Science Fiction

Excession

Excession

  • Downloads：2168
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-27 09:55:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Iain M. Banks
  • ISBN：185723457X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Идиранская война， длившаяся пятьдесят лет и унесшая сотни миллиардов жизней， завершилась несколько веков назад。 Культура — содружество продвинутых цивилизаций и искусственных интеллектов， — являясь наиболее мощной силой во Вселенной， опекает более примитивные расы。 В числе таких подопечных и обитатели газовых гигантов， известные как Хамы， характер которых полностью соответствует их названию。 Но все карты смешиваются， когда у далекой звезды Эспери возникает физически невозможный объект Эксцессия — будто бы реликт "предыдущей" Вселенной…
Классический роман из цикла о Культуре — в новом переводе！

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Reviews

Francis Buckley ，

Harder to get into， but a great demonstration of mind-culture。

Liisa ，

Manifesting our future utopia to be like this。

irene ，

Questo autore， questa serie， io non so。 La storia di questo libro è superbamente grandiosa。 La moltitudine di personaggi non umani in questa vicenda è viva， dettagliata， stilisticamente impressionante e psicologicamente imprevedibile e genuina。

Andy Yule ，

A story of what happens space-faring civilisations encounter a mysterious piece of inexplicable technology。 Highly imaginative and complex， with multiple storylines and characters （some human， some alien， some spaceships）， and well written throughout。

Cherad ，

High concept sci fi with very advanced AI and futuristic societal concepts

Joe ，

On another level。 Dense but silly like all the Culture books I've read so far。 On another level。 Dense but silly like all the Culture books I've read so far。 。。。more

Mike Penlington ，

Hard to rate this one。 Quite a few subplots and a lot of names to try to remember， as to who （or what） was who， so I found it to be a bit of a struggle to read （especially as compared to earlier books in this series）。Rate 3。5

Adam Fairbairn ，

Good， but not my favourite by far。 I cannot deny the quality of Banks' work and the culture novels and I enjoyed this one。 For me， I was hoping for more from the Excession itself but the story and characters along the way were interesting as ever。 Good， but not my favourite by far。 I cannot deny the quality of Banks' work and the culture novels and I enjoyed this one。 For me， I was hoping for more from the Excession itself but the story and characters along the way were interesting as ever。 。。。more

Gautam Bhatia ，

This is， by some stretch， my favourite Culture novel （so far）。 When Banks keeps the Hollywood set-piece space battles to a minimum， and focuses instead on the big ideas and AIs chuntering with one another， he can be so uniquely compelling。 This one really put the "opera" in space opera。[PS。 Also， he foresaw WhatsApp groups years before their invention， AND wrote a far-future story that is basically AIs on WhatsApp groups。 Gold。] This is， by some stretch， my favourite Culture novel （so far）。 When Banks keeps the Hollywood set-piece space battles to a minimum， and focuses instead on the big ideas and AIs chuntering with one another， he can be so uniquely compelling。 This one really put the "opera" in space opera。[PS。 Also， he foresaw WhatsApp groups years before their invention， AND wrote a far-future story that is basically AIs on WhatsApp groups。 Gold。] 。。。more

Blackbeard ，

3。5 Stars

David Hillier ，

Too many storylines but a wild ride

Gruia ，

Confusing plot constructed with so many actors that it surely necessitates a second read for a comfortable view。 Banks puts the weight of his art wherever fancy takes him， that being away from the story and into the psyche of ship Minds and select people。 Still shines though， even if it all ends on a winsome note， good guys awarded， the bad getting shafted， everyone learns a lesson in humility。

João ，

This was my second favorite in the series， after Player of Games。 There is a much larger focus on how Minds control the events than in the other books I read。 I enjoyed this a lot， for it makes more sense to me than the human-focused perspective， given that Minds are much more capable。However at a certain point there were so many Minds involved in the plot that I got completely lost。 I would have enjoyed a diagram explaining who is doing what accompanying the book :p

