Inversions

Inversions by Iain M. Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I generally like the Minds And Drones and ships and things, I liked this more subtle take on the series. Those things are there, they are just only obliquely mentioned and interpreted through the eyes of someone who could not possibly understand them. A good book on its own merits unrelated to the Culture, although I'm still struggling to unpack what the moral of the story was. It feels more like a snapshot of a Special Circumstances mission to a developing planet. However, it remains unclear what the culture intends to accomplish here, other than a general push away from barbarism. I guess part of the lesson was monarchies are not necessarily evil and populist revolts not necessarily good.

In any case, I liked it and recommend it and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

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