Iain M Banks Surface Detail

Interesting concept but a bit confused.
A war erupts in the Universe between pro Hell and anti hell factions. Hells are virtual worlds created by some cultures to hold the mind state of dead beings. Hells being virtual worlds where these mind states are tortured.

The story proceeds apace with some interesting concepts but I did not like this one as well as some of the others like "Player of Worlds". This one was highly confusing with the machivellian machinations of the Culture lost to me. Esentially it came down to a great big shoot up where the good guys "Culture" won.

Saturns Chilren by Charles Stross

Story:-
The humans are dead and have been replaced by a society of slaves and aristocratic robots. Someone is attempting to bring back a real human. This will upset the current order.

Stars: 5 stars. Great story. Funny, fast paced.