The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His
Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling and have secured
his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.'Banks is
a phenomenon' William Gibson In the winter palace the King's new physician has more enemies
than she realises. But then she also has more defences than even her most hardened adversaries
could imagine.In another palace far across the mountains sits the regicidal Protector
General. His chief bodyguard also has enemies to worry about with the threat of treachery and
assassination never far away.And beneath the surface of these feudal courts - behind the spies
murders politics and intrigues - lies an entirely different kind of threat an entity that
nobody would ever suspect.Praise for the Culture series:'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' Guardian'Jam-packed with extraordinary invention'
Scotsman'Compulsive reading' Sunday Telegraph The Culture series:Consider PhlebasThe Player of
GamesUse of WeaponsExcessionInversionsLook to WindwardMatterSurface DetailThe Hydrogen
SonataThe State of the ArtOther books by Iain M. Banks:Against a Dark BackgroundFeersum
EndjinnThe AlgebraistAlso now available: The Culture: The Drawings - an extraordinary
collection of original illustrations faithfully reproduced from sketchbooks Banks kept in the
1970s and 80s depicting the ships habitats geography weapons and language of Banks' Culture
series of novels in incredible detail.
