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Against a Dark Background
  
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Against a Dark Background (Paperback)

by Iain M. Banks (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Product Description

From Library Journal

On the run from a cult of intergalactic religious fanatics who want her death, the Lady Sharrow emerges from retirement to seek out a powerful artifact that may save her life--the legendary Lady Gun, a weapon that kills by altering the reality around it. The author of Consider Phlebas ( LJ 5/15/88) and The Player of Games ( LJ 2/15/89) has constructed a richly hued, far-future tapestry for his latest space adventure. Sophisticated prose, complex characters, and an unbridled imagination combine in this tale of high drama and intrigue. A good choice for most libraries.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

'Banks ain't kidding. He warned you up front that this is a dark novel' Norman Spinrad 'Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth' The New York Review of Science Fiction 'There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness' The Times --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The one man Scottish invasion, Oct 31 2000
By Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
There are quite a few arguments that Iain Banks is among the top three greatest living authors of the latter part of the last century (and going into the next). He has absolutely no problem writing either straight (but weird) fiction or pure science-fiction but he treats both genres with respect and every work glistens with quality. Those who think that he just slums in the SF genre just to pay the bills in between books are highly mistaken and some of his best work can be found there. This one is I think the only non-Culture SF work (you can make a case for The Bridge but that one's more a Kafka nightmare than anything else) and definitely worth the time. The hallmarks that regular readers already know and love are here, involving plot, finely detailed characters, breakneck action, an offbeat and downbeat attitude and an interesting world that everyone lives in. The deal here is that a cult is looking for the last Lazy Gun (a weapon of mass destruction that has a power that has to be seen to be believed), and Sharrow has to find it before they do. Her family has the last one, but nobody knows where it is and so between dodging people trying to kill her, she has to piece together clues thousands of years old. Not that she's alone in the quest, she gathers a team of close friends to help her and off they go. I do absolutely no justice to the plot in this fashion, this is barely even a basic structure and when you read it you'll see how rich and detailed this book is. The twists are many and almost always surprising, the dialogue is witty and to the point and the situations are nothing short of fascinating. The only small problems is that the book is just a tad too long, some parts of it toward the middle drag just a tad but generally always pick up and the last couple hundred pages fly by all too quickly. Sometimes Banks highlights Sharrow's past as a way of showing us how those events made her into the person she is today but he does to do them without much transition so they can be confusing if you're not used to that. Other than that keep in mind that like most SF authors on the other side of the Atlantic, Banks can be brutal and realistic while dazzling us with his worlds and if Consider Pheblas taught anyone anything, it's that all bets are off as to who makes it to the end intact or at all. Another standout book by an author who doesn't seem to be able to write anything bad if he tried, Banks deserves more credit over here and perhaps one day he will.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Ranks up with the best sci-fi novels ever written, May 17 1999
By A Customer
This is a fascinating book. Rich in imagination and with a plot that keeps you turning the pages, I have to say it is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi books. I'd rank it up there with Hyperion (Simmons), Dune (Herbert) and Ender's Game (Card) --- certainly no slouches there. This is definitely a book that I will re-read periodically throughout my life.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of future intrigue and adventure, Nov 21 1998
By E. Heidel "eheidel" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I read this book a a few years back and remember the hunger I had to keep reading. "Against a Dark Background" is a network of characters and ideas the likes of which I have not seen before. It ranks with "Ender's Game". "Snow Crash", and "Neuromancer" in concept and delivery. This tale, and others by Banks, are well worth every second spent finding and reading them.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A very "deep" book, requiring some thought to fully take in.
The back of the book has a quote from a reviewer saying "He warns you up front, this is a dark novel. Read more
Published on Mar 17 2003 by Alex J. Avriette

1.0 out of 5 stars Befuddling
Very confusing storylines that never go anywhere and characters that never come to life made this a very difficult read. Mr. Read more
Published on May 31 2002 by Phillip G. Cameron

2.0 out of 5 stars Good start, depressing end.
First the positive things: If you like sci-fi with a chaotic dark future setting, you'll like this book. Read more
Published on April 5 2002 by Jan-Thorsten Reszat

2.0 out of 5 stars a confused tale
This is a confusing, disappointing book. I wish I could say that it had potential and the author simply dropped the ball on the follow through, but I'd be lying to you. Read more
Published on Sep 8 2001 by Justus Pendleton

3.0 out of 5 stars Rue
I can't decide if this book should get 3 or 4 stars. It is a good book, no doubt about that, it's just that I can't stand the kind of despair and doom that permeats the book. Read more
Published on Aug 17 2001 by Greger Wikstrand

5.0 out of 5 stars BETTER THAN SEX
This is the finest science fiction novel I've ever read. Banks puts you in a totally unique, self-contained world, but never contradicts himself and never dwells on the details... Read more
Published on Dec 23 1999 by JACOBUS VALK

5.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas, great writing, lots of action
First he blows you away with a different great idea or two every chapter, then he make you laugh your ass off while his characters make jokes in the face of death, then he ends it... Read more
Published on Dec 9 1999 by Shane Tiernan

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hidden Treasure- Iain M Banks, SF artist extrodinaire
This is a book that gives me goose bumps every time I think about it. Just like Banks' 'Feersum Endjinn', this is what I would call a 'perfect' book- perfect because I could not... Read more
Published on May 24 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark Background, but what about the foreground?
When you pick this book up and start poking at it, you don't pay much attention to the title - unless you're already familiar with Mr Banks style. Read more
Published on July 25 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning.
How can this book be out of print? The only other sci-fi book (not written by Mr. Banks...) to ever catch my interest like this was "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card... Read more
Published on July 3 1998

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