Consider Phlebas (The Culture)
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Review
'Banks is a phenomenon: the wildly successful, fearlessly creative author of brilliant and disturbing non-genre novels, he's equally at home writing pure science fiction of a perculiarly gnarly energy and elegance' William Gibson 'There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness' The Times 'Poetic, humourous, baffling, terrifying, sexy - the books of Iain M. Banks are all these things and more' NME
--This text refers to the
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Book Description
The first novel in Iain M. Banks' bestselling Culture series
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Consider Phlebas is an intricately woven novel, set against a sci-fi backdrop.
Although the sci- part sometimes gets a bit too intricate for its own good, the main characters are well-developed to have a depth of personality allowing the reader to like, dislike, be ambivalent about and empathise with them. This is as well as a depth of context which allows the reader to wallow in the fictional history of the characters and their various cultures.
The novel is set within an inter-galactic war of opposing ideologies, and charts the main character's mission. He travels through various adventures with the novel exploring the customs of the sci-fi civilisations created by Banks, which is where the combination of sci- and fi- really becomes potent.
The plot is fairly quick-moving and cohesive and although as with other Banks' novels I've read, is not particularly memorable, what is memorable and makes the book worth reading are the imaginary world and cultures created by Banks.
Although the sci- part sometimes gets a bit too intricate for its own good, the main characters are well-developed to have a depth of personality allowing the reader to like, dislike, be ambivalent about and empathise with them. This is as well as a depth of context which allows the reader to wallow in the fictional history of the characters and their various cultures.
The novel is set within an inter-galactic war of opposing ideologies, and charts the main character's mission. He travels through various adventures with the novel exploring the customs of the sci-fi civilisations created by Banks, which is where the combination of sci- and fi- really becomes potent.
The plot is fairly quick-moving and cohesive and although as with other Banks' novels I've read, is not particularly memorable, what is memorable and makes the book worth reading are the imaginary world and cultures created by Banks.
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just as Iain Banks' first novel "The Wasp Factory" was a calling-card for his somewhat twisted world-view, so "Consider Phlebas", his first SF novel as Iain M, gives you a pretty clear idea of what to expect in his subsequent SF. Extraordinary as it may seem to anyone who has read much of his other work, this book takes first prize for scope of ideas and - most particularly - inventive emotional brutality. This is emphatically not an easy read. Yes, it's space opera. Yes, it's a gung-ho adventure story. No, it's not like any of the other 5 million books in this genre. For its sheer skill at leaving horrible images in your mind as a result of really quite limited violent episodes the only comparison which springs to mind is Julian May's "Intervention".
The story sees a man - well, not exactly a man - caught on the wrong side (defined as the one which is going to lose) in a galaxy-wide conflict. His efforts to assist his alien allies lead him into a spiral of death and destruction where even his identity is gradually stripped away. The pointlessness of his desperate struggle is finally confirmed in the appendix, where in a couple of lines Banks creates the final, overwhelming message of the book as a whole. Of course, he gave it away in the title.
The story sees a man - well, not exactly a man - caught on the wrong side (defined as the one which is going to lose) in a galaxy-wide conflict. His efforts to assist his alien allies lead him into a spiral of death and destruction where even his identity is gradually stripped away. The pointlessness of his desperate struggle is finally confirmed in the appendix, where in a couple of lines Banks creates the final, overwhelming message of the book as a whole. Of course, he gave it away in the title.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is my first Iain Banks Novel and proved to be an absorbing and thrilling read. (Thks Mark). The plot (set in the backdrop of a Galatic war between the Idirans and the Culture) moves along at a nice pace and develops characters to a degree that you quickly sympathise with them even when they're diametrically opposed.
Bank's imagination is un-surpassed as you experience orbitals, GSV's, quirky robots,a life threatening game of poker called damage and much more..
The ending is a little disappointing but serves to emphasise that you have just read about the experiences of a small band of mercenaries, caught up in huge conflict played out over unimaginable distances spanning many years. (Also liked the small appendices at the back of the book detailing the reasons for the war)
On the whole this is a good introduction to Ian Banks and I would not hesitate in recommending this book to anyone.
Bank's imagination is un-surpassed as you experience orbitals, GSV's, quirky robots,a life threatening game of poker called damage and much more..
The ending is a little disappointing but serves to emphasise that you have just read about the experiences of a small band of mercenaries, caught up in huge conflict played out over unimaginable distances spanning many years. (Also liked the small appendices at the back of the book detailing the reasons for the war)
On the whole this is a good introduction to Ian Banks and I would not hesitate in recommending this book to anyone.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Consider reading at once
An outstanding SF debut, brimfull of techno-concepts, offbeat characters, exotic planets and habitats and above all, blinding action scenes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by The Whisper
A SciFi Classic
Many years ago this was my introduction to Science Fiction and I enjoyed it very much. Banks creates a whole universe inside this book (and others in the series) complete with its... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jack Harvey
One of the best Sci-Fi books ever writtern. Period.
I must have read this book at least five times, and I still love it. I personally think this is Bank's best work. Read more
Published 4 months ago by James
The best culture novel
This first entry in Banks's Culture series is regarded by surprisingly many people as one of the lesser works, in comparison to the likes of Player of Games and Use of Weapons. Read more
Published 5 months ago by David Clarke
Excellent sci fi - just don't like the people
The ending was a bit flat and I did not like the main character. However, this is a well written book with a very interesting story in an imaginative sci fi Universe.
Published 6 months ago by Llewellyn
Surprisingly enjoyable
I don't usually read science fiction but I picked this up just to try something different. The title, the list of contents and the small font all gave me the feeling that this was... Read more
Published 8 months ago by RoverP
Utterly Brilliant
If you haven't read any of Iain Bank's Sci Fi yet, this, his firs book, will hook you! I've read it twice before, and i'm quite sure i'll read it again. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Sam Jones
An excellent book, couldn't put it down.
Huge areas, vast starships, intelligent machines, I couldn't put this book down.
Very descriptive letting your imagination paint the picture. Read more
Very descriptive letting your imagination paint the picture. Read more
Published 10 months ago by D. Wilson
Consider this (from a non-scifi reader)
'Consider Phlebas' is the first book i've finished from Iain M. Banks...This is also the first book i've read from the 'space opera' genre. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Daughter Mel
Late discovery
I recently picked up Consider Phlebus having read later Culture series novels and I wanted to read the inspiration for the series. Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. Pashley
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