Consider Phlebas introduces Iain M. Banks's Culture, a post-scarcity anarchist utopia spanning thousands of star systems, through the eyes of its enemy. The protagonist Horza is a shapeshifter fighting for the Idirans, a religious empire at war with the Culture's godless hedonism. Banks follows Horza on a mission to recover a fugitive Culture Mind—a vast artificial intelligence—from a labyrinthine Planet of the Dead, recruiting a mercenary crew whose loyalties are questionable at best. The novel is space opera on a grand scale, with spectacular set pieces and galaxy-spanning conflict. But Banks uses the adventure plot to explore questions about civilization, religion, and what makes a society worth defending. By filtering the Culture through hostile eyes, he prevents his utopia from becoming simplistic propaganda, showing its failures and contradictions alongside its achievements. The novel launched a series that would span nine more books, establishing Banks as one of science fiction's most imaginative world-builders. For readers seeking science fiction that combines exciting narrative with serious ideas, Consider Phlebas offers an excellent entry point to a uniquely rich fictional universe.