There’s something about “Use of Weapons” that I absolutely love, but can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it’s the planet-hopping 007-super-agent? Or the ruthlessness the Culture’s special agents employ to guide and shape civilizations? Or maybe its Banks’ character creation, exploration, and growth? 

It could be all of the above… and the unique chapter structure of the novel. I’m going to co-opt a review from Audible who explains the structure better than I could:

“The prologue establishes an event at a particular point in time, call it time t-zero. The story then begins at time t plus 13 and is told in alternating chapters, half of them moving backward toward t-zero, and the other half moving forward from time t plus 13. You arrive at the end of the book when the backward narrative reaches t-zero just as the forward narrative reaches a climax that reveals the real meaning of the events in the prologue. It is cleverly done, but you really do have to pay attention.”