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I thought Consider Phlebas was pretty good. Maybe I should give this one more of a chance.

• pavel_lishin 8y ago
  I think Consider Phlebas was more of a generic action/adventure yarn, whereas Player of Games is a good tour of The Culture (by contrasting it with Azad). I read Consider Phlebas first and enjoyed the hell out of it, but definitely think that Player of Games is, in 90% of situations, is the "correct" introduction novel.
  • discardable_dan 8y ago
    I couldn't get into Consider Phlebas---I found the 'protagonist' too deeply flawed and unlikable. Is it likely I'll enjoy his other work in light of this?
    • pavel_lishin 8y ago
      If your only issue was the unlikeable "antihero" protagonist, then maybe? Most of his characters tend to be, at best, morally ambiguous. I know I said so in the previous comment, but Player of Games isn't too bad - the protagonist isn't really a good guy, but he's also not an amoral killer-for-hire. Excession might be a better bet, although a lot of the novel basically consists of reading emails between characters. I'm pretty sure you'd hate Use of Weapons.