Yeh, I guess that's a fair take. But re-reading it and _Against a Dark Background_ (not even tangentially a Culture book I know) tweaked my nostalgia a bit and

Yeh, I guess that's a fair take. But re-reading it and _Against a Dark Background_ (not even tangentially a Culture book I know) tweaked my nostalgia a bit and I found I quite enjoyed them in ways I didn't first time around.