Andrew ，

Those animal pus-bags are playing with me！-p 134It’s a war！ Those insane fucks have declared war！ They’re mad！-p 286****1/2 stars。Favorite Culture novel yet。An object has appeared， 53km in diameter， excessively powerful， excessively fast， completely mysterious – in a Culture word， an Excession。Various people and ships will be drawn to it from across the Universe， for reasons unknown to us for most of the novel。The post-scarcity civilization of The Culture， with its trillions of citizens and incr Those animal pus-bags are playing with me！-p 134It’s a war！ Those insane fucks have declared war！ They’re mad！-p 286****1/2 stars。Favorite Culture novel yet。An object has appeared， 53km in diameter， excessively powerful， excessively fast， completely mysterious – in a Culture word， an Excession。Various people and ships will be drawn to it from across the Universe， for reasons unknown to us for most of the novel。The post-scarcity civilization of The Culture， with its trillions of citizens and incredible technology， is rarely in a position of having an OCP （Outside Context Problem） – something that isn’t considered until it occurs。 A once-in-a-civilization event。 The superintelligent AI Minds that run The Culture have no idea what to do with the Excession。There are a handful of humanoid characters， several Affront （think aggressive beaked octopi， gross and with an equally gross civilization）， but the real beauty here is the ships。 The ships are really the protagonists。 Equipped with individual AI themselves （their own Minds）， we are treated to their conversations， taking place in picoseconds， as they discuss alliances， strategy， how to deal with the Excession or other matters。 I laughed out loud a dozen times。 Man， Banks could write。 These godlike， benevolent， incorruptible Minds are able to rationalize almost anything。Tons of fun， disappointed there are only 4 more Culture novels for me to read （I am going in publication order）。“To fully appreciate the beauty of a weapon was to admit to a kind of shortsightedness close to blindness， to confess to a sort of stupidity。 The weapon was not itself; nothing was solely itself。 The weapon， like anything else， could only finally be judged by the effect it had on others， by the consequences it produced in some outside context， by its place in the rest of the universe。 By this measure the love， or just the appreciation， of weapons was a kind of tragedy。”-p 295 。。。more

Steven Bailey ，

I have read this book several times already （as I have all in Iain M。 Banks' Culture series） and I am always astounded by Mr。 Banks writing skill， and his ability to individualize the characters， and his genius of weaving together the different stories within each Culture novel to finally come together in such original and interesting conclusions。 I truly marvel at his talent。 The fact that I can read his Culture novels over and over again （usually several years between readings） and still find I have read this book several times already （as I have all in Iain M。 Banks' Culture series） and I am always astounded by Mr。 Banks writing skill， and his ability to individualize the characters， and his genius of weaving together the different stories within each Culture novel to finally come together in such original and interesting conclusions。 I truly marvel at his talent。 The fact that I can read his Culture novels over and over again （usually several years between readings） and still find them fresh and compelling is a talent Mr。 Banks has that I am still in awe of。 I am envious of people who are great communicators and he is one of the best。 He writes about different worlds， civilizations， cultures， and characteristics of each of those that is so believable and fresh that I marvel at his abilities to do so。 He represents the reason I love storytellers！ I often wonder how one of his novels has not been adapted for screen， and can only believe it is either because it would be too complicated to attempt， or it may not have been put on the radar of someone with the ability， wherewithal， or inclination to do so。 Or it could be that I am in the minority in my views。 Excession is unavailable on kindle store， so I purchased the paperback so maybe my view is the minority view。 It can be a complex read with different plots， and dramas being played out between the ships and human stories， but I for one find the story fascinating！！ 。。。more

Ernst ，

Good stuff。 Need to reread more carefully to completely understand everything that's going on though。 Good stuff。 Need to reread more carefully to completely understand everything that's going on though。 。。。more

Eero ，

Big ideas， fun banter between A。I。 -spaceships and a mysterious artifact。 Banks knows how to write beautiful prose and he does not underestimate the reader: the structure is ambitious and the sci-fi concepts are complicated and but not over-explained。 Excession is great science fiction， but not my favourite Culture novel （Look to Windward and The Player of Games take the top spot）。

Brett Payne-Rhodes ，

All the names did my head in trying to keep track of who is who， at least in terms on the Minds。 On the back cover it was described as the “libretto for the whole space-opera genre” and I think ‘opera’ is the key phrase。 Very much enjoyed it。

