Consider Phlebas
by Iain M. Banks
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Book Reviews of Consider Phlebas
Book Review: Great action, but needs editing
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm pretty sure there's a good book buried in here somewhere. There are good characters, a compelling if straightforward storyline, and some exciting action scenes. It would make a good movie. But Banks describes his action scenes in ridiculous detail, and from multiple viewpoints. He'll take 15 pages to tell something that happens in one minute. A good editor could turn this into a much better book that's about 2/3 as long. (This was my 2nd Banks novel; I enjoyed The Algebraist much more.)Book Review: Great Storytelling
Summary: 5 Stars
Right now, this is my favorite SF book. Great story in a novel setting. I have read a few of Bank's Culture novels since reading Consider Phlebas, but this is still my favorite.
Not a Space Opera, or Epic, but a great story and characters, which sometimes are lost in SF books. Great Byronic hero.
One of the chapters actually made me sick to my stomach.
Book Review: An epic introduction to the "Culture"
Summary: 5 Stars
Out of his first three Culture novels, "Consider Phlebas" is the most sweeping and adventurous epic. It takes you to incredible worlds, you'll meet a great cast of characters, and there is plenty of action, romance, gore, escapism, humor, and technological overload to keep you reading non-stop. The end left me genuinely emotional, but fear not, this was only an introduction.Book Review: Start of the journey
Summary: 4 Stars
First of the culture books, this was my starting point recently. I enjoyed the story enough that I'm buying a few more of Banks' books to continue the journey.
Slightly dark, with a few good twists and turns. Besides the section with "The Eaters" being a little too dragged out and seeming to be kind of a dead end, I enjoyed it from cover to cover.
Book Review: unsettling, hilarious, dark, thrilling, etc.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is excellent. I read it in about a week, and I never wanted to put it down. It's fast-paced, it's thrilling, and it has an excellent sense of (dark) humor. Banks does an excellent job of making you love (or hate) the characters in the book. Intelligent, a bit dark, and a lot of fun, this book is one of my favorites.