Transition book review

I'm a great fan of Iain M Banks and slightly less of a fan of Iain Banks. Either way; a new novel from the Scottish writer is enough to make me pop into a bookstore or update my Amazon wishlist.

Below is a review I have done for the magazine Tribune on Banks's new novel Transition. I think his sc-fi writing is great. The Culture series has been tremendous. I don't know what they put in the water up there but he is just one of several sci-fi writers from the region producing some excellent work at the moment. (Ken MacLeod and Charlie Stross come to mind)

Transition, though, is not of that calibre. It is more of a fantastical novel such as The Bridge but with a weakness of plot and, in particular, of character. It's not changed my opinion of Iain Banks. Still, if you've an interest in some of the ideas behind Transition then this might be a start.

The M in Iain Banks is pretty crucial.

Iain M Banks is the author who has carved a series of well-regarded sci-fi novels mostly set in the vaguely libertarian-socialist future society called the Culture. Banks-without-an-M writes fiction which actually gets made into TV programmes (The Crow Road) and attains cult status (The Wasp Factory).

Admittedly, my list of completed Banks novels is far better on the sci-fi side. However I’ve always felt that while quality there was solid, some of the ‘straight’ fiction came across as a little light. Dead Air and The Business both had their moments but primarily appeared to be a contractual obligation on behalf of the author.

Now we have a Banks book with an M and with what could reasonably called a sci-fi plot.

Transition is set on Earth. In fact it is set on every possible Earth. The conceit is the many worlds theory which suggests every time there is a fork in the road and you take one path rather than other, two divergent timelines are created. There are an infinite set of worlds where some might only differ in the motion of a single electron and others where life never managed to coalesce.

The characters in Transition are, mostly, those who can ‘flit’ between these different worlds through force of will and a helpful narcotic.

Those who flit form the Concern, a sort of uber conspiracy which goes about interfering in the destinies of these other worlds to make sure that the good guys succeed and the bad guys do not. The problem is that one person suspects the Concern has a much more selfish and deadly agenda.

Banks structures his book with a series of first person pieces from the half dozen or so principal characters. The fractured effect neatly mimics the sense of a universe reflected in a shattered mirror.

These solipsistic narratives also help show how difficult it is to understand the grand plan behind the Concern’s individual interventions.

The problem is that Banks hasn’t gone to an awful lot of trouble to make the majority of characters particularly appealing or memorable.

Several, Aidan, the drug-dealer-made-good in particular, are very two-dimensional. He spouts lines an EastEnders’ scriptwriter would balk at.

The plot kicks off briskly and then rapidly flattens out as Banks moves his characters around like so many chess pieces. It’s all rather flaccid, despite the ever increasing number of sex scenes. Then, in the last 60 pages, the pace really picks up and there is a terrific showdown.

I fear, though, that many readers will start Transition but not make it through to that finale - and I’m not sure the book deserves their dedication anyway.

ENDS