Peter Kenny makes the book worthwhile

I enjoyed Iain M. Banks' book because of an excellent narrator. I am not sure that the story itself is so great... although it falls probably in the genre of tragedy.

This is the first book in Banks' Culture series and is a must to read or listen to should you be interested into being initiated into his universe where man and machine have become equals in the sphere of existence. Set against the background of the Culture (humans and machines) and Iderian war, Horsa, the main character, must find his own way through the maze of loyalties. Horsa chooses against artificial life, just to... well read or listen the book to find out.

6 people found this helpful

outstanding reading, so-so plot

Would you try another book from Iain M. Banks and/or Peter Kenny?

I'd try Iain Banks again. I read another book of his which is very good. But this one tales off badly, despite some good ideas. It's like he was a chess player who learnt a lot about openings but had no experience in end games. It goes off like a damp squibb.Ok, this is the first in the series, and others say later books are better and this is necessary background. That might be so. But it doesn't stand alone.Granted, this was one of his first books, written nearly 40 years ago, but it's not that the technology is dated. He just didn't know where his story was leading; at least within this book.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More of a sense by the end of why we should have been interested in the book

Which scene was your favorite?

Peter Kenny's reading is outstanding. His capacity for different voices and accents, consistently maintained is very impressive. He makes the listening very interesting, and rarely if ever gets the sense of a sentence wrong.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

3 people found this helpful

Routes of The Culture

A good listen. All the technological depth and character development you could want in a sci-fi novel. If you like "Ring World" or "The Mote In God's Eye", you'll probably like this more.
Only four stars out of five because it mainly lacks the humour of his later books. "Matter" (by the same author) was just brilliant!

Though this is Iain M Banks' first sci-fi novel, it is a 2010 audio production.
Once again, Peter Kenny excels as narrator.

3 people found this helpful

Classic, intelligent sciFi

Read this years ago: an absolute classic of sciFi. The novel works on many levels - as a story line, as a set of believable characters, and as a created world of its own. The sciFi environment which envelops the characters is convincing and deeply thought through - right down to the subtlety of the relationship between humans and the highly evolved AI computer systems who jointly form the 'Culture'. The novel is told through the character of an enemy of the Culture, again a thoroughly thought through interpretation of how a genetically modified species might interact with other species and cultures. Mostly though, the sciFi world created is convincing enough to allow the reader just to enjoy the battle of wits between the two principal characters.

Some of the scenes in the book are reflective of the extremities of behaviour which might be expected by extrapolating extreme character traits over immense populations, and I must confess I found them a bit strong - but they do contribute to the depth of characterisation and the sense of urgency in the story line.

The performance from Peter Kenny is well paced and compelling - to quote Jerry Pournelle in the golden days of Byte magazine - 'recommended'.

1 person found this helpful

Snorefest

What could Iain M. Banks have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Edit out 50%.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Consider Phlebas?

Edit everywhere.

Any additional comments?

Painful degree of detail. Are all his books like this? "He placed his right foot on the ground, feeling the weight first in the heel, then across the arch, then in the toes." OK, I exaggerate... but you probably know the sort of book I mean. INCESSANT detail that just doesn't matter to the story, and, in fact, dilutes what are good ideas way past the point of boredom. My first book from the famous Banks. Just couldn't do it. Definitely not for me. Won't read another of his books.

2 people found this helpful

interminable snore

I really wanted to like this, but I simply couldn't get through the plodding pace and the story arc that took so long to develop that my mind wandered off. I finally decided to be good to myself and stop this self-abuse by quitting this story before it got anywhere close to the end.

Worth Reading, but not much more

All in all the world was rich and interesting and the book touched on topics both philosophical, political, esoteric and very human. Absolutely worth a read, but not much more. Hence I rate it 3/5.

The book was a bit indulgent with the worldbuilding/exposition at the cost of character and plot. Some parts were a bit too much spectacle for the sake of spectacle (or just a thought experiment the author really wanted to put in somewhere) and did only marginally contribute to the overall narrative/theme.

The narrator was great and absolutely enhanced the experience.

Overrated

Alarm bells should have been raised about the Culture series for me when in the at least two decades the series has had to seep into pop culture that I've never heard any praise heaped on its stories. Turns out there is a reason for that. Scenery porn and verbal diarrhea dominates this work. No likeable characters anywhere and plodding pacing makes this writing as fascinating as listening to paint drying maybe even constituting a form or audible torture. The only hint at redeeming quality in this work was the narrator who brought his best to book but even his delightful skill couldn't save this dumpster fire of book from going into the annals of obscurity. Save yourself the trouble and read a wiki about this series. It's more interesting.

A brilliant book if ever there was one.

Breathtaking story set in an expansive, incredibly diverse and well-designed universe. Strong, well fleshed-out characters one really begins to care about. An intelligent, beautifully written story that reads more like poetry than prose. Wonderfully narrated, with each character having a consistent, distinct voice and the right intonation for every situation. What's not to love about this performance! Downloaded the second book in the series before the first one was even finished.

Banks is a master

If you like Banks, you'll like this. If you like cerebral sci fi, you'll love this. If you're looking for more adventurous, action or discovery driven sci fi, this book will seem odd to you. This is more like the kind of sci fi that explores human conceits, morality and achievement. It's the kind of sci fi that explores intellectual ideas that concern society, rather than what is out there in the future for us.