Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.48 You Save: $6.51 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.11 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Consider Phlebas
Book Review: Great from beginning to end, almost.
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is a great space opera. Loads of actions, plot twists, and character shake-ups. I enjoyed reading it to the very end. It's in the end that the book, to me, disappoints the reader, us. The ending is so anti-climatic. The book steered me into a certain direction that I was guessing, anticipating a great, possibly fantastic ending; instead I was left with a "WTF" frame of mind. Did Mr Banks have a due date on this that he ended it the way he did? I know that this was his first forray into SF, but still, I hope his next book that I intend to read, and yes I will read the next one, will pay off where this book didn't. Good read but the end was away from the story.Book Review: Very entertaining introduction to the culture.
Summary: 4 Stars
I was not thrilled with the ending due to what happens to a character but it certainly lent it emotional impact. We got a great intro to the culture.
I agree with others who indicate the machines intelligences appear too kind hearted, but then again who's to say they should end up as in a terminator novel once they achieve intelligence.
Horza's a great anti hero. Several characters including a human who occasionally achieves superior conclusions to machines, survive and hopefully appear in later novels.
I will pick up the next Culture novel as this was a very solid read.
3-21-11
Book Review: Start of the journey
Summary: 4 Stars
First of the culture books, this was my starting point recently. I enjoyed the story enough that I'm buying a few more of Banks' books to continue the journey.
Slightly dark, with a few good twists and turns. Besides the section with "The Eaters" being a little too dragged out and seeming to be kind of a dead end, I enjoyed it from cover to cover.
Book Review: Good but not the best
Summary: 4 Stars
Very good, but I didn't like it as much as Excission and The Player of Games. I like a tight book and Phlebas had a great opening and a great close, but it slowed down a bit in the middle. Interesting to have an anti-culture main character.Book Review: A good intro to the Culture series
Summary: 4 Stars
It certainly is the first of the series, and you can tell both at the style and story. It is worth reading, especially if you have read other books on the culture or you are planing to.