Consider Phlebas (Year of Banks #2)
It’s time for the second month and second book of our ‘Year of the Banks” here at ZackEllafy.com, and this month’s amazing book is Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks. This is Mr. Banks’ first published work of sci-fi and also the first in his series about the Culture. The Culture as we learn early on (not a spoiler) is a utopian machine and computer-led society at war with the other factions of the universe, the largest of whom are the Idirans. This sets the stage and setting for the novel and (probably) the rest of the Culture series.
Right off the bat, one main theme of the story is the constant struggle between living creatures – the story asks us whether life should be a messy imperfect human existence, or if we should let the computers and machines guide our lives in a perfect and sterile fashion? Of course, there’s war when half the universe disagrees on the approach. We met our main characters early on in the story. The Culture contains “Minds”, which are sentient and living small ships, and the novel starts with a Mind escaping death, seeking refuge on an ominous planet from the conflict and as we learn, a shape changing assassin sent after it.. If you are reading this going “woah, you are giving away so much,” this stage is set in only the first few chapters! Our main character Horza soon infiltrates onto a pirate ship with a crew of downtrodden characters to find the mind. Along the way we will encounter new huge starships, different cultures and in one scene in the book feel the entire thing from the Mind’s perspective. A space adventure indeed.
This brings me to what I really want to highlight in this post, which is Mr. Bank’s incredible world building. His writing brings a feeling of both realism and awe, and showcases a mastery of foreshadowing in my opinion. He is able to place hints regarding the importance of people, places or other things the reader needs to know, in a way which makes sense or is memorable in the moment without being distracting. The book takes place only over a few weeks of time, but it feels so epic.
By the end I was completely satisfied, and found it to be both brilliant and beautiful and some of the most thoughtful sci-fi I have read. There’s still many more of Mr. Banks’ award-nominated books to come. I didn’t want to delve too much into this book outside the basics, because I want people to read and go on the journey themselves, but just point out what I am seeing as a fan and writer. There are so many turns, twists, and things that happen, but never feel forced . The next books in the Culture series are award-winning and many fans say even better than the first. Well, one book in, I am super impressed - already Mr. Banks has shot to a favorite writer, and I will continue to read his works and delve into both his sci fi and regular fiction (past this fun project). After reading the first book of the series, I can sense mastery of his craft, and feel the best is probably yet to come with his philosophy, great writing, and worldbuilding. By the end, characters and places will feel both inevitable and poignant, which for me is a sign of a truly great writer. I only wish I could have met him and had a whiskey.
See you next month where we delve into what some fans consider one of his best works, and the next in the Culture series, The Player of Games. Long live sci fi!
