I will start off this post with a disclaimer: I am just some dude on the internet with an opinion. This is also a book review, not gospel. Here are my thoughts on Consider Phlebas (CP) and why I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite the unpopular sentiment it receives.
Synopsis: Caught in the middle of a galactic war between the utopian Culture and the religiously fanatical Idiran Empire, a shape-shifting mercenary named Horza is hired to recover a stranded, super-intelligent AI. His mission turns into a perilous race against time, forcing him to navigate treacherous alliances and deadly obstacles to reach a forbidden planet before the Culture can reclaim its lost Mind.
Sounds good, right? Well, in doing some research and even asking on Reddit why people loathe this book, I received some great feedback. CP is the first published book in Banks’ Culture series (to which I am brand new.) It is a well-regarded series that has a cult following. With that in mind, CP is widely regarded as Banks’ weakest novel in the series. Below I have summarized the sentiment that I found online in my quest to understand why many readers recommend reading this book second so as not to get turned off by the series as a whole:
- Conventional Structure: Unlike later books in the series, it is often viewed as a standard “space opera” or action-adventure novel that lacks the unique philosophical “spot” that fans love about the rest of the Culture series.
- Off-Putting Content: There is a specific section past the halfway point (often implied to be the “Eaters” scene) and parts of the final act that readers find jarring, grotesque, or pacing-killers that cause them to lose interest.
- Overwhelming Nihilism: The core message is deeply bleak, emphasizing that despite the massive scale of war, death, and the protagonist’s intense struggle, ultimately “nothing amounts to anything much” and everything falls to dust.
- Ranking Within the Series: Even those who like it often admit “there are better in the series,” suggesting it is frequently seen as a weaker entry compared to the high bar set by sequels like Player of Games.
- Perspective Issues: Readers who do not read it first often miss the novel’s primary purpose—introducing the Culture as antagonists through the eyes of the enemy—which can make the story feel disconnected or confusing.
Ok, so now that we have the bad out of the way, let’s dig into my thoughts.
I am newish to the world of sci-fi and fiction reading in general. I used to ONLY read non-fiction books, and that is where my brain really becomes active in the material. Fiction is a way for me to disassociate from the world and dig into the expanses of space travel (in this case) and find new ideas and characters to empathize with. I guess I put this out there because I do not claim to be a super-harsh reader insofar as I don’t dig into every little aspect of a book. I don’t critique characters as much as I should, and maybe that is some internal bias just wanting to enjoy the book.
Not only that, but I did find a few sections of CP that seemed to drag on—particularly at the end—but they really weren’t as bad as I felt many hinted towards. Perhaps it is because I am new to Banks’ works (up until this point I have only read Against a Dark Background and The Player of Games), so I am still developing my overall critique of the author. I actually enjoyed CP way more than The Player of Games, and I thoroughly enjoyed the world-building and epic scales that we found in this title.
That being said, I didn’t feel a lot for the protagonist. But that is not surprising for me, as I find it challenging to really connect with characters in books like this.
Getting to the point, I recommend that readers don’t get discouraged by the sentiment of this book. I think it’s totally fine to read it first instead of shelving it for second. Of course, your mileage may vary, and I am interested to hear what my readers think of the book and whether you found it beneficial to save this title for second (and opt to read The Player of Games first.)
Circling back to my beginning disclaimer, these are simply my opinions. I give Consider Phlebas an overall 4/5 stars, and I greatly look forward to reading more in the Culture series. As of the time of writing this, I am currently reading Use of Weapons. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thanks for reading!
