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Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

foliosociety.com

81–90 of 103 posts

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#81

Slightly odd that they went for possibly the least-beloved Culture novel. I suppose it's the first published (though not the first written, IIRC), but it's not a _great_ representation of the series.

Amazon is theoretically making an adaptation of it Any Day Now (tm). So perhaps it has marginally more name recognition than Player of Games.

Unfortunately, it was cancelled in 2020.

https://archive.ph/o9ZmR (Amazon cancels TV adaptation of Iain M. Banks’ sci-fi Culture series, The Verge)

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#82

Consider Phlebas was such an odd entry point into the Culture series. In a way it makes more sense as a prequel, to be read after you understand the world and the general conceit of the series. In fact, I think Consider Phlebas is better upon rereading than it was going in cold. In this light, I'm kind of surprised I went on to read the other books after starting with this one. But, I'm incredibly glad I did, and I r…

I just finished reading Consider Phlebas, and am starting Player of Games now! I tried to find reading order lists online and most just recommended publication order. I hope I didn’t ruin anything.

A few months ago I did the same thing you did, and I enjoyed Player of Games a lot more.

The ending of Consider Phlebas was a bit of a trainwreck in my opinion :)

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#83

I love a properly made book, though I don't buy Folio Society books due to the illustrations. Don't get my wrong, they're beautiful, but any time a book has illustrations it feels like I don't get to use my imagination (as much) for world building. The drawings seem to overwrite my own image-making process for characters, environments, etc. I don't like it. Another example: I was re-reading the Lord of the Rings rece…

I often get a similar phenomenon, for better or worse. I kind of have this rule: read the book first if there's a movie/show about it, then watch the movie/show, then read the book again. This helps me avoid "the book is better" (sometimes -- it's a rare case where the audiovisual format excels, but it happens).

First reading I get my imagination and expectations. Watching the movie/show lets me know how others interpreted it.

If it was a well made, casted, and acted depiction, then the 2nd reading often will conjure images of specific scenes, actors, soundtracks, etc. even if it wasn't quite what I imagined initially. If it was a poor adaptation, rereading the book reminds me that my imagination was better.

To date I can only think of two movies that captured their respective novels nearly identically to my imagination (within reason, given content and technological limitations):

- Phillip K Dick / Richard Linklater - A Scanner Darkly - Michael Crichton / Barry Levinson - Sphere - Ted Chiang / Denis Villanueve - Story of Your Life (Arrival) - Bret Easton Ellis / Roger Avery - The Rules of Attraction - Alex Garland / Danny Boyle - The Beach

I often wonder if the influence of the authors of these books upon the production of the movies was a factor, but I've seen plenty movies where the original author had lots of input/approval and the result was a mess. Dunno.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#84

I love a properly made book, though I don't buy Folio Society books due to the illustrations. Don't get my wrong, they're beautiful, but any time a book has illustrations it feels like I don't get to use my imagination (as much) for world building. The drawings seem to overwrite my own image-making process for characters, environments, etc. I don't like it. Another example: I was re-reading the Lord of the Rings rece…

I often get a similar phenomenon, for better or worse. I kind of have this rule: read the book first if there's a movie/show about it, then watch the movie/show, then read the book again. This helps me avoid "the book is better" (sometimes -- it's a rare case where the audiovisual format excels, but it happens). First reading I get my imagination and expectations. Watching the movie/show lets me know how others inter…

I said two but got caught up in more as I thought about it, my bad.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#85
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon is theoretically making an adaptation of it Any Day Now (tm). So perhaps it has marginally more name recognition than Player of Games.

Unfortunately, it was cancelled in 2020. https://archive.ph/o9ZmR (Amazon cancels TV adaptation of Iain M. Banks’ sci-fi Culture series, The Verge)

It's for the best, really.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#86

Consider Phlebas was such an odd entry point into the Culture series. In a way it makes more sense as a prequel, to be read after you understand the world and the general conceit of the series. In fact, I think Consider Phlebas is better upon rereading than it was going in cold. In this light, I'm kind of surprised I went on to read the other books after starting with this one. But, I'm incredibly glad I did, and I r…

> Culture series

They’re not really sequential stories. You wouldn’t miss much by reading Surface Detail before Use of Weapons, except for a couple of callbacks.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider Phlebas was my third Culture novel after Use of Weapons and Player of Games. I very much enjoyed it, but definitely didn't enjoy the Island cult bit!

Its a acquired taste.. it was a fascinating insight though, into a luxurious, post-scarcity societies tolerance for extremes, as long as they all did what they did out of choice, not even a machine could overrule them. I love, how the tragic choices of the "organics" are mirrored hinted as part of the PTSD of the orbital in "Look to the winward", which can "relive" the destruction of orbitals, ships and worlds in the…

> meat-fucker (Sleeper Service)

The GCU nicknamed meat fucker’s chosen name was the Grey Area. It was a protégé of the GSV Sleeper Service.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#88
post #62
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are books which are fully juiced on their first reading. All of Banks' novels have additional liquid to savor after several pressings.

I like your analogy, but I need help seeing how it applies to Consider Phlebas . From my perspective, the story is pretty arbitrary. The aliens have arbitrary features that have no internal reason for they must inevitably be that and not something else. Similarly for characters and plot points. There's a ringworld, but with none of Niven's exploration into the nature of a ringworld. (Fair enough, just borrow from Niv…

It was literally a story about space pirates. You seem to be expecting Walden.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#89
post #10
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Possibly my favourite. My dog-eared copy is signed... twice... too. He used to come and read in Windsor, UK on occasion...

my least favorite. The Player of Games, Excession and the Hydrogen Sonata for me.

Those are like a pleasant stroll in the park. Use of weapons is more like being chased through the park after dark by a madman.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a fun action novel; I loved the part with the cult on the island. But yeah, it has nothing on Player of Games.

That's funny. I found the cult stuff so unnecessarily unpleasant (the phrase "torture p*rn" comes to mind) that I haven't read any of the other books.

A lot of Banks's non-sci-fi fiction is... well, I wouldn't describe it as torture porn, but it's graphic and violent.
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