A novel set in the Culture universe created by Iain M. Banks
Dark Matter
1: Escape Velocity
2: Three Body Problem
3: Jaws that Snap
4: Belly of the Beast
5: Breach of Protocol
6: Hive Society
7: Close Encounter
8: Branch Prediction
9: Claws that Grab
10: Surprise Observation
11: Persistent Assembly
12: Body Politic
13: Silent Running
14: Dual Reflection
15: Vorpal Razor
16: Evasive Action
17: Cloistered Intruder
18: System Refinement
19: Spirited Away
20: Embedded Subsystem
21: Snickersnee Blade
22: Data Dissemination
23: Veiled Influence
24: Double Check
25: Cache Invalidation
26: Rogue Program
27: Gyre and Gimbal
28: Transit Reports
29: Improbable Conflux
30: Activation Decision
31: Eyes of Fire
32: Spatial Orientation
33: Modest Deceit
34: Art of Persuasion
35: Beware the Roach
36: Warmer Inside
37: Bouncing War Baby
38: Technical Failure
39: Whiffling About
40: Sudden Abomination
41: Shun the Beetle
42: Solved Riddle
Epilogue

Culture Novels
Impact Analysis
Unseen Footprints

Culture Short Fiction
Phrontisterion
Galactic Recession
Butterfly Happiness
Unusual Circumstances
Door Bell
On a Pale Horse, Darkly
Never a Coincidence
City of Glass
Mind in the Making
Rocks and Stars
Death and Paradise
Artistic Expression
Letters to an Alien
The Gaia Principle
Retrospective State
Star Crossed
Beneath the Ice
Doing Enough
Vivarium Orbital
Galactic Resurgence
Care and Feeding
Recombinant Souls
Blimp City Blues
An Exodus of Dragons
Beasts of the Deep

Culture Resources
A Few Notes on the Culture
A Few Notes on Marain
Culture Web Resources
Culture Names
Culture Glanded Drugs

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation.
The most original writers borrowed one from another

Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Dark Matter book cover As with previous works, let me be clear: this is FanFiction. This book is set in the Culture universe, famously used by the late great Iain M. Banks as a setting for many of his astonishingly powerful novels and stories.

The premise of the society of the Culture and the nature of the universe it inhabits is rich, vivid and original, and it has seemed to me that there is plenty of opportunity to further explore stories of some individuals on the edges of that society, and others who oppose them.

This book examines the way in which the fractured and frequently secretive nature of the Culture's Minds sometimes plays out.

"Sma," the ship said finally, with a hint of what might have been frustration in its voice, "I'm the smartest thing for a hundred light years radius, and by a factor of about a million ... but even I can't predict where a snooker ball's going to end up after more than six collisions."
[GCU Arbitrary, Earth orbit, The State of the Art]

I have written a list of characters and places from the novel, as well as a chapter-by-chapter plot summary. Warning: spoilers.

I have had a fair bit of feedback from online readers on this writing project, so please feel free to comment by email on the available chapters.

Download: PDF | MOBI | EPUB Read Online

Impact Analysis Book Cover My first Culture novel is called Impact Analysis. This story explores the lengths to which some Minds will go in order to test the Culture's own society.

Unseen Footprints Book Cover I have started work on a third Culture novel. This one is provisionally entitled Unseen Footprints. This is still very much a work in progress: just a few draft chapters and lots of notes. More to follow soon.

Apart from being set in the same fictional universe, these three books share no characters or plot so they can all be read independently.


Galactic Recession Book Cover Phrontisterion Book Cover I have also written numerous short stories set in Mr. Banks' Culture universe.

Phrontisterion explores the fate of a Group Mind composed mainly of rather grumpy retired Drones.

Butterfly Happiness Book Cover Unusual Circumstances Book Cover Galactic Recession is a story about an Eccentric Culture ship and its crew travelling to a galaxy far beyond our own.

Butterfly Happiness explores the attitude of the Culture to the Sublime.

On a Pale Horse, Darkly Book Cover Door Bell Book Cover Unusual Circumstances examines a time towards the very beginning of the Culture, and explores some of the politics and personalities involved.

