The Ambiguity of Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks is as ambiguous in tone as it is in name.
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Possibly the most compelling and mind-blowing book prologues I have ever read, is the one from Consider Phlebas.
Also... _The Hand Of God 137_ ... oh yeah.
The culture doesn't come from earth
It is a benign reading of Neoliberalism.
@@a.m.armstrong8354
Neoliberalism?
Are you insane?
If we really must describe the culture in terms of an Earth political philosophy the closest fit is anarcho communism.
Thank God…
A benign reading of neoliberalism. Are you drunk?
This absence of a well developed reason for Horza's committed hostility is not a mistake - or a lack of characterization.
Banks is saying two things with the absence of valid criticism of the Culture.
Firstly, this lack of deep thought characterizes Horza. Banks is telling us that Horza's motivations are thoughtless, paranoid, and based in conspiracy.
As a literary critic, or in my case a film maker, this feels like incomplete characterization ... but we know of real people like that. People whose internal lives are sort of empty, and whose reasoning has no depth and is based on bad information. People who have little or no introspection. Horza doesn't believe in the Idirans religion and opposed their campaign of cruelty - and yet he fights against the people who agree with him.
Re-reading it recently, it struck me how well it felt like it described the sort of motivations among those who assaulted the US Capitol in January this year. In a way, this is a complete and realistic characterization.
Secondly ... Horza's reasons for opposing the Culture are not the only ones in the novel. The Idirans plan a campaign of military expansion, genetic slavery, and religious oppression, and they are ready to fight the Culture to do it.
The Cultures reasons for standing against the Idiran Empire seem valid and ethical.
I think that is the point.
Banks is setting up the Culture as objectively good... but as always he does so with subversive perspective and ambiguity.
I once read that Banks retroactively thought of Consider Phlebas as a trick introduction to the Culture cycle. He even say he wished people could read it without knowing the Culture was a series, or that the Culture would be the protagonist of the series. Banks' view on the Culture is was that it represented his vision of how human(like) beings could survive themselves and become truly "good" - good for themselves, for others, and for the universe itself. But, rationally, nothing is perfect and everything is corruptible. Therefore, the Culture if it existed couldn't be a ideal solution because there are no perfect answers. Everything lacks in some aspect.
Therefore, he started the series with a hostile critic of the Culture - Horza is perhaps a bit basic in his objections to the Culture. He echoes pretty generic "the machines have taken over" science fiction rhetoric. He is indeed generically paranoid; paranoid about the status of living beings in a universe with machines at the apex. Again a familiar and basic fear, going all the way back to Isaac Asimov pondering what he termed "Frankenstein" syndrome. (Man plays god! Man creates the monster which in turn destroys man!)
But within the era and context Consider Phlebas was written, it is a relatively bold statement. This was just a short while after Terminator was turned loose on the world and paranoid fears over Robot Rebellion could finally be encapsulated with a word: Skynet. For a SF novel to opine that yes it is good in fact if human beings let superior machines sort all this shit out, was indeed a choice.
I found myself very interested in the ideas this book presented: The Culture, the Idirans, the war of ideals between them. The philosophical aspects especially were intriguing when it came to the Culture and the war. I wanted more of that.
Instead, it felt like an space adventure story with a cast of characters I did not care about. All of the interesting stuff got put in the background and we got an extremely slow-paced story with no real resolution. Okay, they found the mind. Finally. The book ends, and *spoilers* everyone is dead.
I keep hearing that the subsequent books are very different, and I will give them a chance, but I think I need a palate cleanser after Phlebas.
Banks was a literary genius. His work is absolutely brilliant. Consider Phlebas is a captivating masterpiece.
It isn’t a Space Opera, it defines Space Opera.
I met him. I consider that a privilege and his loss a tragedy.
Having read Consider Phlebas twice, I always found the part with the fat guy on the island a drudge. Other than that the book is one of my favorite or my actual favorite of his. Whoops, just noticed I've commented before.
Not sure which is my most or least favorite, but Consider Phlebas is up there. Feature of The Culture I Iiked best is that the AIs seem to treat us like we often treat our elderly, as someone(s) who birthed and raised us and now, in relative incapacity, deserve kindly support. I also really liked the AIs' sense or ironic humor. Nice review, Simon. thanks.
Agreed about the AI's. I've read A Player of Games since and really liked it, but I actually preferred Consider Phlebas. Looking forward to reading more and covering the whole series.
I love the Culture novels. I'll admit I'm a person who recommends skipping the first book, until you're more familiar with the world.
It's because it's so unlike the rest of the books, and I think the second book serves as a better introduction, and makes the reader more likely to continue the series.
But if you're committed beforehand to reading at least 'Consider Phlebas', and then 'The Player of Games', it's interesting to note how your attitude towards The Culture changes.
For instance, when I first read 'Consider Phlebas', I didn't feel much of anything when Horza messes with the carrier shuttle. But on looking back, after reading about these sentient ships, I feel like he did a morally wrong thing.
Reading in order also lets you see how Banks' scope of fictional technology grew, as our own real technology grew.
But the main reasons I love The Culture so much are the questions it asks. I won't get into spoilers, but I'm always left thinking about the Culture, and if they go about their projects the right way.
Banks also does a great job of showing that even when every need is met, people will still find a way bicker.
Well said. Can't wait to read more.
I've always been fascinated by his concept of shell worlds and curious how much of it was pre-thought out. Without spoilers, you start with relatively small beans, primitive view point of the grander cosmos and as you read each new book/ ascend level of a shell world, you get a bigger understanding of the workings surrounding that rather primitive view point you started with. The mechanics of the book Matter is a perfect metaphor for how the novels are structures...and im really curious if Banks "found" that metaphor as he went or if he always sort of intended it.
I do t think it’s a good versus evil but more of a natural ways vs artificial intelligence as he saw the stagnation.