For anyone who has not yet read of the books from The Culture series, I highly encourage you to do so. They are an amazing - agnostic - version of what our far future selves could be. Iain M. Banks had quite the mind (no pun intended).
Yes, great books! I recommend starting with 'The Player of Games', not the first book in the series but the best. They are only loosely connected, you won't miss anything.
I started on 'Consider Phlebas', the first book in the series. I recommend starting with that, it's a great book, perhaps not as accessible as 'Player of Games', but more wow-factor.