Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banksby Iain Banks
Shares rank 135 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Readers praise its Memento-like storytelling and say it holds up well within the universe's novels, with strong recommendations.
Readers praise its Memento-like storytelling and say it holds up well within the universe's novels, with strong recommendations.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Draws readers into related novels
“I read Use of Weapons and had to read all novels from that universe.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over” Quality holds up, if not better
“maintaining the quality (If not better, but PoG IS THAT GOOD anyway)”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Memento-like, incredible storytelling
“Memento-like storytelling that was also incredible”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Readers recommend it enthusiastically
“I can't recommend (both) enough.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Use of Weaponsby Iain BanksThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“maintaining the quality (If not better, but PoG IS THAT GOOD anyway)”
“I can't recommend (both) enough.”
“Memento-like storytelling that was also incredible”
“I read Use of Weapons and had to read all novels from that universe.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.