Matthew Brehmer ，

I returned to the Culture series after a 10-year hiatus and finding this one in a neighborhood book swap。 Felt very familiar; similarly imaginative， with more world-building than in the earlier books of the series， and full of witty banter between corporeal characters and Minds alike。 However， the plot in this one is particularly difficult to follow， in part due to the relative emphasis on non-corporeal Mind characters。 Apparently there's a conspiracy。 The fate of the Culture （and possibly the u I returned to the Culture series after a 10-year hiatus and finding this one in a neighborhood book swap。 Felt very familiar; similarly imaginative， with more world-building than in the earlier books of the series， and full of witty banter between corporeal characters and Minds alike。 However， the plot in this one is particularly difficult to follow， in part due to the relative emphasis on non-corporeal Mind characters。 Apparently there's a conspiracy。 The fate of the Culture （and possibly the universe） hangs in the balance， all while the protagonist Mind is preoccupied with arranging a reconciliation between two former human lovers。 。。。more

Laurie ，

A solid and fascinating space adventure， as a mysterious gigantic artifact appears， creating ripples and disturbances in the Culture community。 A conspiracy of sentient spaceships， a war-mongering alien species， and a great lost love。 Recommended。

Bob ，

I've been a big fan of the Culture series， but didn't enjoy this one so much。 I love the atmosphere and tone， but I found the plot a lot harder to follow than the other Culture books I've read。 I've been a big fan of the Culture series， but didn't enjoy this one so much。 I love the atmosphere and tone， but I found the plot a lot harder to follow than the other Culture books I've read。 。。。more

Paul Bard ，

I wanted to like this book。 But it has issues。1。 The super intelligent AIs speak and think like British civil servants。 They are largely indistinguishable and most of the plot is delivered by them as exposition。2。 The human characters are inexplicable。 I didn’t care for any of them， their motives。3。 The pacing and style of the book was jerky and abrupt。 Much of the time the read was lost。 We get twenty pages of exposition of a female captains lack of maternal role model， then fifteen brilliant p I wanted to like this book。 But it has issues。1。 The super intelligent AIs speak and think like British civil servants。 They are largely indistinguishable and most of the plot is delivered by them as exposition。2。 The human characters are inexplicable。 I didn’t care for any of them， their motives。3。 The pacing and style of the book was jerky and abrupt。 Much of the time the read was lost。 We get twenty pages of exposition of a female captains lack of maternal role model， then fifteen brilliant pages on what AIs do for fun （metamathics， very cool）， then all manner of abrupt disclosures。 Instead of a coherent plot。4。 It’s a Big Dumb Object scifi subnarrative and the BDO is kind of dull。I didn’t like the book。 The reading experience was jerky， poorly paced， abrupt， and seemingly poorly organised。 And I can’t discern any theme or coherent aesthetic from the whole trip。 。。。more

Gerald De ，

Rereading the Culture Series。 This is an epic frustration for the Culture， because something appears which cannot be explained or controlled。 There's competition to have this thing。 Rereading the Culture Series。 This is an epic frustration for the Culture， because something appears which cannot be explained or controlled。 There's competition to have this thing。 。。。more

Gena Kukartsev ，

4/5。 Probably the weirdest culture book so far， after the first 4 and the surface detail that I read it of order。 By far the most direct action from the mind out of the aforementioned books。 A little hard to keep track of some individual ships。 But great overall， and a lot of fun and drama。

