Posted on Thursday, November 15, 2007 12:14 PM
Book: Banks, Iain M., Consider Phlebas (1987)
Date Read: 14/11/2007
Notes:
Brilliant! Thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking on top of all the pure science fictional space operatic romp and adventure.
In this, his first Culture novel, Iain M. Banks not only establishes himself as a writer with an understanding of space opera, but also sets out to re-invigorate the genre. Phlebas pulls you in from the first page, and then catapults you on a fast paced journey through the galaxy, from one nerve-wrecking situation to the next. I often felt like putting the book down for a few minutes, just to catch my breath.
As the novel progresses and one gets to know and understand Horza and the rest of the characters better, it becomes clear that the space operatic conventions are here used (and abused) to illustrate a serious idea: that despite all our heroics and beliefs, we, and our wars, are insignificant in the long run. Yes, this is not new or original (after all, it is a direct reference to T.S. Eliot), but it remains true and relevant. But whereas Eliot’s The Waste Land is a haunting evocation of universal despair in a world that lost all morality, Banks here situates the individual’s insignificance within the larger insignificance of morality itself.
Like most quality works, this demands a re-read, and begs further study and consideration.
Rating: 9