Surface Detail

A Culture Novel

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters. And it begins with a murder.

Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right, she will need the help of the Culture.

Benevolent, enlightened and almost infinitely resourceful though it may be, the Culture can only do so much for any individual. With the assistance of one of its most powerful - and arguably deranged - warships, Lededje finds herself heading into a combat zone not even sure which side the Culture is really on. A war - brutal, far-reaching - is already raging within the digital realms that store the souls of the dead, and it's about to erupt into reality.

©2010 Iain M. Banks (P)2010 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Banks's labyrinthine and devious ninth Culture space opera novel adeptly shifts perspective between vast concepts and individual passions....New readers may be taken aback by the rapid pace, but fans will dive right in and won't come up for air until the final page." ( Publishers Weekly)

Ian Banks is a master of surprise endings

Where does Surface Detail rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

An excellent dramatization by Peter Kenny! Such voices and inflection. An excellent story with plenty of "stuck in the driveway still listening to a chapter end" moments.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Surface Detail?

Like a collection of short stories with different characters that do not overlap, the culmination of the plot brings all characters together in a meaningful way that is enhanced by the disparate nature of their origins and motivations. Ian Bank's brilliance, though shines in his presenting the expected showdown events with turns and points unexpected. Throw in complete surprise elements and you have a riveting story that ends with a bang.

Which character – as performed by Peter Kenny – was your favorite?

the difference in voices, accents, speed and delivery intonations as different between characters, that's what I love about Peter Kenny's craft.

Any additional comments?

I struggled to find a good order to read Ian Banks books, having stumbled upon "Use of Weapons" in a list of "best surprise endings with a twist" sci-fi stories ever. They were right, it is an amazingly excellent surprise twist that you have to make sure doesn't get spoiled for you.

That book, Use of Weapons is a great introduction to the Culture novels as it outlines many of the structures and ideas of the Culture. So I would definitely recommend it as a first book to read. This one, "Surface Detail" is another of course, and here is how I would recommend anyone read their first few...

1. Use of Weapons - Introduction to the Culture
2. The Player of Games - Story set in Culture environment
3. Surface Detail - Story that furthers Culture views, values and SC workings

I'm off now to pick my next Culture novel to dive into.

Good Book

Narrator was fantastic!! Book was interesting. One does need a background w/ the Culture to enjoy this book.

My Favorite Sci-fi Novel

Amazing book, amazing narration. So many interesting ideas. Just finished a re-listen. Culture at its very best.

Good but not his best

I didn't love this one. I gave it 5 stars anyway because it's still far ahead of most things that other people give 5 stars to. But to me it was showing signs he was tired of the culture universe. It didn't have the same sweeping grandeur that the earlier novels, like Consider Phlebas, and Excession, had. It wasn't as much fun. But it was still great fun, and the culture was still the top dog and did what it had to and should do.

If you like Alastair Reynolds or Peter F. Hamilton

... you'll love this. I picked this up because Reynolds lists Banks as one of his inspirations, and I was not disappointed! The narrator is excellent too.

incredible

this is ne of the few truly original and interesting sci-fi universes. I highly recommend the series.

Peter Kenny is great!

I love the Culture novels. Kenny is a fantastic narrator, the best I've listened to so far.

Above average Banks, excellent reader

Iain Banks's Culture novels can sometimes disappoint, but this is one of the better ones, if not up there with a classics like 'The Player of Games'. Despite the complicated use of interweaving multiple plotlines, there's a strong sense of unity centred around the notion that virtual reality could eradicate death, and each of the plotlines tackles a variation on the implications of that idea, even as they all start coalescing into one story. The stories are all interesting, although if the book has a flaw it's that one of the stories - the tale of two academics who choose to enter their civilization's virtual Hell to prove its existence - is so violent, terrifying and heartbreaking that the rest of the book feels a little ho-hum by comparison.

Books with complex, multiple plotlines don't always translate well to the audiobook format, but Peter Denny is an absolute genius who conjures a vast array of different accents for the many characters, meaning that you never lose track of where you are. It's an absolutely superb performance.

Very Banksian, Great narration

I'll refrain from saying too much about the book itself , as I haven't finished it yet. So far it's classic Banks, that is to say as good as modern Sci-Fi gets. I would like to say that the narration by Peter Kenny is remarkable, subtle and controlled where it needs to be and with a formidable control over his vocal range. He does voices and accents , both male and female, young and old with great assurance. As a result , all the characters were clear and easy to distinguish. This is no small thing in a Banks book where there can be a great number of characters, aliens, humans, A.Is all with very different characters and points of view.
I would seek out Mr Kenny as a narrator now...even if I wasn't sure about the book itself and that's no small thing for me to say.

Iain m Banks is a genius. nuff said

well written, well narrated, and a story that's entertaining, thought provoking, and unexpectedly funny.