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Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

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Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#91

Post by TheHappyOddish »

prewett wrote: post #62
dsr_ wrote: 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…

You seem to be doing what movie critics do to movies.

Does everything need to be a criticism, play on or comparative or something? Does everything need some deeper meaning?

It's a fun action sci-fi book. Do you question the motivations of Sam-I-Am in Green Eggs and Ham? Why does he insist so much? Where did this food come from? Does he have an ulterior motivation? Is this a reflection on 1970s conservatism in the UK and societies inability to adventure and explore?

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#92

Post by TheHappyOddish »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #61
doctoboggan wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good to hear you think its one of the weaker ones, I didn't love it personally. (I thought the setting was awesome but struggled a little bit with the motivations of most of the characters). I've heard enough good things about the series however to know I am going to read most/all of them! Which book if your favorite?

I remember liking Look to Windward and Excession a lot, I think because they're centrally about the lives and motivations of the minds. For that reason though they may be better later, once you've got more exposure to and questions about their actions and experiences. Surface Detail also really stuck with me for its unique conflict & setting. It's about a war over the fates of people unwillingly uploaded into a simul…

I started recently with Consider Phlebas and loved it. I then read Surface Detail (not sure why I read that next) and found it pretty disappointing and disjointed comparatively. I'm hoping more of the books are closer to Consider Phlebas as I read onwards.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#93

Post by fmajid »

blueridge wrote: post #13

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…

Yes, but if the illustrations were actually drawn by the author like the recent re-release of The Silmarillion, or Tolkien’s illustrations for The Hobbit, it’s a different matter.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#95

Post by agentwiggles »

segphault wrote: post #47
jaqalopes wrote: post #23

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…

Your comment makes me wonder if I should give the series another chance. I only read Consider Phlebas and didn't continue with the series because I found the book so frustrating. It felt like there was a ton of context missing. I kept expecting it to provide some details about the culture that would justify the protagonist's antipathy towards it, but a coherent explanation for his world view never materialized.

Please do - Consider Phlebas is good in its own way, but it's a lot different from the rest of the series.

Player of Games is a great entry point, but I think Surface Detail might be my favorite. It might be my favorite sci-fi book I've ever read, in fact.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#96

Post by webmaven »

tblt wrote: post #44

As a massive fan of the Culture series, does anyone have recommendations for other excellent sci-fi books?

Neal Asher's Polity Universe will probably ring a lot of the same bells (realpolitik, AIs in charge, a dash of horror).

Probably the biggest difference between the milieus is that in the Polity, machines are just as likely to be suffering from PTSD as organic intelligences.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#97

Post by rsynnott »

thebooktocome wrote: post #85
Rzor wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah, it's just really hard to imagine it not being extremely disappointing.

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#98

Post by jamestimmins »

d1sxeyes wrote: post #90
jamestimmins wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Have you read the other books in the Culture series? If so, is the island a particular low point violence-wise, or is that the norm for most of them?

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#99

Post by jaqalopes »

segphault wrote: post #47
jaqalopes wrote: post #23

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…

Your comment makes me wonder if I should give the series another chance. I only read Consider Phlebas and didn't continue with the series because I found the book so frustrating. It felt like there was a ton of context missing. I kept expecting it to provide some details about the culture that would justify the protagonist's antipathy towards it, but a coherent explanation for his world view never materialized.

I hope you will try other entries in the series! Player of Games and Excession are big favorites of mine, but they're quick reads and if you have the time I would really encourage all of them in order of release!

Re: Consider Phlebas Published by the Folio Society

#100

Post by d1sxeyes »

jamestimmins wrote: post #98
d1sxeyes wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Have you read the other books in the Culture series? If so, is the island a particular low point violence-wise, or is that the norm for most of them?

Yes. Interesting question. I’d say that in terms of the goriness of the writing, the island is particularly bad.

Thematically though, in terms of the series overall, violence, oppression, genocide, torture, are all fairly common, although not as gruesomely depicted for the most part.

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