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 Culture - a human / machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy.
The novel revolves around the Idiran-Culture War, and Banks plays on that theme by presenting various microcosms of that conflict. Perhaps surprisingly, especially since this is the first (published) Culture novel, its protagonist Bora Horza Gobuchul is actually an enemy of the Culture.
The novel begins in London with a secret meeting between two legal men. A bribe reveals the confidential details of a correspondent who is the link to a vital hidden document. Meanwhile young John Mellamphy is growing up in the remote countryside with his mother Mary, ignorant of the name of Huffam. Gradually it becomes clear that they are threatened by the search for the document.
At the end of Frank Herbert's final novel, CHAPTERHOUSE: DUNE, a ship carrying a crew of refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from a terrifying, mysterious enemy. The fugitives used genetic technology to revive key figures from Dune's past – including Paul Muad'Dib and Lady Jessica –to use their special talents to meet the challenges thrown at them.
