Use Of Weapons (Culture v3)

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.



‘Banks is a phenomenon’ William Gibson



The man known as Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances’ foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action.



Though the woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and aided his stratospheric rise, she did not know him as well as she thought.



The drone Ska ffen-Amtiskaw thought it knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman’s life by massacring her attackers, and it believed the man to be a burnt-out wreck – but not even its superlative machine-intelligence could see the horrors in his past.



Praise for the Culture series:



‘Epic in scope, ambitious in its ideas and absorbing in its execution’ Independent on Sunday



‘Banks has created one of the most enduring and endearing visions of the future’ Guardian



‘Jam-packed with extraordinary invention’ Scotsman



‘Compulsive reading’ Sunday Telegraph



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



Also now available:

The Culture: The Drawings – an extraordinary collection of original illustrations faithfully reproduced from sketchbooks Banks kept in the 1970s and 80s, depicting the ships, habitats, geography, weapons and language of Banks’ Culture series of novels in incredible detail.

Format: Paperback
Pages: 432
Imprint: Orbit UK/Hachette
Publication date: 27/02/2024
Series: Culture