Consider Phlebas Book Reviews

We transfer money over €4 billion every month. We enable individual and business accounts to save 4 million Euros on bank transfer fees. Want to send free money abroad or transfer money abroad for free? Free international money transfer!

Surprisingly good!. Been on a sci fi kick. But many books are so full of pretentious lumbering prose and slow time murdering pages. Was not expecting this book to be so direct, clear, yet evocative, action packed and fun. Can’t believe my luck that this isn’t even his best book and I have so many more to go. Very very puzzled about the bad reviews I’ve seen but ok…to each their own. Cheers Mr Banks. Freaking love your stuff.

Sickening. Ok science fiction but descends into gratuitous putrid imagery that does nothing for the story. No one wants these images in their head. Kills the story.

Awesome roller coaster ride. Unlike his later novels, reading this book is like jumping on a moving freight train. What a ride. Gruesome, bold, and interesting.

Good solid space opera. A very engaging read, but I wasn't too happy with the ending. Not as much tech as I like in sci-fi, but good character development.

Fi w/o much Sci. Episodic space opera with virtually no science and a whole lot of adventure fighting. Reads like a series of short stories without much of an ending.

100 Words or Less. Good, hard hitting, traditional sci-fi is hard to come by nowadays, but Banks’ novel does its best to fit the mold. This is good enough to keep you interested until the end, though I have to admit the series of small battles begin to blend into a nonsensical mess. Individually, the chapters are well written. But as a whole, at times it seems there is blood and guts just for the sake of blood and guts. That detracts from its impact. Too bad. The core of this novel is strong.

Instead of considering Phlebas, Banks should have considered editing. Overly long, with plodding chapters that don’t build on the story. What you hope is groundwork being laid simply leads to nothing and is not paid off later on. The book doesn’t really move until the final chapters, and the final chapters don’t feel like they cap off the book. A collection of disjointed scenes loosely linked together with rambling asides signifying nothing, this book is not worth your time or money. I paid 99¢ for it 10 years ago and still want my money back.

Meh. Forced & clumsy drama. House of pain style of writing (jump around)

Loved it. The whole series is amazing and this is a great place to start. I'm so sad there will never be a new book. Thanks for the great ride.

A Great Introduction to Culture. I have been working through Banks' Culture novels (out of order) and I think I would recommend this as a great jumping-in point. It is the first novel in the series he wrote, but you don't necessarily have to read them in order, even though there is a lot of chronology and some overlap in characters and events. Banks was a prolific, visionary sci-fi author. His stories jump off the page. Highly recommended.

A Disappointing Read. I forced my way through it. Very unevenly written ... I found myself slogging through it to find the interesting bits. Definitely not worth $9.99.

Peak form. This is Banks at his best and the Culture at its grandest.

Unnecessary gore and violence. The story and characters were interesting, but I found the level of gore and violence quite unnecessary, so I quit about halfway through as I don’t enjoy this in my sci fi.

Did you know that you can earn 25 USD from our site just by registering? Get $25 for free by joining Payoneer!

Imagine you at your best. All the time. Picture yourself at your sharpest and most productive. Your most alert and focused. Your most lucid, creative and confident. At work. At play. In every area of your life. Add Mind Lab Pro® v4.0 to your daily routine and uncap your true potential. Buy Now!

Adsterra is the most preferred ad network for those looking for an alternative to AdSense. Adsterra is the ideal choice for new sites with low daily traffic. In order to advertise on the site in Adsterra, like other ad networks, a certain traffic limit, domain age, etc. is required. There are no strict rules. Sign up!