Iain M. Banks, Excession Review

Overall Rating

Scale, originality, complexity, fantastic ship names!

a little obscure for those who have never encountered the culture before.

Iain M. Banks, Excession - Basically, this was my first encounter with Iain Banks's Culture. As such, a lot in the book was taken for granted that made little sense at first to me. What is a mind? Why are ships talking? etc. However, I went on to read the other Culture books, so read this with an open mind. What at first appears a complaint is merely indicative of the sheer scope and scale of Banks's creation. The complexity and originality of the Culture is a rarity, perhaps even a one off in sf literature. Many authors have created worlds and universes but this breaks the mold to an extent that it all but re-defines the genre. Nowhere else have I encountered a book whose main protagonists are so far removed from humanity. It is a testament to the author's ability that he makes Minds engaging, turning alien and remote into intriguing. Much sci-fi makes use of charcters/aliens/demi-gods that are similar to humanity but in some way at a higher level. In "Excession," such beings are central to the book, a highly refreshing reversal with humans being bit players. Even the diverse, many-layered plot serves, rather than simply to confuse, to emphasise the scale of the events in question. All in all a great read, although I would recommend that first-time readers plump for "Consider Phlebas" as an introduction to the Culture.

Members' Comments onspot's Review

• philcha20247 on 1st May 2006

  Excellent review, and brief too! My only disagreement is that I think Banks makes the Minds very human-like, for example one ends its description of a frightening situation with "Gulp" and the Mind which is the book's "hero" suffers from neurotic guilt and other foibles which results in its saving the day more by good luck than good judgement.