Consider Phlebas

A Waste of Time and Money! Don't Bother.

I've been reading science fiction since I was 12. I'm 67. This book has been given (by me) the award as Worst Novel Of Any Genre For the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries. 1st, there is no character, place or thing named "Phlebas" in the entire book. But, worst of all is the tedious writing style. Example. A character steps on foot into a room. 17 pages later the other foot comes into the room. In the intervening 16 pages you get a description of the floor, ceiling, all four walls, every piece of furniture, all windows, lights, decorations, people, cloths etc. and NONE of it is important to the story. NONE OF IT! If the "pay me by the word" fluff were removed, this would be a 35 to 50 page short story. The main character is named Bora Horza Gobuchul. He dies at the end of the book. There, I've just saved you some wasted money and 4 to 6 hours of boring reading. You're welcome!

7 out of 20 people found this review helpful.

Iain M Banks=Dean Koontz of science fiction

I'm really trying to give Iain a chance. I just got done reading this book and I have read 2 others of his books and one thing really holds true with this author...he screws up the ending. No Im not looking for a love conquers all or I am the one neo- esque ending but his ending are so blah as to make the rest of the book meaningless...He does the same thing as dean Koontz does...he build up this great story with cool characters and different plots twisted in. You become embroiled in it and then he just poo poos the ending out and your like "Huh?" "What?" "Wait that's it Iain/ That's all you got buddy? That's all your gonna give me? It's like he got bored with his own story and just stopped being an amazing author...sigh...I digress...can't beat 99 cents though.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

The Best of the Culture Novels

I'm a fan of Iain M. Banks, and this is the book that made me such. It's an odd novel, detailing the efforts of a member of a genetically engineered race to aid his employers in a war against the Culture, largely by finding the AI of an enemy ship that was thought destroyed. The setting is extremely high-tech - the Culture is post- Age of Scarcity, and there's a lot of rather spectacular bits of engineering along the way, but they're not the real focus of the novel. This is, like most good books, one driven by the characters.

For those of you who are already Banks fans, you might have divided opinions about this book. I personally like it because I see the Culture as a dystopia, not a utopia, and of all the novels he's written about them this one comes the closest to reflecting that sentiment.

It's also a rather depressing book, so if you're looking for a bit of light reading to brighten your day this is not the one you need. It's a thought-provoking novel, the sort that'll still be in your head days after you finish it, and well worth reading in my opinion. Banks is one of the best SF writers alive right now; this novel will show you why.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

Was a little let down to say the least!

I hate reading books where everyone dies: The author put too much detail into something that was an overall let down. I would not read this book if you get attached to characters. Literally everyone dies, or something really sad happens to them at the end. I wanted to throw my NOOK.

The author also over did it will the names of the characters. I like to be able to pronounce things that I am reading and the author seemed to make you want to struggle to just get through a page. I was very disappointed overall

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Don't get suckered with good reviews

This is a stupid, gross book. Nothing humorous or coherent in first 100 pages and after the second scene of torture by excrement I deleted it. This author is now on my permanent "don't read" list.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Interesting read.

The vast majority of the book flows rather well, and the characters get you fairly involved in the story.

The ending was fairly depressing, but entirely possible given the circumstances within the novel I suppose...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Does not deserve even 1 star

Wish I could give this bood a negative star! Such a waste of time. The end was truly terrible.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

did the author just get tired at the end????????

First 90% was a good book. End sucked in a meaningless, no point to it, complete let down, way. Like another reviewer said, I wanted to throw my nook across the room. It was not artistic, it was like he just got tired of writing. I will never ever read another book by this author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Don't waste your time!

Somewhat interesting at the beginning and middle...However book tends to drag on and on and on....then the worst part is one of the lamest endings I've ever read. Made me feel like I just wasted all my time reading this book for that dumb ending. Summary of book could be in one line..."Dude can morph to look like other people, people die sporatically throughout the book...everyone dies at the end. The End. Wish I would have never started reading it, because it started out fairly well. Extremely disappointing ending.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not my kinda thing...

Another book that i had to force myself to read and didnt get very far into. Glad it was only .99.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wordy and Long Winded

Decent story for a vignette but 430 pages when it would be best suited to 100.

I bought this for 99 cents having never heard of the author. I would not consider myself an avid SF reader, but certainly an avid reader. The author spends considerable energy setting stages that don't ever get used. I don't know if he planned or executed further novels in his Culture series which use any of the information, but if you read this plan on spending significant time reading pages of information to set a scene where a two line conversation occurs - then its off to set another scene.

Interesting ending but it falls flat and there is no hook to engage the reader in further investigation of the story arc.

Who's Phlebas? Still not sure...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pass

I got this after seeing it on Nooks Author Spotlight. The blurb was hilariously over the top. Theres some great sf here but it gets drowned in dragged out scenes, top heavy plotting and a non-ending thats just aweful. Great backdrop of societies but really poorly implemented. If your a fan of the series you'll go for it, if not, save time and money by passing this one.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disapointing ending...just leaves you cold.

Like another reviewer wrote, it was like the author got tired of writing and just quit. It held my interest until then. I won't read any more in the series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Must read for every true SiFi fan!

I picked this book up off of a library free rack in my home town in the summer of 1995, and once I got started reading it could not be put down. This is a great book that will draw you in and give a glimse of a world you will not forget. Fifteen years since I first picked it up, this book has a home on one of the many bookshelves in my library.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Dazzling Must Read

This novel is the first in a chronological series by Banks known as the Culture Novels. This series explores, in essence, what it means to be. Simply phenomenal writing and a vast complex universe with a rich cultural heritage from all forms of life are woven into a rich tapestry that implies we can become more than we are as humans and as beings. Did I mention the writing? Banks is a true master, so much so that distinguishing this as genre fiction is a disservice. I highly recommend this book as the jumping off point to the Culture series as this novel is, in many ways, an introdiction to Banks grand society.

Really?

I think the premise of the book is very interesting. However, I got 170 pages into this ~420 page book and decided to stop. It just became such a chore to read due to very lengthy explanations, descriptions, and dialogue that did not seem to drive plot lines or themes.

Not worth it

Found characters unappealing and did not find myself rooting for anyone. As a result the lack of a decent story and plot made it rather tedious and not really worth spending my time on it. At end I wondered why I bothered finishing it (must be stubborness).

One if the best space operas

Just like an opera. Except no singing and lots of aliens and robots. A wonderful introduction to the Culture.

Clever! Made me smile.

No text was provided for this review.

I just didn't get it...

I bought this book when it was on sale for 99 cents. I am somewhat entertained by sci-fi. But this book, I just didn't get. There were multiple times I wanted to stop reading it, but there were glimpses of hope in the story. (Plus, you can't write a review unless you finish the book...) I was most turned off by the cannibalistic island. Finished it and still have no idea what the Mind was or why it was important. A lot of disconnection in the plot, it seemed. Maybe you need to read it in context of other books in this series? I won't be doing that though. It has the potential to gain fans, as obvious by the reviews, but just not my cup of tea.