weng's review against another edition
5.0
Possibly my favourite Culture novel. Excellent cast of characters and well paced story.
jjw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
blubbflubbl's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
cburling's review against another edition
Very early on in Consider Phlebos, I could tell that his writing style just wasn't for me.
elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent writing, but once more, I find myself scratching my head over the ultimate point of this novel.
In the ongoing debate, it is often said that genre fiction goes primarily by plot, whereas literary fiction is much more accepting of static portraiture of a person/ situation /worldview /etc. (Let us not get bogged down by the fact that all narratives have plot, however rudimentary or fragmented.)
So have I, a person immersed in SF genre fiction, looking at this through the wrong lens (i.e. SF plot-focused lens, rather than a philosophical one)?
Among the many plot-strands is a lovely portion of Quilan, heart-broken by the loss of his spouse, who agrees to engage to murder a Mind and billions of Culture citizens in exchange for justified self-annihilation. However, the plot ultimately goes no where; was revealed to have no chance of succeeding even at its outset. Should I, instead of waiting for the payoff and been disappointed thereby, have been savoring it simply as an exploration of what kind of a creature can undertake such a task, while cross-referencing extensively with stories of our now-a-day kamikaze terrorist /freedom-fighters?
Another beautiful section concerned a Culture citizen in a distant part of the galaxy, involving the truly fascinating lives of the dirigible behemothaurs and their attendants, who discovered a strand of the plot and proceeded on a short, and failed, attempt to carry forth a warning. This too, went nowhere. Is this part simply to show that much of mortal action is destined to go nowhere, as well to allow the behemothaurs to comment, hundreds of millions of years after these recorded events, that all mortal striving is like trying to write a novel in the sand, and even the mightiest will one day be less than Ozymandias?
Regardless, I have been consistently underwhelmed by these Culture novels, and still have 3 more to go. Sigh...
In the ongoing debate, it is often said that genre fiction goes primarily by plot, whereas literary fiction is much more accepting of static portraiture of a person/ situation /worldview /etc. (Let us not get bogged down by the fact that all narratives have plot, however rudimentary or fragmented.)
So have I, a person immersed in SF genre fiction, looking at this through the wrong lens (i.e. SF plot-focused lens, rather than a philosophical one)?
Among the many plot-strands is a lovely portion of Quilan, heart-broken by the loss of his spouse, who agrees to engage to murder a Mind and billions of Culture citizens in exchange for justified self-annihilation. However, the plot ultimately goes no where; was revealed to have no chance of succeeding even at its outset. Should I, instead of waiting for the payoff and been disappointed thereby, have been savoring it simply as an exploration of what kind of a creature can undertake such a task, while cross-referencing extensively with stories of our now-a-day kamikaze terrorist /freedom-fighters?
Another beautiful section concerned a Culture citizen in a distant part of the galaxy, involving the truly fascinating lives of the dirigible behemothaurs and their attendants, who discovered a strand of the plot and proceeded on a short, and failed, attempt to carry forth a warning. This too, went nowhere. Is this part simply to show that much of mortal action is destined to go nowhere, as well to allow the behemothaurs to comment, hundreds of millions of years after these recorded events, that all mortal striving is like trying to write a novel in the sand, and even the mightiest will one day be less than Ozymandias?
Regardless, I have been consistently underwhelmed by these Culture novels, and still have 3 more to go. Sigh...
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe more like 2.5 stars.... The big positive of this novel is that much of it takes place in the Culture (on an Orbital) instead of the surrounding galactic societies (as is usually the case), so you get many many glimpses of what life is like for a typical Culture citizen.
The negatives are two-fold. One, much of the story focuses on non-human protagonists from non-Culture worlds, and while the non-Culture aspect is very clear (they comment regularly on spoiled Culture folk), the non-human is not. You could make these characters human with very little alteration. Two, much more of the ending than I expected comes out of the blue. I was hoping for a "here's how the threads come together" experience and got something much more disconnected.