Michael Behrmann ，

Der vierte Roman aus Iain M。 Banks Kultur-Zyklus ist ein Buch mit großen Stärken aber auch einigen deutlichen Schwachpunkten， zumindest meiner Meinung nach。Zu den Stärken: Da hätten wir vor allem die Geschichte selbst！ Die Idee eines plötzlich auftauchenden großen kosmischen Rätsels mit potentiell gigantischen Möglichkeiten und Risiken ist sicher alles andere als neu， funktioniert aber auch hier wieder sehr gut。 Ich wollte jedenfalls unbedingt wissen was das alles zu bedeuten hat und wohin die P Der vierte Roman aus Iain M。 Banks Kultur-Zyklus ist ein Buch mit großen Stärken aber auch einigen deutlichen Schwachpunkten， zumindest meiner Meinung nach。Zu den Stärken: Da hätten wir vor allem die Geschichte selbst！ Die Idee eines plötzlich auftauchenden großen kosmischen Rätsels mit potentiell gigantischen Möglichkeiten und Risiken ist sicher alles andere als neu， funktioniert aber auch hier wieder sehr gut。 Ich wollte jedenfalls unbedingt wissen was das alles zu bedeuten hat und wohin die Pläne der verschiedenen Fraktionen führen würden。Ebenfalls super ist der Weltentwurf。 In keinem anderen Kultur-Buch vorher erfährt man so viel über die Kultur selbst， die Welt in der das alles angesiedelt ist und vor allem über die anderen， teils feindlich gesinnten großen Zivilisationen die hier ebenfalls vorhanden sind。 Sehr spannend！Der Schreibstil。 Banks schafft es selbst potentiell langweile Ausführungen über die Geschichte einer Orbital-Station oder eines Schiffes in eigene spannende kleine Geschichten zu verwandeln。Die Schwächen:Die enorme Weitschweifigkeit。 Ja， all die Hintergrundinformationen sind für sich genommen wirklich faszinierend， aber wenn man irgendwann feststellt dass man bereits die Hälfte des Buches gelesen hat und eigentlich noch immer fast nichts passiert ist， kann man sich schon fragen ob die Balance hier wirklich so perfekt ist。 Auch wenn Banks das sicher absichtlich so gemacht hat。Die viel beklagten Gesprächsprotokolle der Schiffe untereinander。 Obwohl viele davon wirklich sehr interessant zu lesen sind， oft sogar ausgesprochen humorvoll， sind es doch viel zu viele， und diese sind viel zu lang und unübersichtlich， und vor allem viel zu oft mit völlig unnötigem technischen Geschwafel beginnend。 Und， mein Hauptkritikpunkt: Das fast völlige Fehlen von glaubwürdigen， oder zumindest interessanten Charakteren！ Der männliche Hauptprotagonist ist immerhin noch angenehm skurril und skrupellos， kommt auch einfach viel zu selten überhaupt vor und man erfährt fast nichts über seine Geschichte。 Allerdings wird das im letzten Drittel dann doch noch deutlich besser。 Ganz im Gegensatz dazu die jüngere der beiden Frauen。 Angeblich hoch gebildet und vielseitig talentiert， kommt sie doch für sehr lange Zeit ausschließlich wie ein völlig klischeehaftes， egozentrisches und naives Partygirl rüber。 Vermutlich war das irgendwie satirisch gemeint oder mir ist sonst irgendwas entgangen， aber mich hat sie hauptsächlich genervt。 Und dass die tiefgründigsten Charaktere noch einige der Schiffe sind， die fast ausschließlich in Gesprächsprotokollen auftauchen， sagt auch einiges。。。Fazit:Für Fans der Reihe natürlich ein Muss， gerade auch wegen der vielen Hintergrundinformationen。 Für Neulinge aber ganz gewiss nicht der beste Einstieg。 Einigen Längen zum Trotz habe ich „Exzession“ im Ganzen aber sehr gern gelesen。 。。。more

Scott Mattson ，

I had never read a Culture Novel before， and had only a vauge Idea of the particulars of the universe。 I probalby should have started with book one。 This was not a bad novel by any means。 I was just lost a bit by some of the terms， and Plot Ideas。It started off interesting， a Huge Sphere of Nothing， that does not interact with surrounding space， but hacks or attacks everything that gets here it。 Plus there is a ship housing a special human， both dealing with personal issues。 Now throw in various I had never read a Culture Novel before， and had only a vauge Idea of the particulars of the universe。 I probalby should have started with book one。 This was not a bad novel by any means。 I was just lost a bit by some of the terms， and Plot Ideas。It started off interesting， a Huge Sphere of Nothing， that does not interact with surrounding space， but hacks or attacks everything that gets here it。 Plus there is a ship housing a special human， both dealing with personal issues。 Now throw in various plots and people trying to get to the sphere it gets interesting。 Keeping up with the various characters and plotlines was my toughest issue。 。。。more

