I will only nitpick a little bit. The implication that the Doctor kills several people in situations where no immediate harm is prevented seems a bit out of character.

While she is supposed to represent the "go ahead and actively influence the primitive culture" side of the debate, it's never made clear or even really hinted at why she might have killed those specific people, and in that particular way.

With the resources of the Culture at her disposal, she could have killed them in a much more subtle manner that would have raised less suspicion overall.

Perhaps this lack of clarity is just to emphasize that to the locals, whose perspective is the only one we have, the actions of the interfering other are completely inscrutable.

Maybe she is acting based on knowledge from Culture spy drones that Walen and Nolieti are on the verge of some sinister plan (beyond the obvious scheming against herself, which is never truly a threat).

If she killed them out of personal dislike or self-protection, that wouldn't seem to be the most efficient way to achieve her presumed goal (strengthening Quience and influencing him towards greater liberalism with his subjects).

Inversion is often described in other reviews as Banks' non-Culture Culture novel, and in many ways, this is accurate. The story can be read as a standalone fantasy novel, and it would still be brilliant.

However, when we add the subtle references to the Culture, without ever using the "C-word," it becomes pure genius. It's as if Banks is sharing a secret with the readers. We all know, but don't tell anyone, wink, wink, nudge, nudge....

On the surface, it's a story about two conflicting medieval states and some of the people surrounding their rulers. But it's also a story about loyalty, deception, love, and hate on a very personal level. And, as with all Banks novels, it's about politics and the moral justification for the acts of governments or rulers.

Banks has crafted a complex and engaging world in Inversion, one that invites readers to explore its depths and question their own beliefs. Whether you're a fan of the Culture series or simply a lover of great fantasy literature, Inversion is a must-read.

Although my edition lists this as Book 6 in the Culture series, I had left off reading it as even the author had described it as “A Culture novel that wasn’t.”

As it turned out, I found it something of an unexpected treat. The author vividly imagines an alien civilisation at a stage of development similar to medieval Eurasia. The story is told via two narrators based within rival states, with the book structured in alternating chapters.

There appears to be some covert interference from the Culture that affects events. However, as the story is told from the perspective of the mystified locals, the reader can put their own interpretation on the extent to which this happens.

It’s very difficult to describe the detail without including spoilers. So, I’ll just say that I thought the two stories were weaved together very skilfully, and with some subtlety. It was quite late in the book before I actually cottoned on to one of the main themes (maybe I’m just slow on the uptake).

It was also a decent adventure tale with plenty of skulduggery thrown in. My favourite Culture novels are “The Player of Games” and “Use of Weapons”, but this fetches up just behind those two. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Just when you believe you have a good understanding of the Culture series, Banks throws a curve ball, yet it's a truly wonderful one! Inversions is strikingly distinct from its predecessors. Aside from a few references, you might not even realize it's a Culture novel. The story is told by a doctor's apprentice/spy named Oelph. He resides on an exotic world with two suns and six moons, but it appears to be trapped in a quasi-feudal social and economic order. Oelph writes this tale as a sort of confession at the end of a long and fruitful life. It consists of two parts. One part pertains to the doctor he worked for in one kingdom, and the other part involves a bodyguard to a king from another kingdom and the mysterious events that occurred within a few years.

The doctor, allegedly hailing from some distant island halfway around the world, demonstrated in her travels to the kingdom that she was highly knowledgeable. Upon arrival, she became the King's personal doctor. It's quite evident that she comes from the Culture, and her understanding of the body far surpasses local levels. However, what is she doing on this backwater, and what does she hope to accomplish? The world depicted is undoubtedly patriarchal, with both kings maintaining a horde of concubines and such. The doctor, a stunning redheaded (of course!) female, endures a great deal of senseless criticism from other doctors.

One of the motifs Banks uses in the Culture is the debate about what to do when they encounter another civilization. Should they simply reveal themselves and incorporate it, or should they subtly attempt to change its ways and make it more civilized? This debate is alluded to several times here, mainly in the'stories' the bodyguard told the King's son on occasion. But if you're unfamiliar with Culture, you might miss its significance. So, it seems that the doctor and bodyguard are Culture agents. One is trying to keep a rather progressive new king (or as he styles himself, the protector) alive, while the doctor is also attempting to keep the other, also rather progressive, king healthy.

