Out of my comfort zone on this one but am willing to give it a try.

Poison teeth. Want.

Wouldn't it be cool to be a Changer?

The first of the longer "Culture" novels that I have read, if my research is correct, this was Banks's first novel length excursion into the "Culture" universe. I have to say, that I enjoyed this... more

The first of the longer "Culture" novels that I have read, if my research is correct, this was Banks's first novel length excursion into the "Culture" universe. I have to say, that I enjoyed this book as a kind of travelogue through parts of the galaxy that Banks has created, while the story itself was a bit of a normal plot.

Basically, the novel follows the trek of a "Changer" named Horza who is trying to get something that his employers, the Idrian's, the enemy of the Culture, need in order to pursue their battle against the Culture. Against this very standard plot, the real place where this novel shines is in the description of the places and people that Horza meeting along the way.

I've commented on this before with Banks, but his stories have more of a sense of humor to them than I initially expected. That, along with the ideas in the novels, will keep me coming back.

I read one of Banks's more recent novels (a non-Culture universe story), and I think he has becom...