Consider Phlebas

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1987 Iain M. Banks (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Dazzlingly original." (Daily Mail)

"Gripping, touching and funny." (TLS)

I just couldn’t get into this.

It may be amazing and perfect for someone else. Bummer, I wanted it to captivate me.

This book got me hooked on Iain M. Banks!

This was my first Iain M. Banks book, just took a chance and now on my sixth Culture audiobook. Peter Kenny's narration is top notch. The world created for you is just amazing and leaves me thinking about it long after.

Wonderfully Modern

If you told me Consider Phlebas was written in 2021, I'd believe you. As someone who has read science fiction from various eras, this reads unlike anything else from its time, in a very good way.

Absolutely worth a listen, and the narration is spectacular!

run at 90 percent spoed

good character development, good writing, but streched out segments at times. Action mixed a lot with almost too much physical detail and thoughts of characters, but not bad. Narrator talked too fast for density of story, do it must be played back at 90 percent speed. Otherwise flawless. Story itself was asymmetric, not bent on selling you more books by dangling plot. consider this as art, not a commercial enterprise.

shallow

long on action sequence short on plot. yawn barely worth a review I say v

Great story!

Good characters and storyline. Will definitely read the next book in the series. On to the next!

overall a good story

the book had some interesting concept and I'm though the outside views it provided was very good

Just couldn't get into it.

I didn't care for or about any of the characters, including and especially the mc. It was well-written, I suppose; just not captivating.
I read this out of order. The Player of Games (book 2) was great so I thought this one would be as well. Meh.

Conflicted review

Pros
Many aspects of the writing were brilliant and beautiful.
World was well thought out, interesting,and intricate
Characters were well thought out, distinct and vivid.
Performer was brilliant- gotta remember to search for more stuff by him

Cons
Just didn’t really like the story
I like a happy (happier) ending and didn’t get one.

Overall I didn’t really care for it but could definitely see some people absolutely loving it.

Love Banks' Stories

and Peter Kenny is excellent - the best reader of Banks' works that I have heard.