Is it important to read the first 4 books in the culture series before reading Excession ? I've never read any Iain M. Banks books before but would like to read this one.

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9 years ago
7 answers

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Darren No. Not ALL four, certainly. But I wouldn't start the Culture series here. While technically a discrete story, it does assume a basic knowledge of the Culture.

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Walter Underwood I read Excession first and that worked for me. I didn’t have any trouble understanding the Culture.

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prcardi I agree with Billy and Alexander and their nuanced answer. It isn't necessary to read the first four, but it would be better. Like Felix Simcock mentions, neither the characters nor storylines are tied together. But a lot of the enjoyment in Excession derives from the contrast with and the background knowledge of the first books. For maximum enjoyment, read all four previous books first. If not four, then at least one. Every previous installment you read will make Excession more rewarding.

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Alexander Not really crucial, if you're good at inference, but reading any one or two (even later-written works) before this one, to set the stage, would definitely help appreciate the depth of this book's coolness. The Culture novels aren't sequential as far as I can tell, and don't really share persistent heroes, although creatively binding philosophical concepts are prevalent. What Banks does with "Excession" is to focus on what I consider to be some of his more cool ideas, such as the casual and formal relationships between near-omnipotent AIs, and humanity's place in a universe where the illusion of total freedom is truly as good as the real thing. I personally got into the Culture novels agnostic of their published sequence, and still "Excession" instantly joined my pantheon of favorite sci-fi books. As for a couple of good introductions to the Culture universe, I've read all the books by now (worth it), and "Use of Weapons" and "Player of Games" are not only some of the more exciting fan favorites, but a couple of mine as well.

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Billy You will appreciate it more if you do read the first four books first. The reasons for this are because the world of the Culture is built up over these novels- you are introduced to a major war in the first novel, and the ramifications of events in Excession relate to that war in a kind of way. Ships, droids, habitats and worlds become more complex as the novels progress and Banks' imagination deepens. Also, as the novels progress, more philosophical elements come across the page. Excession is filled with philosophical science fiction ideas, more so than the previous novels. His characters are familiar across the novels yet in Excession their stories are a little less deep, presumably in order to make room for other parts of the story. You will appreciate the characters stories more if you have already read the stories of Horza Gorbuchul from Consider Phlebas, Cheradinine from Use Of Weapons (the novel in which he really manages to meld science fiction with emotive drama).

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Felix Simcock No, they take place in the same universe, but the stories never link up.

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atom_box Evan G Reading the earlier ones from the 90s, they are slightly dated. But only very slightly; still really great. I would just worry that a reader new to Banks wouldn't get beyond their 90s book and these later ones are really richer in the tech - organic interweaving. I'd send a newbie to mid-period Banks, therefore.

Excession is a good place to start because it is thin. It compares favorably in concept to some of the best Shatner-era Star Trek story concepts. It has a bit of the Star-Trek borg concept in it too. So for a Trekkie this is a good entry point to the Culture world.

Saddened to learn Banks passed away. https://twitter.com/MisterGenest/stat...

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