To The Last Page

While his mainstream and standard SF novels have been increasingly disappointing in recent years, the author's marvellous Culture universe has never failed to provide Banks with the ideal material for setting his imagination loose, and it has always resulted in the creation of the writer's best work. Matter is no exception. Disconcertingly however, Fantasy elements are to the fore at the start of this new Culture novel. Set on the Eighth level of the Shellworld of Sursamen, the story is initially based around the court intrigues following the death of King Hausk of the Sarl warrior race during a battle with the Dedalyn of the Ninth level. The King's murder, by his best friend, is witnessed by Prince Ferbin, who flees for his life, while his brother Oramen is prepared for the throne.  His search for justice takes Ferbin outside of Sursamen in a quest for his sister Djan Seriy Anaplian, who is now a member of the Culture, working in Special Circumstances, an agency that moni...

This is apparently the first book in a series of stories based around the sleepy small Scottish village of Prior's Ford. The quiet peace of the place is threatened here by the proposed re-opening of an old quarry, which splits the community. Some villagers think it will destroy the quiet peace of the small village, others think it will bring opportunities for employment and growth for the small businesses. No, it's not a metaphor for the state of the nation or the divisions caused by the war on terror - Secrets in Prior's Ford has no deeper purpose than an episode of Emmerdale, and a pretty tame one at that.  The series promises "intrigue, passion and scandal" and there is certainly plenty of that here, but it's all played out very much in a harmless, inoffensive and gossipy manner - the wholesome model village is not exactly a hotbed of vice and corruption. Secrets there are, but they don't stay secrets long and are happily chatted about between friends ...