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Consider Phlebas (1987)

by Iain M. Banks

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Culture (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
7,9092521,103 (3.71)1 / 375
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:The first book in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces readers to the utopian conglomeration of human and alien races that explores the nature of war, morality, and the limitless bounds of mankind's imagination.
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.
Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.
… (more)
  1. 70
    Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (voodoochilli)
    voodoochilli: As good as the Revelation space series, so if you want more check out Banks Culture novels.
  2. 60
    The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (EatSleepChuck)
  3. 40
    Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds (nik.o)
  4. 20
    The Waste Land and Other Poems by T. S. Eliot (sturlington)
    sturlington: To understand the title allusion.
  5. 10
    Piece of Cake by Derek Robinson (themulhern)
    themulhern: A war, questions why the war is being fought, and horrible messes resulting from poor or incomplete information.
  6. 21
    Rocannon's World by Ursula K. Le Guin (themulhern)
    themulhern: Two vast wars fought between vastly different opponents. A small event in that war, and a protagonist who loses much in his struggle. Nothing else about these novels is terribly similar, but the contrasts are so interesting.
  7. 10
    The Wizards and the Warriors by Hugh Cook (themulhern)
    themulhern: A grim quest where the outcome hinges on the precise timing and nature of events. Much complication and a deal of ambiguity.
  8. 11
    Hyperion by Dan Simmons (LamontCranston)
  9. 00
    Railhead by Philip Reeve (themulhern)
    themulhern: Profoundly sentient transportation in both.
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» See also 375 mentions

English (243)  Finnish (2)  French (2)  Italian (2)  Spanish (1)  Romanian (1)  All languages (251)
Showing 1-5 of 243 (next | show all)
Maybe the first Culture novel. Great writing, characterization. Wish I had read this one first, though many say it doesn't matter what order you read them in.

Some fabulously exciting, cinematic scenes, plus moral ambiguity, interesting characters, and a galactic war as the backdrop. Recommended.
( )
  roguelike | Feb 4, 2024 |
Epic space adventure. Fairly dry in my opinion and longer than necessary, but does offer some glimpses into the universe of the Culture which may become more exciting as I read further. tbc ( )
  Zedseayou | Jan 30, 2024 |
Gah! I've somehow gotten locked out of my e-book version of this. Curses on DRM! My rating is based on what I've read so far. This is not my favorite book in Banks' series on The Culture. But maybe there was more to the ending... ( )
  Treebeard_404 | Jan 23, 2024 |
I wasn't taken with my first Iain Banks book, The Wasp Factory. We read it for book club, so I did not plan on reading him again. However, someone mentioned that his science fiction was markedly different and I should give Consider Phlebas a try.
It didn't turned out well. The writing style is not terribly strong and the story is substantially worse. The problem with the plot seems to be the same as The Wasp Factory: pacing. There isn't really a lot of structure and too much time is spent on irrelevant side stories. I was never actually engaged in the book.
It wasn't all bad though. The author invented an interesting futuristic game (eg, The Glass Bead Game) and the war setting was reasonable. Nevertheless, this is the type of useless action novel that really ruins the name of science fiction for the public. ( )
  MXMLLN | Jan 12, 2024 |
I picked this up after reading that Amazon or somebody had picked up the film rights to it. Good grief, what a bore. The story is interesting, there are compelling characters, but the interminable interludes of useless or only barely connected material got to me. Needs an editor. I couldn't finish. ( )
  GordCampbell | Dec 20, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 243 (next | show all)
The choice of name was definitely not an attempt to gain literary credentials or he would have ditched the ‘camp aliens and laser blasters.’ He has acknowledged the similarities to the poem in that the main character in Consider Phlebas is drowning and later undergoes a ’sea-change’ – this being a motif running through The Waste Land – but that is far as it goes.
But there are a number of parallels between the two works, whether deliberate or not on Iain’s part. To prove my point I will take a brief look at Consider Phlebas and then at The Waste Land, followed by examples of how the latter informs the former.
added by elenchus | editJohn Black blog, John Black (Oct 4, 2012)
 

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Banks, Iain M.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Collon, HélèneTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hopkinson, RichardCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hundertmarck, RosemarieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kenny, PeterNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Keynäs, VilleTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Salwowski, MarkCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
"Idolatry is worse than carnage."

The Koran, 2:190
Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.

T. S. Eliot,
'The Waste Land', IV
Persecution is worse than carnage.
The Koran, 2: 191
Dedication
to the memory of Bill Hunt
First words
The ship didn't even have a name.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
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Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML:The first book in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces readers to the utopian conglomeration of human and alien races that explores the nature of war, morality, and the limitless bounds of mankind's imagination.
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.
Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.

No library descriptions found.

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Haiku summary
Horza always runs
When it is all said and done
Who will care who won?
(Benona)

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