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
