Excession

“Banks is a phenomenon...writing pure science fiction of a peculiarly gnarly energy and elegance.”—William Gibson

“Banks writes with a sophistication that will surprise anyone unfamiliar with modern science fiction.”—The New York Times

“An enormously enjoyable book, full of wonderful aliens, a sense of wonder and subtle political commentary on current events.”

“Banks never lets up in a dizzying array of characters, mind-bending ideas, and dazzling action.”—Booklist

“Few of us have been exposed to a talent so manifest and of such extraordinary breadth.”—New York Review of Science Fiction

“[Banks] can summon up sense-of-wonder Big Concepts you've never seen before and display them with narration as deft as a conjuror's fingers." —scifi.com

"Nobody does it better."—Times (UK)

"Banks writes space opera on the grand scale: he measures time in eons, space in lightyears, tragedies in gigadeaths."—Time

"Epic in scope, ambitious in its ideas and absorbing in its execution."—Independent on Sunday

"Banks has created one of the most enduring and endearing visions of the future."—The Guardian

"Jam-packed with extraordinary invention."—Scotsman

"Compulsive reading."—Sunday Telegraph