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Consider Phlebas is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1987.
Summary
The novel revolves around the Idiran-Culture War, and Banks plays on that theme by presenting various microcosms of that conflict. Perhaps surprisingly, especially since this is the first (published) Culture novel, its central character Bora Horza Gobuchol is actually an enemy of the Culture.
Description
Consider Phlebas is Banks' first science fiction novel set in the Culture, and takes its title from a line in T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. Look to Windward, whose title comes from the same poem, can be considered a loose follow-up.
The Culture and the Idiran Empire are at war in a galaxy-spanning conflict. Horza, a genetically-engineered mercenary capable of altering his appearance at will (a Changer), is assigned the task of retrieving a Culture Mind by his Idiran handlers. He encounters, and joins, a band of mercenaries and pirates, led by Kraiklyn, on their ship, the Clear Air Turbulence. All the while he is doggedly pursued by a Culture Special Circumstances agent, Perosteck Balveda.
On Vavatch Orbital, which is scheduled for destruction in the war, Horza is marooned on an island where he encounters The Eaters, a bizarre cannibalistic cult; Horza manages to escape in time to watch Kraiklyn play Damage, then fights and kills him, to take control of the CAT. Horza ultimately leads the pirates to Schar's World, a Planet of the Dead, and the hideout of the fugitive Mind. There, with the help of Balveda (his enemy who sees it is in her own interests to help him), he fights an infiltration team of Idirans (ignorant of his mission for the Idiran Armed Forces) through its underground railway network in his attempt to capture the prize.
History
Consider Phlebas, like most of Banks' early SF output, was a rewritten version of an earlier book.
"Phlebas was an old one too; it was written just after The Wasp Factory, in 1984. I've found that rewriting an old book took much more effort than writing one from scratch, but I had to go back to do right by these things. Now I can go on and start completely new stuff."*
Analysis
The book was generally very well-received as a fast-paced space opera with a morally ambiguous hero and lots of grand scenery and devices, some original to the genre with Banks, some borrowed from other authors: the Orbitals for example show the influence of Larry Niven. Some of the scenes, like Horza's fight with Kraiklyn and the escape from Vavatch Orbital in the stolen CAT, are regarded as among Banks' finest action writing.
There is a debate among Banks fans about which Culture book is the best introduction to the fictional utopia. Consider Phlebas is an obvious contender, being the first published. The Player of Games is sometimes suggested as being easier to read.
Banks said in an interview:
'There's a big war going on in Phlebas, and various individuals and groups manage to influence its outcome. But even being able to do that doesn't ultimately change things very much. At the book's end, I have a section pointing this out by telling what happened after the war, which was an attempt to pose the question, 'What was it all for?' I guess this approach has to do with my reacting to the cliche of SF's 'lone protagonist.' You know, this idea that a single individual can determine the direction of entire civilizations. It's very, very hard for a lone person to do that. And it sets you thinking what difference, if any, it would have made if Jesus Christ, or Karl Marx or Charles Darwin had never been. We just don't know.'*
Trivia
Consider Phlebas is the first novel in which sublimation appears. Later novels include Excession and Look to Windward, a loose sequel concerning the after-effects of the war.
Bibliography
Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks, London: Macmillan, 1987, ISBN 0333441389 (paperback ISBN 1857231384)
External link
1987 novels | Iain M. Banks books | Science fiction novels | The Culture
"Consider Phlebas"