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I'd agree with that - the out of order story line always put me off in Use of Weapons. Seemed unnecessary. As for his best, I'd add Look to Windward to your list. That's a beautiful, moving book.

a remarkable number of books I've read recently are basically: a present day chapter, then a flashback chapter, eventually leading up to a tense moment in the present day that only makes sense once you have the flashback context.

Gets boring quickly!

Yes, it is. The couple going into the sunsets.

Surface Detail for me after Player of Games, though I've read all of his Culture series. The Mind of picket ship has got to be one of my favorite characters in the series.

All by audiobook, which honestly is a completely different experience than a physical read - perhaps I should check out one of his books and re-experience via text?

The ship AIs in the culture are clearly the most interesting characters. The exchanges between the AIs in Excession (the Interesting Times Gang) are absolutely hilarious.

My favourite plot twist in the entire series is our friend wih a need for speed in Excession. That book is one of my all time favourite reads.

Those are like a pleasant stroll in the park. Use of weapons is more like being chased through the park after dark by a madman.