Reading order · Science fiction
The Culture Reading Order
The Culture by Iain M. Banks has 10 main books (1987–2012). Start with Consider Phlebas (1987) and read the numbered books in order.
The Culture books in order
Your reading speed
- 8 h 15 min
- 5 h 36 min
- 7 h
- Track your The Culture reading in Bookwisp — it shows the next book you’re missing.
- 3 h 36 min
- 8 h 3 min
- 6 h 57 min
- 6 h 28 min
- 10 h 23 min
- 11 h 6 min
- 9 h 3 min
Main books together: 4,367 pages, about 76 h 27 min at 238 words per minute.
Page counts: median across editions on Open Library. Times assume about 250 words per page. How we calculate.
Reading a series?
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The Culture: common questions
- How many books are in the The Culture series?
- There are 10 main books in The Culture. The most recent main book listed here is The Hydrogen Sonata (2012).
- What order should I read The Culture in?
- Read The Culture in its numbered order: Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, The State of the Art, and so on.
- What is the first The Culture book?
- The first book is Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks, published in 1987.
- How long does it take to read the whole The Culture series?
- The 10 main books add up to about 4,367 pages (median edition lengths). At 238 words per minute that is about 76½ hours of reading, or about 153 days at 30 minutes a day.