Finally everyone will understand where the SpaceX names are coming from.
Oh yeah, Muskie is one of us. ONE OF US. So is Bezos too, apparently, though the irony of a multi-billionaire being a fan of a series about a cashless pseudo-communist utopia is not lost on me.
Aw damn! Sounds good, but I've already got started with another novel series. It's only 6 volumes, so I guess I can read it through in a month or 2 and then start with Banks.
You are in for a treat! As glitterboy2098 says, you can start pretty much anywhere in the series, but the three Kojak mentioned ususally get nominated as the "best" places to start:
- Consider Phlebas (1987): The first one published, kind of sets the scene and tone, one of the most straightforward plotwise
- Player of Games (1988)
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Use of Weapons (1990): My personal choice--like Phlebas, the protagonist is an outsider, so you're not thrown in the deep end immediately
Next to try are the other 'early' Culture books:
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Excessions (1996): Gets a lot of fans because it goes into a lot of detail about the super-AI "Minds" that run society
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Look to Windward (2000): A loose sequel to Phlebas (no returning characters, but events from Phlebas are heavily referenced), but a bit more thinky and less action-filled
The 'late' books (you'll note there is an 8-year gap with no Culture books) tend to be a bit weightier, in both theme and page count:
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Matter (2008): Partly about a guy trying to find his sister, but also about the different levels of existence
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Surface Detail (2010): About virtual hells
- Hydrogen Sonata (2012): About a society planning to do a rapture on itself and transport itself to a heaven-like hyperspace dimension
For the completionist, there is also a short story in the "State of the Art" collection, and "Inversions" (1998) is loosely connected to the series.