The Hydrogen Sonata

Iain M. Banks

Oct 2012 · Sold by Orbit

About this ebook

The New York Times bestselling Culture novel. . .

The Scavenger species are circling. It is, truly, provably, the End Days for the Gzilt civilization.

An ancient people, organized on military principles and yet almost perversely peaceful, the Gzilt helped set up the Culture ten thousand years earlier and were very nearly one of its founding societies, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Now they've made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions of other civilizations; they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence.

Amid preparations though, the Regimental High Command is destroyed. Lieutenant Commander (reserve) Vyr Cossont appears to have been involved, and she is now wanted -- dead, not alive. Aided only by an ancient, reconditioned android and a suspicious Culture avatar, Cossont must complete her last mission given to her by the High Command. She must find the oldest person in the Culture, a man over nine thousand years old, who might have some idea what really happened all that time ago.

It seems that the final days of the Gzilt civilization are likely to prove its most perilous.

The Culture Series
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
The State of the Art
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata

Ratings and reviews

So, this is a big one. He finally addresses the Sublime (and a bit of the early Culture as well). Well, don't expect detailed descriptions of what heaven is like, and big revelations in general. Frankly, and if you're expecting that you haven't read many of his books and this review will be pretty meaningless to you. So, for for those familiar with the Culture I would most closely associate this book with "Use of Weapons". You really need to pay attention to the structure of the book in order to get it.

This typical Banks novel has all the expected technical wizardry and artistic revelry included. It's a nice read. The premise, though, is tiny: is the knowledge that one's religion is based on foolery, significant? Let's kill some, gratuitously, to find out...

If you've enjoyed any previous Culture Series book or any Sci-Fi book, you'll like this book. Great characters, both human, alien, and sentient Mind ship (I love the ships' humor - sarcastic and deadpan). There's definite motivation and thought behind each character's action and it is wholly believable, even with a very futuristic setting. Thoroughly enjoyed.

About the author

Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, The Wasp Factory, in 1984. Consider Phlebas, his first science fiction novel, was published under the name Iain M. Banks in 1987 and began his celebrated ten-book Culture series. He is acclaimed as one of the most powerful, innovative and exciting writers of his generation.