Consider Phlebas

Iain M. Banks

The Culture and the Idrians have been at war a long time. Each believes their ideals are morally right. They're not fighting for land or dominance so much as their beliefs. The Culture is made up of humans and intelligent machines. The believe that fighting should be a thing of the past and humans should be able to relax. The Idrians are a long-lived, three-legged warrior race that relies solely on itself. They believe in the individual and the group using machines only as tools, without any intelligence or sentience.

Horza is from a subgroup of humans called Changers. Changers can willingly shift their own bodies to look like another person. The Changers, including Horza, tend to side with the Idrians against the Culture. When a Mind Ship crash lands on a secluded Death Planet, Changers are the only beings allowed on the planet. The Idrians employ Horza to retrieve the Mind Ship for them.

Horza escapes a Culture special agent when he is parted from the Idrians. Belveda is also charged with recovering the Mind Ship. Horza joins a group of mercenaries and tries to get to the Death Planet. His plans include taking over the ship from its current captain. Before he can head to the Death Planet, Horza meets Belveda again. Despite his shift in appearance, she recognizes him. The race is on.

The Culture and the war with the Idrians are the background for Consider Phlebas. The novel itself focuses on one small battle within the war. Horza and Belveda both escape death more times than could be believed. Although Iain M. Banks focuses on Horza, both characters have their strengths and flaws. They both strongly believe in their right and are willing to fight for it.

Consider Phlebas doesn't tie everything up in a nice ending until the Epilogue. Instead, Banks deals realistically, at times brutally, with his characters. By the last quarter of the book I was completely pulled in, wanting to know what would happen next.

But there are parts of Consider Phlebas that still baffle me. I'm not sure why the section about the game of Damage is included. Is it supposed to show how humans have declined in the Culture, becoming more hedonistic since machines do most of the work? It is a good background for Horza's skills, but those have already been proven to the reader. It also is where Horza and Belveda meet up again, but the game itself has little to do with that meeting.

Overall I liked Consider Phlebas although it's not an easy read. This was Iain M. Banks first science fiction novel and his introduction to the Culture. It's packed with action and ideas. There are heros and bad guys - but they all keep switching roles. Who is right and who is wrong? It's up to the reader to decide.

Notice:  Non-graphic violence