Want to read a brilliant sci-fi novel based on one of the most fascinating civilisations ever written with Living Ships, Chessmaster planning, engaging characters, fast-paced action scenes IN SPACE and subtle philosophy regarding the nature of the Universe's context in reality?
Look no further.
Sometime set much after Consider Phlebas and a few hundred years before Look To Windward, an Outside Context Problem decides to visit the galaxy that the Culture inhabit. Now you have a whole core of inquisitive, god-like A.I.s - Culture Minds - stopping their daily interludes into 12-dimensional reality to double-take and go "the fuck...?" There's your set-up, and it only gets better from there.
You have a couple of human characters, but the Minds are the real protagonists of this story, and they're who you will be focusing on. Honestly, I find them far more interesting than the human characters, however I promise you will rarely see such a wide diversity of characterisation and ingenuity in a sci-fi - or indeed any - novel. Am I gushing? Well, yes. As a fan of this series, my word is suspect to bias, but this is, beyond a doubt, my favourite Culture novel, and it is a joy to read.
However, there is some caution to this tale. This is a heavily immersive Culture book. What do I mean by that? It moves quickly with assumptions that you know what the Culture is, how it works, what the Minds are, and some familiarity with the galactic setting. You can read it as an introduction to the series, but you have to be on your toes to grab on to the plot. I do not discourage first time adventurers to Bank's Sci-fi works to pass on this book in any way, but just to be prepared for the dive.
My only critique would be the man Byr. Not his character, but the allotment of time devoted to his subplot. This is just my personal preference, but I could have missed half his story and wouldn't care, and on re-readings of this book, that is exactly what I do. That said, this is anyway a small matter in the book's sum of parts.
I heavily recommend this book - as you may not have realised between all the praise and... well... squee-ing (hangs head in shame) - for any reader of science fiction. My personal feelings aside, objectively this is a great book, very well written and fun.
Credit to the Mind
Want to read a brilliant sci-fi novel based on one of the most fascinating civilisations ever written with Living Ships, Chessmaster planning, engaging characters, fast-paced action scenes IN SPACE and subtle philosophy regarding the nature of the Universe's context in reality?
Look no further.
Sometime set much after Consider Phlebas and a few hundred years before Look To Windward, an Outside Context Problem decides to visit the galaxy that the Culture inhabit. Now you have a whole core of inquisitive, god-like A.I.s - Culture Minds - stopping their daily interludes into 12-dimensional reality to double-take and go "the fuck...?" There's your set-up, and it only gets better from there.
You have a couple of human characters, but the Minds are the real protagonists of this story, and they're who you will be focusing on. Honestly, I find them far more interesting than the human characters, however I promise you will rarely see such a wide diversity of characterisation and ingenuity in a sci-fi - or indeed any - novel. Am I gushing? Well, yes. As a fan of this series, my word is suspect to bias, but this is, beyond a doubt, my favourite Culture novel, and it is a joy to read.
However, there is some caution to this tale. This is a heavily immersive Culture book. What do I mean by that? It moves quickly with assumptions that you know what the Culture is, how it works, what the Minds are, and some familiarity with the galactic setting. You can read it as an introduction to the series, but you have to be on your toes to grab on to the plot. I do not discourage first time adventurers to Bank's Sci-fi works to pass on this book in any way, but just to be prepared for the dive.
My only critique would be the man Byr. Not his character, but the allotment of time devoted to his subplot. This is just my personal preference, but I could have missed half his story and wouldn't care, and on re-readings of this book, that is exactly what I do. That said, this is anyway a small matter in the book's sum of parts.
I heavily recommend this book - as you may not have realised between all the praise and... well... squee-ing (hangs head in shame) - for any reader of science fiction. My personal feelings aside, objectively this is a great book, very well written and fun.