I have read somewhere that Consider Phlebas tends to get a very bimodal love-it-or-hate-it reaction. Certain parts of it I could have done without (the whole chase-through-the-GSV thing seemed the like the equivalent of summer blockbuster fluff), but overall I still found it more gripping than anything else. Possibly this is because, while I ultimately come down on the Culture's side, I understand Horza's objection, so the book strikes me as philosophically deeper than some of the others.