You're right - but Phelbus stands out to me because you get almost no internal culture perspective - you are almost entirely embedded with a person who does not

You're right - but Phelbus stands out to me because you get almost no internal culture perspective - you are almost entirely embedded with a person who does not simply dislike the culture, but is actively working towards its destruction. Its a bold choice given the Culture was (in Banks' own words) the closest thing to a Utopian ideal.