Consider Phlebas: Booktrack Edition

By: Iain M. Banks

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Consider Phlebas: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!

The first audiobook in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces listeners 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, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.

Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.

Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2009 Iain M. Banks (P)2020 Orbit

Booktrack adds immersion with headphones

This review is merely to address the added background music, playing throughout the reading. With headphones it plays wonderfully alongside the read. I recommend the headphone experience. As for those claiming it was “too loud”, or “too distracting”- I found those claims ludicrous in my experience. Great addition to audiobooks.

Great start, then peters out

Terrific opening, tons of potential, just never quite developed into the story it could've been. A little heavy on invented words, but hangs together well enough. This could've been up there with the sprawling classics of sci-fi, but seems to have been aborted prematurely. Enjoyable all the same, with some interesting concepts and not too much manufactured drama, but dragged a little towards the middle/end.
Narration is extremely fast, found I was missing bits until I kicked it down to 80% speed, which seemed to be just right.

Peter Kenny brings the masterpiece to life

Peter Kenny brings this space opera masterpiece to life with an inspired performance. A perfect introduction into the banks universe and introduction into the culture told from the perspective of their enemy.

Great action, a bit soft on science

Entertaining action, but many technologies that will most likely never exist, like faster than light travel

Too fast

The reader was too fast, had to slow the speed to 90% and still needed to go back 30 seconds once in a while.

good story though

Culture Series is Amazing!

The culture series by Ian m. Banks is one of the best series I've ever read. You will not be disappointed by this book. Peter. Kenny does an amazing job. narrating all the different alien voices.

mindblowing

this was my first dive into the culture when I read it a while back. behind excession, this is my favorite of the series but I had to try the audible cuz when I tried the sample, I found the reading to be really good as well as realizing that I totally forgot what the actual story was.

also was wary of the whole "booktrack" thing fearing that it would be gimmicky and distracting but I'm glad I rolled the dice on it. all the effects and music was tastefully done and only added to the experience without taking anything away.

kenny did a great job in narration and all the character voices but I ding him a star because when things get exciting and the prose gets terse, the tempo of his reading increases as well to emphasize the energy of the moment no doubt. but especially when there is a lot happening it ended up making me confused rather than excited and I wished he would just use tone of voice rather than pace of reading to convey tension or action and just let the short sentences and terse action of the text carry the energy.

but in any case, a great trip down memory lane and am glad to be able to put consider phlebas into my favorites rotation.

now if audible would only get excession added to their library!

Almost perfect Sci/fi Opera!

4.25⭐️ — The ending is a little depressing though I get the message Banks was going for. Still— a bit grim. But wow what a cool world to dive into and way ahead of its time! Very progressive ideas for Banks to have had in the 80s especially!

Great setup but just shy of a classic.

loved the world building and characters. the plot has lots of great hooks and surprises but sadly fails to capitalize on them in the end. A fun read just to be in the world. fantastic performance by the reader and the music really adds to the mood

Didn’t hook me very well.

It’s clearly a very well thought out plot and world, unfortunately it didn’t grasp me.