Dee ，

I was not the biggest fan of Consider Phlebas。 I almost didn't return to the Culture after reading it， but when I eventually did， The Player of Games and Use of Weapons blew me completely away。 I was incredibly excited to return to this series; Banks seemed to be wrapping his head around science fiction wholeheartedly， delving into these intricately-plotted tour-de-force character studies set in a phenomenally tangible， consistent universe。And then I read Excession。 Dear god， who is this for？ Ce I was not the biggest fan of Consider Phlebas。 I almost didn't return to the Culture after reading it， but when I eventually did， The Player of Games and Use of Weapons blew me completely away。 I was incredibly excited to return to this series; Banks seemed to be wrapping his head around science fiction wholeheartedly， delving into these intricately-plotted tour-de-force character studies set in a phenomenally tangible， consistent universe。And then I read Excession。 Dear god， who is this for？ Certainly not me。Between the cover art and the back sleeve plot summary， this was by far the Culture book I was the most excited for。 Unfortunately， everything I was actually looking forward to reading either doesn't matter or outright does not happen。 The cast of this book is massive， and no one is particularly interesting or well-realized。 Plot threads appear only to fizzle out or occur off-page。 Most of the characters， I found either intensely frustrating or utterly forgettable。 The supermassive scope took the focus and gravitas away from anything that may have otherwise been worthwhile， and the majority of the book is spent on a god-awful four-decade-old lovers' quarrel between two people who barely knew each other even when they were together。 The genuinely engaging politics and machinations of the Culture's Minds are undercut by the mass of everything else all happening at once， while none of it ever really does anything or goes anywhere。 I kept waiting for the book to pick up its pace， and it never really does。 We jump from POV to POV to POV as everyone faffs about the galaxy， waiting for their own plotlines to continue with or without them。I can't believe this book took me over three weeks to finish。 I was tearing through books so far this year， and Excession felt like slamming headfirst into a brick wall at full speed。 This is a novel full of wonderful concepts， many of which would have made for great stories and settings all their own， but throwing them all in here together felt like running them through a blender。 The plot-smoothie you wind up with is a forgettable， awful-tasting sludge I would not recommend to anyone。 Skip this one， and read The Player of Games and Use of Weapons if you haven't already。 。。。more

Clay Zdobylak ，

So， I at times enjoyed this book and at other times was really irritated by it。 It almost would have been better as a series， as so so many narrative threads are constantly tossed into the mix， at the cost of a deep intimacy with any of the characters。 The exception may be my favorite character of the book， "Sleeper Service"。 The book has a really interesting setting and circumstances， but I never could get pulled in， except near the end， as my point of view was so often ripped away to character So， I at times enjoyed this book and at other times was really irritated by it。 It almost would have been better as a series， as so so many narrative threads are constantly tossed into the mix， at the cost of a deep intimacy with any of the characters。 The exception may be my favorite character of the book， "Sleeper Service"。 The book has a really interesting setting and circumstances， but I never could get pulled in， except near the end， as my point of view was so often ripped away to characters I was just meeting mid-book。 It's It's much more complex and clever book than Player of Games， and yet I was GLUED to Player of Games 。。。more

Mark Austin ，

My concern when first reading Culture novels is that they would focus on exploring scifi culture without enough action to keep the feeling of forward motion。 Until Excession， Banks broke that expectation by focusing the action on some edge of The Culture society so bits of it are explored without just drifting through pure thought。That said， noodling around through the workings of a near-transcendant post-scarcity， transhuman， AI-melded society are fascinating， but this one tipped a bit too far My concern when first reading Culture novels is that they would focus on exploring scifi culture without enough action to keep the feeling of forward motion。 Until Excession， Banks broke that expectation by focusing the action on some edge of The Culture society so bits of it are explored without just drifting through pure thought。That said， noodling around through the workings of a near-transcendant post-scarcity， transhuman， AI-melded society are fascinating， but this one tipped a bit too far thatwards for my tastes and the plot seemed like a thin， barely-coherent thread of action weaving a patchwork of musings。If you really hoped Culture novels would involve such noodling， this will be the best book （of the Culture novels I've read） for you。 If， like me， you want action set rubbing against the fabric of a rich and storied backdrop， then his other books will probably scratch that itch better。 。。。more

Andrew Bush ，

Amazing in depth。 Descriptive。 Witty and funny。 Not my personal preference as it deal mostly with the ships and Minds and I was looking for lots of crazy action scenes which were far and few between。 Still amazing I just think I'm not clever enough to grasp it all。 Amazing in depth。 Descriptive。 Witty and funny。 Not my personal preference as it deal mostly with the ships and Minds and I was looking for lots of crazy action scenes which were far and few between。 Still amazing I just think I'm not clever enough to grasp it all。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Excession

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Excession&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Excession&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0