Item — HN Reader

I've just finished the first three Culture novels.

Consider Phlebas starts great, but loses a lot during the rest of the book.

The Player of Games is okay, but by far not as good as people told me.

Use of Weapons is excellent. I'll have to re-read it in a few months.

1 comments

I thought the same thing the first time I read Consider Phlebas. Having now read it over 20 times, it's safe to say I changed my mind.

My key to the novel: it's all about the nature of identity. The very first line is something of deep personal significance, but he's forgotten why. He steals identities. It ends with the mind taking his name.

It's a keeper.

I couldn't agree more. "The Player of Games" also only improved for me with time and depth of context provided by the subsequent Culture novels.