Consider Phlebas
Culture, Book 1
by Iain M. Banks
4 more
More Recommenders
“@campuscodi the Expanse series is awesome (first book is Leviathan Wakes) The Culture series from Iain M. Banks (starting with Consider Phlebas) are classic too.. | Reading The Culture series by Banks. Compelling picture of a grand, semiutopian galactic future. Hopefully not too optimistic about AI. | Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization | excited for this, Banks' Culture series is brilliant. Consider Phlebas is one of my favourite books, I read it back in the day when I was Programming, Theme Park, the cheat code for the game is 'Horza', the main character from the book...”
Source →“@campuscodi the Expanse series is awesome (first book is Leviathan Wakes) The Culture series from Iain M. Banks (starting with Consider Phlebas) are classic too.. | Reading The Culture series by Banks. Compelling picture of a grand, semiutopian galactic future. Hopefully not too optimistic about AI. | Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization | excited for this, Banks' Culture series is brilliant. Consider Phlebas is one of my favourite books, I read it back in the day when I was Programming, Theme Park, the cheat code for the game is 'Horza', the main character from the book...”
Source →“@campuscodi the Expanse series is awesome (first book is Leviathan Wakes) The Culture series from Iain M. Banks (starting with Consider Phlebas) are classic too.. | Reading The Culture series by Banks. Compelling picture of a grand, semiutopian galactic future. Hopefully not too optimistic about AI. | Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization | excited for this, Banks' Culture series is brilliant. Consider Phlebas is one of my favourite books, I read it back in the day when I was Programming, Theme Park, the cheat code for the game is 'Horza', the main character from the book...”
Source →“@campuscodi the Expanse series is awesome (first book is Leviathan Wakes) The Culture series from Iain M. Banks (starting with Consider Phlebas) are classic too.. | Reading The Culture series by Banks. Compelling picture of a grand, semiutopian galactic future. Hopefully not too optimistic about AI. | Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization | excited for this, Banks' Culture series is brilliant. Consider Phlebas is one of my favourite books, I read it back in the day when I was Programming, Theme Park, the cheat code for the game is 'Horza', the main character from the book...”
Source →Recommended by 6 notable people, including Stewart Brand and Elon Musk
Check price on AmazonProof-backed recommendation
Amazon availability
Should I read this?
Recommended by 8 sources and appears in Space Opera, Books Recommended by Elon Musk, and Most Recommended Books.
The first book in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces readers to the utopian conglomeration of human and alien races that explores the nature of war, morality, and the limitless bounds of mankind's imagination.The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, p...
Looking for Kindle, hardcover, paperback, or audiobook editions?
Check formats, pricing, and current availability directly.
Why recommended
Recommended by 8 sources and appears in Space Opera, Books Recommended by Elon Musk, and Most Recommended Books.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Demis Hassabis
“@campuscodi the Expanse series is awesome (first book is Leviathan Wakes) The Culture series from Iain M. Banks (starting with Consider Phlebas) are classic too.. | Reading The Culture series by Banks. Compelling picture of a grand, semiutopian galactic future. Hopefully not too optimistic about AI. | Selected Books for the Manual for Civilization | excited for this, Banks' Culture series is brilliant. Consider Phlebas is one of my favourite books, I read it back in the day when I was Programming, Theme Park, the cheat code for the game is 'Horza', the main character from the book...”
View sources (4) ▾80%
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey. Recommended by 3 sources.
“Leviathan Wakes reads like a brisk, cinematic space-opera that shifts between a small-crew survival story and a widening conspiracy with real political consequences. Its strengths are propulsive plotting, street-level detail of life across Mars, the Belt and Earth, and a cast that grounds big-idea threats in personal stakes. Limitations: an abrupt tonal late-book escalation that favors spectacle over subtlety, and some exposition-heavy stretches that will frustrate readers wanting quieter character study or tighter hard-SF rigor.”
Similar books
How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.
Consider Phlebas
View on Amazon →