Rather than meddling with the affairs of the protectorate, he performs his duties, no more, no less.

Bodyguard to another king, UrLeyn, DeWar takes a more relaxed view of life. The second point of view is of the man DeWar. But it is ultimately the doctor’s involvement in larger political affairs and her status as a woman in a world of men which build the suspense, culminating in a situation neither she or the reader can foresee. Vollis the king’s physician, the pair regularly attend to the king’s aches and pains, learning of the happenings in neighboring kingdoms, fiefs, and dukedoms in the process. The first is of Oleph, an apprentice to the doctor, Vollis. Inversions is told from two alternating viewpoints. That something more is not only the Culture, but the makings of a book which also steps foot into the realm of literary fantastika. However, astute readers will recognize something deeper happening beneath the deceptively simple façade Banks has erected and realize the book is something more.

There is a medieval feel to the royalty, court intrigue, sword fights and beautiful damsels, boys growing up to become men, and a few “supernatural” events that bend the story beyond realism. Likely to be categorized fantasy by someone who knows nothing of the Culture, knowledgeable fans would sympathize upon finishing the work. Explicitly starting out to write “a Culture novel that wasn’t a Culture novel”, the novel will undoubtedly divide fans of the series. Banks' 1998 Inversions continues to prove not only that the reader should expect the unexpected, but goes one step further. Like Excession, Use of Weapons, The Player of Games, Iain M.

The silmarillion illustrated