Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks heavy, heavy themes done with a light and benevolent touch. the topics on display include suicide and suicide bombings, terrorism, genocide, imperialism/cultural colonialism, the nature of war, the afterlife... and feature a loveable cast of pretentious robot drones, adorable and often furry alien creatures, and one very melancholy Artificial Intelligence.

the last four chapters are jaw-dropping in scope, moving from an elegiac double suicide (i teared up!) to a mind-boggling check-in with minor characters set trillions of years in the future to a vicious and literally gut-wrenching display of retribution to a surprisingly wry ending (complete with a snappily ironic gotcha moment of role reversal).

good stuff on its own; amazing when considered as just one piece of the author's Culture novels. my favorite Culture novel so far.