I've read a lot of Iain Banks-without-the-M, but I haven't read many of his with-the-M science fiction, so I thought I'd give this one a go. I knew he had a reputation for the epic galaxy-spanning style of plausible science fiction (realistic travel times, no magic FTL, etc), and yep, that's what this is. Species that live for billions of years, a network of wormholes that, if cut off, mean it takes decades to travel between stars, and humans just an insignificant blip in a galaxy full of unthinkably weird beings (no Star Trek wrinkles on the otherwise human forehead here).

Of course, the trouble with epic scale is that it can all get a bit *too* epic, and the story gets lost among the explanations of galactic politics. And this book definitely strays into that territory - in fact, it was about half way through the book before the main plot properly started to catch my interest. Add in some side plots that never really resolved (or even seemed to have much reason for being, in that they really didn't tie back into the main plot, nor echo its theme), and a bad guy who was boringly one-dimensional (and pretty unlikely), and it was a bit disappointing overall.

Think I'll stick to the without-the-M Banks from now on.

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Left on a bench in Elliot Street as part of a mass release for the Auckland 2015 Uncon.

Happy bookcrossing to the finder!

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