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The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action. The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought. The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a burnt-out case. But not even its machine intelligence could see the horrors in his past.

Reviews

There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness THE TIMES In many ways his best yet... rich, vivid and great fun. VECTOR To say that Banks is Britain's best writer of science fiction would be to understate the case. He's simply one of our best novelists, whatever the genre. Read him BOOK PEOPLE At last SF as it should be written!... If you aren't as yet familiar with these works I urge you to become so at your earliest opportunity. CRITICAL WAVE