New Iain M. Banks Novel

New Iain (M.) Banks novel. Not a "Culture" novel, but a literary/sci-fi mash-up that sounds intriguing. i09 has the review but, more importantly a fun little quote which I enjoyed since I've been running into weirdo libertarians and Ayn Randians since starting my new job:

D'Ortolan, who has lived for 200 years by transitioning into younger bodies, represents the raw, libertarian lust for personal gain. And Mulverhill characterizes D'Ortolan's position tartly in this way:

Libertarianism. A simple-minded right-wing ideology ideally suited to those unable or unwilling to see past their own sociopathic self-regard.

Whereas Mulverhill promises something akin to what the Culture has - a chaotic do-goodery which attempts to help people in finite ways while acknowledging it is impossible to make the entire universe a perfectly good place.

"Chaotic do-goodery" reminds me of the Pynchonian motto "Keep Cool, But Care" and the notion of anarchistic miracles. Individual acts that restore local areas of order and fend off entropy for a little longer. Which is pretty much all we can hope for now-a-days and what divides the majority of us from the tea partiers.