Look to Windward cover art

Look to Windward

Culture Series, Book 7

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Look to Windward

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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About this listen

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.

It was one of the less glorious incidents of a long-ago war.

It led to atrocities on an extraordinary scale. To the destruction of two suns and the billions of lives they supported.

Now, eight hundred years later, the light from the first of those doomed stars has reached the Culture Orbital, Masaq', bathing its ­fifty billion inhabitants in the rays of their society's ancient mistake.

Amongst them is Major Quilan, sent on a mission so secret that not even he knows what it is, and determined to exact his revenge against the Culture at any cost.

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

©2000 Iain M. Banks (P)2013 Hachette Digital Science Fiction Fiction Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

'Banks keeps ratcheting up the suspense' Guardian

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

'A mordant wit, a certain savagery and a wild imagination' Mail On Sunday
All stars
Most relevant  
Whether you like the book or not (I do - though I don't think it's IMB's best), the narration of this book is spectacular. The voices, the accents, the tones, the acting is incredible. Each character sounds genuinely different, all of them in a truly unique way, and most of them different from any of the other Culture Series books before this. This is no mean feat since Peter Kenny has recorded the previous 6 books of the series.

Of course, all voice actors are supposed to do this. But, having listened to a number of audiobooks by now, this struck me as one of the best acted audiobooks I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. Thank you, Peter!

My only regret is I have just noticed that the next book is read by a different voice actor. I'll miss Peter Kenny's excellent reading.

Some of the best audio narration I've ever enjoyed

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I thoroughly enjoyed this story having read the hard back when it was first released.
It's surprising how much you forget about a book and how much the audio version brings to renew it.

Banks is Sublime(d)

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l have listened to a few of Mr banks book's all have got hold of me right from the start to the end l would recommend this to all syfi fan's

good book kept me engrossed from the start

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What disappointed you about Look to Windward?

I *love* the book. Huge canvas, colorful, great characters, excellent SF.

Any additional comments?

My problem is that the audiobooks do not show up in my iPad's Audible Library! It just show maybe 30% of the books I have bought, and no more, and it never changes, no matter what I can do. And Audible Support couldn't help me.
Once in a blue moon, when I open the Kindle book, it will help me download the audiobook, if it is Whispersync. But not often.

It's the same on my (Kindle) Fire 8. I'll be lucky to get the audiobook to download, luckier to get it to play, and ultralucky to get it to play with whispersync (having the ebook follow the progress in the audiobook).

It's only been in the last few weeks. Something happened to Audible.

Big problems downloading audiobooks!

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A universe so alien and controlled by intelligences so far beyond our own it’s like you next to bacteria
Iain M Banks brings to life a utopian dystopia with secrets and war
Love and betrayal
A rip roaring gritty bloody book

Iain m banks does not fit into nice predictable storylines

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...anything other than a thoughtful, well informed, technically plausible winner. Peter Kenny, you're a talent.

the thing is, has iain m banks ever produced...

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Great story, brilliant narration. This is classic Banks. The Culture universe he builds is amazing and brilliantly understated.

Classic!

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this exquisite performance of what I now realise to be the greatest and most revealing of all the culture novels made me shudder inside
Ian m Banks
rest in peace
thank you for the gifts you left us

A masterpiece

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Great story and well performed by the speaker! Really brought the characters alive with his voices.

Great story and well performed!

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Would you listen to Look to Windward again? Why?

The story goes deeply into the culture as a entity, lots of world building. Plus Peter Kenny voice is great along with his accent. Great Story! Second to player of games in terms of world building and third in terms of the best book so far, Player of games, use of weapons and look to windward in the order.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the parts with the hub mind, and the world building and how culture citizens interact.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I liked the scene with the child and being told off for being deemed rude, as well as the wastelands and the cable car, as well as the hunting with Mahrai Ziller, I loved the start with the Homondan and the snow and the party. Plus mostly anything to do with the world building and getting to understand the culture as individual people and the things they do.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

A lot of things, not any one thing comes to mind, little titbits here and there.

Any additional comments?

Finished Saturday December 9th 2017 at 02:51 AM

Great Story

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