Reviews

I liked 'the player of games' better, more engaging somehow. This book had an an interesting beginning and middle in an epic universe full of great visions , but I didn't like the final act in the tunnels as much. It felt like a generic action movie

cassie_b's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I love Iain M Banks but this is his first Culture book & while it’s not bad, it’s not up to the quality of his later writing. I am re-reading his books in order - I jumped around when I first read them. Consider Phlebas tells several stories around the same character, culminating in a battle / treasure hunt so is a bit confusing & long winded but also could be viewed as value for money! There’s useful (though not essential) background for later books, too, so it’s worth reading - just don’t judge all of Banks’ science fiction on this early work

maschhoffp's review against another edition

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2.5

Cool intro to the Culture but hurt by its gender treatment

sfletcher26's review against another edition

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2.0

Iain M Banks and Iain Banks has been a favourite author of mine for decades, and I've loved all of the Culture novels I've read. Consider Phlebas is one of the few I've not read before because, for some reason, I've just never been able to get into it. Don't know why, but there it is. I thought, though, I'd give it one more go because it's where everything starts. Well, I now wish I hadn't. All the recognisable Banksian tropes are there, but somehow, they just didn't work for me. There was also one completely pointless chapter that I felt existed just to see whether he could get away with it.

Verdict...
Not actually bad but not really that good.

saoki's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a good book, but I don't like it. It's well written, well crafted and does this thing which was mind-blowing when it was published and is still quite satisfying (though considered now an old trick): it has an intentionally terrible main character, which happens to be the very same heroic main character in many other novels.
It's a statement. The kind of person that does what Horza does isn't really nice/warm/someone you want to meet (be that for a beer or in a dark alley). He's not someone I can agree with, but if I did, the way Ian M. Banks shows all the cruelty, pettiness and egotism inherent to the Action Man kind of character would have made me question my beliefs. If I liked that guy, the ending would have slayed me.

So this book was truly not written for me (I think it's either a cultural or a generational thing.). Still, it's very well written, filled with interesting images and possessing some lovely analysis of what makes people tick. It's famous for a reason, after all.

Edit: oh, and I was chalking up the way the women are treated in most of the book to it being published in the 80's, until I realized that the author was slightly twisting some common science fiction/action character types. That is another thing that was probably more interesting when the book was published.

kriswasp's review against another edition

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3.0

Iain Banks has a marvellous imagination. This is his second published book and his first science fiction. I have previously only read the Wasp Factory and loved it. He continues in a similar vein here, some outrageous scenes and shocking moments alongside some excellent story telling, some well-defined and not so subtle ideas coming through, and scenes of such scope, scale and grandeur that it just makes you wonder how this has never ended up on the screen.

A visual version of this novel would actually tidy up my biggest issues with the book: it’s about 100 pages too long. The font is smaller than most books, and as so it’s even longer than needs be. Some of the scenes, while rip-roaring action spectacles, drag on for far too long. Yes they are exciting and interesting, but they just drag on to the point where I’m no longer interested. There’s an adrenaline fuelled escape from a spaceship like the Death Star, and it overstays its welcome. The last chapter of action keeps flicking between perspectives to build up the tension so often it just unwinds itself like a broken Slinky. He’s clearly having fun with these scenes but he needs to balance it out.

As such my biggest criticism of this book is the pacing, and that’s why I’ve only scored it 3 stars. Long chapters on small font with overlong exposition and descriptions and scenes weigh this book down like an overburdened donkey in the desert. It drags. And I felt dragged.

It won’t stop me reading over Culture novels (I own several) because I would much rather read this book first, in which Banks is clearly finding his voice and exploring himself as an author, and then move on to books where he has found his rhythm and his flow. The Player of Games is a much shorter novel, and that gives me hope that he has learned some lessons and stripped back slightly. I will be giving it a go because Banks can write. Boy can he write. I look forward to what else is to come.

wolfed's review against another edition

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4.0

Read the first foundation book while reading this and sorry to Asimov but it was like seeing something in full HD with how much more interesting the world was.

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