Against A Dark Background
This far future sf thriller is about a lady Mercenary who must recover a weapon of mass destruction for a cult or be targeted for death. This novel has lyrical prose, james bondian action sequences and plot twists worthy of Hitchcock
that all leads to a unforgettable climax!... Consider Phlebas
Bora Horza Gorbuchul is a 'changer' - a human-based being who can change his shape to imitate other humans. Working for the three-legged Idirans, he is sent to retrieve a fugitive computer 'Mind' from a Planet of the Dead. Set against a background of cosmic conflict, Horza and his mercenaries seek the mind, battling against agents of the human 'Culture' and fanatic Idirans, to then face their doom on the proscribed barren world where the mind has hidden.... Excession
... Look to Windward
One culture tries to impose its will on another culture, with disastrous results....
Banks booklist
Matter
An agent of a galaxy spanning intelligence service returns home for her father's funeral and finds herself involved in a power struggle that threatens an entire world. The book starts with a woman and an AI drone watching a medieval looking army on the march. The woman's name is Djan Seriy Anaplian and the drone is Turminder Xuss. At Djan's order Turminder sends in a knife missile that destroys most of the weapons and kills a handful of the men causing c... The Business
Due to a fortunate childhood incident Kate Tellmann is plucked from a life of poverty and is inducted into an organisation, The Business, which since Roman Times has been a world-wide financial force. Over the years Kate rises through the corporate ranks and finds herself to be the love interest of the prince of a small Himalayan country. Kate's interests lie with another of her colleagues, however, who refuses to be disloyal to his wife. But in the end,... The Player of Games
Jernau Morat Gurgeh, a professional gamer in the utopian, galaxy-spanning society called the Culture, is recruited by the Culture's special ops branch to infiltrate a gaming event hosted by the nearby galactic empire of Azad -- a game which determines who becomes Azad's next emperor. Jernau Morat Gurgeh is one of the Culture's most famous, and brilliant, professional games' players. The only problem: he's bored. The Culture is a post-scarcity, utopian so... The Wasp Factory
Frank Cauldhame is the Laird of his domain, surrounded by his Sacrifice Poles, which he ritualistically adorns with small-animal body parts, and his ultimate contrivance - The Factory. The Factory is made up of a scrapped clock-tower clock face laid flat, and modified to incorporate trap doors leading to an acid bath, a flame pit, and so on. He describes the killings of his younger brother Paul, his cousin Esmerelda, and another boy, Blythe, as simply a ... Use of Weapons
The main character is a superb military general from a planet somewhat like Earth. He flees a major conflict on his planet and becomes a warrior for hire. He is soon recruited by "The Culture" a utopian society of technologically advanced humans. The Culture wish to interfere in more primitive cultures and recruit him to influence the outcome of wars. He is troubled by horrific but unclear memories of his home planet that eventually reveal a more sin...
