Consider Phlebas

...Consider Phlebas is in essence a very fast-paced space opera. Huge spaceships and incredible constructs form the background of lots of detailed action scenes. Banks rarely takes his foot of the gas for long enough to really reflect on this universe. In that respect I had expected a little more from this novel. Then again, he's clearly not done with this setting so perhaps it is just as well he leaves something to be explored for the next volumes. I don't think this novel quite justifies the praise heaped on The Culture series as a whole, the setting may be awesome, the plot itself is rather straightforward. There's also an odd sense of disconnection between he plot and the setting. None of the characters in the book seem to influence events on a larger scale in any way, which is something I more or less expected given that the book is marketed as space opera. In fact, the whole ending of the novel is rather depressing. It's a conclusion Joe Abercrombie would approve of. It was an entertaining novel but it did give me the impression there was quite a bit of room left for improvement. For this series to live up to its reputation I expect stronger novels among the other Culture books.

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