Book Review: Transition

Author: Iain Banks
First Published: September 2009
Tardy Review date: 5 February 2011


A patchwork novel that intrigues but never quite satisfies


I used to be a big Iain Banks fan and read all of his early books, at least the non-sci-fi ones.  I do like sci-fi but, for some reason, I just never got around to reading the books he wrote with an 'M' in his name.  More recently, I haven't tended to read his novels, either.  Actually, I thought I'd just check out which of his books I've read and one (Song Of Stone) I've got, but don't think I ever got past the first few pages.  Another (The Business), I can't actually remember if I've read at all - looking at summaries, it sounds familiar but I really couldn't tell you what happened in it.

So, why the change?   I think it's mainly Banks's approach, rather than the subjects or plots.  In his early novels his writing seemed to be almost dangerous in style - he wasn't afraid to cover any topic and his style was more edgy and immediate.  His later novels seem safe by comparison and, whilst they're still well written, they don't tend to have the same injection of adrenalin or passion.

Still, I saw Transition's red cover in the bookshop when I was looking for something to read and I couldn't resist giving him another go.  The cover description promised a story of parallel worlds and a mysterious organisation with extraordinary powers, and it made me think of his early novels Walking on Glass and The Bridge.  Both used a mixture of realities and viewpoints to excellent effect, making them both confusing and fascinating in a way that I loved.

Transition is, indeed, written in a similar style.  It discards the idea of both a linear plot and a single viewpoint, jumping around timelines, characters and realities several times in each chapter.  This patchwork style turns the book into something of a puzzle, leaving the reader to try and work out how those fractured elements fit together, which isn't without interest.  It certainly built up an intrigue around the central character and his place in the aforementioned organisation, known as The Concern.

The central concept is one of infinite parallel realities or, to be more specific, parallel Earths.  The people of one of these Earths have discovered a way to travel, or 'transition' between the different realities.  Our main character, generally referred to as the transitionary (although he adopts numerous names throughout the book), is employed to interfere in these other realities as instructed by The Concern.  The theory is that he's trying to improve each reality by helping the do-gooders and stopping the bad guys, but he seems to spend a lot of his time assassinating people.  Of course, the very fact that there is so much unrevealed both to him and to us, leads to inevitable suspicions about what The Concern is really up to.

As I say, I haven't read of the Iain 'M' Banks sci-fi books, but I imagine this is the closest of his mainstream novels to his sci-fi work.  I certainly like the concept of the book and found the style kept me moving forward.  I really wanted to know why The Concern existed, what they were trying to achieve and how our main character fitted into the whole thing.  Unfortunately, I don't think the book ever fully answered those things.  I don't expect to have everything spelled out to me, and I do think it's good to have some space around the plot and characters to form your own opinions, but this book seemed to raise so many questions that it never really answered, I found myself feeling a little frustrated at the end.

Moreover, the style of the book tended to work against it.  As I mentioned, I think the structure did create a sense of intrigue and mystery within the story and, ultimately, kept me in suspense.  But I think the whole approach of splitting every chapter up so much was overdone.  There simply wasn't enough time or human interest devoted to each character at any one point, so it became a struggle building up a relationship with them.  I was about 50 pages into the book before I even felt I was starting to 'get into' it, which I think is asking a lot from a reader.  Perhaps it shows the confidence of an author who's written over 20 books and knows he has a loyal audience, but I don't think it's something a lesser known writer would be able to get away with.  One of the other significant characters, probably the second most important in terms of pages devoted to him, has a story that really only has a limited relation to the main plot and doesn't really add much in its own right, so I wondered in the end why I'd spent so much time reading about him.

The inside back page of the book promises an iPhone app that allows the reader to download extra content about the book and characters.  Maybe this provides some much needed background to the characters and their situation that would satisfy my need to know more but, unfortunately, I have an android phone so I'll never know.

If you're interested in reading an Iain Banks novel, I'd recommend any of them up to, and including, Complicity.  I thought they were all fantastic when I read them (and re-read them in some cases).  After that I feel he's lost his touch a bit.  Maybe it's inevitable for an older, more successful author to write books that seem safer than his younger, less famous self.  Perhaps it's an age thing.  I hope not, though - I'd really love to see Banks return to his old form with a challenging, exciting novel at some point, and I really hope it happens.  This isn't that novel, though.