Banks, Iain (1987) ‘Consider Phlebas’, UK signed and inscribed first edition

Iain M. Banks (1987) ‘Consider Phlebas‘, UK first edition, first printing, published by MacMillan. Signed and inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: “To Michael from Iain (M) Banks 29/8/87”. Inscribed in the year of publication. In recent years a number of forged Banks signatures have emerged. Most of those are ‘flat signed’. Inscribed copies are preferred by the collector due to the additional security and comparability of the handwriting.

Condition: a very good copy. No previous owners’ inscriptions, no bookplates, no stamps. The boards are bright and clean. Natural toning of the paper commensurate with age and light foxing to the fore edge and on the prelims. Internally clean. The dust jacket is NOT price clipped showing the correct £10.95 net price. In good condition only with edge wear, a few tears to the folds and stains.

The first Iain M. Banks sci-fi novel and the first in the seminal Culture universe. It is noteworthy that Elon Musk of Space-X and Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin are fans of Iain Banks’ sci-fi stories. Musk even named a number of the landing platforms for the Falcon boosters after Banks’ spaceships (‘Just Read the Insctructions’; ‘Of Course I Still Love You’). A recent Amazon attempt of a TV adaptation was cancelled in 2020, probably due to the pandemic. However, it is only a question of time before a TV-adaptation will be done since the Culture novels have broad appeal.