I haven’t read all of Iain M. Banks The Culture series, but I highly recommend Use of Weapons. I’ve read it three times, and it gets better each time.
It’s not a bad introduction to The Culture, but please feel free to recommend another novel to start with, or your favourite. I’ve read this, Look to Windward, Consider Phlebas, and The Player of Games. As I recall, Look to Windward has some good descriptions of a large Culture ship.
I’d also love to hear your favourite ship name.
Edit: I see I added The to the title…
IDK if you think the culture is a utopia you read different books then I did.
It’s a utopia in almost the same way the world of Brave New World is a utopia… Only if you look skin deep. Any deeper look it’s either same shit different day or perhaps even a distopian where human like species are effectively pets or zoo animals for AI.
I did NOT read the culture as something good.
Found the Horza.
It’s certainly an idea Banks addresses. Even most of the protagonists are those who have seen the life in the Culture and looked for something with meaning beyond existing in bliss, but I also think that The Culture is certainly the best option of those presented in the series.
If nothing else they’re so rabidly anarchist (in the non scare tactic use of the word) that anyone who does not like The Culture just, you know, leaves, and they aren’t even judged for it.
The Culture is a true utopia.
Humans are essentially pets of the AIs in The Culture, yes, but anyone is free to join or leave as they desire, and these “pets” have greater freedom than any human being who has ever lived.
A novel without conflict would be boring and useless, for example see (or preferably do not see) “Gentlemen Jole” by Lois McMaster Bujold, so of course the Culture novels show the subsections of society that deal with conflicts, but remember that those members of the Culture that are suffering are there by choice or by the actions of outsiders.