Surface Detail
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banksby Iain M. Banks
Shares rank 135 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended as a harrowing, vivid science fiction novel by Iain M. Banks, often singled out as a standout among his novels.
Recommended as a harrowing, vivid science fiction novel by Iain M. Banks, often singled out as a standout among his novels.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Harrowing, vivid vision of the future
“Ian M Banks' Surface Detail has a harrowing vision of the prolongation of what you're doing (I'm a huge fan)”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “A 3D fruit fly on macOS desktop powered by the real FlyWire connectome” Favourite novel within arm's reach
“Taking favourite novels which are within arm's reach”
Comment from 7 Feb 2026 in “Where did all the starships go?” Standout pick among Banks novels
“[I recommend] all of them, especially Surface Detail”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Data centers in space makes no sense”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Surface Detailby Iain M. BanksThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Ian M Banks' Surface Detail has a harrowing vision of the prolongation of what you're doing (I'm a huge fan)”
“That's _mostly_ just Consider Phlebas and Surface Detail.”
“Taking favourite novels which are within arm's reach”
“[I recommend] all of them, especially Surface Detail”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.