Iain Banks
Bedenke Phlebas
Heyne: €10,99
Consider Phlebas
Little Brown: €12,85

Still one of my favourite sf novels, though I am not even that much of a Banks fan ... Consider Phlebas offers only the first glimpse of Banks' famous culture universe - its heart is actually in being one of the prototypical "ragtag crew involved in business that turns out to be just a little bit to big for it", spiced up with a few deeply bizarre and darkly humorous places and concepts. [Jakob]

If I would have known Jakob is not a Banks-fan I would have ... well, Consider Phlebas is... an amazing piece of story around the Culture, a federation of AIs, Aliens and humans with one directive: do what you want but hurt nobody. While the Culture expands throughout the galaxy, they encounter the Idirans, immortal religous fanatics with war in their mind. Bad for the Culture they have no weapons (yet). Until a formchanger crosses the line and fights for the Idirans and everybody asks: why.
Banks leaves you with more questions then answers after a story that keeps you breathless on every page. [Wolf]

Almost 40 years after it was first brought into the public eye, Banks' "Culture" is still the most reputable, optimistic, and thoroughly imagined utopia out there. This is partially due to the fact that Banks tries to poke holes into his own utopia with every single novel published in the universe. The debut "Consider Phlebas" is told entirely from the viewpoint of an avowed enemy of the Culture and the question to what degree that enemy is right or wrong is one that Banks' fans will debate endlessly. This thoughtful critique is what puts Banks at the very top of my personal list of favourites (though the explosive action, delightfully snarky language, and complete absence of gravitas don't hurt either).[Marc]