excession is OK...
but the original first three Culture books are awesome - Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons and the Player of Games.

Genuinely special. Read immediately!
( chaotic_illuminator wanking enthusiast, Thu 14 Nov 2002, 19:29, archived)

as below,
I like the books about ships as they are a lot more morally ambiguous than the others. I guess sociologically, they seem to be a (accurate) extrapolation of our cultures, but I love the ships. Anything with a name like "fate amenable to change" and "ethics gradient" are friends of mine.
( Alfie, Thu 14 Nov 2002, 19:31, archived)

i think you should both read
Bruce Sterling's Schismatrix. the whole time i was reading excession i was thinking, "this is good, but nowhere near as good as schismatrix"
( freshlegs, Thu 14 Nov 2002, 19:47, archived)

I love Sterling...
top man.

Returning to where this started... I loved Cryptonomicon. Really blew me away.
( chaotic_illuminator wanking enthusiast, Thu 14 Nov 2002, 20:05, archived)