Surface Detail 📖

Surface Detail

Banks, Iain M
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science fiction hard science fiction with space opera elements past tense third limited POV ~822 pp high worldbuilding

Vibe

oppressive cosmic grim

A dark science fiction. Expect rich worldbuilding, dense, literary prose, epic scope. Ends on an unresolved note. Contains notable violence, sexual content.

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Style Fingerprint

Prose density 75
sparsedense
Pacing 40
slow burnpropulsive
Emotional tone 20
darkhopeful
Worldbuilding 95
minimalmaximal
Char / plot 60
character-drivenplot-driven
Interiority 50
externalintrospective
Ending 10
unresolvedcathartic
Stakes 90
intimateepic

Content

Violence 90%
noneextreme
Sexual content 60%
noneexplicit
Humor 30%
seriouscomedic
Romance 40%
nonecentral
Speculative hardness soft/vibes → hard sci-fi / rigorous magic

Structure & Cast

Structure
Word count205,585
Page count~822 pp
Prologue—
Epilogue—
Tensepast
Cast & World
POVthird limited