Consider Phlebas (Booktrack Edition)

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

Consider Phlebas: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!

The first audiobook in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces listeners 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. 

Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2009 Iain M. Banks (P)2020 Orbit

Music is super distracting and constant

i wasn't sure if I'd like the music or not. Turns out I don't like it. Music is super distracting and constant.

Love this edition!!

I had already listened to the normal edition of this book but listening to it with all the sound effects was exactly what I wanted from audiobooks all along. I really hope they keep doing this style!

++

would be better without the booktrack. peter kenny is a phenomenal voice actor.
iain banks was a talent in storytelling that is still unmatched.

amazing performance! story was good but had issues

the book track is very very good! and the performance is simply wonderful! I loved the book when it was riding high it was amazing! the best parts of the tory were absolutely gripping, however, every once in awhile it goes off on a strange tangent that doesn't add anything to the story. liked it a ton, I've heard book 2 in the series "playerof games" is better and also a good way to start.

may edit this review when I finish that

Love this book; LOVE the Book Track Edition

Iain M. Banks never disappoints. This is my second time through this book, Covid is driving me to revisit lots of favorites. But the Culture series remains my Star Wars/Star Trek/LOTR favorit-est ever literary world.

Beautiful

This version really makes you feel the fantasy, suspense and wonder that the story tells. It was wonderful.

Booktrack adds immersion with headphones

This review is merely to address the added background music, playing throughout the reading. With headphones it plays wonderfully alongside the read. I recommend the headphone experience. As for those claiming it was “too loud”, or “too distracting”- I found those claims ludicrous in my experience. Great addition to audiobooks.

Great setup but just shy of a classic.

loved the world building and characters. the plot has lots of great hooks and surprises but sadly fails to capitalize on them in the end. A fun read just to be in the world. fantastic performance by the reader and the music really adds to the mood

Great start, then peters out

Terrific opening, tons of potential, just never quite developed into the story it could've been. A little heavy on invented words, but hangs together well enough. This could've been up there with the sprawling classics of sci-fi, but seems to have been aborted prematurely. Enjoyable all the same, with some interesting concepts and not too much manufactured drama, but dragged a little towards the middle/end.
Narration is extremely fast, found I was missing bits until I kicked it down to 80% speed, which seemed to be just right.

Good story, narrator needs to slow the heck down.

See title. This narrator is WAY too fast. Had to listen at .8 speed.