Matter

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

The intricate structure of a Shellworld - an arti-ficial planet of spheres-within-spheres - is matched only by the machinations of its inhabitants.

On the eighth sphere of Sursamen, a man witnesses the murder of his father and flees, searching for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother, this means a life lived under constant threat of treachery, while for their sister, Djan Seriy Anaplian, it means returning to a place she''d thought abandoned forever.

Anaplian is not who she once was. She has become an agent of the Culture''s Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilis