Matter is the latest in Banks’ Culture series, a loosely connected string of self contained novels set in a universe crowded with sentient species at every possible level of development.

Matter begins with the treacherous murder of Hausk, King of the Sarl (pseudo-medieval humans), by his supposed friend and right-hand man Mertistyl Loesp. Hausk’s son Ferbin goes off-world in a quest for revenge, and finds himself out of his depth amongst alien cultures.