Against A Dark Background Paperback – March 31, 1996

This review is for the Kindle edition. I read the paper copy of this book years ago, but I remember the ending different from this version. When Sharrow fired the lazy gun out of frustration at the end of the story, everything except where she was standing disappeared! In this ending, it's a little more dramatic in effect, but it seems to lose a little (a lot!) of the magic of the old version. (But maybe I'm just old and delusional - mis-remembering, or perhaps this is a case of the Mandela effect.) Otherwise, the author's writing style makes reading a warm experience where I felt invited to view his story through the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of his characters. In this day and age where a lot of books are written for the purpose of social control, I found reading this book an extremely pleasant experience (... a feeling like I was there.) I'm going to re-read Player of Games in Kindle to see if I perceive the same experience as the paper copy of the past.

This was not my favorite Banks novel, especially having read it after all else he has published. For those familiar with Frank Herbert's work and loved Dune yet also read Jesus Incident, Lazarus Effect, and the Dosadi Experiment, the effect with Against a Dark Background is very similar.Banks seems to be experimenting in a limited way with themes he will be using in other works to much greater, and more satisfying, effect. The android character Feril seems like a prototype Mind. For that matter, the android city with automatons going about their business in a way that is beneficial to humans, but not necessarily intended for human benefit, as well as the radically disparate social / cultural strata coexisting in the same geographic locale with little or no tension comes across as a literary experiment with proto-Culture themes. Banks also seems to be struggling to accurately dramatize motivations in a post scarcity, but not post money, economic scenario.I've grown to love the little electronic exchanges, à la Enders Game, that are so ubiquitous as chapter introductions in Banks other novels, but are sadly absent here.All of that said, Banks is still a skilled writer and can spin an enjoyable yarn. Against a Dark Background is a good story, and I genuinely connected with some, if not all, of the characters. Read it expecting a Culture novel or as a work of that caliber and you'll be disappointed. Pick it up as a book by a great author that you know you enjoy and you'll be happy enough.

Now that I've finished the book, I'm glad I read it, but I sure didn't think I was going to when I was in the middle of it. The story doesn't pick up steam until it's well over half over, and that first half was a chore to read. Only in the last 15-20% of the book did it become a page-turner for me. But the ending does tie the novel together and brings out a lot of metaphors that were lurking beneath the surface.Overall it's a good book but it wouldn't be near the top of my must-read sci-fi list. Banks could have cut out a lot of cruft in the first half and made it a more enjoyable read.Note that Banks wrote an unpublished epilogue for it that resolves some things. It's currently available at [...]

This is one of Banks' standalone novels outside of the Culture universe. Like all his novels, it is meticulously structured and masterfully executed. The space opera is limited to a single planetary system, but all other aspects, like Banks himself, go far beyond any limits you might try to impose.

I am in the process of rereading all of Banks' scifi books, in the order in which they were published. AADB stands out among them as a story that feels reorganized somehow, as if the author wrote this once and then changed the order of the chapters or added inserts (there are quite a few flashbacks that take some getting used to). This book does not flow as smoothly as his other books do. The focal character has detailed history that needs to be brought into the tale in order for us to understand how things unwind. And, as usual, Banks give you copious detail of surroundings in almost every grand scene and if it is your habit to skip the prose between dialogue and action scenes you will miss many points that reflect upon and contribute to the characters and their attitudes and actions. So yes, as has been said in other reviews, parts of this book are slower reading.But the book has Banks' signature richness in space-opera story that informs while it entertains. And his characters are very 3-dimensional, we can see them in our minds eye and imagine their clothings and the sound of their voices. And always Banks has a point that he is driving towards, with faster and greater action at the end, so you can't put it down.This author must consume a goodly amount of Grange and Single-Malt to come up with all the fantastic ideas about future technology and culture that he does. And his sense of humor is very abundant in this his darkest SF outing.

Just finished this for the second time. I think Sharrow is my favorite Banks protagonist and a standout in the general sci-fi canon.Banks has some tightly plotted novels (e.g. Player of Games) and this is not one of them. I think it's fair to say there are pacing issues and some readers may be frustrated with how the plot develops.On the other hand, I think this one is compellingly dark and metaphorically relevant in a way that much of his other work (especially the Culture books) is not. Combined with his typical displays of wild imagination and the aforementioned strong [ly portrayed] protagonist and supporting cast, there is a lot to chew on here, and this story has stuck with me through the years in a way that the vast majority do not. I wish I could read it again for the first time.I personally think Sharrow and her story were quite close to Banks' heart. If you are a fan of any of his work, you should give this one a try.