Today's Inspiration: It's a cloudy day here in Istanbul lockdown and I'm listening to Excession on audiobook for--I don't know the number--time in the past few years. Along with audiobooks of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, Banks's books are comfort listens whenever we end up in a new country or need a restart. I fell in love with Banks's science fiction far later than I fell in love with his literary fiction, but looking at all his work from my current perspective, I think Excession is by far, his best book.
The humour, the utopic idea of Banks's Culture novels and the in-your-face sarcasm is amazing. Plus, it's got enough "F*ck yes!" moments to be cigarette-after-sex satisfying. If you haven't read the Culture series, even if you're not a huge Sci Fi fan, I'd give them a go. You won't regret it!