Inversions is another Culture novel, involving two members of Culture who have slightly different views on how to go about influencing a more primitive civilisation toward a better way of life. One is a doctor, the other is a warrior, both ensconced in the society they wish to change, both intent on influencing through the leader of those societies.

Really, it is two separate stories, but they are linked in that the Culture people knew each other a long time ago. The story of the doctor, Vosill, is told in the first person from the point of view of her young assistant Oelph. The story of the warrior DeWar though, is told from the third person, so we really don't see what the main characters are thinking, but only what they are doing.

It is a charming book, with the most interesting aspects being the primitiveness of the two societies represented, contrasting with the intelligence of a few within them. The actions of Vosill and DeWar would really seem rather odd to the other characters, and yet they are entirely comprehensible to us. A neat effect given that the story is in fact told to us by one of the inhabitants who is ignorant of the Culture.