STG's

Consider Phlebas, by Ian M. Banks, is an SF novel and the first released book in the Culture series. I have actually read Player of Games before on recommendations. One thing to note is that this book actually defines some things that Player of Games don't. Seems silly that Banks didn't do it for the other one, as most explanations are a couple of paragraphs at most (example: drones auras). Yes, you could understand it from context, but this felt better and was more informative. The story was interesting and views the Culture mostly from an enemy's perspective - a Changer (which was quite interesting) - an human that is capable of changing his appearance and also has minor combat enhancements. The tech is pretty nice overall, specially when you consider that the book is from 1987! Many older SF novels have extensive silly sequences when read now, this one aged well apart from maybe a few bits. There are a couple of things I didn't like, in particular the some...

Some people recently suggested that I should check out the Culture series. Looking online, it was frequently suggested that I start with  Player of Games,   by Iain M. Banks. I'm glad I took that suggestion. The book is very good, and full of interesting tech and ideas. The twists in the end were pretty good too. Barely shows its age, which is pretty impressive for a 1988 SF book. One thing that probably helps is that a lot of the tech is understated, and not even described until it is used. Very much worth reading, and I will definitely be reading more of the Culture series.