I’ve been listening to a podcast recently, The Culture Books Podcast (they don’t seem to have a proper website, just that Libsyn page and a Facebook one). An Australian couple read through the books and talk about them, chapter by chapter. He (John) has read them before; she (Sheridan) has not, and doesn’t read much SF. It’s quite fun, and encourages the listener to join in the rereading. I got through their episodes on the first two, and might have started either, but I’ve mislaid my copy of Consider Phlebas for the moment, and didn’t fancy The Player of Games.

But a few episodes into Use of weapons, I knew it was time to interrupt Moby Dick again and get back to The Great Banksie Reread. Wherein I see I haven’t read any since September 2023! Shocking!.

There are two of his non-SF books I’ve never reread: Stonemouth and The Quarry. Though I saw the TV adaptation of the former.

Anyway. Time, it does go on. When I last read UoW it was 13 years ago. How does that happen? Just day by day, I guess.

There is nothing not to recommend about this book, unless you’d be thrown by simultaneous stories being told, one going forward in time, the other back. The only slight weakness I felt this time was the absence of time with the characters after the big reveal. But to have such time would probably undercut the whole thing, so I’m sure it was the right choice.