The Culture Novels, though that may not come as a surprise, given my username. Obviously the Culture is not the total ideal to strive for, but it did give me a

The Culture Novels, though that may not come as a surprise, given my username. Obviously the Culture is not the total ideal to strive for, but it did give me a vision of where we could go culture-wise (with a lowercase 'c') which was notably brighter than what I had maintained prior.