The first ever collection of Iain Bank's short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella, 'the State of the Art'. This is a striking addition to the Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The other stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Bank's staggering talent.
