Reviews

Excession by Iain M. Banks

fisk42's review against another edition

3.0

At this point I am officially unimpressed by Iain Banks. Apparently he is just not for me. I have enjoyed several of his books, but the amount of work for the payoff is just too high for my tastes.

johnnyseesyou's review against another edition

3.0

While I enjoyed the elements of this book, they didn't come together in a satisfying whole. The dilemma at the center of the story, what happens when an unknown object of unfathomable power shows up and creates a scarce resource (itself) in a post scarcity society, is a cool question. There were just too many other disparate elements. I still enjoyed it, but this was my least favorite Culture novel so far.

breenmachine's review against another edition

4.0

What a trip. Lots of comedy, mixed with crazy cultures (of course), and a huge focus on the Minds.

I absolutely loved certain parts: like Sleeper Service's art, the Affront, the new worlds (cool twisting rock), the term "Excession", being in the head of a Mind in battle (especially the tiny drone battling the Excession in the beginning), and the Elench. I agree with other reviews in that I didn't care much about the humans or their stories in this book, but I actually enjoyed not caring about them.

I had stopped reading this series after I was traumatized by "Use of Weapons", but I'm glad I gave it another try.

I still think "Player of Games" is my favorite, but it could be just because I read that one first.

I'm taking off a star because the story between Genar-Hofoen and Dajeil really irritated me. There was an extremely slow buildup (filled with mystery the entire time) and then when it was revealed what happened... I truly didn't care. I can think of many things that would have been more interesting to reveal.

pjdruce's review against another edition

1.0

Very scattered with overall plot. Very drawn out and the ending was pretty unfulfilling. Not my cup of tea.

chicagobob's review against another edition

3.0

I've been a big fan of the Culture series, but didn't enjoy this one so much. I love the atmosphere and tone, but I found the plot a lot harder to follow than the other Culture books I've read.

mrhanson's review against another edition

3.0

Only okay. I found it hard to get into, and the stylistic touches were distracting rather than engaging. I like the Culture setting a lot, but this story was too thin, with too many external flourishes, to really keep my interest. I enjoyed Player of Games and Consider Phlebas much more.

thoran's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

davidjme's review

3.0

Enjoyable, for the most part, but burdened by EXCESSIVE (I'm a genius) side plots and unlikable characters - looking at you, Ulver. Also, I'm still a little unsure about some of the minutiae of the plot.

fritzh8u's review against another edition

4.0

Harder to get into, but a great demonstration of mind-culture.

droar's review against another edition

Not my jam. This is my first Culture novel (book club choice) & while I wasn't lost per say, I think many of the 'cool' bits were lost on me for not having the lead up books. That said this book has lots of interesting ideas but suffers from a huge overabundance of exposition and zero like able characters. If it was more of a page turner it might have been salvageable, but it's got a very slow burn plot. I'm abandoning ship halfway through, but I'd consider giving the Culture another chance with a different starting point.