Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Consider Phlebas

  • Culture Series, Book 1
  • By: Iain M. Banks
  • Narrated by: Peter Kenny
  • Length: 16 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,648 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Consider Phlebas

By: Iain M. Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

The novels of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. His Culture books combine breathtaking imagination with exceptional storytelling, and have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre.
War rages across the galaxy. Billions have died, billions more are doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, face cold-blooded, brutal destruction. The Idirans ­fight for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles are at stake. There can be no surrender.

Within this cosmic conflict, a crucial battle of wits is waged. Deep within a fabled labyrinth, on a Planet of the Dead forbidden to mortals, lies a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans desperately seek it. It is the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, to actually ­find it - and with it their own destruction.

The Culture series:
Consider Phlebas
The Player of Games
Use of Weapons
Excession
Inversions
Look to Windward
Matter
Surface Detail
The Hydrogen Sonata
The State of the Art

Other books by Iain M. Banks:
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn
The Algebraist

©1987 Iain M. Banks (P)2010 Hachette Digital
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Children of Time cover art
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) cover art
The Martian cover art
Sentenced to War cover art
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cover art
The Singularity Trap cover art
Alien: Out of the Shadows cover art
Veiled Alliances cover art
Fear the Sky cover art
Invaders cover art
Alien: Covenant Origins cover art
The Well of Eternity: Blizzard Legends cover art
Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks cover art
The Salvage Crew cover art
Embers of War cover art
Ringworld cover art

Critic reviews

'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson

What listeners say about Consider Phlebas

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,012
  • 4 Stars
    1,087
  • 3 Stars
    404
  • 2 Stars
    96
  • 1 Stars
    49
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,154
  • 4 Stars
    664
  • 3 Stars
    160
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    11
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,610
  • 4 Stars
    865
  • 3 Stars
    388
  • 2 Stars
    106
  • 1 Stars
    45

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Phlebas Considered

I'll confess up front that I'm a huge admirer of Iain Banks' science fiction. Banks has created an epic utopia/dystopia that is utterly involving, thought provoking and rewarding.



Peter Kenny is a brilliant narrator and brings life to the many characters that are introduced throughout this first 'Culture' novel.



Highly recommend this and the series as a whole.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Confused, you will be

Very confusing, I enjoy sci fi and can allow any concept to be feasible but mess around with characters and I'm lost. I'm still waiting for several story lines to be completed and the main character I thought it was about dies leaving the one I expected to live, more than just a plot twist the way it happens as well

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

one of the best books ever fore.

if you love space opera, and haven't yet come across the culture novels, welcome to the new standard and I envy for for the joy they are about to bring. Can't wait for the TV series. RIP Iain M Banks.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant writing.

A fantastic novel and a great performance. I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and recommend it to those who are interested in science fiction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal

Peter Kennys narration on this one is stellar and Banks writing as always is astounding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected

What did you like most about Consider Phlebas?

Peter Kenny's narration

Would you be willing to try another book from Iain M. Banks? Why or why not?

Possibly, he has an unusual writing style.

Have you listened to any of Peter Kenny’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Very well. The same brilliant performance as always.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Neaer the end several characters undergo some very interesting transformations.

Any additional comments?

This is a book where the story is much more important than individual characters, and characters are important only in so far as they contribute to the story. If the character must die to advance the story, he will. Unpredictable to the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic book and performance

Tried reading this years ago and struggled as I am not much of a scifi fan. The performance was amazing... Making this awesome story accessible at last. Will go on with the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this

I was looking for a good in-depth / complex sifi book and I've found it in this one.

Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Would recommend to people who really like Star Trek and Farscape and other large galaxy Sifi subject

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

banks being banks

long and winding, like many Ian M banks books. he's done better he has done worse. definitely shows the futility of self importance.
is this book just a massive science fiction parody?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hmmm

First culture book but not the best. Still it's a well written space opera and enjoyable enough. Didn't like the ending..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!