I agree re: Phlebas. Use of Weapons, while I know it's one of the more famous ones, didn't strike me as much better, though. A lot of people have taken me to task for that opinion, though, so I've a hunch I'm missing some type of life experience that would allow me to better connect with the stuff detailed in Weapons.
In general, I think there are basically three tiers of Banks books:
Shit-tier. Examples: Player of Games, Against a Dark Background. Overly simplistic or simply without point.
Mediocre: Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, a lot of others. Nothing to really tie them together, but enough interesting moments that you don't absolutely hate them.
God-tier: Excession, Matter, Hydrogen Sonata. Books that have few if any bad qualities, and are massively thought provoking to boot.
Wow - our experiences are completely different! I consider the God-tier to be exclusively Excession, The Player of Games, and Use of Weapons, and most of the rest are simply "good" (but, as a later commenter points out, still enjoyable because you get to experience The Culture) - and I thought Matter was particularly weak. I'm looking forward to going back to Matter and The Hydrogen Sonata to see what I missed in them! Thank you!
Fascinating differences. I hope you really enjoy Matter; it's largely a hyper-polished version of what he does in a lot of the other culture-agent-plus-less-developed-society books. Let me know what you think!
In general, I think there are basically three tiers of Banks books:
Shit-tier. Examples: Player of Games, Against a Dark Background. Overly simplistic or simply without point.
Mediocre: Consider Phlebas, Use of Weapons, a lot of others. Nothing to really tie them together, but enough interesting moments that you don't absolutely hate them.
God-tier: Excession, Matter, Hydrogen Sonata. Books that have few if any bad qualities, and are massively thought provoking to boot.