A review by sonice
Matter by Iain M. Banks

4.0

4.5 stars. Humorous, impeccably written, captivating, and seamlessly fuses several different genres together with mastery. Superb character work, especially so for a novel written in a genre that’s typically not known for strong characters. A plot that begs to be unravelled, with a last act twist that I probably should have seen coming, but (lucky for me) didn’t at all. The conclusion was abrupt and left some things in question, but I didn’t mind; more for me to mull over in the next day or three. The was one little slow spot about 2/3rds in that felt a little draggy to me. Too much travelling around and not enough development, but it wasn’t terrible by any means.
With this I can say that Banks has permanently cemented himself as one of my favourite writers of all time.