Inversions is filled with dark humor, and the dialogue between the king and the doctor is sometimes priceless. There are numerous neat twists along the way, and conniving nobles also scheme their way through. In fact, our narrator is a spy working for one of them, sent to keep an eye on the mysterious female doctor when he was still a young man. This is also a rather playful novel for Banks, but one that lacks anything truly related to high tech, which is typical of most of his other Culture novels except perhaps for the doctor's knife missile, but even that is low key. While perhaps not the ideal starting point if you're unfamiliar with the Culture, this is probably a must-read for Culture fans. 4.5 stars, happily rounded up!!

The novel belongs to "La cultura" but has the fewest elements of the series. It presents a quasi-medieval scenario where in different kingdoms, we suspect there is an external element that may or may not influence the government and modify its destiny.

It poses one of the questions that the author has asked many times throughout the series. How should a superior civilization behave when it discovers other less advanced ones? Should it stay on the sidelines? Intervene directly? Considering that the "government" of "La cultura" has among its elements an "agency" called Contacto, and that there is another smaller organization within it called "Circunstancias especiales" that is dedicated to manipulating to exert a discrete influence, the author's answer is clear.

The novelty in this novel lies in the fact that for the first time (within the series), it is presented from the perspective of the "backward" civilization, and the writer is faithful to the concept. And to be discrete, the influence of the strange element cannot be very relevant or discordant. Thus, there is a great deal of creation and explanation of the dynamics in each of the kingdoms with palace intrigues. It also leaves the issue of women (lacking government power, limited professions, etc.) unresolved.

And it mixes all the palace part with the "acts" carried out by those external agents and how they are also involved at a personal level, which will lead to disappointments and tragedies.

Throughout the entire book, there is a reference to "La cultura" in the stories told by the characters, in the events that occur, and where the narrator, being a contemporary of the protagonists, relates things that he does not understand but that the readers intuit and interpret. There is a great deal of subtext.

Just as the previous work in the series was very ambitious, this one has a more intimate tone. It still poses a big question but from the small. And this weighs on it. It is not a bad book, but since it cannot grow to contain the story, it does not go beyond something that is okay, that is acceptable but does not seem like a big deal to me. Even for the reader of the series, it is not very demanding.

I could say that I am ambivalent after reading the book. I'm not sure whether to lean towards the good it has or whether the feeling that it lacks substance because the characters don't completely fill me weighs more. Curiously, that duality occurs in the book, the yin and yang, those "Inversiones" referred to in the title. Three stars are too many, two are too few, but when compared to other books in the series, I lean towards the lower end. And I already said that two are too few because being quite simple, it reads well, without effort.

My first review of 2012! I am shockingly far behind on reviews. It's truly insane how much I've fallen behind.

Anyway, I didn't enjoy Inversions as much as Banks' other works. This one had a slower and more sedate pace, only really picking up to Banks' signature break-neck speed towards the very end. So, be prepared for a slow start, mainly revolving around daily life at court. Not much actually happens in the traditional sense. Instead, it's mainly about exploring the characters, with fallible narrators, different perspectives, and piecing together the puzzle while wondering what's being left unsaid. In that regard, it feels like a bit of an experimental novel. (But then again, Excession and Surface Detail also do some crazy things when it comes to playing with the narrative. So maybe Banks is just generally amazingly experimental.)

I love the format behind it, though. The concept of 'inversions' and the use of dual narrators is genius, with an amazing payoff at the end (or towards the beginning, if you're a perceptive reader!). Both Vosill (the Doctor) and DeWar (the Bodyguard) are fascinating characters, and the characterizations throughout are very solid. Also, I have a love/hate relationship with this book for turning me into a rabid shipper.

