Matter by Ian M. Banks

May contain spoilers.

Thank goodness because its been 8 years since the last novel featuring The Culture and I was beginning to give up. Mind you I consider "The Dwellers" from The Algebraist to be the "The Affronters" from Excession which could put it in the same Universe, although probably Pre-Culture - a stretch I know, but their description and behavior seem identical and ...

...yes I like the Culture books that much and you can start slowly scrolling quietly backwards now.. :)

The book delivers on some good Culture ship names ("ROU: You'll Clean That Up Before You Leave"), a possibly homicidal Drone disguised as a dildo and some "Special Circumstances" action. For my liking there is not enough Knife-Missile play, but is there ever?

The final showdown takes 95% of the book to set up, and is set in a medieval shell-world using the plot device of "the boy who would be king usurped by his regent". Per weight the book is more of a medieval political thriller with a guest appearance by the Culture.

Despite that, the 5% at the end is full of some some hard and fast anti-matter lobbing, field flicking and plain old nuking from orbit till they glow in the dark, cause as we all know its the only way to be sure :)

Everyone who dies does so suddenly.

I liked it.

PS. Read past the liberal Appendix or you will have no idea what happened at the end.