The negatives are two-fold. One, much of the story focuses on non-human protagonists from non-Culture worlds, and while the non-Culture aspect is very clear (they comment regularly on spoiled Culture folk), the non-human is not. You could make these characters human with very little alteration. Two, much more of the ending than I expected comes out of the blue. I was hoping for a "here's how the threads come together" experience and got something much more disconnected.
pauljacobson's review against another edition
5.0
Still a favourite second time around
I enjoyed this book the first time around and my second reading was even better. The blending of the story lines was seamless and the anonymous chatter throughout the book just added the right amount of levity to what was a drama at times.
I enjoyed this book the first time around and my second reading was even better. The blending of the story lines was seamless and the anonymous chatter throughout the book just added the right amount of levity to what was a drama at times.
miracletonic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
gullevek's review against another edition
5.0
I say that next to the first book this is the one of the best, if not the best in the Culture series books I have read.
Everything from the story, the settings, the characters, everything is just really amazing. Well written, well laid out, amazing plot. And on top of that a really satisfying ending.
Highly recommended to everyone.
Everything from the story, the settings, the characters, everything is just really amazing. Well written, well laid out, amazing plot. And on top of that a really satisfying ending.
Highly recommended to everyone.
smithjasont01's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
"Yes. The dead escape death in heaven, and the living escape life in dreams"
Book number 7 of the Culture series. We follow two citizens of a non culture race called the Chelgrians. One is an exiled composer living in the culture on an orbital world. The other is an ex military member who's wife has died and is being sent on a mission to destroy the orbital. This is a revenge mission to get back at the culture because they do what they do and that is meddle in the politics of lesser civilizations to push them into what they consider a morally right path. The only issue is it backfired and caused a civil war killing millions of chel citizens, which causes them to not be allowed into the very real heaven that this civilization has cretaed. Meanwhile Ziller is creating a symphony on the orbital that will coinside with the timing of light from two super novas that were set off during a war against the culture 800 odd years earlier. Quinlan is tasked to destroy the orbital at the same time this light hits and so the two paths come together. The orbital itself is controlled by a Mind that fought in the war and was suffering grief from the things it was supposed to do, including destroying 3 culture orbitals.
This book takes a step back and focuses on the culture of the culture. We see how many of the citizens live and go about their lives on this orbital, seeking out adventure wherever possible.
I loved getting to see the outside view of the culture how their meddling doesn't always go the way they want and how civilizations deal with that meddling.
Grief, pstd, and loss are all big themes throughout. We also see more of his ongoing discussion on religion versus science.
Overall and excellent entry in the series.
Book number 7 of the Culture series. We follow two citizens of a non culture race called the Chelgrians. One is an exiled composer living in the culture on an orbital world. The other is an ex military member who's wife has died and is being sent on a mission to destroy the orbital. This is a revenge mission to get back at the culture because they do what they do and that is meddle in the politics of lesser civilizations to push them into what they consider a morally right path. The only issue is it backfired and caused a civil war killing millions of chel citizens, which causes them to not be allowed into the very real heaven that this civilization has cretaed. Meanwhile Ziller is creating a symphony on the orbital that will coinside with the timing of light from two super novas that were set off during a war against the culture 800 odd years earlier. Quinlan is tasked to destroy the orbital at the same time this light hits and so the two paths come together. The orbital itself is controlled by a Mind that fought in the war and was suffering grief from the things it was supposed to do, including destroying 3 culture orbitals.
This book takes a step back and focuses on the culture of the culture. We see how many of the citizens live and go about their lives on this orbital, seeking out adventure wherever possible.
I loved getting to see the outside view of the culture how their meddling doesn't always go the way they want and how civilizations deal with that meddling.
Grief, pstd, and loss are all big themes throughout. We also see more of his ongoing discussion on religion versus science.
Overall and excellent entry in the series.