The first Culture book is more of an action story that introduces some elements of the Culture. You can probably skip it initially if you want the headier stuff, but it’s a very good grounding into the setting and the events of the book, the Idiran-Culture War, is the in-universe event that moves the Culture from non-interference to a “guiding hand” model which informs the motivations of the civilization in later books.
Player of Games is an excellent Culture book that uses its whole chest to critique imperialism.
Use Of Weapons requires a lot of focus to parse through because it’s telling two stories in opposite chronological order and outlines more of the real human cost of the Culture’s policies of interference.
The first Culture book is more of an action story that introduces some elements of the Culture. You can probably skip it initially if you want the headier stuff, but it’s a very good grounding into the setting and the events of the book, the Idiran-Culture War, is the in-universe event that moves the Culture from non-interference to a “guiding hand” model which informs the motivations of the civilization in later books.
Player of Games is an excellent Culture book that uses its whole chest to critique imperialism.
Use Of Weapons requires a lot of focus to parse through because it’s telling two stories in opposite chronological order and outlines more of the real human cost of the Culture’s policies of interference.