Author: Iain m. banks is a scottish Author born on FEBRUARY, 16, 1954 in Dunfirmline, SCOTLAND. an only chile, banks grew up with his mother and father in north queensferry, until the age of nine, where he and his family moved to Gourock, where he discovered his love for science fiction. writing his first novel at the the age of ELEVEN, he continued writing, but did not find success until the age of 30, when he published the wasp factory, which was met with some controversy. afterward, banks would continue to write semi-PROFESSIONALLY with small sucess until 1987, when consider phlebas, banks first science fiction novel was published. it would be continued by several more books in the same universe, and would be dubed the culture series, after one of the the main factions in the series. he would continue to write, and would have 28 novels published, until his death to inoperable cancer in 2013. (http://www.iain-banks.net/) durring his carrer he was NOMINATED for over 20 awards. in April 2012 Banks became the "Acting Honorary Non-Executive Figurehead President Elect pro tem (trainee)" of the Science Fiction Book Club based in London. he was also married twice, until the DIVORCE of his first wife in 2009. banks political leanings were often considers 'left of center', was a member of both the National Secular Society and theHumanist Society of Scotland. he was also part of a political movement to remove the british prime minister from office fallowing the iraq war, and as an act of civil DISOBEDIENCE cut up his pass port with SCISSORS. n November 2012, Banks supported the campaign group scottish independence, which EMERGED from the Radical Independence Conference. banks was involved in the theatre production The Curse of Iain Banks that was written by Maxton Walker.
plotCONSIDER PHLEBAS BOAST A BROAD CAST OF VARIED AND UNIQUE CHARACTERS, EACH WITH THIER OWN VIEWS AND DESIRES. TO UNDERSTAND THE MOTIVES OF THESE CHARACTERS, ONE MUST ALSO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT GOINGS ON IN THE CULTURE UNIVERSE. FOR THE PAST SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS, A GALACTIC SUPER SOCIETY KNOWN AS THE CULTURE HAS FORMED. A COLLECTION OF MULTIPUL HUMANOID SPECIES HAS BANDED TOGETHER CREATING A SOCIETY WITH VALUES MOST REMINISCENT OF SOCIALISM. THE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE TIME HAS ALLOWED IT PEOPLE TO LIVE LIVES OF COMPLETE LETHARGY, THUS THE PEOPLE OF THE CULTURE OFTEN SPEND THEIR LIVES TRYING TO FIND MEANING. THE PEOPLE OF THE CULTURE OFTEN DO NOT EVEN CARE IF THEY ARE CONSIDERED PART OF THE CULTURE OR NOT. THERE IS LITTLE TO EVEN HOLD THEM IN THE CULTURE, AS THE CULTURE REVERES FREEDOM AOVE ALL ELSE. THE CULTURE CAN ASLO BE DESCRIBED AS A BIG BROTHER IN TERMS OF CONTACT WITH OTHER CULTURES. THEY OFTEN WILL RAISE OTHER LESS ADVANCES SPEICES TO A HIGHER TECHNOLOGICAL PLAIN. THIS WILL OFTEN INCLUDE ERASING THEIR CULTURE IN ORDER TO ASSIMILATE THEM INTO THE CULTURE. THE CULTURE HAS NO REAL DIRECTION IT IS GOING IN, AND IS IN A STATIC PERIOD WITH LITTLE CHANGE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS. ONLY IN RECENT TIMES HAS THE CULTURE MAIN RIVAL, THE IDIRANS, A THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. THE IDIRIANS ARE A EXTREMELY RELIGIOUS SOCIETY, BELIEVING THAT PROGRESS IS ONLY ACHIEVED THROUGH STRUGGLE. UNDERSTANDABLY, THE CULTURE IS SEEN AS A AFFRONT NOT ONLY TO THIER RELIGION, BUT ALSO TO THIER BELIEFS AD A WHOLE. THE IDIRANS AND THE CULTURE, BOTH UNDERSTANDING THE SOON TO HAPPEN CONFLICT, ENACTED A TREATY TO LIMIT THE BRUTALITIES OF WAR. WHILE THE IRIDIANS BOASTED A CONSIDERABLE ADVANTAGE IN BOTH NUMBERS AND ZELOTRY, THEY LACKED WHAT ARE COMMONLY REFEREED TO AS MINDS, HYPER INTELLIGENT MACHINE MINDS. THESE MIND WORKED FASTER THAN ANYTHING BIOLOGICAL.
THEME: THERE ARE SEVERAL MAJOR THEMES IN CONSIDER PHLEBAS, RANGING FROM RELIGION TO POLITICS. AS I WAS READING IT SEEMED LIKE THE AUTOR WAS MAKING LIGHT OF HOW A 'PERFECT SOCIETY' IN IN REALITY A WORSE ONE THAN THAT FILLED WITH STRIFE, AS THERE IS NOTHING TO DRIVE ONE FORWARD. ITS ALSO BRINGS TO LIGHT THE CONSEQUENCES OF ALLOWING A TOTAL LACK OF SOCIAL TABOOS, AS THERE IS WHAT COULD BE DESCRIBED AS BARBARISM IN TODAYS TERMS, AS PEOPLE HAVE NO A SENSE OF RESTRAINT. there is also a theme of the POSSIBILITIES of technology in the future.
journal: while reading this book i didnt really learn anything. if anything i REALIZED my connection to the iridan PHILOSOPHY. otherwise if found the book quite interesting from a political standpoint, but it lacked a backing of something that could be attained in the terms of what i would consider CIVILIZED, as there is no 'laws' in the culture. as in how it affected my life, it mostly just gave me a sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT when i finished the book. i did not like this book, as it felt too long and STRETCHED out. with more filler than movement in the story. there were several parts of the book i found UNNECESSARY and if anything, boring. about halfway i bagan feeling that the book didnt know where it wanted to go. the end was lackluster and predictable, with little INTRIGUE in the CHARACTER progression, other than a side CHARACTER, who i found to be moree interesting than the main ones. in the end he did more to further along the plot than most of the Mc's did, and he was BLEEDING out on the floor of a train. i would read later stories in the series, but only in hopes that the author would have improved his craft and learned from his mistakes. i found that this book would be best described as a political expositional, as there is more about the overarching plot rather than the main charachters. in the end i would rate this book 6/10, as it was able to keep interest in the BEGINNING, and had a GENUINELY interesting background, but poor character progression and lackluster INTRIGUE left it something to listen to on audiobook while doing homework, rather than something you read on the bus. would RECOMMEND to a politicly active freind or family member, as it did contain several interesting ideas.