keelekingfisher
10/16/2023
Incredible. Again, I don't think it's overtaken Look to Windward as my favourite Culture book, but this is nonetheless a phenomenal book. Over 600 pages in the copy I've got and yet it never feels slow or gets muddled up in its three-or-four parallel narratives. The worldbuilding, naturally, is amazing - I think making the core of the narrative be based around virtual afterlives was a fantastic move and somewhat ahead of its time, what with the modern zeitgeist surrounding virtual reality. The characters all feel distinct and memorable, and the writing is overall phenomenal. Like every Culture book, I can't recommend it enough if you want some real high-concept space opera.