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Excession

Author: Iain M. Banks
Publisher: Orbit
Category: Book

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

66 reviews
Sales Rank: 346080

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 451
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7

ISBN: 1857233948
EAN: 9781857233940
ASIN: 1857233948

Publication Date: June 13, 1996
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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's not easy to disturb a mega-utopia as vast as the one Iain M. Banks has created in his popular Culture series, where life is devoted to fun and ultra-high-tech is de rigueur. But more than two millennia ago the appearance--and disappearance--of a star older than the universe caused quite a stir. Now the mystery is back, and the key to solving it lies in the mind of the person who witnessed the first disturbance 2,500 years ago. But she's dead, and getting her to cooperate may not be altogether easy.

Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

The greatest Science Fiction July 31, 2008
This is the greatest Science Fiction book I have ever read. I have just completed my third reading of it and perhaps it does help to have read some Culture novels before but I have found that it is essential to make notes (especially of the ships) as you go along so you do not get lost in the complexities of the book. Each time I read it I understand more but there are still some aspects of it that baffle me and suggest that further readings will reveal more. How Banks continues to think up these plots is beyond me; the man's imagination is brilliant and the mystery surrounding the Excession itself is superb. How I wish I could join SC!

2 out of 5 stars

Pointless Story July 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I am fan of most SciFi, this like all his books shows great imagination and foresight into our possible future. But this story was poor and had no undertandable ending. The story itself was, i belive him stretching his legs as a perveyor of the future.

What was the point the excession, the story never really unravelled. The Excession was the whole centre piece of the story, the reason i bought, not to have some poorly explained love story, suddenly finish with no explanation to any of the events.

I hope is other stuff is better, because there are far better books out there than this one. This is the worst book i have read of Banks.

Matt D

3 out of 5 stars

Dramatic and epic in scale, but lacking in cohesion June 21, 2008
"Excession" is the fourth science fiction novel by Iain M. Banks, set in the universe of the Culture, a human-machine symbiotic society spanning most of the Galaxy. When a black body sphere - fifty miles in diameter and apparently older than the Universe itself - appears in a remote corner of space, a superior alien intelligence is suspected to be at work. Even as ships from across the Galaxy rush towards this object, however, questions are raised regarding its purpose and disposition. Attempts to make contact with it prove unsuccessful and the artifact is soon termed an Outside Context Problem - something so powerful that, if hostile, threatens the whole of Galactic civilisation with destruction. But while many are looking to understand it, there are others who seek only to exploit it.

Banks's science fiction is distinctive for the very scale of his vision: a future in which the spaceships are tens of kilometres long, habitats thousands or even millions; in which people can alter their minds and bodies at will; in which it is possible to live forever in simulations that are near-perfect reproductions of reality. In "Excession" he continues to develop the rich and diverse setting that is the Culture, exploring its technologies and its philosophies, and focussing particular attention on the lives and personalities of the artificial intelligences that are the Culture's decision-makers: the Minds.

The prose style flows easily - infused as it is with Banks's trademark wit - and for the most part the narrative is clear, even where exotic alien technologies are concerned. Occasionally, however, the author tends to give too much exposition: whole chapters are given over to characters whose role is, in the end, rather inconsequential. In addition, it is difficult to engage with the human protagonists, Dajeil and Genar-Hofoen: their relationship fails to convince and lacks resolution; indeed, their inclusion is questionable as they have almost no influence on events. At the same time, the lack of a strong central narrative thread means that, for long periods in the middle, the novel loses its sense of direction. Numerous plot strands are introduced without clear purpose, and the sheer number of characters can be hard to distinguish from one another. The exact roles played by the various Minds are obscure; there are intriguing hints of conspiracy but these are never fully explored. Nevertheless, the action sequences are dramatic and always engaging, and the eventual resolution is both fitting and well handled, providing some reward for the reader.

"Excession" promises much and to some extent it does deliver. While many parts are enjoyable, however, the overall impression is of a sprawling and still slightly raw work.

4 out of 5 stars

Mature, multi-layered and magnificent sci-fi March 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Any book by Iain Banks is going to be worth reading, but his Culture novels are always a massive treat. Excession is one of the best, although it might not be the easiest of the series to start with.

If you're familiar with the Culture universe then you'll quickly be delighted by the development of the Ship Minds in this episode. Although there's a set of human protagonists, outrageous and entertaining alien antagonists, and the usual endearing drone, it's the Minds who steal the stage. The Culture has to cope with an unusual entity, and in reacting to that possibly dangerous 'thing' the Culture itself reveals opposing factions, plots within plots, and the difficulty of being the advanced civilisation in a galaxy full of stroppy young 'uns.

However, Excession is a much more mature work than the blood-soaked, plot-twisting early Culture novels. It's just as complicated and rewarding, and has a stand-out action sequence for people who like their spaceships to come out all guns blazing, but the resolution of the core issue is less brutal than the endings Banks used to write. Instead of coming away from the ending feeling as if you've been mauled, you put down Excession feeling satisfied and rewarded by the experience.
(Or if you were feeling really picky you could say it cops out like an episode of Star Trek, and ends pretty much back where it started. But that would be to miss much of the plot and character development -- especially what happens to the Grey Area...)

There's so much for sci-fi fans to love abut Iain Banks' universe. The Affront are a great creation, but the Ships and Drones are too. If you haven't read any Culture novels then stop faffing and dive in. Excession is a more subtle, more refined Culture novels than its forerunners. There's less whimsy and it's a bit less playful than, say Use of Weapons, and if you don't know how this universe works then you may struggle to keep up at first. So one of the earlier books might be a better place to begin.
But if you're familiar with the set up then give yourself time to read Excession in full (even the bits that don't make sense to start with, cos they always play a part in the final resolution). Excession rewards careful reading: it's a book to treasure, not one to grab in 10 minute snatches. And although there are fewer comic drones and droll jokes, the Ship names are a delight...
Solid 9/10

5 out of 5 stars

A sci fi favourite February 11, 2008
I have read it several times and of all the Iain M Banks Culture books it's my favourite.

I won't go into the plot - that's been done very eloquently by some other reviewers. What I particularly like is Banks' wit and inventiveness: scheming Minds (and minds); the ships' names; technology; the Culture mindset; and above all the vast scope of the situation, deftly handled from colossal spacecraft and potentials down to microscopic detail where necessary.

Without the graphic grisliness that put me off some of Mr Banks' other works, such as The Wasp Factory and to some extent Inversions, Excession is a shining example of space opera.