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  • Matter

  • Culture Series, Book 8
  • By: Iain M. Banks
  • Narrated by: Toby Longworth
  • Length: 17 hrs and 57 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (123 ratings)

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Matter cover art

Matter

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Toby Longworth
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Publisher's Summary

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

©2008 Iain M. Banks (P)2008 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

What listeners say about Matter

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

nice plot twists

lots of great plot twists. love it that even the ones at the top get topped

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator changed, but is just as good!

At first I was disappointed by the series no longer being read by Peter Kenny, who is one of my favourite narrators. But after getting used to the new voice for a few chapters, I realised Toby Longsworth is just as as excellent, and similarly has an amazing selection of different voices to differentiate the characters from one another. I’m now looking forward to hearing more books narrated by him!

As for the story, it isn’t the best in the series in my opinion. There’s a fair amount of the sci-fi I always find interesting, but also a fair amount of parts I found just boring this time. Not bad by any means, just not the strongest book in the series.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A slog to get through.

Struggled to finish this. In fact think I have given up with a chapter or two to go. It doesn't feel like a Culture book at all. I don't like the setting or the characters. Probably the worst one in the series that I've read so far.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wow

Usually when a different narrator takes over mid-series, it's a bit disappointing. However, Toby Longworth did an absolutely incredible job. Truly one of my favorite culture books so far.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awful narration!

This recording is just awful. Especially compared to other Culture series novels read by Peter Kenny.
This reader is a bit monotonous at times, and the audio quality is so bad it really doesn't help Seriously, I could, and do, get better quality recordings in my house.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of his best

There is a perfect sort of misery to be found in the completion of a book you genuinely enjoyed, that could almost be said to have an almost mathematical precision to it. The end of this book certainly hit hard, and was a sort of living testament to how good I thought it was.
In all honesty, I have not always enjoyed stories that juxtapose backwards societies with fantastically advanced ones, but in this case he absolutely nailed it. If I have any minor gripe, it is that the end rushed upon me all too quickly, and I feel like there could have been a bit more story their to be told, but even this can be seen as a sort of backhanded compliment to just how enjoyable the read really was, and how well it built towards its climax.

I also enjoyed the narrator, and though I can imagine some will complain that it was not Peter Kenny, who has become the voice of Banks, the simple truth is Toby did a really fantastic job of bringing the various characters to life.

Banks will always be my favorite sci fi author, and I'm willing to admit there is more than likely a certain lack of objectivity in my opinion, as it was through his books that I truly fell in love with the genre. I have only one Culture Novel left to read, and it still breaks my heart to know there will never be any more. On the other hand, I am currently working on writing my own book, Gods of Helvetios, and if by chance I should ever manage to complete it, it will surely be richly inhabited by Iain's spirit, and I can think of no greater compliment to pay the man than that.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rather jarring end, but a great listen!


Story itself was awesome. Nothing better than a story about xenophilic space communists meddling in the affairs of other less "enlightened" cultures.
It was great to listen from the perspective of the Idiot Prince and his more-than-capable Servant and listening to their dialogues both with each and with other characters on their adventure. In the interest of avoiding writing a novel sized review, almost all the perspectives in the book were intriguing.
I'm not sure, but towards the end of the story it feels like a section was skipped, though being completely and utterly illiterate I haven't read the book so I wouldn't know for sure but it was rather jarring.

Narration was fantastic. However, there were times were the voices of each character sounded similar and it was hard to distinguish who was who.

I only wish there could be more Culture Novels as I'm running out of books to listen to.

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