> I found the underlying philosophy of the war much more interesting than the story.<p>This matches my experience. The Culture is fascinating to read about independent of the books. Here's a short essay by Ian M Banks (the author of the Culture series) about the Culture:<p><a href="https://cultureandempire.com/html/culture.html" rel="nofollow">https://cultureandempire.com/html/culture.html</a>
"Player of Games" is my favourite.<p>While I totally understand the intent of introducing the Culture from on outside point of view.<p>I think "Consider Phlebas" was not as enjoyable as some of the other books.
I have a hard time reading The Culture books as anything but a satirical condemnation of the current society. Which is not at all the position that Banks, in interviews, claims to take.<p>I thought Vernor Vinge's <i>A Deepness in the Sky</i> presented a much more sympathetic picture of a cosmopolitan trading culture, in its clash (and hybridization) with a conservative warrior culture. That book did make "the liberal capitalists" sympathetic.