Multaniette Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Consider Phlebas is a brilliant novel. I don't really remember the exact details at the moment but I remember it blew my mind back when I read it initially. The sense of wonder instigated by the society depicted was immense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I'm also a big Consider Phlebas fan. It's like the biggest, awesomest action movie ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I admit, I plan to re-read Consider Phlebas following so many who weren't blown away by it. Perhaps my initial "HOLY COW THIS IS MASSIVE" got in the way of my more considered appreciation of its qualities and failings. But mostly, it's the "HOLY COW" that lingers. I think I recall remarking after first reading it that it would translate as the most amazing SF universe ever put on the screen if someone dared it. The sheer scale of things like GCUs, Orbitals, the Idrian-Culture War, is and remains mind-boggling to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lessthanluke Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I loved Consider Phleabas and The Player of Games. I have Inversions, Excession and Look to Winward but I want to rread The Use of Weapons first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I admit, I plan to re-read Consider Phlebas following so many who weren't blown away by it. Perhaps my initial "HOLY COW THIS IS MASSIVE" got in the way of my more considered appreciation of its qualities and failings. But mostly, it's the "HOLY COW" that lingers. I think I recall remarking after first reading it that it would translate as the most amazing SF universe ever put on the screen if someone dared it. The sheer scale of things like GCUs, Orbitals, the Idrian-Culture War, is and remains mind-boggling to me.I think I'd probably have liked Consider Phlebas more if it had been the first Culture book I'd read. Since I'd already read Use of Weapons, Player of Games and The State of the Art, I was already familiar with the scale of the Culture and its ships so it probably didn't have quite the same impact it would have had if I'd read it first. That said, some scenes such as the escape from the GSV were still very impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanna vander Poele Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I admit, I plan to re-read Consider Phlebas following so many who weren't blown away by it. Perhaps my initial "HOLY COW THIS IS MASSIVE" got in the way of my more considered appreciation of its qualities and failings. But mostly, it's the "HOLY COW" that lingers. I think I recall remarking after first reading it that it would translate as the most amazing SF universe ever put on the screen if someone dared it. The sheer scale of things like GCUs, Orbitals, the Idrian-Culture War, is and remains mind-boggling to me.Ah, it would be pretty sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitheach Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I'm reading The Wasp Factory right now. So darkly comic and disturbing- I have to admit I'm enjoying it more that I probably should! It's under Iain Banks (without the M. but the same author), it's his first novel from 1985 and is now considered to be one of the best novels of the 20th century. I'm already recommending it to everyone I know who could handle the storyline and I haven't even finsished it yet.I haven't read any of his other novels, but after this I'm going out to get another- probably one of his sci-fi stories. This guy is amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztemhead Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I picked up Matter a week ago and like it fine so far. I'm wondering how much Banks is trying to be funny in some spots and I'm just not getting the jokes. :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polekat Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Use of Weapons is my favorite. I got my book club to read it and not one of those dirty bitches even finished the book. :cry: In a totally different genre, The Crow Road is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztemhead Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Consider Phlebas is a brilliant novel. I don't really remember the exact details at the moment but I remember it blew my mind back when I read it initially. The sense of wonder instigated by the society depicted was immense.my question is though, how is the plot? Is it all just some cool backstory and world building, or is there an arc to it?I finished Matter, which, while interesting and enjoyable, wasn't as good as it could have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Consider Phlebas certainly has a strong narrative running through it. There's a kind of a MacGuffin, in that everyone is after an advanced Culture Mind that's escaped to a quarantined planet and is now helpless. The backdrop is the huge Idrian-Culture war, and the main character is an agent of the Idrians who's trying to recover the Mind for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor85 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Wasp Factory was so disturbing :thumbsdown: . I was actually physically disgusted throughout much of my reading experience and I only read about half of the book. I gave up because I was on the verge of puking or tearing the book to pieces or both. No book has ever caused such a reaction in me ever since. And please don't tell me I missed the best parts, as I'm not giving that evil book another chance. Call me a book prude, I just don't see the point in writing or reading such trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord O' Bones Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Your loss, dude. Might I suggest watching some Disney films instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max the Mostly Mediocre Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 The Wasp Factory is nowhere near the top of my Most Disturbing Reads list. Stephen R. Donaldson gets that prize easy, but I'd also say things such as Richard K Morgan (like, all of his stuff. Yes, it's awesome, but it's also...unsettling) or even Erikson (chain of dogs) are higher up the list than TWF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyelesbarrow Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I adore Banks too, but I've never gotten around the main Iain M. Banks novels yet, although I plan to. I started on Consider Phlebas, but put it down. Some people on this thread seem to like it so I'll give another go. I also enjoyed Inversions, Wasp Factory, Espedair St. I thought the ending of the Bridge was unsatisfactory. The Steep Approach to Garbandale read like Dick Lit, but I'm ok with it because I like Alban. My favorite is Whit, or Isis Amongst the Unsaved. It's one of my top fave books. Rollicking read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Whit gets bagged on quite a lot, but I really enjoy it; I love the way all those crazy religious traditions developed, like forbidding shopping because they don't get on with their shopkeeper inlaws... :DOf the M-less Banks books though, it doesn't get better than Complicity. Now that's a harrowing read.Edit: for those that have read the shitfest that is Garbadale, here's an entertaining pisstake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borque Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I adore Banks too, but I've never gotten around the main Iain M. Banks novels yet, although I plan to. I started on Consider Phlebas, but put it down.A tip - if you found CP to be tough to get into, try starting with Player of Games instead. It's lighter but still very good, and after PoG you are at least familiar with a lot of the concepts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyelesbarrow Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Whit gets bagged on quite a lot, but I really enjoy it; I love the way all those crazy religious traditions developed, like forbidding shopping because they don't get on with their shopkeeper inlaws... :DOf the M-less Banks books though, it doesn't get better than Complicity. Now that's a harrowing read.Edit: for those that have read the shitfest that is Garbadale, here's an entertaining pisstake.I knew I forgot something: Complicity! Thanks for the reminder. :) Harrowing, indeed, but very good. The M-less books are hits and misses, I think. Most of the time, they need better editing. But the redeeming factor for me are the protagonists. I thought Whit is a unique character/ voice and the crazy cult and her interaction with her Texan grandma (Goochi!) are just funny. Also, the fact that Morag is not a um, ah, world-class musician they thought she is. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 A tip - if you found CP to be tough to get into, try starting with Player of Games instead. It's lighter but still very good, and after PoG you are at least familiar with a lot of the concepts.I'm not sure I'd really say PoG was any lighter than CP.I see Banks is doing a book signing next Saturday at Forbidden Planet in London for his new book Transition. I'm considering going along to it. Anyone read Transition yet? Any opinions? From the summary it does sound a bit more like a 'M' book even thought it is officially an 'Iain Banks' book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysai Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 The first Banks book I read was Player of Games, and then went straight on to Consider Phlebas.I think the emphasis on characters in PoG makes getting to know the Culture a bit easier than diving right into the complexities of CP without any previous knowlege of the Culture and what it's about.They're both great reads, no matter the order they're read in.To a comment above, CP would make a monumental Sci-Fi flick if anyone were brave enough to take it on. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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