Looking for alternative read from Iain M Banks Culture Novels

FruitBat

Iain M Banks is almost the only SF that I've read in the last 30 years, but casting my mind back to when I was more of an addict, I wonder if Asimov's Foundation series is an option. Certainly the original trilogy fits in with the ambitious galactic empire type feel. Of the follow ups, I've only read Foundation's Edge, so I can't comment on the later works (I think there's seven in total).

Greg Hook

Have you tried any Robert Rankin? It's not as heavy Sci-Fi as Iain M Banks was, rather off the wall but very funny.

swiftpete

I am also a fan of Ian M Banks. I can recommend someone. Neal Asher is a fantastic scifi author and I highly recommend his books. Peter F Hamilton has written stuff I've really enjoyed too, but he does go on a bit sometimes.

Smurfin

I've read the first two Greg Mandel novels and really enjoyed the first one, the second not so much but still good.  Really looking forward to getting into his mammoth space opera epics, except each novel pretty much runs to 1000 pages (or more)

KiLLiNG-TiME

So true  ..

Mr.D

Neal Asher definitely. The Cormac/Polity novels especially are very Culturesque. Not quite as well written and quirky as Banks and with a genuinely nasty violent streak but good page turners nonetheless. The spatterjay books are quite funny too.

Richard Morgan : The Kovacs novels (Altered Carbon , Broken Angels , Woken Furies) awesome , hard bitten hard boiled scifi. Imagine a more cyberpunky culture. His fantasy saga (The steel remains) is a real chore to read though in my opinion. (Fantasy sucks bigtime if you ask me anyway !)