Consider Phlebas: A Culture Novel | 
pickThis was the July pick for the Sword and Laser book club. Banks‘s Culture novels have been on my TBR for years, so I was happy to have the push to get started. It begins with a torture scene that almost prompted me to bail, but I persevered. This is almost a series of violent adventures in space rather than a coherent novel, but I enjoyed the world building and the characters. I will probably continue with the series, but I am in no rush.
panWell, another Sci-Fi classic that couldn't get through to me... Or maybe I just didn't get it... But from the beginning I've had troubles with the races Banks introduces. Or, better, with all the characters. It seems like Banks just can't write real and interesting characters. The plot couldn't save it, either. At the start it's way to chaotic, and when it gets better, I've already lost my interest in the book...
@TheAromaofBooks #BookSpinBingo
29 books read in July, 12 of them were on my TBR list. 2 were audio books (the first one was pretty long). I'm pretty content with this, tbh.
Favourite books: Sacrosanct, a collection of Warhammer short stories. Spiegel The Kitten by Gottfried Keller, an all-time favourite. Death At The Medina, a crime novel set in Morrocco. Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen McManus.
pickMy first introduction to Ian M. Banks Culture novels, this was a solid 4 ⭐ for me. There was one horrorish scene in the book that I thought was pointless to the story which is why it's not getting 5 stars. I'll be continuing to go through all the Culture novels over the next couple of years.
#scifi #sciencefiction
Abd here's my pile for July. I wonder how this reading month will turn out to be...
Hi @EadieB thank you for tagging me, I hope you had a nice Tuesday!
@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday
1. Consider Phlebas, Book One of the Culture by Iain M. Banks
2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Happy almost Wednesday! (Edit: typo)
pick🎧 let‘s see ... sci-fi but shades of horror & humor. I heard this isn‘t the best novel from the series. I‘m going to read book 2.
Horza, a shape changer gets in & out of trouble, becomes the captain of a spaceship full of human & mechanical mercenaries.
Cannibals & lets not talk about that first dungeon scene 🥴 ... the craziness continues but it‘s all told in a somewhat serious way.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👇🏻
pickA re-read for January's #doublespin I'm looking forward to reading a few more from the Culture series this year!
Also using #TBRDeckOfCards to choose my next book! Although I must confess to drawing 2 cards as the first was a free space for #bookspinbingo and neither of the subscription booksfor the month has arrived yet which is what I generally use the free spaces are!
This week's purchases including another attempt at Banks sci-fi
#RRSciFiMonth Day 6: race you there! Consider Phlebas is a high octane thrill ride, a race for a MacGuffin, imaginative as all heck and very bleak. I loved it from first read, but I can see why it‘s not necessarily everyone‘s best route into the Culture :)
Got this in the library, let's see how it goes.
so-soI read this after reading the third Culture book (which was recommended to me by a friend who gets what I respond to. He suggested that I skip this book.)
At first, I thought to myself, “Okay, this is a adventures-of-a-loner-dude-with-political-ramifications book.”
The clever lady character was heartening & I want to read more about her.
Info dumps (meh) got to be nice breaks from the rando horror scenes in loner dude‘s journey to the goal.
so-soSomething was off with this book. I liked the universe and the space opera story progression, but the characters were pretty flat and the author pulled some magic tricks... No it is not logical that someone in space age who is NOT a pilot knows have to drive a train, and the pilot does not. Maybe I missed some major plot point because I was interrupted so often... I will try the second book in the series, though. I have heard they get better.
so-so
Consider Phlebas was my second Culture novel. I liked it although I thought it dragged in places and there were some overly disgusting parts which seemed way over the top and which put me off. I was again impressed with Banks‘ world building and the scale and detail in his universe. I will continue on in his Culture series. I listened to the audio book and the narration by Peter Kenny was really good.
Getting started on my second Iain M Banks Culture novel after Player of Games.
GUYS!! 😱💙💙💙💙💙
New purchase train reading. Damn you, Foyles. (Kidding. Ily.)
When I think of #artificialintelligence i think of the Culture series by Iain Banks, A post needs/want society where humans and AI's are equals in a galaxy spanning society. These books investigate the tensions inherent in such a society, both internal and external relations with other species and political philosophies. #aprilbookshowers
pickConsider Phlebas was very different than anything I've read before. It was a fascinating look at a war between a futuristic utopia and a planet of warrior zealots. I really enjoyed it, and hope to read more Culture novels in the future!
#booktober #OutOfThisWorld
I never read sci-fi but I'm looking forward to eventually finishing these.
pickI've read and enjoyed several of Banks's "straight" novels but approached this one with some trepidation- by all accounts it's not typical of his Culture series and some reviews were a bit off-putting. I found some of the chase-and-fight scenes a bit dull tbh but there was enough good stuff ( the cannibal island, the Game of Damage, the miserable drone) to convince me to persevere with the series.
