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Excession (Hardcover)

by Iain M. Banks (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 451 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit; First Edition edition (13 Jun 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1857233948
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857233940
  • Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 15.2 x 4.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 89,738 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #14 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Banks, Iain M.
    #26 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > B > Banks, Iain

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Product Description

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.


Review

The author's Culture, that galaxy-spinning hedonistic society dedicated to benevolent intervention in the affairs of lesser mortals and the hypocrisy that this sometimes makes necessary, comes up against a major threat in this novel. When a vast dimension-hopping object suddenly appears, faction upon faction of Culture, including a charming species of sadistic octopoids, pile after it, and double-crosses proliferate to a point where individual motivations gradually become more or less irrelevant. There is, as always in Banks, a moral - which is that it is good to be clever, but cleverer to be good. This is one of the most remarkably complicated space operas of recent years and one of the best. (Kirkus UK)
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Customer Reviews

72 Reviews
5 star:
 (46)
4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (72 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Rise of the Machines, 13 May 2003
This review is from: Excession (Paperback)
In this book, for the first time in Iain M's work, the people are clearly less important than the machines. But who cares when he writes such brilliant machines? Let's face it, the amount of detailed characterisation Banks puts into the principal players - mainly spaceship Minds and a few drones - hugely exceeds that which most writers of self-consciously "literary" fiction bother with for their human characters. Even the opening few pages of rather off-putting and heavily cryptic inter-ship communications turns out to be useful and entertaining a few chapters later. As always in Banks he invents an alien species who play a critical part in the plot but are probably there mainly to allow him some extremely funny scenes - the story of how this species came to be known as "the Affront" is one of his best.
The Excession itself - a powerful artefact beyond the Culture's understanding - is a bit of a McGuffin, because the main story is about how the Culture behaves when it wants something really badly.
Overall, Excession is a highly entertaining read, probably second or third place in his output - which means better than most other science fiction writers could ever manage.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sci-fi on an epic scale, 18 May 2002
By Anthony Lynas (Leicester, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Excession (Paperback)
The funny thing about Iain Banks' sci-fi novels is that, generally, they are better than his "straight" fiction and deal with much deeper issues. "Excession" is the pinnacle of his art; a space opera on a grand scale full of subtle plot turns and moments of breathtaking imagination. If you only read one Banks' sci-fi novel it should be this one, and if you read this one you'll want to read them all.

The novel itself weaves intricate sub-plots in and out of each other as, around them, a major conflict escalates alarmingly and a mystery force comes to threaten everyone. Even if it weren't so marvellously well-written, and so full of marvellous ideas and (for once) genuinely believable science, the apparently standard basis of the book is completely subverted by what is, simply, the most ingenious ending of any sci-fi novel anywhere.

Sci-fi fans should read this, and then go and check out Feersum Endjinn, The Player of Games by the same author and Neuromancer by William Gibson. Non sci-fi fans; buy this, read this, and then go and buy Feersum Endjinn, The Player of Games & Neuromancer as well.

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars His finest SF work to date, 17 Jan 2005
This review is from: Excession (Paperback)
I may be slightly biased towards Excession, as it was the first Banks SF novel i read (i have since read them all).

As it was my first (and hence i had no idea what 'The Culture' was or what it was about), the first few pages completely baffled me. However, sticking with it, i was blown away.

There is no doubt that the minds are the stars of the show, so to speak. I found it warming that entities of such immense power that can think millions of times quicker than humans can be petty, vindictive and deceitful (and above all, they just 'wanna have fun' (The land of IF)). The human/alien characters, taking something of a lesser role, were also excellent. Byr/Ulver/Gestra, whilst living in a perfect society, all have their own little quirks. The Affront are a creation of genuis (i loved the history of how they got their name). The Excession itself remains an enigma throughout, with only cursory details of its abilities. Banks plays his cards very close to his chest here.

To sum up. The plot is tight and intricate, and the dialogue is excellent (not to mention, very witty). Above all though (and for me, this is the marker of any great book), i approached the last few pages with a feeling of impending dread, because i didnt want the novel to end.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Great book and a great read... I've loved all his novels, you can't go wrong. Sit back and enjyoy.
Published 3 months ago by M. M. Dimambro

5.0 out of 5 stars Cementing the Culture
This book fleshes out the Culture more than any other Ian M Banks novel.

I loved the way that the immensely powerful Minds (machine intelligences) dominated the plot... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bernard Jauregui

4.0 out of 5 stars Excession by Ian Banks
Excession
Is a good read, written with a dry humour and quantum imagination.
Published 5 months ago by P. W. Kyte

2.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly written but boring as hell.
Every sentence is crafted perfectly and is descriptive, does exactly what he wanted it to, blah, blah blah...

But this doesn't matter. Read more
Published 7 months ago by NeX Echo

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite culture novel.
This is my favorite of Banks' culture novels and provides the kind of story whose ideas and concepts remain with you long after you have finished the last page. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Toby Allen

5.0 out of 5 stars Science Fiction At It's Finest.
For those of you familiar with the Culture, you can skip this paragraph, but for those who aren't - a little preface. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Josh V.

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest Science Fiction
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... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Philip Jackson

2.0 out of 5 stars Pointless Story
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. Read more
Published 16 months ago by M. A. Dillane

3.0 out of 5 stars Dramatic and epic in scale, but lacking in cohesion
"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. Read more
Published 16 months ago by J. Aitcheson

4.0 out of 5 stars Mature, multi-layered and magnificent sci-fi
Any book by Iain Banks is going to be worth reading, but his Culture novels are always a massive treat. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Hooligween

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