Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Worth the Effort

I've long equated Banks as being the Charles Dickens of SF. By picking up one of his novels, you tacitly agree to patience and the long haul. Yes, to reach the ranks of true greatness, a hard-nosed editor willing to cut out 100 pages of unnecessary exposition from most of Bank's novels is both essential and warranted. There are many instances (40-50) of what-could-be-said in one paragraph taking several pages, and many cases of does-this-drawn-out-scene even need to be here at all? BUT, for advanced readers who can deploy the patience/and or delayed gratification agreement necessary upon picking up ANY of his books, the pay-off is truly sublime. Far flung and exotic landscapes and concepts abound in this space opera, as well as hefty doses of humor and well developed characters. At the end of it all, you feel like you've lived a little of your life in the book.