Some time last week I finished Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks.

I've been a huge fan of Banks non-science fiction writing for a long time, but the last time I tried to read one of his Culture novels, I lost interest quickly.  This time, I decided to start at the first one and see if it was any better.

And it was.  Consider Phlebas is actually a pretty straight forward, and old fashioned, space opera, right down to characters using "laser rifles".  It follows a soldier from a human offshoot species that can modify it's shape under some circumstances, as he works to track down a lost AI in order to help undermine the Culture, a vast anarcho-socialist empire.

It's an enjoyable read, if not anything spectacular, and I'll probably try some of the other Culture novels as I find time.