Status Updates From Die Sphären

oh mannnnnn this is my 5th time reading this book, i know exactly whats coming but we are now in a room full of mysterious stupefyingly ancient artifacts, and hundreds of octpus aliens and i am rapt! this book is amazing!

yaaayyyyy! my favorite part! we are at the site of archaeological excavations in a mystery ruin thats hundreds of millions years old! a new mystery has begun which i remember fits neatly into the final act! this book is soo good even on pass number 5!

yesss! as usual right as we sashay from the 2nd act into the third, all 99999999 plot threads elegantly come together! what a master! its such a tragedy banks is years gone, i've only got 3 more of his books to read. poo!

golly! iain m banks was so talented at building unique believable alien cultures we are getting a really in depth view of the water based morthanveld and nariscene species who make their debuts in this book! i dont think theyre even mentioned before or after this one! that said, theyre fully fleshed out living, breathing beings and civilizations! what a treat for the brain and eyes!