Consider Phlebas

“Consider Phlebas” by Iain M. Banks

It’s to my eternal shame that it took the author’s death to get me to start reading ’ The Culture’ series – I certainly have been aware of them for many years. Since I first started using the internet two decades ago I’d noticed much discussion of these books on newsgroups and forums. Something kept me away from these books, perhaps going by the reputation of Banks’ literary fiction (which he published minus the ‘M’) I was afraid of some oh-so-worthy high concept exercise. But I was wrong; this book is a wide-screen space opera full of action set pieces and an intriguing back story.
The Culture is a utopian civilization of humans and machines living side by side and devoted to bringing enlightenment to the galaxy. In this volume they are at war with the Idirans, a race of giant three-legged religious warriors. During a battle a Culture starship is destroyed but it’s controlling artificial intelligence “Mind” escapes and hides out underground on the forbidden planet Schar’s World. After rescuing him from certain doom the Idirans task shape-changing protagonist Horza with finding and recovering the Mind before the Culture can get to it.
Fully half of the book follows Horza’s misadventures just trying to get to Schar’s World – he encounters and goes into battle with space mercenaries, visits a huge ringworld type “Orbital” and survives being captured by a bizarre tribe of cannibals.
Once we reach the planet the action goes into overdrive with a tense chases and battles in the subterranean tunnels and a suitable climax.
I really enjoyed this book – every time I thought it was going to drift into something clichéd and tedious it would surprise me with imagination and invention. It would make a great Sci-Fi action movie (given enough money was thrown at it).