#127 Science fiction in disguise: Inversions (1998) by Iain M. Banks

The time has come to continue exploring Iain M. Banks' Culture series. Inversions is the fifth of nine novels, and also the last to be published in the 1990s. This time, Banks stretched himself further than ever before, experimenting with a radically different view of his post-scarcity setting. What does the Culture look like, viewed from a medieval society that is unaware that other worlds even exist?

To catch up with my coverage of the series, listen to episode 90 for The State of the Art, 93 for Consider Phlebas, 99 for The Player of Games, 105 for Use of Weapons and 110 for Excession. 

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Transcript

There are schemes within schemes at two medieval courts in a striking stylistic shift in the fifth Culture novel.

If one were to read Inversions without any context at all, it would come across - at least at first - as a broadly conventional fantasy novel. It is a story of kingdoms and fiefdoms, ruled by feudal monarchies. The level of technology is perhaps late medieval, with sexual politics to match. The plot is driven by intrigue at court, and by wars fought over the remnants of a collapsed empire. It is steeped in many of the outward trappings of fantasy.

There is no magic in this world, however - no strange beasts, no objects of power, no heroic quests. There are intimations of a quite different element lurking at the edges of the scene. The old empire was destroyed by rocks that fell from the sky. In one kingdom there is a loyal doctor - a woman! - whose bearing and methods seem too foreign, too unworldly. And over the mountains, in another court, there is a bodyguard who tells fanciful stories of a place where every man is a king, every woman a queen.

Inversions is not, in fact, a fantasy novel - but a science fiction novel in disguise. It is the fifth entry in Iain M. Banks’ Culture series, and his effort to write “a Culture novel that wasn’t.” This is the boldest stylistic shift yet in the series, one which immerses Culture citizens fully into a primitive civilization, to better explore Banks’ most abiding question: is it ever right to intervene in the affairs of another society?

More things than are dreamed of

The publication of the Culture series divides quite neatly into three phases. Inversions, being the fifth novel, is positioned right in the middle. It can be thought of as the middle entry of the second phase, preceded by Excession (1996) and succeeded by Look to Windward (2000). 

Even before Inversions, Banks had shown a strong willingness to experiment stylistically within the Culture series. The uniqueness of each volume, the distinctiveness of the approach taken in each one, is a large part of the books’ appeal. The shifts in focus also helped Banks to view and explore the Culture, his interstellar post-scarcity civilization, from a variety of angles. For example, Consider Phlebas (1987) follows a sworn enemy of the Culture, while Use of Weapons (1990) is about one of its agents.

Inversions deploys another ingenious variation. Set on an approximately medieval world, it is told entirely from the perspective of people who are unaware that the Culture even exists. Yet despite their ignorance, they are profoundly affected by the Culture - because this civilization they could not even imagine has a very definite presence on their world.

Strangers at court

The novel has two alternating narrative threads. Each one focuses on a character that we gradually come to realise is a citizen of the Culture, living incognito. Each of those characters has a key role at court, in two different states separated by a mountain range. Conflicting with our expectations of this kind of structure, the two characters do not meet at any point. Inversions is not about their interactions - as they have none - but about the connections and reflections between their tales.

The first narrative is focused on the Doctor. Her name is Vosill, and she serves as the personal physician to King Quience of Haspidus. This is remarkable, because Haspidus is a strictly patriarchal and deeply sexist society. Vosill is only accepted because of her skill, and because she claims to be from the distant land of Drezen. The Doctor’s presence and manner make her powerful enemies, but may also shape the future of Haspidus.

The second narrative is focused on the Bodyguard. His name is DeWar, and he serves as the bodyguard for UrLeyn, the so-called Protector of the Protectorate of Tassasen. UrLeyn is prosecuting an unwise war against rebellious barons, and is targeted for assassination. DeWar tries to protect his master, while also maintaining a close friendship with the former concubine Perrund and the Protector’s son, Lattens.

New world, new rules

Banks was clearly challenging himself with Inversions. This is a novel which consciously sheds many of the elements that readers love about the Culture. There are no bickering Minds, no witty drones, no elaborately named starships. The novel is an effort by Banks to explore his abiding themes in a radically different way. The difference isn’t just in the technology featured in the story, but also in the narrative style.

In the earlier novels, the explicit SF setting enabled Banks to enliven his stories with all manner of flights of fancy. Vast space habitats scheduled for demolition, the emotion-manipulating card game Damage, a shape-shifting alien, an interstellar war - and these are all in just one book, Consider Phlebas. By comparison, Inversions is strikingly subtle, controlled, and grounded. At times, the novel is arguably too down to earth, and threatens to become a slightly humdrum historical novel - albeit one set on an imagined world.

What saves Inversions is Banks’ writing, and his strengths that still come through despite the radical change of setting and tone. Vossil and DeWar are two of his strongest protagonists so far, with their own distinct personalities, relationships, and views of the world. Banks also continues his exploration of imagined societies, in ways that rhyme with the earlier books - for example, the reliance on torture in Haspidus recalls the cruelty of the Empire of Azad in The Player of Games (1988). Banks also showcases his talent for endings, pulling off not one but two surprising and satisfying conclusions.

Special circumstances

Inversions is a bracingly unique entry in the Culture series, one which boldly dispenses with the elements that readers have come to expect. It views the Culture from a greater remove than ever before, and for that reason would be an unwise choice for a new Banks reader. At times, it is overly controlled and the grounded setting threatens to stifle the author’s usual boundless creativity. Overall, though, the self-imposed limitations helped Banks to deliver a memorable work of science fiction in disguise.