Excession

by Iain Banks

Two and a half millennia ago, the artifact appeared in a remote corner of space, beside a trillion-year-old dying sun from a different universe. It was a perfect black-body sphere, and it did nothing. Then it disappeared. Now it is back.

More by Iain Banks

Consider PhlebasIain Banks
The player of gamesIain Banks
The Wasp FactoryIain Banks
Use of WeaponsIain Banks
Look to windwardIain Banks
Surface DetailIain Banks
The State of the ArtIain Banks
The Hydrogen SonataIain Banks
InversionsIain Banks
The AlgebraistIain Banks
MatterIain Banks
Against a Dark BackgroundIain Banks

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?