Aaron

More melancholy than the average Culture book. Banks managed to capture the feeling of playing games in such a specific way. The focus, the exultation, the sadness of it ending - win or lose.

This entry is a sort of suspenseful mystery. Something is amiss on another Culture world and you're hoping the characters uncover the secrets before some unknown foreboding disaster occurs. There's a climatic event every character is planning for throughout the story and it does not disappoint.

Mystery and liminal horror. I was utterly engrossed and terrified all the way through.

A swerving, often confusing, but ultimately fun and action packed sci-fi whodunnit.

I found the plot lacking as murder mystery but this was mostly made up for by the portions that are action/thriller in space. This would make a fun movie script. Thompson still kicks ass with his Afrofuturism chops.

A fun romp in the Cosmere for fans of Stormlight