I would highly recommend the first three books he wrote in the Culture Series. Consider Phlebas, A Player of Games, and Use of Weapons. I enjoyed all of the s

I would highly recommend the first three books he wrote in the Culture Series. Consider Phlebas, A Player of Games, and Use of Weapons. I enjoyed all of the series, but these three really made me realize how amazing the author and the concept of his universe really was. Consider Phlebas is told from the point of view of someone who despises the Culture, which, as an introduction to the series, provides a really unique viewpoint both within the book, and is also generally an interesting literary tool. A Player of Games is my absolute favorite. I've given copies of this to several friends. It addresses the human problem of what does one do with themselves in a post scarcity existence, especially when advanced AI can just run and do everything. Outside of the Culture series, I also highly recommend the Algebraist and Feersum Endjinn (sp?). edit: I forgot to include "Against a Dark Background" in the outside Culture series recommendations. I've read that one a few times, it's quite good. At one point there was talk about making it into a movie, but I haven't heard anything about that in awhile.