# Inversions ![Book cover of Inversions](/books/covers/inversions.jpg) by [Iain M. Banks](/books/authors/iain_m_banks/) Book 6 of [Culture](/books/series/culture/) Awards: [2024 Favorites](/blog/favorite-books-of-2024/) ★★★★★ ## Review _Inversions_, by Iain M. Banks, is the sixth book in the _Culture_ series, but it is very different from typical Culture novels: there are no spaceships and almost no advanced technology. Instead, it follows Culture citizens DeWar and Vosill as they manipulate a medieval society. _Inversions_ is polarizing: on [goodreads][gr] it has a reader score of 3.95---lower than any other Culture novel except [_Consider Phlebas_](/books/consider_phlebas/). I understand why: the [_Culture_](/books/series/culture/) series is generally "space opera", and _Inversions_ doesn't have a single spaceship, ray gun, or Mind. It reads like standard fantasy with only hints of technology. And I loved it. [gr]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12017.Inversions The title, _Inversions_, refers to several different things: - The book is an _inversion_ of the standard Culture narrative. In [_The Player of Games_](/books/the_player_of_games/) and [_Use of Weapons_](/books/use_of_weapons/), we saw the Culture manipulate less advanced civilizations from the Culture's perspective. In _Inversions_, we see it from the perspective of the manipulated civilization. - DeWar and Vosill's ideas of how best to do good _invert_ in the story. In DeWar's tales of their past, he thought sometimes evil was necessary for the greater good while Vosill believed it wasn't. In the present, DeWar is a bodyguard who kills only in defense, while Vosill steers the course of the world through manipulation and assassination. - There are many role _inversions_ as well: DeWar is an assassin who protects, Vosill is a doctor who kills. UrLeyn is an oppressive anti-monarchist, Quience is a democratizing monarch. _Inversions_ is similar to [_The Book of the New Sun_](/books/series/the_book_of_the_new_sun/). Both are sci-fi novels that take place in a "fantasy world", with hints of but no explicit advanced technology. A torturer's apprentice is even one of the first characters to appear in _Inversions_ when he summons Vosill and Oelph to his master. I really enjoyed the two parallel stories, which only become clearly intertwined at the very end. The characters were compelling, especially how Vosill's true nature is revealed when it's insinuated that she was behind all the murders and poisoned the king to insure her own escape. UrLeyn's gradual descent was also subtly portrayed, explaining why DeWar didn't see it coming. My one critique is how sexual violence is used against the two primary female characters. Perrund's backstory revolves around being raped by UrLeyn after he murdered her family, while Vosill faces an attempted rape before her knife missile intervenes. This reliance on sexual assault to threaten the characters feels exploitative. With _Inversions_, Iain M. Banks has become one of my favorite authors. He reinvents his style with each book in the [_Culture_](/books/series/culture/) series: telling the story from the point of view of the Culture's enemies in [_Consider Phlebas_](/books/consider_phlebas/); through the lens of a reluctant game player in [_The Player of Games_](/books/the_player_of_games/); backwards and forwards simultaneously in [_Use of Weapons_](/books/use_of_weapons/); with a heavy focus on the Minds in [_Excession_](/books/excession/); and now from a low-tech perspective with intertwined narratives in _Inversions_. Each novel brings something fresh to the series while expanding our understanding of the Culture. I can't wait to see what he does in [_Look to Windward_](/books/look_to_windward/). ## Reviews that mention _Inversions_ - [_The Hydrogen Sonata_](/books/the_hydrogen_sonata/) - [_The Left Hand of Darkness_](/books/the_left_hand_of_darkness/)† - [_Look to Windward_](/books/look_to_windward/) - [_Lords of Uncreation_](/books/lords_of_uncreation/)† - [_Matter_](/books/matter/)† - [_A Memory Called Empire_](/books/a_memory_called_empire/)† - [_The Player of Games_](/books/the_player_of_games/)† - [_Shards of Earth_](/books/shards_of_earth/)† - [_The State of the Art_](/books/the_state_of_the_art/)† - [_Surface Detail_](/books/surface_detail/)† - [_This Is How You Lose the Time War_](/books/this_is_how_you_lose_the_time_war/) - [_Wild Seed_](/books/wild_seed/)† † _Mentioned via a link to the series._ ## Related Books - [_The State of the Art_](/books/the_state_of_the_art/) by [Iain M. Banks](/books/authors/iain_m_banks/) --- ★★★☆☆: The State of the Art is a collection of short stories by Iain M. Banks. It contains some stories related to the Culture universe and some general science fiction tales. Although it has been considered utopian fiction, it comes across as rather bleak. - [_Excession_](/books/excession/) by [Iain M. Banks](/books/authors/iain_m_banks/) --- ★★★★☆: Excession, by Iain M. Banks, is the fourth novel and fifth book in the Culture series. It follows the reaction of the Culture and other civilizations to an “excession”: an “Outside Context Problem”—something mysterious, unpredictable, and enormously powerful. - [_Look to Windward_](/books/look_to_windward/) by [Iain M. Banks](/books/authors/iain_m_banks/) --- ★★★★★: Look to Windward, by Iain M. Banks, is the seventh book in the Culture series. It explores the aftermath of the Idiran–Culture War and Chelgrian civil war.