Quick recap for those who don't want to read the whole thing: promising universe, good writing, interesting characters, but the plot kind of faceplanted at the end. I'll definitely read more Iain Banks, but this was a sort of disappointing intro, not (in my opinion) living up to the promise of the world and his very evident talent. 
 To be honest, I was somewhat disappointed with this book. I *loved* the writing. Loved it, loved it. The intro was fantastic, and the descriptions, while sometimes falling towards technobabble, provided a world that was fully-realized and gorgeous, where science intersected with the world and the plot in highly meaningful ways - truly, TRULY Science Fiction. The book started with promise, a sweeping epic in a glittering universe, filled with power players and grand designs. I was a fan. 
 Unfortunately, for me, it kind of fell flat at the end. I do like the idea of showing grand conflicts through the eyes of individuals, measuring the cost of wars in their toll on citizens and bridging the gap between grand and small. So the individual perspective and small-scale conflicts are not necessarily a deal-breaker for me; quite the opposite, in fact. Still ... this one imparted a sort of futility to the whole arc of the book, not only overusing the trope of senseless death, but also failing to pull in several key players at the end. I had been especially looking forward to the meeting and conflict between two main characters, and I was disappointed that (a) they never met, and (b) one of them hard no real end to her story. It seemed unbalanced somehow. 
 So, in all, it is an interesting look into the world, but not the story I was hoping for!