This was me throughout every single scene with Vosill and King Quience:



I'm consumed with so much rage and misery that he rejected her. I'm normally not like this!! I also shipped DeWar/Perrund, so I'm glad that at least one of the two pairings got to end up together (rather than Banks being his usual bleak self). But good lord, did I really want the King to just have a passionate affair with his doctor already. He was clearly into her! So just get together and be happy, you two!!! But huge kudos to Banks for creating such sublime romantic tension, buildup, chemistry, intellectual bonding, and discreet flirtation. Their arc was perfection and then my heart got stomped on.

Anyway, now that that madness is over.

Lastly, this novel has some interesting overlap with Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of al-Rassan (which I read last year). There are powerful bromances and a feisty, intelligent female doctor of foreign origin who challenges male patriarchy and gets extremely close to figures of great political importance!! Jehane and Vosill should go have a drink together in a bar.

When there's an "M" in the name, it implies that it's a sci-fi. However, this wasn't a sci-fi at all. Instead, it was a medieval thing, and not a good one at that. I truly feel cheated.

Once again, Banks showcases that he's an incredibly great writer, capable of writing anything and somehow getting away with it. But in my opinion, he doesn't get away with this one.

In the story, there was a kid who was told several stories. We had to read through these stories in their entirety, and I was eagerly seeking deep meanings within them. However, in the end, they turned out to be just crappy stories that only served to help us understand that the guy telling them was from the Culture. The guy was from Contact, and the way he approached his mission was to become the bodyguard of a moody despot. Meanwhile, the other Contact operative became the doctor of a childish, pompous little shit king.

This was really a very poor novel. It should have been a short story. Oh yeah: and it was extremely boring.

Overall, this work failed to meet my expectations and left me disappointed.

I normally have a great fondness for Banks' novels. However, this particular one presented me with a significant challenge in terms of getting fully engaged.

I had the suspicion that it might have been on the verge of becoming really good by the time I finally put it aside. But by then, I had already reached at least the halfway point.

To be honest, I didn't find myself feeling especially interested in the characters. They didn't seem to have that certain something that would make me care deeply about their fates.

Nor was I powerfully drawn into the setting. It didn't create that immersive atmosphere that would transport me into the story world.

Moreover, I struggled to discern any clear plot thread to follow. The narrative seemed a bit disjointed and lacking in a coherent direction.

Oh well, such is the case with this particular novel. Maybe Banks will have a more captivating offering in the future.

It is truly remarkable that this novel is classified as science fiction and is part of Banks' Culture books.

This categorization is also a bit of a giveaway. The setting of the book is equivalent to the late medieval period, although the human characters are on a planet in a binary system with no sense of an earthly background.

The one significant exception to this period is the mysterious doctor, a woman who holds rather modern ideas of medicine and is capable of performing certain mysterious feats that hint at her Culture origin.

However, aside from this, the book is essentially storytelling within a medieval context. It is good enough storytelling to deserve four stars from this satisfied reader.

The detailed descriptions of the medieval-like society, the interactions between the characters, and the unfolding of the plot all contribute to the overall charm of the novel.

Despite the science fiction elements introduced by the Culture connection, the book manages to maintain the essence and atmosphere of the late medieval period, making it a unique and engaging read.

Overall, it is a great addition to Banks' body of work and a must-read for fans of both science fiction and historical fiction.

In this volume of the Culture's series, the author provides a hint regarding the historical fiction genre. It's a nice touch indeed.

There are several notable works in the series. For example, "Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1)" offers an engaging exploration. "The Player of Games (Culture, #2)" presents an interesting concept. "Use of Weapons (Culture, #3)" delves into complex themes. "The State of the Art (Culture, #4)" provides a unique perspective. "Excession (Culture, #5)" takes the story in a new direction. "Inversions (Culture, #6)" offers an interesting twist.

Additionally, there are "Look to Windward (Culture, #7)", "Matter (Culture, #8)", "Surface Detail (Culture #9)", and "The Hydrogen Sonata (Culture #10)". Each of these works contributes to the rich tapestry of the Culture series, exploring different aspects of the fictional universe and engaging readers with their unique storylines and ideas.

Overall, the Culture series is a must-read for fans of science fiction and those interested in exploring thought-provoking and imaginative worlds.