Inversions

Iain M. Banks 1998 Buy from Amazon.com

Inversions is another of Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels, 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. Vosill is a doctor, and DeWar 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. We don’t see what the main characters are thinking, but only what they are doing. Although their opinions on how to improve society are different, the results are the same, and not what either would have imagined.

The story of Vosill is told in the first person from the point of view of her young assistant Oelph. His naive perspective shows both the entrenched sexism of the society and the first hints of progress.

Vosill is doctor to the King, and she influences him in various ways, from matters regarding his health to those concerning the governance of the kingdom. It becomes clear that she is aware that her assistant is a spy for Guard Commander Adlain, who is one of her enemies, and the entire court is a mess of intrigue. No one wants her there except the King and her love-lorn assistant.

She continues to make herself unpopular by expounding theories that no one can accept, such as using forensic techniques to prove that the torturer’s apprentice did not kill him (although he was found guilty anyway), and making suggestions for the reorganisation of local councils.

The story of DeWar is told from the third person, and despite his stern and focussed exterior, there are signs of his intelligence and empathy clear in his interactions with the lady Perrund, one of the Protector’s harem, and the Protector’s young son.

DeWar is the bodyguard of the Protector, who took over a small country during an uprising. DeWar believes firmly in the man’s goodness and ability to lead his people to better things, and has dedicated himself to being the Protector’s bodyguard. It is through the stories that DeWar tells the Protector’s young son Lattens that we learn about the connection between himself and the doctor. Told in the form of fairytales, we learn how they were friends in the Culture.

DeWar also becomes friends with a member of the Protector’s harem, Perrund. She had secured her place permanently years earlier by leaping in front of an assassin’s blade and saving the life of the Protector, leaving one of her arms withered.

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 seem rather odd to the other characters, and yet they are entirely comprehensible to us. A neat effect given that Vossil’s story is in fact told to us by one of the inhabitants who is ignorant of the Culture.

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