Iain Banks' death still hits me every now and then. At least to me, he wrote with a singular optimism. Horrible things were done by horrible people, but there was always the pervading idea that sensibility and kindness were what made a civilisation thrive.

So, I've been chasing that dragon since he passed. I was recommended [a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521740247p2/51204.jpg], and while I loved his take on sci-fi, I found his characters mostly petty and overly cruel. So I still haven't found anything that hit that high.

But [b:Edges|43483913|Edges|Linda Nagata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546820501l/43483913.SY75.jpg|67627795] comes pretty damn close.

It has its weak points: the characterisation isn't great; there are perhaps too many convenient coincidences to drive the plot; and some ideas seem a little "unfleshed". But it still really got to me, got me excited about reading again, excited about science fiction, and even a little optimistic about humanity. The people in this book are just... nice, even the "roguish" main character tries to do right by the people in his care.

It's not for everyone, but if you miss Iain M. Banks, this might go some way towards filling the void.