Use of Weapons: An Experiment in Literary Science Fiction

For a long time, science fiction has not qualified as true 'literature', especially in the eyes of publishers. Condemned to be labelled as genre fiction, science fiction is grouped with other pulpy swords-and-sorcery novels and generally looked at as low-brow.

Banks, in his own unassuming way, challenged this notion with Use of Weapons.

Structurally, the novel uses numbered chapters (One, Two, Three...) to represent a linear timeline, while chapters counting backwards in Roman Numerals (XIII, XII, XI...) explore a reverse chronology. The complexity of these, and the way the structure necessitates a climax in the middle of the book, demonstrate just how talented a writer Banks was.

Use of Weapons follows Cheradenine Zakalwe, one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action. 

The novel uses its dual-track narrative structure to slowly explore the diverging character arcs of Zakalwe. The forward track follows Zakalwe as he is recruited out of retirement by Diziet Sma to infiltrate a moderately-developed society and extract a former political player, Tsoldrin Beychae, who has retreated from society into solitary study. Sma sets up Zakalwe with unlimited funds to establish an identity as a mysterious and wealthy individual called Staberinde.

The forward narrative shows us Zakalwe’s various stratagems and setbacks in trying to achieve the Culture’s missions, and it becomes clear that although he is very proficient in his job, he also harbours some deep-seated doubts about the merits of the Culture’s interference. Indeed, in Banks' novels, even the heroes are painted in various shades of grey, committing horrific atrocities for the alleged 'greater good' of the galactic community.

As the other narrative unfolds, we get to see more of Zakalwe’s character arc into his past. We are first shown repeated attempts by Zakalwe to settle down and live a peaceful life away from his warlike past, but these invariably fail, and as we delve further back, we see him involved in various military operations for the Culture, backing one side or the other, but always with the same sense of skepticism and detachment. 

Midway through the backward-moving story arc, we discover that Zakalwe was the scion to an important aristocratic family, and grew up with two sisters, Livueta and Darckense. He was later joined by a cousin, Elethiomel, with whom he has many conflicts as a rival, which are exacerbated when Elethiomel has an affair with his sister Darckense. Eventually Elethiomel betrays his adopted family to seize power, and he and Zakalwe find themselves on opposite sides of a bloody struggle for control. Although they are both brilliant military strategists, Elethiomel is the more ruthless of the two, and as we get closer to the end of the book, we discover he has made the ultimate use of weapons to defeat his rival.

Ultimately Zakalwe becomes just another weapon to be used by those who command him – a plasma rifle, a disruptor cannon, a blade – merely a tool used to achieve an end.

A surprise twist actually follows right after the big reveal and throws our entire understanding of Zakalwe’s character upside-down. It’s a pretty impressive trick, and even after thinking it through, the ramifications are profound for the entire story

Use of Weapons explores trauma and nihilism through the lens of space opera, with all the grittiness that Banksian science fiction entails. It's an unashamedly brutal waltz through the mind of a deeply troubled individual doing deeply troubling things for a cause he doesn't quite believe in - and if you don't think that's relevant to the world today, you haven't been paying attention.