| SF Reviews by Aaron M. Renn | By Author - By Title - By Date Reviewed |
Conclusion: Worth Reading
Several people told me that if I liked Ken MacLeod I'd love Iain M. Banks. Well while in a neighborhood used bookstore recently, I saw a very cheap copy of Consider Phlebas and couldn't pass it up. Turns out it was a very good move because this was Banks' first SF book - always best to start at the beginning I say - and appears to be out of print in the United States.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Perhaps this was inevitable. MacLeod is writing the best SF around these days, so comparisons to him are bound to generate unreasonably high expectations. The book was solidly written and moderately enjoyable, but clearly this is nowhere near the level of, say, The Star Fraction.
Banks actually reminded me more of Douglas Adams than Ken MacLeod. The protagonist is a shapeshifter who is trying to recover a sentient computer core for his employer and keeps getting sidetracked by absurd adventures. The backdrop is a war between a warlike species called the Idirans and an amalgamation of human worlds called the Culture. Interestingly, Bora Horza Gobuchul - our protagonist - is on the side of the Idirans. I may not know much about Banks' writing, but I do know that his books are frequently referred to as the Culture novels, so I assumed the Culture were the Good Guys. Turned out that this really isn't a Good Guys v. Bad Guys novel, which is one of its strengths.
I can see why a lot of people might fall in love with Banks. One of the marks of greatness in the genre has always been the "grand vision" sweeping across many thousands of years, light-years, and cultures. Banks certainly has that. From Orbital rings around planets, to massive General System Vehicles, to megaships plying the oceans, this is SF writ large. Unfortunately, most of these gestures seemed gratutious. This is greatness on the cheap. It's as if Banks knew the rules of the genre and set out to write something that would get a good score rather than something that would be great in and of itself. I've often thought that if I were to write an SF novel I would out do everybody with a galaxy-sized spaceship on a 77 billion year journey to investigate the nearest quasar or something.
Don't get me wrong. Consider Phlebas is entertaining. The absurd adventures are creative, with just the right touch of humor. The ending is very strong, completing the tragic story that was evident almost from page one. Some details, such as the card game Damage, really stood out. The almost casual recounting of the killing of billions in a war that should never have happened paradoxically provokes thoughts of war's true horror and cost. The contrast of this vast conflict with the ultimately meaningless struggle and suffering of the characters is where the philosophical heart of the novel lies. Still, I think this is merely solid, not spectacular science fiction.
%A Banks, Iain M. %T Consider Phlebas %I Orbit %D 1996 (original publication 1987) %G ISBN 1-85723-138-4 %P 471 pp. %O trade paperback, £6.99
Reviewed on 2000-08-26
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