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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was my second attempt and I made it three chapters farther than my first attempt, but I still don't care about anyone or anything in this book.
On a side note, this is the first audiobook I had to slow down to enjoy - x.9 speed.
On a side note, this is the first audiobook I had to slow down to enjoy - x.9 speed.
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors and this year I’m re-reading all his science fiction novels for the first time in about 30 years. This was my fourth read, the first in the Culture series.
Consider Phlebas is nominally about a race between the Culture (represented by Perosteck Balveda) and the Idirans (and their Changer agent Bora Horza Gorbuchul) to retrieve a Culture Mind that’s crashed on a planet. I say nominally because the first half of the novel is a series of capers involving Horza that, while entertaining enough (aside from the chapter with the Eaters, which I found almost fetishistically gruesome), do little to advance the plot. In this it reminded me of Against A Dark Background. Balveda is entirely absent.
Speaking of under-developed characters, I also thought the three sections with Fal ‘Ngeestra added nothing and could have been excised.
I did enjoy the drone Unaha-Closp, and I found the ending poignant, but overall I found this to be the weakest of Banks’ novels that I’ve read so far.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
Banks has an strong sense of prose, his writing is engaging and evocative. His plotting is good, but not mind bending. His characters are believable though pulpy, they aren't likely to surprise you. His pacing is not good. Slowing things down to draw out the inevitable feels like marking time in the least compelling way possible.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
La ambientación puede dar mucho juego. Me recuerda a Hyperion o a Judas Unchained (sin portales, eso sí): es una galaxia rica en locuras apabullantes que dan para mucho juego. El problema es que solo son destellos de maravilla y, encima, torpemente pintados. Sospecho que esto funcionaría mejor en el medio audiovisual, siempre que alguien consiga interpretarlo bien y rellenar los huecos. Tampoco ayuda que el libro sea laaargo.
Lo mejor es la caracterización de las IA, especialmente de Unaha-Closp. Me encanta ese rollo sarcástico, depresivo y de desprecio hacia las bolsas de carne que somos.
Es extraordinario que un libro consiga ser aburrido y extenuante a la vez. Por un lado, la prosa es extremadamente descriptiva y complica la proyección mental de escenas (esta combinación también tiene mérito), con lo que tienes que releer una vez y otra muchos párrafos porque has perdido el hilo. Por otro, tanto el principio como el final —con una pausa para descansar en medio— son agotadores porque son persecuciones con un crescendo constante que no acaba de romper. El clímax, especialmente, me ha hecho un <i>edging</i> no solicitado que parecía no acabar nunca.
Si os digo la verdad, me ha defraudado enormemente. No solo La fábrica de avispas me pareció un librazo, sino que llevo más de una década con ganas de ponerme con la Cultura, tras múltiples y buenas recomendaciones. Pasará bastante tiempo antes de que me atreva con el segundo libro de esta serie y, si no me flipa, hasta ahí llegaré. No lo entiendo, de verdad.
Lo mejor es la caracterización de las IA, especialmente de Unaha-Closp. Me encanta ese rollo sarcástico, depresivo y de desprecio hacia las bolsas de carne que somos.
Es extraordinario que un libro consiga ser aburrido y extenuante a la vez. Por un lado, la prosa es extremadamente descriptiva y complica la proyección mental de escenas (esta combinación también tiene mérito), con lo que tienes que releer una vez y otra muchos párrafos porque has perdido el hilo. Por otro, tanto el principio como el final —con una pausa para descansar en medio— son agotadores porque son persecuciones con un crescendo constante que no acaba de romper. El clímax, especialmente, me ha hecho un <i>edging</i> no solicitado que parecía no acabar nunca.
Si os digo la verdad, me ha defraudado enormemente. No solo La fábrica de avispas me pareció un librazo, sino que llevo más de una década con ganas de ponerme con la Cultura, tras múltiples y buenas recomendaciones. Pasará bastante tiempo antes de que me atreva con el segundo libro de esta serie y, si no me flipa, hasta ahí llegaré. No lo entiendo, de verdad.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the first of Iain M. Banks' 'Culture' books, which to my knowledge is not a continuous series but a set of 10 standalone scifi novels. The Culture is a hedonistic, hyper advanced post-scarcity galactic utopia, and a human-machine hybrid society. They are at war with the Idirans, a dogmatic and martial alien race to whom the Culture's vices and their machines are anathema.
This grand-scale stage is only a lavish backdrop for the much smaller story we are following. Our protagonist Horza is a shapeshifter who works for the Idirans despite being human (if genetically engineered), and after a series of unfortunate events he finds himself with a ragtag group of mercenaries who are always on the hunt for 'easy way in, easy way out' heists.
I liked this book, but I didn't love it. The plot is entertaining but not groundbreakingly unique, action-heavy and fast-paced up to a certain point. Banks has created a vibrant world with intriguing concepts. The small story that takes place in the vast space opera feels authentic, but also leaves you longing for more of the epic stuff that the story only occasionally touches on.
The main characters were well developed and stuck with me, while some minor ones were one-dimensional. In the case of one quite peculiar character I asked myself why they were even in the story. It's generally well written and action sequences are exciting.
What pulled this down from 4 to 3.5 stars: the pacing gets excruciatingly slow towards the end, which feels odd because in most stories it picks up towards the climax. This caused my excitement to wane in the last few chapters and made me want to get it over with.
It's a decent, but not great book that still leaves me wanting to learn more about the Culture. The consensus among fans is that book two is a vast improvement, and some even recommend skipping this one altogether. So I have high hopes for the next book, "The Player of Games".