Use of Weapons
Encyclopedia
Use of Weapons is a science fiction
novel
by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1990 as the third novel in the Culture series.
agent Diziet Sma
to work as an operative intervening in less advanced civilizations. The novel recounts several of these interventions and Zakalwe's attempts to come to terms with his own past.
(XIII, XII ...). The story told by the former moves forward chronologically (as the numbers suggest) and tells a self-contained story, while in the latter is written in reverse chronology
with each chapter successively earlier in Zakalwe's life. Further complicating this structure is a prologue and epilogue set shortly after the events of the main narrative, and many flashbacks within the chapters.
The forward-moving stream of the novel deals with the attempts of Diziet Sma and a drone named Skaffen-Amtiskaw to re-enlist Zakalwe for another "job", the task itself and the payment that Zakalwe wishes for it. The backward-moving stream describes earlier "jobs" that Zakalwe has performed for the Culture, ultimately returning to his pre-Culture career as a general on his homeworld. It transpires that the payment he requires from Sma relates to an incident from his earlier life.
as background for the story of Cheradenine Zakalwe.
The book's cryptic acknowledgement credits friend and fellow science fiction author Ken MacLeod
with the suggestion "to argue the old warrior out of retirement" (to rewrite the old book) and further credits him with suggesting "the fitness programme" (the new structure). MacLeod makes use of similar structures in his own novels, most notably in The Stone Canal.
the character Vatueil is referred to as "Mr. Zakalwe", suggesting that millennia after the events of Use of Weapons the old warrior is still involved in the affairs of the Culture, albeit in a virtual form for most of the novel. The manner in which "Surface Detail" concludes hints of the possibility of a future Culture novel detailing further adventures of the Zakalwe / Vatueil character.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1990 as the third novel in the Culture series.
Plot introduction
The narrative takes the form of a fractured biography of a man called Cheradenine Zakalwe, who was born outside of the Culture but was recruited into it by Special CircumstancesSpecial Circumstances
Special Circumstances, abbreviated SC, is a 'secret service'-type organisation that exists within the fictional anarchist utopian science fiction civilisation known as the Culture. It forms a background and plot device in several novels and shorter works of Iain M...
agent Diziet Sma
Diziet Sma
Rasd-Codurersa Diziet Embless Sma da' Marenhide, or Diziet Sma, is a fictional character. She is a citizen of The Culture in the novel Use of Weapons, the novella The State of the Art, and is hinted at in the novel Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks...
to work as an operative intervening in less advanced civilizations. The novel recounts several of these interventions and Zakalwe's attempts to come to terms with his own past.
Plot summary
The book is made up of two narrative streams, interwoven in alternating chapters. The numbers of the chapters indicate which stream they belong to: one stream is numbered forward in words (One, Two ...), while the other is numbered in reverse with Roman numeralsRoman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
(XIII, XII ...). The story told by the former moves forward chronologically (as the numbers suggest) and tells a self-contained story, while in the latter is written in reverse chronology
Reverse chronology
Reverse chronology is a method of story-telling whereby the plot is revealed in reverse order.In a story employing this technique, the first scene shown is actually the conclusion to the plot...
with each chapter successively earlier in Zakalwe's life. Further complicating this structure is a prologue and epilogue set shortly after the events of the main narrative, and many flashbacks within the chapters.
The forward-moving stream of the novel deals with the attempts of Diziet Sma and a drone named Skaffen-Amtiskaw to re-enlist Zakalwe for another "job", the task itself and the payment that Zakalwe wishes for it. The backward-moving stream describes earlier "jobs" that Zakalwe has performed for the Culture, ultimately returning to his pre-Culture career as a general on his homeworld. It transpires that the payment he requires from Sma relates to an incident from his earlier life.
History
According to Banks, he wrote a much longer version of the book in 1974, long before any of his books (science fiction or otherwise) were published. The book had an even more complicated structure ("It was impossible to comprehend without thinking in six dimensions") but already introduced The CultureThe Culture
The Culture is a fictional interstellar anarchist, socialist, and utopian society created by the Scottish writer Iain M. Banks which features in a number of science fiction novels and works of short fiction by him, collectively called the Culture series....
as background for the story of Cheradenine Zakalwe.
The book's cryptic acknowledgement credits friend and fellow science fiction author Ken MacLeod
Ken MacLeod
Ken MacLeod , is a Scottish science fiction writer.MacLeod was born in Stornoway. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics....
with the suggestion "to argue the old warrior out of retirement" (to rewrite the old book) and further credits him with suggesting "the fitness programme" (the new structure). MacLeod makes use of similar structures in his own novels, most notably in The Stone Canal.
Character in other Culture novels
At the conclusion of Surface DetailSurface Detail
Surface Detail by Iain M Banks is a science fiction novel in his popular Culture series, first published in the UK on 7 October 2010 and the US on 28 October 2010. -Plot summary:...
the character Vatueil is referred to as "Mr. Zakalwe", suggesting that millennia after the events of Use of Weapons the old warrior is still involved in the affairs of the Culture, albeit in a virtual form for most of the novel. The manner in which "Surface Detail" concludes hints of the possibility of a future Culture novel detailing further adventures of the Zakalwe / Vatueil character.