Door Bell explores a meeting between a well-known author and an enigmatic visitor who seems to know more about the author's fiction than he does himself.

City of Glass Book Cover Never a Coincidence Book Cover On a Pale Horse, Darkly explores what happens when a deep sea diver is asked to help resolve a conflict of desires between Minds.

Never a Coincidence is a sequel to Unusual Circumstances and further investigates events at the very beginning of The Culture's existence.

Mind in the Making Book Cover

City of Glass follows the Contact section in action on a planet not entirely dissimilar to Earth, where some of the inhabitants have developed a curious denial of reality.

Mind in the Making explores how new Culture Minds are created, and the activities of other Minds in supporting their development.

Death and Paradise Book Cover Rocks and Stars Book Cover

Rocks and Stars follows the Culture's Quietudinal Service (Quietus) in action and explores what that organisation might do with the dead of other species.

Death and Paradise is another story about the Culture's Quietus service and explores what happens when relics of the dead are found in a system where the Culture has started constructing a new Orbital.

Artistic Expression Book Cover Letters to an Alien Book Cover

Artistic Expression explores what happens when the Culture is challenged by two powerful remnants of civilizations which have mostly Sublimed.

Letters to an Alien introduces the Culture to a newly-Contacted society by means of letters between a young child and the local Culture representative.

Retrospective State Book Cover The Gaia Principle Book Cover

The Gaia Principle considers circumstances when the Culture's Contact section can - and cannot - intervene in the development of another society, regardless of how reprehensible the result might be.

Retrospective State explores more of the actions and consequences of Culture ships during the early part of the Idiran war.

Star Crossed Book Cover Beneath the Ice Book Cover

Star Crossed is a slice-of-life story set in the Culture, albeit with a twist in the tale.

Beneath the Ice explores how Culture Minds manipulate the presentation of data to minimise psychological damage both to individuals and to the society as a whole.

Doing Enough Book Cover Vivarium Orbital Book Cover

Doing Enough explores more of the work of the Culture's Contact section and touches on the approaches which might be used to influence the development of more primitive civilizations where gross social inequalities remain.

Galactic Resurgence Book Cover

Vivarium Orbital examines the relationship between ordinary Culture citizens and the Minds which run their lives, and indeed the relationship with individuals from other species.

Care and Feeding Book Cover

Care and Feeding is a story about life in the Culture, and how everyday life can sometimes be much more important than one might imagine.

Recombinant Souls Book Cover Blimp City Blues Book Cover

Recombinant Souls explores some of the implications of the Culture's ability to record, store and re-instantiate a person's mind-state, and what it might mean if there are two or more copies of an individual.

Blimp City Blues describes the Culture's Contact section's approach to solving a crime on a gas giant planet when failure to do so might result in an inter-species war.

An Exodus of Dragons Book Cover Beasts of the Deep Book Cover

An Exodus of Dragons explores the Culture's Contact section's interaction with a species living on a neutron star who think millions of times faster than humans.

A new story called Beasts of the Deep is currently under development. This story is a direct sequel to On a Pale Horse, Darkly.


Findo Gask: Goblin Detective book cover Findo Gask: Gumshoe Glamours book cover Findo Gask: Dragon Sleuth book cover Take a look at my series of hard-boiled fantasy novels featuring the eponymous underworld detective: Findo Gask: Goblin Detective, Findo Gask: Gumshoe Glamours and Findo Gask: Dragon Sleuth.

Four Square Less One Book Cover You may also like my collection of fifteen interlinked science fiction and fantasy short stories under the title Four Square Less One. Can you work out the connection between the stories?

New Bridge to Lyndesfarne Book Cover Bridge at War Book Cover Death on the New Bridge Book Cover Bridge of Stone and Magic Book Cover Also, look at my Lyndesfarne Bridge series of novels: New Bridge to Lyndesfarne, Bridge at War, Death on the New Bridge and Bridge of Stone and Magic.

Then a Miracle Occurs Book Cover I am now working on a second (and still growing) collection of short stories under the title ...Then a Miracle Occurs. An eclectic collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance and ghost stories - often more than one at a time. Includes my all-time favourite short-short story Hearts and Flowers.