Consider Phlebas by Iain m. Banks book review

Review of Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks

I haven’t read a vast amount of science fiction, but Ian Banks, the science fiction writer who originally, to much acclaim, forced his hand to popular fiction mixed with a soggy sample of the strange and surreal to (as he says in an interview on you tube) ‘get published’, has created something vast and loud in his culture novels.

A story about a political assassin and Special Op expert named Horza, a Changer who can transform himself to look like any humanoid, and his desperate attempt to capture a secret weapon in a highly protected, neutral planet in the midst of a galactic war which has already cost the lives of millions, you would think Consider Phlebas would be hard going, stuffed with scientific propositions and a huge cast of characters. In fact, it was not. Instead it let us slowly into the current state of the galaxy, while also introducing clearly and carefully each character and often gave revealing insight to the views of different individuals fighting in the war. It was well placed, I thought, and I never felt lost or confused, except when I was supposed to feel that way. Dialog, scenic descriptions and stream of consciousness prose seem to be Bank’s specialty, and he flawlessly steps between thoughts, actions and eventful description of the complex main character Horza.

On the back cover the novel is keyed as a space opera of great imagination, and Banks certainly seems to play along with this idea, using interludes, and breaking the book up into separate parts labeled, for example, state of play: two. I am not sure if he does this to parody the space opera genre, or if he is toying with something else, and my lack of encounter with space opera limits my critique of the structuring.

The Universe Banks has created is vast, filled with advanced civilizations, and is at a stage of development which could easily be considered utopian. The society most delved into is the Culture, an extremely advanced version of our world society, where technology has gotten to a point where everyone within the culture relies on highly intelligent and apparently benign artificial, sentient minds, which are vastly more intelligent than regular human beings, with a few exceptions of course. Thousands of Orbitals, immense flat planets, have been created by the Minds to allow the species under it’s protective arm limitless space and opportunity for pleasures and hedonism for all their days. Horza, on his many plights and attempts to manipulate himself out of dire situations he continually finds himself in gives us a glimpse of the Cultures huge power, creativity and intelligence, as well as the reasoning behind his own hatred for the civilization.

The impetus to the events of the novel is the huge galactic war which has erupted between the Culture and the Idirans, a war which measures it’s casualties in the billions. It is an interesting reflection on the political philosophies of our time I think. The Culture is the epitome of what I think the Post-Modern movement (for lack of a better title) our academic world is in will eventually produce if not stopped in some way, a system of extreme openness which is ultimately self-contradicting, yet still functions and though in the denial of absolute truths or moral law, it claims this denial itself as truth, and is willing to defend it no matter the cost. It is a culture similar to what our western cultural critics seem to want our culture to become.

The Idirans are very different, but could also been seen as a reflection of certain political/religious groups, an alien race, millions of years old and totally devoted to their religion, which includes enslaving other planets and systems to honor their God. I couldn’t help but note the name Banks gives the Idirans: id-IRANs, and although Horza, along with the rest of his species, is affiliated with the Idirans, in spite of the thoughts of hate and outrage Horza has towards the Culture, I got the sense that, in a way, Banks was really siding with the Culture and despising the Idirans and although the Idirans seemed to be winning the overall war when it came to statistics, it is fairly clear who Banks will eventually allow victory.

The galactic war is really not the main focus of the book, although it is important. Instead we are focused on Horza’s many plights and misadventures through the maze of strange worlds, settings which include huge flat planet-like structures called orbitals, desert islands, games of carnage organized for the criminally insane of every species, ancient temples on small moons, fights under hovercraft and fights in ancient train stations. Horza’s many struggles against the culture and it’s creations seem to be the microcosm of the larger war going on around him. Horza is granted an amazing amount of luck, and his body seems to be able to take a lot of punishment. Yet, even this important mission’s failure is only a small part of the war and one culture Mind calculates that its success would only prolong the war by a few months at the most. Likewise, at the end of the novel, it is stated that on a scale of the war’s effect to the whole universe, the war rarely extended throughout more than .02% of the galaxy by volume. The magnificence and vastness of space reminds us once again how small we are, how seemingly insignificant the death of millions can be for sentient beings watching from outside our narrow lifetimes.

There are many memorable moments in Consider Phlebas, and the characterization is often spot on. The different points of view of the war are interesting. The many internal struggles of the morally questionable Horza’s struggles to survive and complete his mission, which in itself has many motives, are often unexpected. He is rather mysterious in many senses, his actions sometimes contradicting his state of mind, but always ensuring him survival, no matter the cost of others around him. I loved the book for its variety, its many settings, many characters, and many twists and tensions of espionage and manipulation on all levels. Only the last few scenes and the ending were overstretched and drawn out, I thought, but the conclusion was also interesting. Banks, a writer of furious speed, has me hungry for more of this exotic place, which is our so called galaxy.